11. Moon Struck

Complete story — includes the ending

Grandpa Max tells Ben, Gwen, and Kevin the story of how he first met Verdona and became a Plumber. In 1962, a seventeen-year-old Max is a pilot in the Air Force. After spotting a UFO, Max gives chase and shoots it down, only to crash his Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Max's colonel threatens to discharge him from the Air Force, but Max is summoned by the general, who believes Max's story. He reveals that President John F. Kennedy intends to send humans to the Moon in order to meet alien visitors on a level playing field, and invites Max to join the Apollo program as an astronaut. Max agrees, and later visits a bar to celebrate, encountering a beautiful girl named Verdona. Verdona is then attacked by a mysterious robot; Max helps her flee, and Verdona reveals that she is an alien, and that the robot is a Synthroid who kidnapped her in order to use her power to fuel his species' home planet. However, Verdona escaped when Max shot down the UFO. Max and Verdona try to escape, but the Synthroid captures her and takes her to his ship. Through their telepathic connection, Max follows Verdona to the ship, where he and Plumber Magister Labrid destroy the ship and the Synthroid and help Verdona escape. Verdona leaves Earth, but promises to one day return to Max. Note: Len Uhley was nominated for a 64th Writers Guild of America Award in Animation for his work on this episode.