Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion

Welcome mis amigos to an impromptu addition of Deep Dive Disney. Just because we’re done with Deep Dive DC Month doesn’t mean we’re quite done with Superheroes. So, on a complete lark, I decided to give the new Disney Channel series Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion a try. Sure, the show is aimed at young kids but A. that’s never stopped me before and B. as a huge fan of professional wrestling and Lucha Libre in particular, a show about Luchador superheroes looked like it might be right up my alley. Apparently the show was originally slated to co-star legendary luchador and Mexican cultural icon, Blue Demon Jr. but he had to back out at the last minute and was replaced by the Black Scorpion character. So what’s the premise. Well, a Latinx teenager named Violet Rodriguez finds a magical Luchador mask that grants her superhuman speed. Taking the superhero name of “Ultra Violet,” she attempts to fight crime in order to get a ton of likes for her livestream. Eventually, she crosses paths with the other Luchador Superhero in this city… because that’s totally a thing, shut up. Violet tries to get Black Scorpion to let her work with her but seeing that this little girl clearly is not taking this whole crime fighting thing seriously, he basically tells her to piss off. However, after Violet follows Black Scorpion later that night, she learns that he’s actually her Uncle Cruz, a retired Luchador who now runs a gym. While very annoyed by this situation, Cruz agrees to train his niece and show her how to be a superhero the right way. Each episode usually has Violet in a new situation that has her learn a lesson about life. Pretty standard stuff for a superhero show aimed at pre-teens. I watched the first four episodes and I’ll try and briefly share my thoughts with you.

Episode 1: The Violet behind the Ultra This episode was mostly setup, as you’d expect from a first episode. In addition to Black Scorpion himself, we’re introduced to Violet’s supporting cast, including her best friend Maya, the only other person aware of her secret identity, her mother Nina, who is also her school principal, her goofball dad Juan Carlos and her brother Tiago, who’s basically the best at literally everything. It’s actually Tiago being so indescribably awesome that gives Violet her need to stand out, which I believe is what draws her to the magic Lucha mask in the first place. It’s implied that the mask chose her somehow just as her uncle’s mask chose him, but the series has yet to elaborate on this. In this episode, Violet has to learn that being a superhero isn’t about recognition, it’s about doing what’s right, explained by Cruz by explaining the difference between Technicos and Rudos (Faces and Heels to us dumb American Wrestling Fans). To her credit, she shows that she’s not bad at the whole superhero thing and even helps Black Scorpion stop some car thieves running a chop shop, but it’s still very clear that she has a lot to learn. Not a bad start, but I still found Violet a little grating and I was honestly expecting it. It’s not the character’s fault since she was written to appeal to twelve-year-old girls and I’m a 32-year-old man, so I guess I can’t hold it against the show. Violet is what she is, a teenager with a lot to learn. I actually was digging Uncle Cruz though. As Black Scorpion, he puts on this façade of being this lone wolf brooding angsty badass, which in reality is (poorly) masking the fact that he’s actually a bit neurotic and kind of a dork, so I’d say even with Violet being a bit annoying, the show still breaks even.

Episode 2: You Like Me! You Really Like Me! In this episode, Cruz puts Violet through luchador training to help hone her combat skills but all Violet wants to do is go out and fight crime. We also see that Cruz disapproves of Violet livestreaming her crime fighting exploits. Eventually, Violet gets fed up with Cruz never letting her do anything and goes out crimefighting on her own, failing miserably as a result. Not only does her uncle give up on her, she also gets a ton of downvotes and mocking comments on whatever social media platform Disney didn’t feel like paying to mention. Violet is crushed by all this, but she’s reminded by her mother that the only like that matters is if she likes herself. Later in the episode, Violet saves the life of a lost little girl and it helps her put things in perspective. The episode ends with her going back to training with her uncle and the two reconciling. I liked this episode. The bit with the lost little girl was really sweet and it was a nice way for Violet to learn her lesson. We also get another sweet moment where Tiago has written a song about how he admires his little sister. I also like how Cruz is in this episode. I appreciate that he’s not some wise, all-knowing mentor. He may be more experienced than his niece, but he still has a lot to learn himself and can make mistakes. Good stuff.

Episode 3: Lucha Royale

This episode is easily my favorite of the four that I watched. The family goes to a wrestling match and Violet tries to get Uncle Cruz to go with them. It’s here where we learn that Cruz was once the world Champion in this promotion but retired rather unexpectedly likely due to him being chosen by his mask and becoming Black Scorpion. That ties nicely into the message for this episode, how being a superhero means things like family have to take a backseat sometimes. Superheroes don’t get a day off and that sucks, but it’s the way it has to be. And indeed, when some crooks sneak into the ring dressed as Luchadors, Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion have to spring into action, even if it means Violet has to miss getting her picture with the family on the jumbotron. But yeah, as a life-long wrestling fan, I had a blast with this episode. I actually love that this family are all massive wrestling fans and act accordingly. I loved them getting super rowdy at the event and even shout out things like “Put Him in a Body Bag!” As it happens, if you’ve ever been to a live wrestling event, especially one in a smaller venue, you know that they’re exactly like this. Also, I’m totally shouting out “Destroy his Credit Score” at the next show I find myself at. Also, Black Scorpion and Ultra Violet actually getting in the ring was awesome and the way Cruz and Violet make up their absence to Nina is really cute. Great episode all around.

Episode 4: Sleepover Showdown This one was probably the weakest of the four episodes I watched. Violet and Maya get invited to a slumber party at the house of the most popular girl in school and Violet lies about herself to make herself seem more appealing to the popular kids, jeopardizing her friendship with Maya in the process. Meanwhile, Black Scorpion fights some Black Widow looking bad guy for a powerful hacking device. The stuff with Maya and Violet is okay I guess, but it was nothing I haven’t seen before. Honestly, the superhero stuff feels more intrusive to the main story than anything else, even if Black Scorpion does give Ultra Violet her props after the big fight. The subplot I did enjoy was Violets parents being worried about letting her go to the sleepover since it's her first time staying over someone else’s house and driving over to the popular girl’s place to check on her. Tiago shows up and tells them both that they’re being crazy and that Violet is growing up and they should respect that. I like that. But yeah, this one wasn’t great. Not awful, but it had problems.

And that’s it for our quick look at Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion. First impressions, I may not necessarily be the target audience for this show, but it’s got plenty of charm and I’m at least curious enough to watch the remaining six episodes on Disney+. I think the main problem I see with the show is a lack of world building. We don’t really know where the masks come from nor does it really feel like we’re building to anything. I’m not expecting Young Justice level storytelling here, but I’m hoping we get something eventually. But yeah, I had fun with this show and if you’re looking for something fun and lighthearted, maybe you might like this one. But you know the thing about crime fighting, sometimes some crimes go slipping through the cracks, but next time, these two gumshoes are picking up the slack. Next time, we look at the insanity of Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers.