Knockout

**"Knockout"** is the nineteenth episode of the first season of *Power Players*. It premiered on January 3, 2020, on the official Cartoon Network website, and it later premiered on February 9, 2020, on TV on Cartoon Network.

## Synopsis

Axel and the team juggle not waking Uncle Andrew from his nap and stopping Orangutank from stealing Andrew's latest invention: the Knockout Box!

## Plot

The episode opens in Axel's room where Axel complains to Sarge Charge that they're supposed to be training instead of taking some rest and relaxation since they'll be attacked in any moment. Unbeknownst to the Power Players, Orangutank is spying on them from an opened window and is eavesdropping on Axel telling his teammates that Uncle Andrew have built something called a Knockout Box and they must protect it in case someone tries to steal it. Orangutank remembers what Madcap had told him about the Knockout Box before he left and he must steal it for him. In Axel's room, Axel transforms into Action Axel to try to wake his teammates up, but they all refuse to join him in protecting the Knockout Box. However, Action Axel did manage to convince Masko to wake up by bribing him that Uncle Andrew have made goulash which Masko loves to eat and that they should get training if he wants to eat it.

While Orangutank uses his buzzsaw to sneak inside the house, Action Axel and Masko are both on the stair banister and they're about to sneak into the kitchen for the goulash. By using his Power Drone's camera, he warns Masko that Uncle Andrew is sleeping in the living room and that they must get past him without waking him up. After the two Power Players nearly crash into a rake that's leaning at the end of the banister, Action Axel uses his Power Drone as a jetpack to carry himself and Masko to the kitchen. The two Power Players also noticed that Uncle Andrew is holding onto the Knockout Box while he's sleeping. But the Power Drone suddenly runs out of battery before they made it to the goulash, forcing Action Axel to eject and Masko forms himself into a parachute so the two would quietly get down to the floor.

The two then get under the rug to cover up their noises so they could sneak past Uncle Andrew, but they bump into a pillow and a leg from the coffee table. After tearing a small rip from the carpet to get out, Masko suggests to Action Axel that they should tip-toe past Uncle Andrew instead of running. Suddenly, Andrew accidentally kicks a plate of sausages off the table and it's about to land on the two toys, but Masko and Action Axel both manage to catch the plate and the sausages and place them back onto the table without waking him up. Action Axel and Masko both hide at the side of the couch to avoid being seen, but Uncle Andrew accidentally knocks them away and they almost fall into the fireplace if it wasn't for Masko grabbing onto the facade. The fire burns Masko's boots which cause the two to launch up and spins around the ceiling fan before they're about to fall onto Uncle Andrew. Action Axel and Masko both manage to avoid landing onto Uncle Andrew's head and are about to head to the goulash when Orangutank arrives and loudly growls at them.

Action Axel and Masko both try to shush Orangutank to avoid waking up Uncle Andrew, but Orangutank is standing onto the edge of the cooking pot and causes his feet to get burned by the heat of the goulash on the stove. He pounces forward and lands on top of the sofa to cool down his feet before he starts pounding his chest to create a loud soundwave to wake up Uncle Andrew to steal the Knockout Box. Action Axel manages to knock Orangutank off the sofa, but Uncle Andrew is about to wake up soon. This makes Masko pull out his guitar to sing a lullaby to keep him asleep while Action Axel has to deal with Orangutank.

After Masko managed to make Uncle Andrew goes back into a deep sleep, he helps Action Axel fighting with Orangutank. However, Orangutank manages to steal the Knockout Box and causes Action Axel to land on the sofa cushion near Uncle Andrew. Uncle Andrew unwittingly places his right leg on top of his nephew and causes him to get stuck underneath it. By using his jet-boots Action Axel rockets himself off of Uncle Andrew's right leg and steals back the Knockout Box.

Action Axel activates the Knockout Box to defeat Orangutank, but it turns out the Knockout Box is built to play gentle ocean sounds so that a person would fall asleep peacefully. Masko finally understands the true meaning of the name of the Knockout Box, saying that "knockout" means to go to sleep and not getting knockout by punching. Unfortunately, the invention causes the toys to all start feeling tired and wanting to sleep too.

By accident, Action Axel drops the Knockout Box onto the sofa cushion and it turns off, causing Uncle Andrew to immediately wake up. Uncle Andrew then accidentally knocks Orangutank to the air vent of the kitchen, causing Masko and Action Axel to follow the cyborg gorilla toy and kick him out of the house. Uncle Andrew hears the commotion and wonders what's the noise, causing Action Axel to immediately transform back into his civilian form in the kitchen. Axel, pretending to act casual as if nothing happens, explains Uncle Andrew that he came to grab some goulash before telling him that he can get back to sleep. Uncle Andrew tries to deny the fact he was asleep and that he's only trying to rest his eyes and finishing up his Knockout Box, but he ends up falling asleep again anyway after he turns on the Knockout Box again.

While Uncle Andrew is sleeping again, Axel and Masko both get back into Axel's room so Masko can eat his plate of goulash. But because they didn't get the time to relax, Axel and Masko both fall asleep in Axel's bed, just when the rest of the Power Players wake up after their relaxation. And ironically because the toys are completely unaware of what Axel and Masko did earlier, it is Sarge's turn to complain to Axel and Masko for sleeping while they're supposed to be training and the episode ends when the rest of the Power Players all try to wake up their sleeping leader.

## Characters

### Major Characters

* Axel Mulligan/Action Axel
* Masko
* Orangutank
* Uncle Andrew

### Minor Characters

* Sarge Charge
* Galileo
* Bobbie Blobby
* Bearbarian
* Slobot
* Madcap

## Trivia

* In the French version, the episode is called "Chut", meaning "Hush!".
* Before the series premiere, Jeremy Zag posted a clip of this episode on his Instagram on April 24, 2019.
* This is the first episode to have its worldwide premiere be outside the United States.
* When Orangutank tries to remember what Madcap told him about the Knockout box, he breaks the fourth wall by looking at the speech balloons of Madcap as if the latter is directly talking to him.
* At the beginning of the episode, Axel and Masko both lampshaded the fact that toys don't eat or sleep despite the Power Players can be seen eating and sleeping in previous episodes.
* It's revealed by Masko that he used to be a part of a mariachi band and knows how to play guitar. He also likes to eat goulash.
* This episode shows that Orangutank's discs have a feature that can be used as a spy camera.

### Errors

* Even though the Cartoon Network synopsis said that Axel and the team must prevent Orangutank from stealing the Knockout Box without waking up Uncle Andrew, only Masko and Axel have to deal with the problem while the rest of the Power Players are relaxing in Axel's room.
* When Masko and Action Axel are on the ceiling fan, they both have a clone spinning around with them.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/power-players/listings/
2. ↑ https://fly-pow-bye.tumblr.com/post/190038953574/see-it-firsts-for-132020
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/backup\_cn2/status/1224783063562850305
4. ↑ https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81204650
5. ↑ https://www.france.tv/enfants/six-huit-ans/power-players/power-players-saison-1/1330377-chut.html
6. ↑ https://playtv.fr/programmes-tv/france-4/18-04-2020/
7. ↑ https://www.tvpassport.com/series/power-players/398542
8. ↑ https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/power-players/knockout-episode.html
9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwql-J3ApA9/

**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