Futurama episode
"Less Than Hero"
Episode no.	58
Prod. code	4ACV04
Airdate	March 2, 2003
Where	United States
Writer(s)	Ron Weiner
Director	Susie Dietter
Opening subtitle	SOON TO BE A MAJOR RELIGION
Opening cartoon	The Dover Boys, by Warner Brothers, 1942.
Guest star(s)	None
Season 4 January 2002 – August 2003
Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch Leela's Homeworld Love and Rocket Less Than Hero A Taste of Freedom Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV Jurassic Bark Crimes of the Hot Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles The Why of Fry Where No Fan Has Gone Before The Sting Bend Her Obsoletely Fabulous The Farnsworth Parabox Three Hundred Big Boys Spanish Fry The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
List of all Futurama episodes...

"Less Than Hero" is the fourth episode in the fourth season of Futurama. It first aired on March 2, 2003. Futurama is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen for the Fox Network. ... Image File history File links Futurama_ep58. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Susie Dietter is a television director. ... The Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (better known as simply The Dover Boys) is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and directed by Chuck Jones. ... Warner Bros. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch is the first episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... Leelas Homeworld is the second episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... Love and Rocket is the third episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... A Taste of Freedom is the fifth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV is the sixth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... Jurassic Bark is the 61st episode of Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. ... “Crimes of the Hot” is the eighth episode of the fourth production season of the television show Futurama. ... Teenage Mutant Leelas Hurdles is the ninth episode of the fourth season of Futurama. ... The Why of Fry is the tenth episode in the fourth season of Futurama. ... Where No Fan Has Gone Before is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. ... The Sting is episode 12 in season 4 of Futurama. ... Bend Her is the thirteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... Obsoletely Fabulous is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... “The Farnsworth Parabox” is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Spanish Fry is the seventeenth episode of Season 4 of Futurama. ... “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings” is the 18th and final episode in season 4 of the TV series Futurama. ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... Futurama is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen for the Fox Network. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plot

Professor Farnsworth orders a supercollider from πKEA. After assembling it, Fry and Leela are left with sore muscles, and Dr. Zoidberg prescribes them a dubious "miracle cream". The supercollider super-explodes, and the Professor makes them take the remains back to the store. While walking along the streets of New New York, parts in tow, Fry and Leela get mugged. Tragedy is averted when Fry and Leela prove immune to laser fire and physical attacks. Arriving back at the Planet Express building, they discover that one of the listed side effects of the miracle cream is that it causes super powers in humans. Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (born April 9, 2841) is the extremely elderly proprietor of the Planet Express delivery service in the fictional animated television series Futurama. ... Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA IKEA is a privately held international low cost home furnishings retailer. ... Philip J. Fry (voiced by Billy West), better known as simply Fry, is the central character of the animated television series Futurama. ... Turanga Leela (referred to as simply Leela) is the primary female character in the animated television series Futurama. ... Doctor John Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien, Decapodian, in the television series Futurama. ...

Along with Bender, they form a team of superheroes, the New Justice Team. With Fry as Captain Yesterday, Leela as Clobberella, and Bender as Super King, the New Justice Team begins making a name for themselves. Fry and Leela have a variety of powers (super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability), but Bender, being a robot, does not gain power from the cream (however he already has superhuman strength and stretching arms). Leela makes a visit to CitiHall, and procures a special one-day surface pass for her mutant parents. Shortly after, the mayor summons the New Justice Team to deal with a criminal threat. Bender, also known as Bender Bending Rodriguez or Bending Unit 22, is a fictional character in the animated television series Futurama. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... A mutant (also known to early geneticists as a monster) is an individual, organism, or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a sudden structural change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new...

The museum of natural history is going to be robbed at 9am by a criminal mastermind called the Zookeeper, who uses trained animals, including a badger, an elephant, and a crab named Citizen Snips, to aid him in his crimes. Leela, planning her day, schedules her parents' surface visit for 10am at the same museum. Her bright idea is ruined when the Zookeeper is late for the theft ("It's a long story," the Zookeeper explains). The New Justice Team foils the robbery, but the Zookeeper escapes. Leela's parents, convinced that Leela didn't show up because she's ashamed of them, slink back to the sewers, just a moment before Leela is able to get out of her costume and look for them.

Leela makes a trip to her parents' home in the sewers. There, saddened by her parents thinking she is ashamed of them, Leela reveals her superhero identity. Leela swears them to secrecy for their own protection, but Morris tells his friends, and the word spreads. Shortly after, Planet Express receives a call from the Zookeeper, who has kidnapped Leela's parents. He is willing to ransom them for the Quantum Gemerald, the item he tried to obtain in the museum heist. Futuramas recurring characters: Spoiler warning: // In the episode A Big Piece of Garbage, Ron Popeil, his severed head floating in a large jar, mentions several of his inventions including the (fictional) technology to keep human heads alive in jars, implicitly arresting the aging process. ...

With no other choices, the New Justice Team resolves to steal the gem. Unfortunately, they have run out of miracle cream, and are forced to commit the robbery without super powers. Fortunately, the museum guards still think they have superpowers, and they manage to get the Gemerald successfully. After a successful escape, they give the Quantum Gemerald to the Zookeeper, who releases Leela's parents and escapes. Bender and a morally confused Fry set off to commit a few more crimes while they still have their superhero costumes, and life returns to normal.

Songs

The New Justice Team
Go, go, go, New Justice Team
Go, team, go, team team team team
Who's the newest Justice Team
The New Justice Team

Captain Yesterday is fast
Also he is from the past
Not just fast but from the past
Captain Yesterday

Super King has all the powers of a king
Plus all the powers of Superman
Also he's a robot
Ain't it cool
Super King, you rule

Cloberella beats you up
Cloberella beats you up
Who does she beat up
You!
Cloberella

Citizens, never fear
Crazy do-good freaks are here
Until they run out of steam
Miracle Cream! Miracle Cream!
Gives the power to the team
Its effects wear off for sure
So they just slop on some more
The New Justice Team! It has been suggested that Superman (Kal-L) be merged into this article or section. ...

The New Justice Team (Credits)
Go, go go New Justice Team
Fighting justice is their quest
Super King, Cloberella
And all the rest

Here's to you, New Justice Team
Do the things that make a team
Help each other do some things
Winners don't use drugs!
The New Justice Team!

Cultural references

• This episode parodies several aspects of the 1960s Batman series complete with corny villains, exaggerated narration, cheesy costumes and comic book-style action bubbles on screen. Also, the New Justice Team's theme tune is a loose parody of the Spider-Man theme from the 1960s Marvel Super-Heroes animated show. The name "New Justice Team" is a parody of DC Comics' Justice League, including the logo.
• Leela's dramatic ripping of her clothes to show her parents her true identity (and subsequent revealing of yet another layer under her superhero costume) are a reference to Clark Kent's transformation into Superman.
• The furniture company πKEA (pronounced pi-kea)is a parody of Swedish retailer IKEA and the company's self-assembly furniture.
• The shot of the New Justice Team on top of the Planet Express office was visually inspired by the short-lived series Dark Angel, which was also airing on Fox at the time.
• Heard in the credits, the phrase "Winners Don't Use Drugs" was a slogan used in many 1980s arcade machines.
• Fry's "Captain Yesterday" name may be a reference the science fiction novel "Captain Future".
• Leela's "Clobberella" name is a reference to the comic or film character Barbarella.
• When Bender pulls out his crown, puts it on and says "We are not amused", he is making a direct reference to Queen Victoria and her famous quote.
• The theme song lyric "And all the rest" is likely a reference to the theme song of the first season of Gilligan's Island, which used virtually the same phrase in its theme song rather than list "second-tier" characters the Professor and Mary Ann.

Batman was the title of an exceptionally popular 1960s TV series based on the comic-book character Batman that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) for 2 1/2 seasons from 12 January, 1966 to 14 March, 1968. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Marvel Super-Heroes was an animated television series produced in 1967 by Grantray-Lawrence Animation which featured adaptations of several comic books by Marvel Comics. ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a fictional DC Universe superhero team. ... Superman and his secret identity Clark Kent being portrayed as distinct individuals. ... It has been suggested that Superman (Kal-L) be merged into this article or section. ... Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA IKEA is a privately held international low cost home furnishings retailer. ... Dark Angel (2000 – 2002) was a cyberpunk science fiction television series, created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. ... Captain Future is a fictional character, the creation of science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton. ... Barbarella, also known as Barbarella, Queen of the Galaxy is a 1968 erotic science fiction film, based on the French Barbarella comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest. ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... For the NES video game, see Gilligans Island (video game). ...

Trivia

• When the kangaroo hits Bender, it shows the action bubble Binary "01001010," which translates into "J".
• The small robot Andrew, the mugger that threatens Fry and Leela, was based on a character in early drafts of the show referred to as "Pocket Pal", an extremely cute and annoying sidekick for Bender that was intended to drive him insane.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Less Than Hero

The binary numeral system (base 2 numerals) represents numeric values using two symbols, typically 0 and 1. ... Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Love and Rocket is the third episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... A Taste of Freedom is the fifth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ...