Revenge of the Man Crab

Revenge of the Man Crab is the fourth episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Premise
A Man-Crab attacks Crystal Cove's beach during a volleyball tournament taking the female players.

Synopsis
Dylan and Brenda are preparing the volleyball nets for the tournament. Suddenly, a giant crab-like beast appears. It grabs Brenda and pulls her beneath the sand. Dylan thinks it's a joke at first, but then realises that Brenda wasn't coming back. And then the Man-Crab appears again.

The gang have now arrived for the tournament and Shaggy decides to gets some clam cones. Velma disagrees and wants him to try and cut down on junk food. When being served, Velma mentions about Skipper Shelton's nose, which is a big mistake.

Then the tournament begins, with female players playing first. Suddenly, the man-crab appears and pops the beach ball. It chases the players away while cutting the net in half. Angel Dynamite who was commentating on the tournament tries throwing sharp discs at the creature, but it just blocks them away and they fly back towards Angel who dodges them. The man-crab finds a female player and takes her to a tent where they both disappear. They find a locker with the name Skipper Shelton, which is spilling sand, implicating that the Cabin owner was the culprit.

When Sheriff Bronson Stone arrives, he decides that he can't handle the man-crab and that the games should continue, and Peter Trickell agrees. He turns out to be the founder of a new 'low-fat' water. Fred decides to set a trap and it turns out to be simple. Shaggy is finding it hard not to avoid the Clam Cabin because of what Velma said. But he decides that he wants some more clam cones, but gets caught in Fred's trap. Meanwhile Velma puts losin on Daphne's back, which might help attract Fred's attention, because he likes shiny things. the man-crab plucks Velma into the Mystery Machine and then chases Daphne. She heads towards the trap, which now contains Shaggy and Scooby. Without anywhere else to go, the man-crab drags her beneath the sand. Fred seems distraught at this and starts digging furiously.

At the broadcasting house, he continues to do this, claiming that he won't stop until he's reached Daphne. The remaining members of the gang, look into the local library for information on the last Kids that vanished from Crystal Cove, after receiving a lead from Mr. E. It says that they were lost down in the Crystal Cove Caves. So they investigate by taking torches. They come across an enormous wooden stairwell that leads right up to the roof of the cavern, where probably the tournament is held. They find a cage with Brenda, Dylan, Daphne and the female vollyeball player. After setting them free, the man-crab arrives and they are chased wildly around the caverns. With no where else to go, Shaggy and Scooby climb frantically up the wooden stairwell and break through the surface. They race towards Fred's trap and the man-crab is caught.

They gang believe it's Skipper Shelton, but he suddenly arrives on the scene. A face appears inside the man-crab of Bud Shelton, the 'non-fat' water seller they'd seen. Apparently, he was the first to discover the water and wanted revenge on Peter Trickell for stealing his creation.

Villains

 * Man-Crab/Bud Shelton

Locations

 * Crystal Cove
 * Beach
 * Clam Cabin
 * Library
 * Caves

Notes/trivia

 * UK premiere date: 27th October, 2010.
 * The character models of couple, Dylan Ryan and Brenda, could be a reference to the on-again, off-again couple of Beverly Hills 90210.
 * In the first scene after the opening, when the Mystery gang is going to the stands, in the background there appears to be cameos of the teen-aged versions of Pebbles Flintstones and Bamm-Bamm Rubble from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, a spin-off of The Flintstones.
 * David Faustino, the actor playing Bud Shelton, is best known in the role of another hapless guy named Bud: Bud Bundy of Married With Children.
 * The episode draws some similarities to the film "Jaws" as it involves a giant sea creature like monster that attacks people on a beach and the authorities are too ignorant to shut down the beach and do anything about the crab.
 * It is revealed that Daphne has a seafood allergy.
 * Velma begins to try to tell Shaggy what to do. In this episode she wants him to eat more healthy. This continues and concludes in the next episode when he doesn't like her changing everything about him.
 * The monster and culprit in this episode look very similar to another pair seen in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

 * None known.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities

 * It seems to be an odd coincidence that Bud and the Skipper have the same last name. There is no indication they are related. Perhaps the real intent was to call him "Bud Coleman" and an error was made.

Home media

 * Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season One, Volume 1 DVD released January 25, 2011.
 * Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The Complete Season 1 DVD set released October 8, 2013.