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Revenge of the Man Crab is the fourth episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Premise[]

A Man-Crab attacks Crystal Cove's beach during a volleyball tournament taking the female players.

Synopsis[]

Dylan and Brenda are on Crystal Cove State Beach to prepare volleyball courts for an upcoming tournament sponsored by the Trickell's Trickquid beverage company. The two are arguing because Dylan wants to ensure everything is correctly set up while Brenda wants to leave early. Suddenly, a giant crab-like beast appears, grabbing Brenda and pulling her beneath the sand, as she screams about a "Man-Crab." At first, Dylan thinks it's a joke or ploy to get him to leave early, but he grows concerned when Brenda doesn't come back out of the sand. The Man-Crab bursts out of the sand again and hovers over a terrified Dylan, who was kidnapped off-screen.

The gang arrive at the tournament the next day and are acknowledged by Angel Dynamite, who is broadcasting live from the event. They also see the costumed Trickell's Trickquid mascot, Bud Shelton, marketing the company's signature "non-fat liquid diet, no calorie gluten-free moisture supplement." Shaggy and Scooby-Doo state that they want "real food" and go to get clam cones from Skipper Shelton's Clam Cabin. Velma ignores Shaggy's advice and asks Skipper Shelton about his missing nose, which causes Shelton to rant about a clam that attacked him. When Shaggy tries to order, Velma pressures him about his diet and tells him to cut down on junk food. Shaggy - trying to please Velma - backs out of his clam cone order, baffling Scooby. Fred suggests that he and Daphne get clam cones, but she reminds him about her severe seafood allergies, taking her back to her sister's wedding. Fred asks Skipper Shelton why his restaurant has moved, and Shelton angrily states that the city forces him to relocate the Clam Cabin from its regular spot every time there is an event on the beach.

As the tournament begins, Velma tries to sit with Shaggy but is thwarted by Scooby, who sits down between them. Daphne sits with Fred and is upset by his apparent fixation on the women in the tournament until Fred, still clueless to Daphne's interest in him, explains that he's interested in the volleyball net and how great it would be in a trap. Suddenly, a massive crab arm rises out of the sand, catching and popping the volleyball. The rest of the Man-Crab rises from the sand soon after, chasing the players and destroying the court. Spectators flee as the Man-Crab moves towards the stands and chases the gang and a nearby group of children. After being sent airborne by one of the Man-Crab's attacks, the gang and children are saved by some of the tournament players using a piece of Volleyball net. Angel tries to stop the monster by throwing sharpened CDs at it, but the creature ricochets them back towards Angel and attacks her booth. The Man-Crab grabs a female player and drags her through the sand. Chased by the gang, the Man-Crab takes the player into a tent where they both disappear.

Peter Trickell, tournament sponsor and owner of Trickell's Trickquid, wants to keep the tournament open and is delighted when Sheriff Bronson Stone states that he can't handle the man-crab and that the games should continue. The gang decide to make their own investigation and quickly find a locker bearing the name Skipper Shelton, which is spilling sand. Realizing that Shelton was not around during the Man-Crab attack and his frustration about being forced to move his restaurant would give him a motive, the gang begin to suspect him. Daphne suggests that Fred set a trap, though Fred doesn't pay attention to her and announces moments later that he's decided to set a trap. He asks her about her experience playing volleyball and Daphne downplays her skill, remembering how bad of a player she is. Excited, Fred reveals that she'll be the perfect bait.

Shaggy and Scooby are given lookout duty while Fred works on his trap. Shaggy struggles with trying to please Velma in his change of diet, which arouses suspicion from Scooby. Fred unveils his simple plan: Daphne will lure the Man-Crab across a spring-loaded pot lid buried in the sand. Once released, the door will launch out of the sand and seal the Man-Crab into a large metal pot. Velma goes to get Daphne and finds that she has changed into a bikini. Daphne, desperate to attract Fred's attention, asks Velma to rub sun tanning oil on her back because, "Fred likes shiny things." Velma takes the opportunity to ask Daphne for relationship advice, but Daphne reacts thinking that one of her sisters told Velma about her interest in Fred. After Daphne realizes that Velma doesn't know anything about that, she calms down. Getting back to her original question, Velma asks whether boys like to be told what to do. Replying that they do, Daphne recounts stories about her parents. While they talk, the Man-Crab sneaks up and knocks Velma into the Mystery Machine while Daphne's back is turned. After the Man-Crab uses the tube of oil to drench Daphne, she turns around and screams for help. Meanwhile, Shaggy finds it hard to avoid the Clam Cabin. When Scooby offers to keep it a secret, Shaggy runs to get a clam cone but accidentally triggers Fred's trap, sealing himself in the pot. Daphne runs to Fred's trap as planned but finds it already sprung. With nowhere else to run, she is pulled into the sand by the Man-Crab. Horrified, Fred starts digging furiously in the sand where he last saw her. Velma tries to calm him down, but Fred continues digging while talking manically about not knowing what to do.

That night at K-Ghoul, Fred kneels on the floor and continues his digging motions. Velma explains to Angel that he hasn't stopped since Daphne disappeared and has torn up the carpet in the back of the Mystery Machine. Shaggy blames himself for Daphne's capture, stating that it wouldn't have happened had he never tried to be healthy. Scooby delivers giant platters of food to Shaggy, who is eating to drown his sorrows. Fred briefly stops digging to ask why someone hasn't made a plan. Reminded by Velma that he is the one who makes the plans, he calls out "What's wrong with me!?" and immediately returns to digging. The station's doorbell rings, and Scooby finds a letter from Mr. E on the doorstep, containing an old torn up newspaper article about four kids who disappeared in the Crystal Cove Caves and a brief 8-Track tape message suggesting they investigate it. Fred, still out of sorts, tries to play the tape on a record player. Angel urgently asks to see the torn newspaper piece but denies any knowledge of the incident after seeing it.

Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, and Fred go to the Crystal Cove Library to look for more information about the four kids who vanished in the caves. Fred continues to nervously chatter, pointing out irrelevant things and relating them to Daphne. Velma uses a computer station to pull up newspaper articles about Trickell's Trickquid, Skipper Shelton, and the missing kids. Realizing that the caves run under the beach where the volleyball tournament is being played, they go to the caves to investigate. After being jumpscared by a regular crab, Shaggy spots an enormous wooden stairwell leading to a trapdoor in the roof of the cavern. Velma notes that an actual crab monster wouldn't need a stairwell to navigate the caves. After Fred interrupts to talk about Daphne again, he hears Daphne call out to him. Hearing her voice, Fred continues to say whatever pops into his mind about Daphne, which include near professions of love. Following her voice, the gang find a cage with Brenda, Dylan, Daphne, a seagull and the volleyball player. Fred quickly returns to normal after locating Daphne. After everyone is set free via Scooby's claw, the Man-Crab arrives, and a wild chase ensues. With the Man-Crab right behind them, Shaggy and Scooby frantically climb the wooden stairwell and go through the trap door. Finding themselves in the middle of the beach volleyball courts and still being chased by the Man-Crab, they race towards Fred's original trap and successfully set it off to catch the monster.

Fred, Daphne, and Velma arrive at the trap with Sheriff Stone and his deputies. Shaggy amazes Velma by revealing that he and Scooby found their way out of the cave and back to the trap using the smell of the Clam Cabin. Fred goes to unmask the Man-Crab believing it's Skipper Shelton, but he suddenly arrives on the scene. Velma surprises everyone by reaching into the suit and pulling out Bud Shelton, the man dressed as the Trickell's Trickquid mascot. Velma explains that she knew it couldn't have been a real crab, since Daphne never had an allergic reaction around it. Additionally, she states that she recognized Bud from a photo in the newspaper article about Trickell's Triquid they found at the library. Bud reveals that Trickell's Trickquid was his creation and that he terrorized the tournament to take revenge on Peter Trickell for taking credit for it as well as stealing it. He planned to deflect the blame by storing the Man-Crab disguise in a locker made to look like it was Skipper Shelton's. Daphne asks Bud why he didn't simply get a lawyer and sue, and he replies that lawyers take too long.

The gang hang out in the K-Ghoul lounge while Angel works in the broadcast booth. Velma sits with Shaggy and Scooby, clearly displeased as they messily feast on a massive platter of waffles. Daphne approaches Fred and says that Velma told her that her disappearance bothered him. After she tells him that she appreciates it, Fred nervously downplays his behavior, stating that he's glad it won't mess up their friendship and that he "will never have feelings again." Believing that Fred likely reciprocates her feelings, Daphne keeps smiling and knowingly says "we'll see." Daphne then asks Velma if she missed anything else while she was gone, prompting Velma to show her the newspaper clipping from Mr. E. Seeing the paper clipping, Daphne gasps and pulls out the locket she found in the caves, putting them side-by-side: the two kids in the locket photo are two of the kids that disappeared. Intrigued at the connection, Velma announces that they've got another mystery to solve. Unknown to the gang, Angel listens in on their conversation through the station's soundboard and appears concerned by their attention turning to the story of the missing kids.

Characters[]

Main characters:

Supporting characters:

Villains:

Other characters:

Locations[]

Objects[]

Vehicles[]

Suspects[]

Suspect Motive/reason
Skipper Shelton For moving his cabin every time they held a volleyball tournament.
Peter Trickell He doesn't seem concerned about the Man-Crab attacks.

Culprits[]

Culprit Motive/reason
Bud Shelton as the Man-Crab For revenge against Peter Trickell for taking his idea.

Cast[]

Frank Welker Scooby-Doo
Fred Jones, Jr.
Man-Crab
Grey DeLisle Daphne Blake
Mindy Cohn Velma Dinkley
Matthew Lillard Shaggy Rogers
Lewis Black Mr. E
Patrick Warburton Sheriff Bronson Stone
Vivica A. Fox Angel Dynamite
David Faustino Bud Shelton
John O'Hurley Skipper Shelton
George Segal Peter Trickell
Beth Tapper Brenda
Mitch Watson Dylan Ryan

Notes/Trivia[]

  • It is revealed that Daphne has a seafood allergy.
  • Daphne has at least one other sister outside of the quadruplets—this particular sister works as an astronaut and is married to a fellow astronaut (they both even got married in their spacesuits).
  • Velma holds her skirt down like she did in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.
  • Judging from the way Daphne's dad was dressed at her sister's wedding (which includes a purple sash, a sword and a large gold medallion), it's possible that he has some connections to foreign nobility.
  • Velma begins to try to tell Shaggy what to do. In this episode she wants him to eat healthier. This continues and concludes in the next episode when he doesn't like her changing everything about him.
  • The monster and culprit in this episode look very similar to Bubba Joe and his craw-dad monster costume seen in the direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.
  • This episode introduces Daphne's bikini design for the series, which unlike the past few versions, is entirely purple. This bikini is also more revealing than past designs.

Cultural references[]

  • The character models of couple, Dylan and Brenda, could be a reference to the on-again, off-again couple of the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210.
  • In the first scene after the opening, when the Mystery gang is going to the stands, in the background there appears to be cameos of the teen-aged versions of Pebbles Flintstones and Bamm-Bamm Rubble from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, a spin-off of The Flintstones.
  • David Faustino, the actor playing Bud Shelton, is best known in the role of another hapless guy named Bud: Bud Bundy of the sitcom Married With Children...
  • The episode draws some similarities to the film Jaws, as it involves a giant sea creature-like monster that attacks people on a beach and the authorities are too ignorant to shut down the beach and do anything about the crab. The way the Man Crab pulls its victims down is also similar to the way the shark pulls its victims down.

Miscellaneous[]

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]

  • Some of the female beach goers' bikini bottoms constantly change from regular bottoms to minishorts and back throughout the episode.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]

  • It seems to be an odd coincidence that Bud and the Skipper have the same last name. There is no indication they are related. Further adding to the confusion, the cast list refers to him as "Bud Coleman."

In other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
French L'Attaque du Crabe Géant Attack of the Giant Crab
Greek Η Εκδίκηση του Καβουράνθρωπου (Star TV Dub)
Η Εκδίκηση του Ανθρώπου Καβούρι (Boomerang TV Dub)
The Revenge of the Crabman (Star TV Dub)
The Revenge of the Man Crab (Boomerang TV Dub)
Hungarian A Rákember bosszúja
Italian II Mostro Della Sabbia The Monster of the Sand
Romanian Răzbunarea omului crab The revenge of the crab man
Polish Zemsta Kraboluda Revenge of the Crabman
Portuguese A Vingança do Homen-siri
Spanish La Venganza del Hombre Cangrejo Revenge of the Man Crab

Home media[]

Quotes[]

Fred: (Watching a women's beach volleyball match) Yep. They're so beautiful.
Daphne: The girls?
Fred: No. The nets.
Daphne: Nets?
Fred: I wonder what their tensile strength is? They're nylon, absolutely perfect for traps.

External links[]

  • TBA


Previous episode: Series: Next episode:
The Secret of the Ghost Rig Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
Season 1
The Song of Mystery
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