Mysterious Shadow

Mysterious Shadow is the first episode of the Cybersix first season animated television series. The episode's title and plot is based loosely on the first weekly issue of the comic series.
==Episode synopsis==
Two Fixed Ideas kidnap two men from the Meridiana State Treasury, the Printer and Engraver. They bring them to the dock yard of Meridiana into an abandoned warehouse. Cybersix witnesses this kidnapping, but is unable to do anything.
The next morning, the Meridiana High School principal introduces the new literature teacher to the school. As they walk past Lucas Amato's biology class, Lucas and Adrian Seidelman see each other, and they continue on their way. On the first day of the job, Adrian reads aloud a passage from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", a love-struck Lori Anderson interrupts him when she hands him a love note professing her love. Once immediately rejected, Lori's Gang of friends decides to get back at him. After school, they follow Adrian through the city and corner him in an alley. But before anything can happen, Lucas appears and scares away the delinquents. The two teachers get acquainted over a cup of coffee at Meridiana's Café, where Adrian asks for some help with his problem student, as well as revealing that he came from a small fishing village. Things are good until Adrian spots the headlines of their local newspaper of the missing Printer and Engraver. Adrian abruptly leaves, thanking Lucas for the coffee.
It is now late at night as Lucas walks alone through the streets. A large man, a frightened Fixed Idea, breaks through a set of boarded doors onto the street. Startled, Lucas spots a woman leaping on top of buildings. Curious, he follows her, and after taking a shortcut by jumping into a chicken coop, Lucas finds the man and woman on the bridge. Cybersix had attacked the Fixed Idea. Lucas tries to approach her but she jumps out of sight. The Fixed Idea evaporates, revealing a glowing green vial of Sustenance. Lucas takes the mysterious liquid and leaves. Cybersix watches him from above, once the pain in her left arm subsides, she spots a Fixed Idea following Lucas. She follows him back to his apartment, where Lucas attempts to examine the contents of the vial only to discover its acid. Cybersix appears in his window, asking for the vial back and trying to warn him of the danger he's in. Lucas avoids her request, rather, he asks her how she got up there, then asks her if she's hurt when she's in pain from her arm. At that moment a Fixed Idea bursts into the apartment and charges towards Cybersix, pushing Lucas aside to get to her. He reveals that he's angry that Cybersix killed his brother and is thus out for revenge. But before he can do so, Lucas lunges at the man to help Cybersix, and the both fall out the window. Cybersix is able to save Lucas. She and the Fixed Idea fall down. She survives while the Fixed Idea died on impact. She takes the vial left behind and drinks from it and the pain in her arm finally disappears. Sometime later that night a Techno comes by the remains of the same Fixed Idea. He looks up at Lucas's apartment, noting that something must've happened between the Fixed Idea and the resident of the apartment with the broken window. The printer and engraver are shown to have been taken hostage in order to make money. The man behind this plan is Doctor Von Reichter, who sits in his laboratory in a remote unknown location. The Techno communicates with him over a computer screen. He confirms everything's going as planned but he has found a Fixed Idea "deactivated" with an empty vial. Von Reichter decides to send his son, Jose, to investigate. The Techno believes he may know who it is, but upon Jose's arrival, he mistakens a Fixed Idea for Jose.
Lucas and Adrian are at the Café once again. Lucas tells of the amazing events he has witnessed but Adrian is unwilling to believe, saying it was all just a dream. Unable to convince him Lucas takes out the vial for proof but Adrian suddenly becomes cautious and tells him to put it away. He then gets up and leaves again. Confused, Lucas chases Adrian, but having first pay their bill and taking some food. Jose arrives in Meridiana, the Techno takes him to the suspected apartment and they trash the place, they then leave just before Adrian and Lucas arrive. They find the apartment in a mess. Adrian tells Lucas to give the woman the vial next time, and he runs off. Adrian returns to his apartment, feeling guilt that Lucas was put in danger because of him. It is revealed that Adrian is Cybersix. She says she isn't human and doesn't need any friends, but she vows to help Lucas in return for helping her. She changes out of her daytime attire and into her Cybersix suit and leaps off into the city to help Lucas. Jose and his henchmen guard Lucas' apartment and upon seeing Cybersix break through the boarded up windows, they break into the apartment. Cybersix asks Lucas for the vial and he finally gives it to her. When Jose and his henchmen break down the door Cybersix reveals a "Cyber 6" tattoo on her right arm. Jose finds out that it was a Cyber behind it all this whole time. He orders his henchmen to get her, but she gets away. Lucas has been nearly knocked out by one of them, he overhears Jose ordering the Techno to stay with the Fixed Ideas so they don't lose Cybersix, while he returns to the warehouse. Lucas soon gets up and attempts to find the warehouse. Cybersix is able to lose her pursuers. The Techno is last seen exclaiming his frustration with the Fixed Ideas. Cybersix sneaks into the warehouse and frees the Printer and Engraver. While the Fixed Ideas fight Cybersix, Jose finishes loading up the truck with the money and escapes. The building explodes and Cybersix successfully escapes. Lucas spots the explosion so he drives towards it, he almost hits Jose's truck which was coming from the opposite direction. Both swerve to avoid a collision. Jose lands in the water, losing the truck and the money along with it. Lucas swerved next to a building, though not serious he's still dazed. Cybersix checks up on him, Lucas asks her questions, but she doesn't answer any, she only gives a smile before leaping away out of sight.
Von Reichter is given the news of his failed plans, foiled by Cybersix. He cannot believe his most profound failure is still alive. Cybersix declares that he can come after her but she won't run.
==Differences with the comic==
*In the animated series, Adrian Seidelman is the new teacher, while in the comics, Lucas Amato is the one who was recently hired to teach at the school.
*In the episode, Lori had no apparent involvement with her gang bullying Adrian, while in the comics, Lori is the one who instigates the confrontation while she stands nearby.
*When the gang confronts Adrian, Lucas comes by to stop it, he simply walks up to them and smirks, and the gang runs away. In the comics, Lucas beats them up, and the gang runs away at the sight of a police cruiser.
*Adrian's remarks in the cafe suggests that he lived in a small village prior to moving to Meridiana. In the comic series, Adrian had lived in Meridiana for the majority of his life.
*In the animated series, Lucas has only just become aware of Cybersix's existence, since she has just recently moved to Meridiana, while in the comics, he had always been aware of her, since she had lived in the city for a much longer period of time. Lucas confides this to Adrian in the cafe immediately after their initial meeting.
*Characters like Doctor Von Reichter, Jose, the Fixed Ideas, and the Technos, were introduced in the first episode, while in the comics, they were not introduced until later.
*Cybersix experiences withdrawal symptoms when she does not consume Sustenance; in the animated series, she experiences pangs of pain in her arm, while in the comics, she becomes irritable and tired, similar to a drug withdrawal.
*In the episode, it is revealed that Cybersix drinks Sustenance from vials dropped from Fixed Ideas when they die, while in the comics, Cybersix bites and sucks the Sustenance from the neck of a stunned enemy, much like a vampire.
==Trivia==
*This episode's name is "Mysterious Shadow", thus, there are many shadows and sillouettes of characters, such as the first introduction of the Fixed Ideas, Cybersix, Doctor von Reichter, and Jose.
*In the beginning of the episode, we see the name of the Meridiana State Treasury building having misspelt "Treasury" as "Treasurey".
*When we are first introduced to Adrian Seidelman he is wearing a blue blazer, this is the first and only time he is seen wearing it.
*The newspaper that Adrian reads in the cafe misspells the missing Engraver as "Engravr".
**We are never given the names of the Printer and Engraver.
*In the cafe, Adrian briefly mentions that he had lived in a small fishing village, this is where Cybersix had lived with her father for a time as a child, as revealed in the comic series.
*This episode introduces the idea of Cybersix suffering from withdrawal symptoms when she does not consume Sustenance, however this concept is not explored further in the series, the next episode to make reference to it is the last episode.
*The scene where Cybersix first meets Lucas in his apartment has an alternate version in the TMS Sample, which can be seen in the ending credits.
**There are other clips from the TMS Sample that is used throughout this episode, such as the cafe scene when Adrian leaves and Lucas rushes after him.
*Lucas is seen driving a Fiat 500 in this episode, it is possibly a reference to Lupin the Third, which is another cartoon TMS had worked on.
**His car's license plate reads "CVS", this is possibly an error and was meant to read "CBS" as a reference to Cybersix.
**This is the first and only episode that Lucas's car makes an appearance, it is possible that the damage it suffered at the end of the episode meant it could no longer be driven, and perhaps Lucas could not afford a repair.
*The name of Cybersix (and of the title of the series) is revealed at the 15:51 minute mark when she reveals her "Cyber 6" tattoo.
**The first time her name is said out loud is by von Reichter when he discovers who the renegade Cyber is, at the end of the episode at the 22:44 minute mark.
*The ending credits misspells animator Tadashi Matsuzaki's name as "Tadashi Matsukai".
==Quotes==
==References==
==See also==
*List of Episodes (animated)
==Gallery==
Category:Animated Series
Category:Episodes (animated series)