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Context Recap / FuturamaS2E8RagingBender

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1[[quoteright:500:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmja4otazmduwm15bml5banbnxkftztgwmjk1mdiymje_v1.jpg]]
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3''[[CouchGag Nominated For Three Glemmys]]''
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5Bender joins the Ultimate Robot Fighting League and quickly becomes the champ--as the fights are rigged so the most popular robot wins. Bender's popularity eventually drops and he's ordered to lose to the devastating newcomer, the titanic Destructor. Leela decides to help Bender defeat Destructor when she discovers the other robot's trainer is her former despised karate instructor, Fnog.
6
7!!Tropes:
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9* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Once Farnsworth "teaches the toaster to feel love", it acts a playful puppy--barking, yipping, and using its lever handle to "pant".
10* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Bender is ordered to take the fall in his final match against Destructor as Gender Bender, a sissy robot persona, or else get beaten the old fashioned way (to death!). Either way, he gains nothing from this.
11* AndIMustScream:
12** Hermes spends most of the episode with a Brain Slug on his head, courtesy of a stopover at the Brain Slug planet while on vacation. Everyone figures it out, but they're in no hurry to save him. Bender accidentally manages to dislodge the Brain Slug, but then it gets immediately put back on.
13** {{Lampshaded}} when George Foreman says, "As a head without a body, I envy the dead."
14* BankruptcyBarrel: Parodied with one of Bender's opponents, "Billionaire-Bot". After Billionaire-Bot is defeated, Bender puts a barrel over him labeled "Very Poor".
15* ButtMonkey: Bender in the second half of the episode.
16* CaptainObvious: When describing Ultimate Robot Fighting:
17-->'''Farnsworth:''' There are no rules. Two robots enter, one robot leaves. Then later the other robot leaves after being declared the winner.
18* CatchPhrase: Destructor never lets a scene pass without belting out "I AM DESTRUCTOR! I WILL DESTROY YOU! AGRAGAGRAGAG!"
19* CoincidentalBroadcast: When Leela spots her former martial arts teacher in a trailer on TV.
20* ContinuityNod: Miss Vega Four, the paramecium that won the Miss Universe Pageant [[Recap/FuturamaS2E6TheLesserOfTwoEvils two episodes earlier]] is seen in a news reel encouraging troops from her home world to invade Earth.
21* CrackDefeat: Leela lost a martial arts match after beating up the other competitors because she lacks the 'will of the warrior'. In other words, she's female.
22* DeathByFallingOver: The Masked Unit slips on Bender's oily popcorn, hits the ground and gets knocked out cold.
23* DramaticUnmask: Leela revealing The Masked Unit.
24* DiscontinuityNod: Even if the scenes on Earth almost entirely take place in the United States of America, the show reminds several times that the entire planet is united under a single government. So, why does the Toreador refer as himself as a stranger, exhibiting a Spanish passport, even if it is for the show?
25* EarlyBirdCameo: Not for a character per se, but this was the first episode to mention Smizmar before its meaning was clarified in ''"[[Recap/FuturamaS4E1KifGetsKnockedUpANotch Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch]]"''.
26* FaceHeelTurn: Bender's {{Face}} pro-wrestling personna is switched to that of the {{Heel}} "Gender-Bender," a CreepyCrossdresser-themed {{Jobber}} for Destructor. Bender is not on board with this.
27* FakeInteractivity: The movie they are watching in theatre claims to be [[{{Gamebooks}} interactive]], but the chairs with the buttons to make a choice are faulty, thus causing Calculon to check his paperwork instead of going on an adventure.
28* ForeignWrestlingHeel: Bender fights one of these, called The Foreigner.
29-->"I'm not from here! I have my own customs! Look at my craaaaaazy passport!"
30* FutureImperfect: The head of George Foreman recalls Muhammad Ali's fight in 1973 where he faced a giant, mechanical Joe Fraiser in a fight that destroyed the entire planet.
31--> '''Creator/RichLittle:''' Interesting if true.
32* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While the crowd cheers after Bender's first victory, Amy can be spotted preventing Hermes from putting a Brain Slug on a child's head.
33* TheGiant: Destructor.
34* GlamorousWartimeSinger: Featured in the trailer they watch in the theatre.
35* GorgeousGeorge: Bender is forced to take the persona of Gender Bender, complete with pink tutu uniform, for his last match.
36* GracefulLoser: Bender believes there is at least ''some'' dignity in losing in a fixed fight. He gets denied this trope because he is ordered to take a dive against Destructor while wearing a tutu and a curly blonde wig.
37* GrievousHarmWithABody: The Destructor slamming Bender left and right in the ring.
38* {{Heel}}: Bender's opponents:
39** The Authority type is represented by Billionaire-Bot, whose Gimmick is banker-themed.
40** The Foreigner is represented by a robot with the same name. His Gimmick is that he's [[CultureClash got his own, strange customs]] and dresses in a way that goes against local fashion. Also his passport is "crazy."
41** Bender himself, when Turned, becomes the GorgeousGeorge type; a CreepyCrossdresser in a tutu and curly blonde wig and weilding a fairy wand.
42** The Psycho/Monster type is represented by Destructor, who's Gimmick is that he's always ready to "DESTROY YOU AGRAGAGRAGAG!"
43* HighClassGlass: Part of Billionaire-bit's outfit.
44* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Leela manages to defeat her mentor, Fnog, by having his controlled robot punch him.
45* HypocriticalHumor: The [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Tom Servo and Crow]] ShoutOut.
46--> ''Shh, don't talk during the movie!''
47* ItsAllAboutMe: Leela changes her mind about helping Bender to win his fight against the Destructor only because it allows to avenge herself of her old martial arts teacher.
48* {{Kayfabe}}: The Ultimate Robot Fighting League is basically ProfessionalWrestling, only it's still a secret to the public that the fights are all predetermined. The promoter describes it as a "scam", though. Parodied when Fly says that he thought URFL "was real, like wrestling, but instead it's fixed, like boxing".
49* ALadyOnEachArm: Bender after becoming famous and rich.
50* MeanCharacterNiceActor: The Masked Unit was [[ExtremeDoormat very patient]] until Bender [[BullyingADragon pushed him too far.]]
51* MotionCaptureMecha: How the Destructor is actually fighting: he's being controlled by Fnog, from beneath the ring. Leela uses this against Fnog in the end by forcing him to punch straight down, resulting in the Destructor punching through the floor and ''hitting Fnog''.
52* MovieTheaterEpisode: The first act of the episode starts with The PE team going to see ''[[SoapWithinAShow All My Circuits: The Movie]]'' before it transitions into a ProWrestlingEpisode.
53* MuggingTheMonster: Bender acts like a complete jackass to a robot sitting in front of him at the theater. Eventually, the robot hits his limit, and picks a fight, revealing himself to be the Masked Unit. "I'M GONNA OPEN A FILE OF ''WHOOP-ASS'' ON YOU!"
54* PartsUnknown: The announcer at Bender's first match introduces the Clear-Cutter as being "from and made of parts unknown."
55* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
56--> '''Bender:''' Final boarding call for Flight 406 -- Non-stop service to pain!
57--> ''[[NoSell (Dink!)]]''
58--> ''' Bender:''' Now boarding standby passengers... ''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown (Wham!)]]''
59* {{Pun}}: Bender the Offender is a play on the term "fender bender".
60* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: During the climactic fight, Bender kicks the Destructor [[NoSell without the latter showing any reaction]].
61* PyrrhicVictory: Leela beats Fnog, but he still technically wins as Destructor when the robot squishes Bender, and nobody finds out that Fnog cheated.
62* RemoteBody: The reveal that Master Fnog is remotely controlling the Destructor.
63* RichBastard: One of the {{heel}} robot wrestler is Billionaire-bot, who wears a stereotypical 19th century bourgeois outfit, including a diamond brooch.
64* RightForTheWrongReasons: In Leela's flashback, she is depicted as an ArrogantKungFuGirl who demolishes most of the other students. Their teacher, Master Fnog points out there is more to mastering her skill than just beating up her opponent and she lacks "the will of a warrior", which he adds only a man can achieve. Master Fnog chastising and humiliating Leela in front of the students she bullied would be deserved normally, but it becomes evident he is just a chauvinist.
65* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Upon realizing that Hermes has been zombified by a brain slug, the first reaction Farnsworth and the rest of the PE staff have is to immediately book it and hide in a movie theater until the brain slug leaves.
66* SecondFaceSmoke: One of Bender's opponents, the "Chain Smoker", blows smoke in the audience's face to establish his jerkassiness.
67* SeeYouInHell: Parodied.
68-->'''Fnog:''' See you in Girl Hell. I'll be in Boy Hell, much nicer!
69* ShoutOut:
70** The opening to ''All My Circuits: The Movie'' is a spoof on every Franchise/JamesBond opening ever, complete with similar guitar riff.
71** Fnog is based on [[Film/TheKarateKid Mister Miyagi]].
72*** And a fair amount of [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda.]]
73** [[ComicBook/FantasticFour "It's Benderin' time!"]]
74** Among the movies the gang consider seeing are ''[[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes Planet of the Clams]]'' and ''[[Franchise/StarWars Galaxy Wars]]'' (the latter appears to be a documentary).
75** Inside the movie theater, the cast are shown in silhouette in front of the screen, playing on the style of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''. Fry then makes a sarcastic comment about a newsreel, causing silhouettes of Tom Servo and Crow [[HypocriticalHumor to tell him not to talk during the movie]].
76** The title references ''Film/RagingBull''. There's also a HomageShot to the famous HitStop scene.
77** A fan at one of Bender's fights has a sign that reads "[[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin Bender 3:16]]."
78** The scene where Bender fires Leela is very reminiscent of ''Film/RockyV''.
79* SmoochOfVictory: Bender gets one from a female robot admirer after defeating The Masked Unit in the theatre.
80* SpikesOfVillainy: The Destructor has spikes all over his upper body.
81* SpoofAesop: Bender loses his match, but as Leela says, the important thing is that she beat a guy who hurt her feelings in high school.
82* SquashedFlat: Bender at the end of his match with Destructor.
83* StayInTheKitchen: Master Fnog refused to send Leela, his best student, to the Junior Karate Championships, instead sending the two students she ''defeated'' in the qualifiers, because he claimed she did not have the Will of the Warrior - which according to him, only men can possess. Later, Leela encounters him during Bender's final bout in the Ultimate Robot Fighting League as the trainer of a new star, Destructor. She eventually uncovers that Fnog was cheating, and though he still taunts her for being a woman, she gets to beat him.
84-->'''Fnog:''' No girl has the will of the warrior. You have the will of a housewife, or at best, a schoolmarm.
85* TakeThat: This line from Fry:
86-->'''Fry:''' Man, I thought Ultimate Robot Fighting was real, like pro wrestling, but it turns out it's fixed, like boxing.
87* ThereWasADoor: Destructor's DynamicEntry.
88* ThisLoserIsYou: To catch fans. Apparently, in ''Futurama'', they have no problem identifying to an offender (albeit one claiming to be repentent), while being xenophobic and transphobic.
89* ThrowingTheFight: Bender learns that the robot matches are set up and a winner is already decided. Bender goes along with this trope as the popular fighter until said popularity drops. He is then orders to take on a GorgeousGeorge persona and lose to a new fighter.
90* TrainingMontage: Leela preparing Bender for Robot Wrestling.
91* VillainousRespect: During their fight at the episode's climax, Fnog finally gives praise to Leela, albeit in something of a backhanded way.
92-->'''Fnog:''' You were an excellent student. [[EvilGloating Too bad I was a lousy teacher!]]
93* WeMeetAgain: Line said by Leela when confronting Master Fnog.
94* TheWorstSeatInTheHouse: While at the movie, Bender finds himself sitting behind a taller robot which blocks his view of the screen.
95* YankTheDogsChain: After spending most of the episode with a Brain Slug [[AndIMustScream stuck on his head]], Hermes finally gets it removed courtesy of Bender... who then puts it back on before Hermes can tell him otherwise.
96* YourBrainWontBeMuchOfAMeal: When Fry gets a brain slug, we soon see that it apparently starved to death. The creator's commentary admits that this is the oldest joke (and, despite what fans say online, has nothing to do with Fry being impervious to brainwashing or brain attacks because he has no delta brainwave, as this episode was written before that plotline was established).

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