Z.U.P.E.R.

The episode opens with a spoof of a classic superhero battle: good guy and bad guy are hovering in the air, with the bad guy explaining his evil plan. The only problem: the villain, Goliath, forgot his speech and needs to read it from index cards. Of course, he gets defeated by the good guy, Black Mamba, who throws him into the wall of a building. Now, one thing that is never explained in superhero movies: what happens with all the things that get destroyed in battles? This is where Z.U.P.E.R. steps in. The superhero insurance company is responsible for all damages caused by superhero, but their cases often turn into crime- and mystery-solving. Elli, our main character, is an employee at Z.U.P.E.R. As far as we know, she doesn’t have any powers and is just an ordinary person. But: she hates superheroes. Enter Flip, a new co- worker, who gets assigned to help Elli with her current case, much to her dismay. Together, they investigate the scene of Black Mamba and Goliath and come across a few inconsistencies: it seems like there was never any real threat posed by Goliath. The owner of the destroyed building shows up at the Z.U.P.E.R. office, demanding compensation for the damage, while Flip tries to get more information on the mysterious Goliath. Flip and Elli keep investigating the case and collect their information, which leads them to the conclusion that Black Mamba and Goliath are boyfriends, trying to con the agency with insurance fraud. Goliath is revealed to be the owner of the destroyed building. The plan that the two had was to use the money to escape to the Bahamas, because Black Mamba couldn’t handle the pressure of being a hero in the spotlight anymore. While Flip shows empathy, Elli can’t find a reason to justify their behavior. In the end, we get a hint that Flip might also have superpowers, which we will find out more about in future episodes to come.