Joyride (episode)

**"Joyride"** is the sixteenth episode of the first season of *Power Players*. It first premiered on January 3, 2020 on the official Cartoon Network website and it later premiered on January 26, 2020, on TV on Cartoon Network.

## Synopsis

At a rummage sale with Uncle Andrew, Axel and Zoe must stop Madcap from turning her long-lost tank toy, Joyride, into an agent of mayhem!

## Plot

The episode opens at the park where Axel and Uncle Andrew are attending a rummage sale. At first, Axel finds it boring since it's filled with "junks" but he later changes his mind when he sees someone selling a Joyride toy at his stand. Joyride is Zoe's long-lost favorite childhood toy who's "the tough tank that can transform into a noble knight". Hoping to make his friend happy, Axel bought Joyride and takes him to Zoe's house. There, he surprises her with Joyride and she's overjoyed to see the toy despite it's not her original Joyride. Zoe places Joyride on top of her shelf, telling him he could live up there so she won't have to "lose him again", but Axel gets dismayed that his friend chooses to have her toy being set aside as a shelf decoration instead of being played with. Axel takes Joyride off her shelf and tries to make him become a tank, but he accidentally tosses him away and causes him to crash into the bedroom wall. This makes Zoe gets upset with Axel and places Joyride back onto her shelf, telling Axel that she doesn't want anything bad to happen to the toy. Dissatisfied, Axel leaves Zoe's place to get back to his house to play with his toys.

After Axel left her house, Zoe secretly starts playing with Joyride without him knowing. But unbeknownst to her, Madcap is watching her playing with the toy and sees a potential of turning Joyride against her and the Power Players. While Zoe leaves for lunch and has promised to Joyride that she'll see him again, Madcap sneaks inside her room to get his plan to work.

At Axel's room, Slobot decides to play tag with his friends and makes Axel "it" despite being a few miles away from him. Axel, knowing that it will be unfair for him to play tag with his large size, transforms into Action Axel and shrinks down to the size of a toy. But before Action Axel starts searching for his toy friends, an angry Zoe arrives and asks him where is Joyride. Action Axel tries to tell her that he doesn't do anything to Joyride this time, Sarge Charge realizes that there's trouble in the backyard. The Power Players and Zoe all look out the window and see that Madcap has applied Minergy to Joyride to make him come to life. Now under Madcap's control, Joyride fires out a blast into Axel's room and now views the Power Players as his enemies. With the exception of Slobot who once again has to stay behind to protect himself, the Power Players all get outside to search for Joyride.

In the backyard, Joyride ambushes the Power Players and he's ready to destroy Action Axel, still bitter at him for slamming him against Zoe's bedroom wall earlier. Action Axel tries to reason with Joyride that it's only an accident, but Joyride doesn't listen. He tells the Power Players and Zoe that nobody wants to play with him ever again and since Madcap set him free he'll no longer have to sit on a shelf subject to the winds of others; instead, he belongs to no one. While the Power Players have to take care of Joyride, Action Axel activates his Power Drone to take care of Madcap. Madcap demands Joyride to skedaddle with him and Action Axel tells Joyride that he must not listen to him, but Joyride tells him no one should tell him where to go and he creates a huge blast underneath him to get into the sewers. The Power Players all follow Madcap and Joyride in the sewers as the two villain toys are heading to Madcap's lair.

At Madcap's lair, Madcap tells Joyride that if it wasn't for his Minergy then Joyride would still be stuck sitting on Zoe's shelf, which causes Joyride to respects Madcap as his leader and wishes to honor his debt in return. Nearby, the Power Players are sneaking behind Madcap's truck to prepare an ambush. But Masko sneezes after he accidentally steps onto an oil spill which he's allergic to, causing himself and his team to be found by Madcap and Joyride. Madcap manipulated Joyride into repaying his debt by asking him to take Action Axel's Power Bandz, and Madcap has alert Princess Sugar Salt, Porcupunk, and Orangutank to take care of their intruders. While some of the Power Players have to deal with Madcap's henchmen and Action Axel is fighting with Madcap, Bobbie Blobby and Sarge Charge are both trying to stop Joyride. But after Joyride knocks the two Power Players away, it is Action Axel's turn to fight him.

While sword-fighting with Joyride, Action Axel continues to try reasoning with him but Joyride still doesn't listen. After Joyride knocks Action Axel's Power Sword out of his hands, Madcap gloats that to think he first thought Joyride is only a useless piece of junk. Realizing what Madcap had said, Action Axel tells Joyride that he's never a useless piece of junk to Zoe and that he's always her favorite toy. This causes Joyride to remember how Axel gave him as a gift to Zoe earlier and that she really does love him after playing with him when he's in his dormant state. Realizing that what he did is all wrong, Joyride spares Action Axel and redeems himself by firing a blast at Madcap.

After Joyride's redemption, he follows the Power Players back to Axel's house to see Zoe again. He tells his owner that he came to say good-bye to her. At first, Zoe thought Joyride is going to become a member of the Power Players, but Joyride tells her that he's not one of them or Madcap's lackeys. Instead, Joyride is free to just being himself. Zoe understands what Joyride means and lets him leave for his own freedom. As Joyride rolls away after saying his good-bye to his former owner, Action Axel offers to Zoe that he could go to any rummage sales to search for Zoe's second favorite toy. But Zoe refuses since she has already something better: her best friend Axel.

## Characters

### Major Characters

* Axel Mulligan/Action Axel
* Joyride
* Madcap
* Masko
* Bobbie Blobby
* Sarge Charge
* Bearbarian
* Galileo
* Zoe

### Minor Characters

* Slobot
* Princess Sugar Salt
* Porcupunk
* Orangutank
* Uncle Andrew
* Civilians

## Trivia

* In this episode, it revealed that Masko is allergic to oil.
* This is the first appearance of Joyride. Before the episode premiere, he was first mentioned on the TV Tango website.
* This marks the second time a toy from Madcap's army redeemed themselves and is no longer a villain after the *Junior Genetic Spy Lizards* toys from "Sand Trap". In this case, Joyride changes for the better after realizing that Zoe does indeed love him and have played with him despite being a rare toy.
* This episode shows that Madcap is aware that Zoe is an ally to the Power Players.
* When Action Axel starts fighting with Joyride, Madcap calls them "the clash of the mini titans", a reference to the film series *Clash of the Titans*.
* Even though Action Axel is using his Power Sword in this episode, the activation sequence isn't seen.
* This is the fifth time when a character's name is mentioned in the title, after "Attack of Thermometron 9000", "The Dynamo Dynamic", "Porcupunk Rock" and "Bobbie not Blobby".

### Errors

* In the english dub, even though Joyride is said to be a toy that can transform into a "royal knight", he is more of a samurai in appearance.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/CNVideoUpdates/status/1213037502656851971
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/RegularTweetsUK/status/1207770575088898053
3. ↑ https://www.tvpassport.com/series/power-players/398542
4. ↑ https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/power-players/joyride-episode.html
5. ↑ http://www.tvtango.com/series/power\_players\_2019

**Future episodes**
*Saving Madcap* • *Impactful!* • *A Noise in the Night* • *When It Itches...* • *Broken* • *What is Happening to Uncle Andrew?* • *Seek!* • *Triple Game* • *Sergeant Lacharge* • *The All-New All Beautiful Power Players* • *Night Operation* • *A Good Spirit* • *No Pot* • *Pyrant Park* • *The Load* • *The Kings of the Jungle* • *Bad Track* • *The Funniest* • *A Maxi Villain - Part 1* • *A Maxi Villain - Part 2*

**Future specials**
A Maxi Villain