A fellow Secret Service agent is murdered before he can meet and pass on information to West and Gordon. They determine that the Eccentrics, a band of assassins, is responsible and may be planning to kill President Juarez of Mexico. Upon investigating a lead at a nearby amusment park, West finds the place deserted except for Count Manzeppi and his gang. He escapes from them with the aid of the beautiful Miranda - but whose side is she really on?
Disguises used by Artie: Aide-de-Camp of President Juarez
(37:25)
Tropes present in this episode:
- Abandoned Area: The Eccentrics' hideout is located beneath an amusement park which echoes with the laughing conversations of fairgoers - all coming from a phonograph record.
- Affably Evil: Count Manzeppi: magnificent showman, talented musician, and cold-blooded killer.
- Artistic Licence – History: Manzeppi presents the crown for defeating Titan in a fist fight as belonging to the Roman emperor Herodotus. Not only was Herodotus never an emperor; he wasn't even Roman and he died 400 years before the Empire existed. The style of crown is also a medieval era one that Roman emperors would not have sported.
- Black Dude Dies First: Averted - not only does Vilar (the ventriloquist) not get killed, he escapes with Count Manzeppi. Vilar is not seen when Manzeppi returns: what happened to him is not explained.
- Bookcase Passage: Manzeppi enters and escapes Juarez's office through one, but when the agents go to follow him, they find what appears to be a completely ordinary bookcase in its place.
- Historical Domain Character: President Juarez.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Deadeye, Tony, and Miranda all supposedly have this with their chosen weapons. As Jim points out, we only see Deadeye gunning down unarmed opponents so he never demonstrates his expert aim although Manzeppi talks it up. Tony and Miranda do, however.
- Large Ham: Manzeppi does many of his routines in a loud, flamboyant voice, with gestures to match.
- Latex Perfection: How one of Manzeppi's goons manages to pose as President Juarez and fool both Jim and Artie.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Many of Manzeppi's tricks are done using stage magic. But a few of his tricks, like gesturing and locking the Wanderer's door thwarting Jim's escape, can only be done using actual magic.
- Murder, Inc.: The Eccentrics, a gang of killers who assassinate high-profile targets for a price.
- Smoke Out: Manzeppi makes people "disappear" using bursts of pink smoke.
- The Load: Agent Vance Markham is at this. He never teams up with Jim and Artie, but he's thoroughly incompetent when dealing with the Eccentrics, and as a Secret Service agent in general. It's hard to imagine Jim or Artie running as Markham does.
- Turn Coat: Miranda pretends to be one at first, then really does switch sides when Jim offers to pay more than her current employer.
- Ventriloquism: One of Manzeppi's gang is a ventriloquist who carries his dummy with him everywhere and lets it do most of the talking.
- Villain Ball: Manzeppi twice leaves Jim in a Death Trap without sticking around to make sure it works. The first time, Miranda comes back and frees Jim. The second time, Manzeppi goes to take a nap (??), and Jim baits Tony into throwing knives at him so he can cut himself free.
- Weapon Specialization: Miranda is an expert with a bullwhip.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Titan is a strongman and wrestler, Tony, Deadeye, and Miranda are weapon experts, and Julio is... a ventriloquist. We never see the Eccentrics kill anyone, but even by that standard Julio doesn't seem capable of killing anyone. Is he going to kill people by throwing his voice? He doesn't carry a weapon, and his dummy Tony doesn't display any hidden weapon capability.
