Episode 402 : Earl , Don ' t Be a Hero Earl ' s accidental exposure to toxic waste transforms him into " Captain Impressive , " a mysterious super hero committed to fighting crime and righting wrongs . Earl also sees his chance to outshine Captain Action Figure , Baby ' s current hero , by using his newly acquired superpowers against the forces of evil - - until B . P . Richfield discovers Earl ' s hidden talents . Determined to use " Captain Impressive " for WESAYSO ' s benefit , Richfield quickly changes Earl from Super Hero to Super Huckster . Faster than you can say " shoddy merchandise , " Earl decides to hang up his tights and retire from his career as a crime fighter . Story . Earl announces that he ' s been promoted to " Toxic Waste Supervisor " , but Robbie and Charlene don ' t show much interest . Earl doesn ' t care that they don ' t show interest , but wants to impress the Baby , who is too preoccupied with watching his hero , Captain Action Figure , on TV . While dumping toxic waste into a lake , Earl laments the fact that the Baby doesn ' t seem to care for him , and shows Roy the hat that he plans on impressing the Baby with . Roy tells Earl that while the hat is impressive , a child ' s love for his father shouldn ' t be based on a hat . Earl tosses the hat into the lake , but then Roy says that he might be wrong , because he doesn ' t have any kids of his own . Earl jumps into the lake to get it back , and when he comes back , he is glowing . The glowing effect wears off , but when he decides to get up after sitting , he accidentally flies . Roy mentions that he ' s only seen superheroes in comic books fly , and then suspects that Earl might be a superhero . He asks Earl to see if he has x - ray vision by trying to see through Roy ' s change purse , but Earl has heat ray vision instead . When Roy complains about Earl burning his lunch money , Earl says that Roy can stand to lose a few days of eating , correctly guessing Roy ' s weight . This proves to Roy that Earl is a superhero , and tells Earl that he has to protect the world from evil . Earl can ' t wait to tell the Baby , but Roy says that he can ' t let anybody know that he ' s a superhero , and he needs a secret superhero name . Earl wants it to be something that would impress the Baby , so he becomes " Captain Impressive " . Captain Impressive is seen on the news , foiling a bank robbery and saving the planet from a meteor . Earl is also happy that the Baby likes Captain Impressive better than Captain Action Figure . However , at work , Roy asks Earl to use his heat ray to heat up his lunch , and Mr . Richfield sees this , ordering Earl to come in , and tricking him into admitting that he is Captain Impressive . Richfield tells Earl that his powers could benefit WESAYSO , but Earl informs Richfield that he has to fight the forces of evil , and to him , Richfield is evil . Richfield , however , points out that Earl ' s employment contract ( which Richfield had previously told Earl that he didn ' t have to read ) states that any employee who gets superpowers has to be controlled by WESAYSO . Pangaea suddenly has a crime wave , which Earl is unable to stop due to spending most of his time promoting WESAYSO products . However , Captain Impressive is still the Baby ' s hero . Richfield informs Earl that research shows that Captain Impressive is godlike to kids between the ages of 2 and 12 , so WESAYSO will now sponsor a Captain Impressive series . Earl is thrilled , thinking that the show will be educational , but the show will actually be a home shopping show . Earl looks at the products being sold , which include an action figure which comes apart , revealing a fish knife , and a trachea plug , and questions this , but is contractually obligated . During his show , the Baby calls in wanting to order the trachea plug . Earl talks to the Baby , asking him why he ' want such a dangerous product . The Baby says he wants it because Captain Impressive ' s name is on it , and Captain Impressive is his hero . Earl explains that he wanted to be the baby ' s hero , but not to sell him things , and takes off his mask , revealing his true identity . At home , Earl takes a shower , and is no longer a superhero . He gives the Baby a Captain Impressive action figure , which he removed the fish knife from . However , the Baby doesn ' t like Captain Impressive anymore , because he no longer has any superpowers . Earl removes the toys costume , which now looks like Earl , and explains that parents can be heroes , too , despite not having superpowers . The Baby starts playing with the toy , calling him " Captain Daddy " .