Season 6, Episode 04
The Amazing Psych-Man and Tap-Man, Issue No. 2
"Give up while you still can! We know how this'll end!"
Directed by Mel Damski
Written by Saladin K. Patterson
After an attempted drug bust goes south, Shawn and Gus find that someone else has collared the criminals: a mysterious masked vigilante named The Mantis. Shawn, Gus, and the police are already run ragged trying to catch up with the Camino Drug Syndicate, who are flooding Santa Barbara with product. The Mantis always seems to be one step ahead of the police, even with Shawn’s help, but Shawn – feeling disgruntled about his stolen thunder – decides to start looking for the Mantis himself. Is he a member of the department? Or someone else? And what’s he really after? Shawn and Gus might have to take to the streets as superheroes themselves to find out…Tropes:
- A Handful for an Eye: Tap-Man tends to throw sand into his opponents’ eyes.
- Brick Joke: Gus' idea for a superhero named “Tap-Man” is brought up in the Cold Open, as young Shawn and Gus dress up as superheroes of their own design to go to a comic book convention in the early 90s. About 2/3 of the way through the episode, “Tap-Man” actually comes back to fight crime.
- Call-Back: During the briefing, Lassiter says he doesn't want a repeat of the "Detective Dipstick" incident.
- The Cowl: The Mantis is a Non-Powered Costumed Hero who relies on ambush, an inside man, and his formidable fighting skills to help take down a local drug cartel. Shawn’s suggestion to use the fear of his reputation backfires when he shows up at the distribution center, as they’re not too scared to fight back. Ultimately, it falls to Tap-Man and the Catch distracting a couple Mooks, and later, the police showing up, to even the odds.
- Frameup: The Mantis’ inside man was murdered by the Caminos, then put on the roof for the Mantis to find him… and then the cops to find the Mantis.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Shawn is initially envious of the Mantis, due his own insecurity and Juliet seeming to admire the vigilante. He gets over it eventually.
- Mistaken for Gay: Shawn’s attempts at shaking down Officer Reynolds for hints that he’s the Mantis are misinterpreted for flirting. Reynolds offers to introduce Shawn to a friend of his, much to Shawn’s embarrassment.
- Non-Powered Costumed Hero: In addition to the Mantis, Shawn eventually dons some catcher’s equipment and becomes “The Catch”, while Gus puts his tap shoes on and becomes “Tap-Man”.
- One-Man Army: Averted. The Mantis is tough enough to take on the four-man teams the Caminos usually send out, but he can’t go after their main distribution center without backup.
- Only in It for the Money: Unfortunately, this is what the Mantis is really after: he intends to steal all the syndicate’s money and bail before anyone is the wiser. He’s Affably Evil enough to offer Shawn a big stack of hundreds before leaving, but Shawn is having none of it.
- Secret Identity: The Mantis is really a reporter named Reginald Parker, who has a background in mixed martial arts and saw the trouble the police were having with the Caminos.
- Spinning Paper: Invoked and parodied; the effect is produced by spinning Gus's iPad.
- Superhero Episode: Much more so than the first one in the series. It helps that several years had passed, and thanks to the meteoric rise in popularity superhero movies were going through in 2011, the writers seem much less reserved about using the tropes of the genre.
- The Syndicate: Played with. The Camino Drug Syndicate is much smaller than most examples of the trope, but this means they’re secretive and maneuverable enough to run rings around the police for some time.
- This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: The Catch and Tap-Man seem like lame superheroes, but Tap-Man’s thrown sand distracts the police long enough for the Mantis to escape at one point, and later, Shawn’s catcher’s equipment nullifies Mantis’ attacks long enough for the police to arrive.
- Variations on a Theme Song: A distinctly more dramatic, bombastic tune is heard in place of “I Know You Know”, and the characters are introduced in comic-book-style artwork.
- Wardrobe Wound: Gus is not pleased when Shawn scribbles a huge stain on his shirt with permanent ink so they have a pretext to visit a dry-cleaners to look for clues. Worse, Shawn later machine-washes it, shrinking it to the point where it clearly won’t fit Gus. Gus rips the sleeves off Shawn’s shirt and runs away with them for revenge.
- Waxing Lyrical: Shawn tells Juliet "I know you know I'm not telling the truth. I know...you know..." Ironic, when one realizes it's the only episode that doesn't have the actual Theme Tune.
- Written Sound Effect: A cleverly justified live-action version; during the fight in the Caminos' distribution center in an Abandoned Warehouse, the Mantis pummels several thugs into submission in front of (or occasionally, with) a number of colorful advertisements that have this effect. The whole thing is a pretty clear Shout-Out to Batman (1966)
