"Finding Another Dimension" is the first episode of the first season of The Villains of Valley View, and also the first pilot episode overall of the entire series. It premiered on Disney Channel and Disney+ at 8 PM EDT on Friday, June 3, 2022. It stars Isabella Pappas, Lucy Davis, James Patrick Stuart, Malachi Barton, Reed Horstmann, and Kayden Muller-Janssen.
Synopsis[]
When teenage supervillain Havoc stands up to the head of the League of Villains, her family members are forced to change their identities and relocate to a sleepy Texas suburb.
Plot[]
The episode begins with the Mayhem family sitting on their couch together watching a movie on their TV. The mom and dad of the family, Eva and Vic, explain to their kids that now that they have adopted new undercover secret identities as the "Maddens", they have to do things like an ordinary family, like having family movie nights.
Just as they're about to begin watching the movie, the doorbell rings. The Madden family gets startled and they each immediately jump up off the couch into defensive fighting stances, just in case they have to attack the person at the door. When Vic opens the door, it is revealed to be Hartley, and her grandmother, Celia, at the door welcoming the Maddens to the neighborhood as their new neighbors. It is also revealed that Celia is the landlady of their new house, and that the Maddens are her tenants.
Celia then comes inside and says that she just wanted to introduce Hartley to the Maddens and says maybe Hartley can become friends with Amy and her siblings, Jake and Colby. She also tells Vic and Eva that their rent payment is $10 short. Vic then hands her a $20 bill, as Hartley steps inside towards Amy. Hartley introduces herself to Amy but says she looks familiar and asks if she knows her from anywhere. Amy denies that Hartley should know her from anywhere and says she probably just looks like someone else she knows. Celia and Hartley then sit on the couch and impose on the Madden Family with Celia asking them a bunch of nosy questions about where they came from, and then asks them to give her next month's rent payment as well.
Hartley then stands up and tries to be nice and tells the family that they'll enjoy living in Valley View, Texas, because the people of the city are very friendly, and that she'd be honored to accept Amy and Jake (and to a lesser extent, Colby, since he's younger than the three of them) as good friends, especially since they'll all be going to the same local high school together. When she asks them why they moved to Valley View, Texas, the Madden family tells Hartley and Celia that they just needed some change as their reason for moving.
Flashback[]
It is revealed in a flashback that the real reason why they moved was because they needed to get away from the supervillain league association, the League of Villains, that they used to be a part of, after they rebelled against them and feared for their safety. In the Madden Family flashback, two weeks prior to the start of the episode, the Mayhem family were in Centropolis wearing their supervillain uniforms in their villain hideout in an old, abandoned subway underground. Vic and Amy are hanging up a sign that says "Congrats On Your Promotion" intending to throw their wife and mom, Eva, a surprise party for her being promoted in their supervillain association league. Jake is also in the corner using his super-strength to lift a giant, old, and rusty subway train axle with huge rust-covered tires attached to either side, resembling a large barbell. Colby then comes in wearing plainclothes, and complains that since he is now 13 years old, he is upset at the fact that he still doesn't have any superpowers yet.
Eva then comes in, and angrily blasts her electricity powers at the ceiling. causing everyone to duck to the floor. When they ask her what's wrong, she complains that the leader of the League of Villains, Onyx, skipped over her for the Chief Commander position, and instead promoted and appointed another villain named Slither, whom she feels was much less deserving. Eva then tells the family that she actually wants them to quit being supervillains entirely, and leave and resign from the League of Villains.
Back in the current time[]
Back in the current time, Celia and Hartley leave, as the Madden Family rushes them out the door. Amy then says she can try to find a way to get their old lives back as supervillains, but Eva retorts saying that they need to just focus on settling into their new lives in Texas and that it's way too dangerous for them to try and go back to Onyx and the League of Villains. Jake also reminds them that law enforcement authorities and superheroes could also be potential antagonists as well.
The next day, at the Valley View High School, Jake finds Amy in the hallway and asks her about the school bell ringing earlier than expected. When she acts suspiciously, he asks her if she used her sonic powers to mimic the school bell so that she could get out of class early. While they're conversing about the classes and teachers they like and dislike, Amy then confesses to Jake that she has a sonic boom prank waiting for her math teacher. Jake then warns her that she needs to lay off of using her powers because she may put them at risk of being exposed and put their family in danger, to which Amy says he doesn't need to worry because she knows what she's doing. Jake then says she should try to be kind and nice and tries to convince Amy to step out of her comfort zone and try to become friends with their new neighbor Hartley. Amy then goes over to Hartley and struggles to ask her if they can hang out after school and become friends, to which Hartley agrees and says she'll meet them at their house after school.
Back at the Madden house, Eva and Vic are in the kitchen, and Vic tells Eva that he took the microwave electron tubes out of their old, broken microwave, and enhanced them into inter-dimensional portal lasers. He also tells Eva he renovated the house to have a basement, with a secret opening behind the refrigerator. Colby then comes inside and reveals he finally has his superpower: the ability to shape-shift into other people, objects, and animals.
Later on, Hartley comes over after her Sunshine Club meeting, a club dedicated to doing good things and spreading "sunshine" throughout the community, and talks to Amy, as Amy tries to be nice and friendly. When Hartley realizes its 4 o' clock, she turns on a superhero reality TV show that she likes, "Catching Up with the Supers," and she sees them doing a replay of the battle between teen superhero Starling, and teen supervillain Havoc (Amy). Starling, who was Amy's arch-nemesis when she used to be a teen supervillain, wins a decisive victory against Havoc on the TV show, angering Amy as she watches the replay of it. Hartley then reveals Starling is her favorite superhero and role model. Jake then pulls Amy aside into the kitchen to try and calm her down. Amy then takes her dad's inter-dimensional portal laser and takes it into the living room to try and zap Hartley with it. Jake stops her and grabs the laser from her, but he accidentally shoots it at Hartley causing her to zap and disappear into another dimension.
Eva and Vic then come in with a new pet dog, claiming the dog will be able to help them blend in and appear more like a normal family. When they ask Amy to pet the dog, she bends down as the dog charges at her. The dog then shape-shifts into Colby, revealing to Jake and Amy, Colby's new shape-shifting superpowers. Colby then tells them they've been using his new shape-shifting power to scare and mess with people around the city. Jake then tells Eva and Vic about how they accidentally zapped Hartley into another dimension using their dad's inter-dimensional portal laser, just as Celia knocks at the door asking for Hartley. The Madden family panics as Celia comes inside and asks them where Hartley is. They try to make up excuses and lie to her as Amy goes inside the kitchen and discovers the secret lair and basement that Vic built. The family then comes up with the idea of having Colby shape-shift into Hartley until they find out how to get the real Hartley back.
"Hartley" (Colby) then goes inside the living room and tries to convince Celia that he is the real "Hartley." Celia then tells Hartley she's late for her dentist appointment. Eva then tricks Celia into thinking the lights in the house keep flickering by using her electricity powers and stalls her by getting her to try and fix the lights. Back in the lair underground, Vic modifies the inter-dimensional portal opener and allows Jake and Amy to help rescue Hartley and bring her back to their dimension. While in the alternate dimension, Amy accidentally uses her sonic blast superpowers to destroy a large flying rock that was hurtling towards them. Hartley then finally realizes that Amy is the former teen supervillain Havoc and that the Mayhem family is the family of famous supervillains that the superheroes from her reality superhero show are always constantly fighting.
Amy then tells Hartley that she couldn't tell her the truth because they're trying to protect their supervillain identities, to which Hartley tells her she understands but that she could've trusted her to tell her the truth, and she would've kept it a secret. While they're talking, Amy finally tells Hartley about how they rebelled against Onyx and the League of Villains because Amy got angry at Onyx for calling her family weak, and how Onyx vowed to kill them all when she tried to attack him. Hartley compassionately understands and tells her that she's still fine with being her friend anyway. Jake then pulls Hartley and Amy out of the dimensional portal and rescues them.
Back inside the house, "Hartley" (Colby in disguise) comes back into the living room to talk to Celia and tells her that "she" (he) couldn't find her toolbox to help her fix the flickering lights in their house. At that moment, the real Hartley rushes into the living room with the Mayhem family and startle Celia as she realizes she's seeing two of them at the same time. Eva then explains that she's probably seeing two of them because of the flickering lights messing with her eyes. Just as she uses her electricity superpowers to zap the lights, Colby shape-shifts back into his regular self again, leaving Celia to leave with the real Hartley as they wish her goodbye and wish her good luck with the dentist appointment. Hartley then tells Amy she'll keep their secret safe and that she'll continue to be Amy's friend.
Later that evening, Amy and Hartley are sitting on the porch talking about the interesting day they had, and Hartley again promises Amy she'll keep their secret safe as long Amy and the Mayhems continue to be good friends to her and her grandma. The episode ends with them agreeing to be good friends, and Amy mentions how their friendship can be the perfect foil for one another, with Hartley being the nice goody-two-shoes girl, and Amy being the sociopathic villainous freak.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Isabella Pappas as Amy Madden/Havoc
- Lucy Davis as Eva Madden/Surge
- James Patrick Stuart as Vic Madden/Kraniac
- Malachi Barton as Colby Madden/Flashform
- Reed Horstmann as Jake Madden/Chaos
- Kayden Muller-Janssen as Hartley
Recurring cast[]
Guest cast[]
- Steve Blum as Onyx
