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Re Boot S 2 E 7 Nullzilla - TV Tropes

  • ️Thu Nov 26 2020

When a Web creature escapes from Hexadecimal's mirror and possesses her, the Nulls of Mainframe gather to contain her. This results in a giant conglomeration of Nulls stomping around the city, and now Bob and friends must "suit up" to battle "Nullzilla"!

This episode has examples of:

  • Affectionate Parody: Mostly a parody of Power Rangers with Humongous Mecha fighting a Kaiju, but also general Super Team's like Thunderbirds.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Nullzilla, The Worm That Walks made from every Null in Mainframe gathered around the possessed Hexadecimal.
  • Bait-and-Switch: Megabyte has tasked Hack and Slash with an important operation that has several key steps and warns them not to fail. We then find they've been tasked with babysitting his "pet", Nibbles.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Hack and Slash say they're looking for a Null. Fleeing from Nullzilla, Mike tells them that this is their "lucky day".
  • Behind the Black: Talking to the others on the bridge, Bob, Dot, and Enzo somehow missed the giant monstrosity of Nulls stomping towards them. It took Mike pointing at it for them to notice.
  • Big "NO!": Megabyte just before being overtaken by the Web creature.
  • Big "SHUT UP!": Frustrated with Slash continuing to talk while they're sneaking around Lost Angles, Hack ends up shouting this at him.
  • Big Word Shout: Mike interrupts Hack and Slash's Nibbles talk to tell Bob there's a more important issue to deal with.

    Bob: What's that, Mike?
    Mike: [pointing at Nullzilla] TTTTTTHHHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!

  • Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the Web creature that possessed Hexadecimal having moved on to possessing Megabyte.
  • Combining Mecha: Parodied; they all deploy in bug-shaped mechas with outfits that match, but serve no other purpose than combining into one larger robot. Their first attempts were random positioning of the mechas as they didn't know how it worked. After their By the Power of Grayskull! call out to merge together, the resulting robot looks nothing like its component parts at all. Bob shrugs over it.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Yes, Phong is prepared for a giant null monster stomping around Mainframe.

    Phong: ... Lucky guess?

  • Delayed Reaction: After Nibbles runs away, Hack and Slash take a few seconds to realize why they should be worried about that.

    Hack: What a good boy! Look, now he's going for a walk.
    Slash: Uh, what phase number is walking Nibbles?
    Hack: Uh... there is no number for walking Nibbles.
    Slash: Oh, that means he just ran away.
    Hack: Yep, that is right. He just ran away, all right.
    Slash: He's gone.
    Hack: He is. Look at him go.
    [beat; Hack and Slash scream in panic]

  • Eldritch Location: The series' first glimpse into the Web through Hexadecimal's broken mirror, where the dimension is home to creatures that seem to be nothing but spiralling tentacles everywhere.
  • Evil Costume Switch: Hex was already a villain, but after she's been possessed by the Web Creature, her red and gold body becomes black and silver, her mask becomes dark gray, and she emits terrifying hisses instead of speaking. Megabyte is likewise affected at the end of the episode.

    Mike the TV: Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a new look for you. [laughs nervously] I like it. [gulps]

  • Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When Nibbles scurries off, Hack and Slash spend a few seconds discussing whether or not Nibbles has a "going for a walk" phase and come to the conclusion that he's run away. Then they start screaming when they realize they've lost Megabyte's right-hand Null and the You Have Failed Me implications for them.
  • Foreshadowing: Megabyte addressing Nibbles as his "father" will be explained in the first arc of Season 4 and tie into plenty of backstory (involving the destruction of Mainframe's twin city) that was first hinted at in the previous episode.
  • Glass-Shattering Sound: Mike the TV provokes the whole mess by showing an opera that breaks Hexadecimal's mirror.
  • Hope Spot: After Nullzilla is destroyed, the Nulls scatter and a weakened Hexadecimal is back to normal. Bob, however, reports he can find no trace of the creature that came out of her mirror, and no one can trace where it went ... namely, to Megabyte next.
  • Humongous Mecha: Phong's answer to Nullzilla is a giant robot that can fight the creature on even terms, and a giant axe that it can wield to defeat it.
  • In Case of X, Break Glass: The Destructomatic, the weapon that can beat Nullzilla, is behind such a case labeled "IN CASE OF GIANT NULL MONSTER THREATENING CITY — BREAK GLASS."
  • Irony:
    • Showing off her mirror, Hexadecimal demonstrates how she already has what Megabyte so deeply craves: easy access to the Supercomputer.
    • Bob bemoans his apartment building being destroyed, saying he just redecorated.
  • Lampshade Hanging: When Bob questions how Phong could have possibly prepared for a giant monster made entirely of Nulls stomping about, Phong claims it was a "lucky guess".
  • Layman's Terms: After Bob gives a long and technical explanation of how a Null could theoretically be restored by the game that nullified them, AndrAIa stares blankly before Enzo simplifies it; AndrAIa notes that Enzo said it better.
  • Literal-Minded:
    • When Hack says "what do you mean, "joke"?", Slash rattles off a dictionary definition of the word, much to the shock of Hack, Mike, and Scuzzy.
    • When Phong says that all he and AndrAIa can do is "sit and wait", AndrAIa replies that she'd prefer to stand.
  • Mass "Oh, Crap!": The second Hexadecimal is possessed by the creature, every Null in the city sits up and looks in the direction of her lair, before rushing there as fast as they can.
  • Nerves of Steel: Mike fully expects the possessed Hexadecimal to finish him off, but he remains quite calm while giving his "news report".
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!:
    • Literally, in the case of Mike the TV causing Hexadecimal's looking glass to be shattered, opening a portal to the Web that allows a creature to pass through and possess her, kicking off a Plot Arc stretching for the next several episodes (and all its Wham Episode implications).
    • Played for Laughs; while trying to stop Nullzilla from crushing Bob's apartment complex, the giant robot inadvertently knocks Nullzilla onto the building, flattening it.
  • Non-Malicious Monster: Nullzilla is actually the result of all the Nulls in Mainframe attempting to protect the city from the creature that possessed Hexadecimal. The problem is that Hexadecimal's wild attempts to break out of her prison are what's causing Nullzilla to appear to be rampaging across Mainframe.
  • No Sympathy:
    • After the mirror shatters, a monster's tentacles latch onto Hexadecimal and pull her close by. Mike and Scuzzy respond by backing away from her.
    • Upon learning that Hack and Slash lost Nibbles, Bob jokingly notes that they're in big trouble.
  • Not Me This Time: Played for Laughs; when Phong detects a signal coming from Lost Angles, Bob instinctively declares that Megabyte must be the source of trouble. Enzo is quick to correct him.

    Enzo: Hexadecimal, Bob.
    Bob: What? Right, Hexadecimal. Did I say Megabyte?

  • Nothing Personal: Mike over calling Scuzzy a "verminous familiar." Scuzzy, for his part, takes no offence.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Hack and Slash eventually scream in panic when Nibbles runs away.
    • Mike and Scuzzy are visibly terrified by the possessed Hexadecimal, and even more so by Nullzilla.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Enzo is uncharacteristically serious (for his usual self), when he explains to AndrAIa what Nulls actually are.
  • Pet the Dog: Hack and Slash give Mike and Scuzzy a ride out of Lost Angles as they flee from Nullzilla.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here!:
    • Mike and Scuzzy make a run for it after the Nulls attach themselves to Hexadecimal, and when they run into Hack and Slash, Mike is quick to suggest that they do the same.

      Mike the TV: IT'S COMING! IT'S COMING, I TELL YOU! BACKSPACE FOR YOUR LIVES! RUN, RUN, RUN! And when you're finished, RUN SOME MORE!

    • After Megabyte is overtaken by the Web creature, Nibbles trembles at the sight of the result and immediately slithers away.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: AndrAIa demonstrates super-hearing shortly before it's made clear that Enzo has continued lying to her about being a Guardian. This indicates she's already well-aware of the truth but doesn't care, something that she later confirms in Season 4.
  • Sequel Hook: The creature that attacked Hexadecimal is missing after Nullzilla is neutralized. At the end of the episode it attacked Megabyte, turning him into a similar black form with a long tongue.
  • Serious Business: Megabyte treats having Hack and Slash babysit Nibbles with the same villainous gravitas as with any of his nefarious schemes. Given Megabyte's Bad Boss tendencies, Hack and Slash are appropriately scared out of their wits once Nibbles runs away.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Sixth Ranger: Fitting the Sentai reference, Phong initially only has suits and robots for Bob, Dot, Enzo, Frisket and Mike, but when Phong realizes he forgot to give them a weapon, he grants AndrAIa her own suit and makes her the weapon's pilot.
  • Squashed Flat: Hack and Slash end up getting stepped on by Nullzilla. Both agree they really hate Nulls.
  • Stealth Insult: When Mike asks what a gnat is, Dot replies that she doesn't know, but it suits Mike.
  • Trash the Set: Bob's apartment building is destroyed in the battle.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Mike cues up an opera clip in Hexadecimal's lair to entertain her. The singer gets so loud that nearby glass shatters, including Hexadecimal's mirror. What's on the other side is able to ensnare her and stick her with a smaller creature, leading to Nullzilla. Even after that specific problem is resolved, the creature remains in Mainframe, leading to a host of developments that radically alter the status quo.
  • Wham Line: Megabyte to Nibbles: "Ah, there you are ... Father!"
  • The Worm That Walks: Nullzilla is an enormous Blob Monster consisting of millions of Nulls.
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Bob finds the entire Sentai-esque get-up ridiculous, and is especially perplexed when Phong explains that the vehicles combine into a giant robot.