The Demon of the L'Arc de Triomphe

The Demon of the L'Arc de Triomphe
Episode 3
Air date	March 20, 1979
Written by	Masaki Tsuji
Directed by	Masanori Miura
Episode guide
Previous The Giant that Sleeps in Ice	Next The Star Of Africa

The Demon of the L'Arc de Triomphe is the third episode of the 1979 series Cyborg 009.

Plot Summary

When the Stone Giants attack Paris, the homeland of Francoise Arnoul, the 00 cyborgs travel there to save the beloved city of France. But is there more to these attacks? What is the motive behind Paris' destruction?

Recap

The episode begins in Paris, France. An old man, Joseph, is walking down a street when he is called by a mother, whose son wants to hear his music. A young flower girl, Anna, comes up, finished with selling her flowers, wanting to hear the music, too. Joseph takes out a small accordion and plays for the children.

Suddenly the ground begins to shake and a hole crumbles open beneath Joseph's feet. Joseph falls through, only to land on the large hand of a Stone Giant, which rises through the ground. During the event, Anna is knocked out cold.

Meanwhile at Dr. Gilmore's house, the 00 cyborgs are alerted to the presence of the Stone Giant in Paris. Francoise (003) is distraught to hear that her home country was attacked. As the 00 cyborgs depart on their ship, The Dolphin to apprehend the threat, Francoise prays for the safety of Paris. Albert (004) notices this and asks if she is praying to God. Joe (009) overhears this and is sent deep in thought.

In Paris, the city has been set aflame by the Stone Giants. One Stone Giant breathes on the statues lining the Nortre-Dame church, turning them into real monsters that attack the city. Meanwhile, Anna is woken up by the church bells and upon seeing Joseph's accordion, she grabs it and starts looking for Joseph, who has gone missing.

The 00 cyborgs arrive and attack one of the Stone Giants. While the other cyborgs distract it, Pyunma (008) wraps one of the Stone Giant's legs with iron chains, which are then pulled by Geronimo, Jr. (005). But the Stone Giant breaks free and knocks Geronimo, Jr. into a wall. Joe confronts the Stone Giant and uses his Super Gun to shoot at its face, prompting the Stone Giant to block the fire with its arm. Under Joe's orders, the other 00 cyborgs proceed to shoot at its arm, too, causing the arm to overheat from the laser fire.

Albert then shoots at the arm with a knee missile in its overheated state, and it causes the Stone Giant's arm to break and fall off. The injured Stone Giant retreats into the underwater canals, prompting Jet (002) to go after it, when he is ambushed and attacked by flying monsters. Jet defeats them with ease, but he finds that the Stone Giant has completely disappeared.

Unbeknownst to the 00 cyborgs, Joseph was watching their battle, shocked that a group of cyborgs defeated a Stone Giant. Later, as Joseph walks down a street, a suspicious Great Britain (007) follows after him, disguised as a dog. Suddenly Anna appears and hugs Joseph, calling him "grandfather" and feeling overjoyed to see that Joseph is safe. Both the girl and Joseph share a tender moment together, but the old man looks at Britain and sees through his disguise. He realizes Britain was one of the people who defeated the Stone Giant, with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

In The Dolphin, the Stone Giant's arm was taken and analyzed by Dr. Gilmore and the 00 cyborgs. They are astounded to find that the arm is not cybernetic in nature. Chang (006) wonders if the Stone Giant they encountered was a real organic being, but Albert shoots down the notion. Ivan (001) suggests that the 00 cyborgs report their findings to the UN Nations and disclose it to the public. Dr. Gilmore refuses on the basis that the Stone Giants will be seen as a fabrication, despite the 00 cyborgs' protests. Jet suggests capturing a Stone Giant whole, but Britain says that it is impossible to do.

Suddenly Francoise's enhanced senses detect the sound of a disturbing voice. The Stone Giant, Skrymir, tells the 00 cyborgs to give back its missing arm, using a gargoyle as its mouth piece. Jet chases after it, but the gargoyle self-destructs. Ivan tells the 00 cyborgs to give back the arm at the L'Arc de Triomphe, as it is a good opportunity to capture the Stone Giant.

On a different street, Joseph walks with Anna, asking for her thoughts on Paris. Anna calls Paris "the city of dreams" and refers to it as her beloved home. She cannot forgive the Stone Giants because they had attacked and wrecked the place she grew up in. Joseph then remembers that he has something important to do at the L'Arc de Triomphe, and tells Anna to go home. When Anna protests, he insists she go, in a firm voice. In an inner monologue, Joseph reveals that he was the one who made the Stone Giants attack Paris, in order to remove the silly aesthetics people believe in.

The 00 cyborgs are also on their way to the L'Arc de Triomphe, carrying Skrymir's lost arm with them. As they wait for the Stone Giant to appear, they arm themselves with their Super Guns. Suddenly, Skrymir's other arm goes through the L'Arc de Triomphe, trying to grab its lost arm, revealing his location on top of the celebrated French monument. The 00 cyborgs attack, causing Skrymir fall to the ground. As they battle, Anna decides to go after Joseph, feeling worried for him.

Joseph watches the fight nearby and is impressed by the 00 cyborgs' teamwork. He mentally commands Skrymir to stop fighting, and the Stone Giant retreats into the Earth in a pool of magma. The 00 cyborgs themselves, however, see this as another attempt to escape and they shoot at one of Skrymir's eyes. Joseph raises a hand to the sky and causes a powerful lightning bolt to fall down.

The lightning bolt comes in contact with Skrymir while he is partially encased in magma, bringing forth large waves of fire. The 00 cyborgs are forced to retreat to avoid getting incinerated. At that moment, Anna finds Joseph and tries to save him from the fires, but Joseph abandons her and discards his human guise, revealing himself as Odin. Chang finds Anna's body and saves the girl, but he is too late as Anna is severely burned and blinded by the fires.

As the 00 cyborgs tend to Anna, Jet and Joe confront Odin, furious over Odin leaving a child like Anna to die. Odin expresses his plans to turn the 00 cyborgs into gods, as he was impressed by their strength. He refers to humans as a weak and pitiful race, and the gods' task is to lead them with brute force. Disgusted and appalled, the 00 cyborgs vehemently turn down the offer, calling out the Norse cyborg on his cruelty. Odin then floats into the sky and disappears in hopes that the 00 cyborgs would change their minds.

As Anna lay dying, she calls out for Joseph, still worried about him. Not wanting to sadden the girl, the 00 cyborgs lie to Anna, telling her that Joseph is safe. Anna requests to hear Joseph's voice, but when the 00 cyborgs could not fulfill her request, she instead asks to hear his music one last time. Britain, who is deeply saddened by the girl's wish, plays a song for her with Joseph's accordion, allowing Anna to die peacefully knowing that her "grandfather" is safe and alive.

Remembering Odin's words, Joe looks up at the sky, angry at the Norse cyborg's callousness. He swears that even though he and the 00 cyborgs are human, they will never acknowledge a cruel person like Odin as a god.

Characters

The 00 Cyborgs

• Ivan Whisky (001)
• Jet Link (002)
• Francoise Arnoul (003)
• Albert Heinrich (004)
• Geronimo, Jr. (005)
• Chang Changku (006)
• Great Britain (007)
• Pyunma (008)
• Joe Shimamura (009)

Allies

Dr. Gilmore

Enemies

• Odin
• Stone Giants

Others

Anna

Video Release

This episode was released on Disc One of the Cyborg 009 1979 Collection Blu-Ray Vol. 1 set in Japan on November 11, 2015.

Vol. 1 Blu-ray Set