Robbin' Ed

"Robbin' Ed" is the 17th episode of Season 4 and the 94th episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy. In this episode, Captain Melonhead saves the Cul-de-Sac kids from Eddy's latest scam. Eddy doesn't like this, however, and vows to get his revenge on Captain Melonhead and his sidekick Splinter.

Plot
Eddy's newest pitch is a machine he calls the Thingamajig that spits out whatever you need, whenever you need it. He shows it off by demonstrating its myriad uses on Ed, who happily accepts the gifts from the machine. Once he's done, he's made believers out of his four customers, and Nazz, Jimmy, Sarah, and Rolf rush forward to buy. As soon as they're gone, however, Double D voices a concern that's been bothering him: he only built one Thingamajig, the one that Eddy is holding in his hand, but Eddy has just sold one to every kid–and none of them were the prototype. When Eddy merely snickers, Double D is hit with a terrible suspicion, and he goes over to check the boxes of Thingamajigs only to find that inside the one he opened is a pile of cheese.

Of course, Double D won't stand for this, and he calls out Eddy on his villainy. Before he can rant too much, however, Eddy stuffs a sock in his friend's mouth, and the three head off to get jawbreakers. Along the way, though, Eddy runs into trouble, as a shadowy figure jumps him, steals his ill-gotten gains, and takes off. While Ed is wowed by the superhero acrobatics he just saw, and Double D is a fan of the good deed just performed, Eddy is naturally angry, and declares that he will find the thief and bring him down.

In another part of the cul-de-sac, the mysterious figure has found the kids, who have found out about the ripoff. The kids are naturally raring to get their revenge on the Ed-boys, but their anger is suddenly quelled when the shadowy figure gives them back their cash and declares that he, Captain Melonhead, will protect their allowances, no matter what. Hearing this, the kids cheer and run off with their money.

The Eds are still in the lane, considering the personality and meaning of the caped crusader who leaped into their midst when the kids enter, cheering. As the four pass, they mock Eddy for his failure to keep his money, and this is underlined by Jimmy giving Eddy his jar back, naturally without any money inside. Angry, Eddy decides that he is going to get rid of this Melonhead character once and for all, and he has a plan as to how to do it.

But how do you fight superheroes? With supervillains, of course! But to do this, the villain in this case must set a trap, and that's exactly what Eddy does, with an obviously shady store for butts. Of course, he'll need a customer, and that's where Double D comes in, brandishing a cardboard twenty-five cent piece. The acting is woefully hammy and off-cue, but even so, it looks as though Eddy has ripped off the innocent, and Captain Melonhead naturally makes the scene to stop him. Once Captain Melonhead arrives, however, Eddy laughs evilly and ducks behind the scam, ripping off his clothes and coming out as Professor Scam! Every great villain needs an escape, and Professor Scam's is his very own Professor Scam Flyer, which takes off before he can mount it. Left without a vehicle, Professor Scam's only recourse is to escape on foot into a backyard. Captain Melonhead and Splinter the Wonderwood pursue him there, but the tables are turned when the Professor suddenly leaps out from behind a door and grabs the Captain's melon mask. This isn't the game-ending maneuver Professor Scam thought it would be, however, as there are two halves to every melon and Captain Melonhead uses both of them as a mask. Annoyed, Professor Scam brings out his Ray of Riches, but Captain Melonhead blocks it with his helmet and throws one of his Oak Tree bombs, which seems to bring the Professor to his knees in defeat. However, Professor Scam is on his knees by a garden hose, and with Splinter in easy reach, he takes the typical low road and threatens Splinter with a good soaking. As the good guy, Captain Melonhead has no recourse but to give up and admit defeat.

Professor Scam is still sticking to the genre, however, and whenever the supervillain has captured the hero, he must naturally try and put the hero in a clichéd death trap. To this end, he has enlisted his friends as henchmen called The Cents, and is having them push Ed's tub full of gravy underneath the tied-up hero and sidekick. The other kids, from Kevin to Sarah, see this, but are powerless to stop the trap as Captain Melonhead descends towards his gravy grave.

Only one man has the power to stop Professor Scam: the man we know as Average Joe! Yes, Joe pulls out the Thingamajig and uses it to free Captain Melonhead from his bonds. Without anything holding him back, Melonhead shows the Professor that when he calls down the thunder of righteousness, justice strikes like lightning!

Beaten and bruised, Professor Scam is wheeled out of the backyard by his henchmen. Of course, great villains never go away, be they Lex Luthor, Green Goblin, or the Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker, so of course Professor Scam will return.

But the Professor will not return today! And as Captain Melonhead starts to tell the kids, as long as he's around, he'll make sure that their allowances are protected–until he's cut off by the kids claiming that they've heard it all before and don't need to hear it again from Jonny and Plank. Of course, Jonny can understand this, and both melon-headed hero and wooden sidekick head into the sunset, ready to take down evil whenever and wherever it might rear its head.

Memorable Quotes

 * Eddy: [doing the hard sell] "A techno-marvel like this could set you back a million bucks but for the next five minutes you can have it for one easy payment of 25 cents!"


 * Rolf: [after purchasing a box that supposedly contains a Thingamajig] "Rolf's yams inflate with glee at this Thingamajig!"


 * Jimmy: [after purchasing a box that supposedly contains a Thingamajig] "Wowsers! This Thingamajig rocks my socks!"

Eddy: [cramming a sock in Edd's mouth] "Let's go buy some jawbreakers!" Ed: [referring to the sock] "Are you going to finish that?"
 * Edd: [flabbergasted by the results of the thingamajig scam] "Eddy, how could you? You falsely swindled those unsuspecting children out of their allowances! Oh, I know! That's what we do in every show! But not like this! Double dipping in one deception is wrong!"

Edd: [squinting] "Is that a bird?" Ed: "Could be a plane..." Eddy: [irritated] "What bird? Does it have a quarter in its mouth? Cause if it does, I'm going to..." [The figure zip-lines down the telephone line and kicks Eddy in the head.] "Oh, my aching..." ''[The figure lands on the dumpster lid, closing it on Eddy's waist. He catches the money jar and strikes a pose.]'' Ed: "Holy cow!" [Captain Melonhead leaps over the fence and runs away.]
 * Ed: [pointing to the top of a telephone pole] "Oh look! Up in the sky!"

Rolf: [puzzled] "Is the circus in town?"
 * Captain Melonhead: "Your money is safe and sound, good citizens of the cul-de-sac! Ripoffs are a thing of the past! For I, Captain Melonhead, and Splinter the Wonderwood, will protect you!"

Captain Melonhead: [horrified] "Victor's got milk spouts?!"
 * Rolf: "Look! Our hero dangles like Victor's milk spouts!"

Captain Melonhead: [still wearing a watermelon] "There's two halves to every melon, Professor Scam!" Edd: [impressed] "That was clever."
 * Professor Scam: [after unmasking Captain Melonhead] "You're through, Melonhead! Reveal yourself!"

Edd: [happy] "Thank you for sharing that information, Ed."
 * Ed: [after using the Thingamajig to save his gravy] "My gravy is safe to ferment another day, Double D."


 * Professor Scam: [defeated by Captain Melonhead] "Don't count your seeds before they hatch, Melonhead! For like a bean burrito, I shall return!"

[As Professor Scam laughs evilly, the vehicle floats away without him.]
 * Professor Scam: [to Captain Melonhead] "I will now make my escape in my bad to the bone, meaner than a junkyard dog, Professor Scam Flyer!"

Trivia

 * Goof:
 * While Eddy is showing off the Thingamajig, he uses it to put a hat on Ed's head. In the next scene, the hat disappears.
 * When Ed spots Captain Melonhead, Captain Melonhead is holding Splinter, but in the next shot, Splinter disappears.
 * When Eddy drops his money, there are 5 quarters in the jar, but only four kids paid for Thingamajigs.
 * A mistake in Robbin Ed the kids get their money back, Sarah says "That guy saved our money!" There is a fart sound and, due to a lip sync error, Jimmy was the one who said that (see video below). This does not happen in the Italian dub. This was fixed in later airings AND the Italian dub.
 * The "butt" that Edd "purchased" from Eddy/Professor Scam reappeared in the store despite Edd putting it on after obtaining it.
 * When Jimmy said "Egad," the closed captions read "He's dead."
 * Eddy shoving a sock in Edd's mouth may be a play on the idiom "put a sock in it."
 * Jonny's disguise was very obvious, but the Eds never figured out who he was. Like Kevin, it is possible Eddy figured out Jonny is Melonhead in or before Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show since Eddy knew Jonny was Melonhead in the movie.
 * When Edd and Ed wonder what the figure is on the power line, Edd asks if it is a bird and Eddy asks if it has a quarter in its mouth. This is a reference to "Virt-Ed-Go," when a bird stole a quarter from Eddy.
 * This is also the second episode to reference the bird from "Virt-Ed-Go." The first episode to do so was "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ed."
 * This is the second episode with a Robin Hood reference (the episode's title). The first was "Your Ed Here," when Edd was called "Maid Marian" due to his middle name.
 * Edd broke the fourth wall by saying, "I know, that's what we do in every show!" Technically, that's not true, as there are some episodes where no scams take place.
 * Captain Melonhead and Splinter the Wonderwood appear again in Ed, Edd n Eddy - Scam of the Century and Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show.
 * This is Professor Scam's only appearance in the series. However, Captain Melonhead would call Eddy Professor Scam in the final level of Ed, Edd n Eddy - Scam of the Century.
 * Eddy can shoot neon dollar signs out of his head for some reason, yet he never does this anywhere else in the series. His projection of these are seemingly endless.
 * It's possible, however, that this was just part of the act, as Edd seemed confused by Jonny, Ed, and Eddy's reactions to Eddy's "Ray of Riches."
 * When the Eds first see Melonhead, what they say is a parody of the introduction lines to Superman. Edd says, "Is it a bird?" and Ed says "Could be a plane." The final line would be "No! It's Superman!"
 * When Captain Melonhead calls on Splinter, Splinter speeds to the fake store without being moved at all, adding to the mystery of Plank.
 * This is the only episode that shows Jonny in his alter-ego masquerade. The only other time that Captain Melonhead appears in the series is in the movie.
 * This is the 68th time the Kankers don't appear.
 * This episode marks the very first appearance of Captain Melonhead and Splinter the Wonderwood.
 * Nazz appears, but has no lines in this episode.
 * Kevin didn't appear until the end of the episode and was not seen with the others at the start.
 * Ironically enough, one of Eddy's nicknames for Jonny is "Melonhead."
 * Apparently Victor has milk spouts as stated by Rolf. This is odd because Victor is continually referred to as a billy (male) goat.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Edd's script reads "Scam Script 49a." This is a reference to the episode itself, as the episode is Season 4 Episode 9a.