Comic Shop CopyCat

**"Comic Shop CopyCat"** is the first segment of the fifth episode of the first season of *Hamster & Gretel*, and the ninth episode overall. It is paired with "Neigh, It Ain't So!" and premiered on Disney Channel on September 3, 2022. On August 17, 2022, this episode was released early on Disney+.

While Kevin and Hiromi are trapped inside the comic shop, Gretel must face CopyCat, a cat-themed villain that takes a bit too much inspiration from another comic book villain.

## Plot

At Comics! Etc., Kevin tries to make a good impression on Hiromi after embarrassing himself the last time they saw each other. Gretel tells Kevin he should follow the advice of "adults on TV" and be himself, to which he disagrees, especially after Hiromi tells him she enjoyed *Bullboy* comics as a child and he pretends that he grew out of *Bullboy.* When Kevin sends Gretel to buy herself a slushee, she encounters CopyCat, a cat-themed supervillain that throws hairballs at unsuspecting citizens. Gretel is forced to fight CopyCat alone, as Hamster is at home watching a telenovela while Kevin and Hiromi are trapped inside of the comic shop due to the attack.

Hiromi remembers seeing Copy Cat at the store previously, and she and Kevin conclude that he is copying his persona from comic books he purchased there. Meanwhile, Gretel is having a difficult time with CopyCat. When she too learns that CopyCat's antics and motives are inspired by comic books, she tells him the same eternal advice she tried to give Kevin earlier. Watching the fight live on TV, Kevin admits to Hiromi that he still likes *Bullboy* and lied to her out of fear of "geeking out" in front of her, and remembers that CopyCat's origin is in a *Bullboy* comic. The two then look through a sealed *Bullboy* comic and learn that his weakness is water. Kevin informs Gretel, and with help from Hamster, who put his telenovela aside after learning about Gretel's situation from a news report, she douses CopyCat with water from a convinently placed water truck. CopyCat tries to tell Hamster and Gretel that he was not so stupid as to emulate his weakness from a comic book, only for Gretel to point out that the exposed wiring on his suit indeed makes him vulnerable to water. As Copycat is taken to jail, Gretel frees Kevin and Hiromi, the latter of whom thanks Kevin for his help and decides to give *Bullboy* another chance.

## Cast and characters

* Meli Povenmire as Gretel Grant-Gomez
* Michael Cimino as Kevin Grant-Gomez
* Beck Bennett as Hamster
* Hiromi Dames as Hiromi Tanaka
* Eric Bauza as CopyCat
* Joe Lewis Garcia as Telenovela Raoul
* Carolina Ravassa as Consuela
* Liza Koshy as Veronica Hill

### Additional voices

* Brock Powell as Police Officer
* Debra Wilson as Hairball Woman

## Running gags

### Image scene transitions

Kevin and Hiromi
(used to transition to Hamster still watching his telenovela)Kevin and Hiromi, with a *Bull Boy in Spain* comic book
(used to to Hamster and Gretel continuing fighting CopyCat)

## Transcript

*Click here to read the full transcript of **"Comic Shop CopyCat"**.*

## Background information

### Allusions

* ***Spider-Man*** - CopyCat uses a machine on his back that carries mechanical tentacle arms similar to Dr. Octavius / Dr. Octopus (or Doc Ock), one of the villains Spider-Man fights.
* **Keyboard Cat** - One of the cats CopyCat uses to fuel his hairball gun is a reference to this famous 2007 internet meme.
* ***The Wizard of Oz*** - When Hamster and Gretel soak CopyCat in water, he pretends to melt just like how the Wicked Witch of the West was defeated.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.dgepress.com/disneybrandedtelevision/shows/hamster-gretel/episodes/comic-shop-copycat-neigh-it-aint-so/