Episode XVIII: Jack and the Ultra-robots

"Episode XVIII: Jack and the Ultra-robots" is the eighteenth episode in the second season of Samurai Jack. Jack must fight against Aku's newest servants, the Ultra-Robots.

Plot
The episode begins with Jack walking through a destroyed village, where he finds an injured feline creature who collapses in front of him. Jack asks the cat creature what happened to his village. The cat says "they came from nowhere".

A flashback reveals that the village of the cat creature's people was attacked by mysterious assassins who wielded chain-claws, buzz-saws, and Gatling-guns before destroying the village entirely. The cat creature says then says that the attackers "left as mysteriously as they came". With his final breath, the cat creature tells Jack that the attack "left to the east" before dying.

Jack heads east to find another destroyed village, this time with robots. He soon comes across a dying robot citizen who tells him the rest of the what had happened. A flash back shows that, much like the cat's story, the robot's village was attacked by a trio of mysterious assassins, ones who wielded explosive wire, gauntlets, and flamethrowers, that destroyed the entire village. The robot mentions that they too "left as mysteriously as they came", and tell Jack that left to east before shutting down.

Angered by the destruction, Jack heads out once more. In time he comes to find yet another destroyed village that was also populated by robot citizens. This time, none of them are alive to tell him anything. But instead, Jack takes a look at their bodies and, in his mind, depicts how the mysterious attackers destroyed them and their village. A few dead robots seem to have multiple shuriken sunk into their bodies. Some other dead robots seem to have been sliced up, possibly with a sword. But, Jack also finds tracks leading to the east. Jack follows the tracks to find eight identical baskets that transform into the Ultra-robots, one with Gatling-guns for arms, one with flamethrowers for arms, one with buzz-saws for arms, one with a rotor in the center of its torso for launching shuriken, one that can launch its clawed hands from its arms connected to chains, one that can launch an explosive wire from its torso, one that uses a set of powerful gauntlets to fight and turn invisible, and finally, one wielding a semi-futuristic katana.

Jack asks why the robot destroyed the villages, and they tell him that they did so to lure Jack and that their purpose is to destroy him. Jack engages them in battle but to no avail, with their diverse weapons and bodies being impervious to damage. The Ultra-robots easily overpower Jack, who has no choice but to run and seek shelter in the destroyed village up ahead.

While hiding, Jack meets a scientist named Extor, the creator of the Ultra-robots, who explains to Jack what has happened. Aku needed more weapons to destroy Jack and told Extor that he would spare his village, if he built him the ultimate weapons to destroy Jack. Extor built the robots from adamantium metal, fitted each of them with different weapons/abilities, and spent days analyzing Jack's fighting technique. Aku himself provided the Ultra-robots power source by imbuing them with his own evil essence. But, as he presented them to Aku, Aku betrayed Extor and sent the robots to destroy Extor's village as a test of their destructive power. Extor asks Jack for his help to destroy the robots, but Jack says he can't help him due to the fact that his sword can't cut the robots and even says that "Aku has finally won".

Extor tell Jack that he can succeed, but simply requires greater strength. He gives Jack a "cybernetic, synaptically-linked dinodextric isometric poly-durataniam power gauntlet" that can enhance his strength to destroy any type of metal, even the admantium that the Ultra-robots are made of. In a rematch with the Ultra-robots, Jack manages to destroy seven of them using the cyborg arm. However, the arm's battery eventually dies and it becomes useless. So when Jack realizes that last Ultra-robot left is the katana-wielding one, he discards it and prepares his sword. The Ultra-robot and Jack clash and counter each in an epic sword fight. However, Jack grows tired as the fight continues before being knocked by the Ultra-robot. The Ultra-robot boast to Jack that his sword was no match for Aku's power. But Jack rebuttals, saying that the power of his sword is immeasurable, and prays to his ancestors to give his sword more power. Just as the Ultra-robot prepares to drop his blade on Jack, the samurai's wish is granted. From the clouds, a trio of blacksmiths cast down a beam of light down on Jack, imbuing his sword with great power. Jack rise and in a single move, slices the Ultra-robot. Defeated, the Ultra-robot exclaims, "Unbelievable", and splits in two before exploding into pieces.

Jack notices Aku's essence leaving the debris of each Ultra-robot and quickly uses his sword to destroy it. Elsewhere, in his lair, Aku cries out in pain, knowing that Jack and his sword are the cause, and the Ultra-robots have failed. As he sheathes his blade, Extor goes to congratulate Jack with a high five.

Credits

 * Written by
 * Bryan Andrews
 * Brian Larsen


 * Directed by
 * Rob Renzetti
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Storyboards by
 * Bryan Andrews
 * Brian Larsen


 * Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack
 * Makoto Iwamatsu as Aku
 * Jeff Bennett as Extor / Alien
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Ultra Robot / Robot


 * Casting by
 * Collette Sunderman

Trivia

 * This episode had multiple goofs
 * When Jack finds the only surviving robot in the second village, the robot's neck is only hanging on to what's left of its body by a few wires. But, when the robot's flashback ends its neck is completely intact.
 * The interior design of the building where Jack hides from the Ultra-Bots is inconsistent.