Monster Man

Devoman vs Clevezilla

SOTA has been around the block a few times, and one of the iconic pieces they've created along the way is Devo's red energy dome hats. Now, Devo is back to collaborate with them on a video for their new song, "Monster Man." They want Roy to helm it, and Cleve to build the pieces - a giant lizard monster, space suits for the band members, and a superhero to battle the monster. After meeting with the band, it's decided that the lizard monster will have more of a Gorgo feel than a Godzilla feel, which could be tough to match with the hero, who will be an homage to the Japanese TV character, Ultraman. But most exciting of all is the fact that Cleve will get to play the giant monster! Back at the studio, Cleve feels overwhelmed at the amount of work that is going into this job, so he calls in his friend and colleague, costumer Cole Porter, to help on the suit. Cole's reception is mixed - Constance is miffed that Cleve farmed out her job to an outsider, and when the seams of the neoprene suit rip in the first fitting, she's totally stumped as to why her dad called this man in. But, Cole pulls it together and turns out a great suit, and his good humor at the laughs he gets for wearing thong underwear eases some of the tension. With Roy spending so much time prepping to direct the video, Cindy has to take over as whip-cracker. She doesn't want to let Cleve get away with his usual shenanigans of saving all the work to the very last minute. The stakes are higher not only because it's a client as big as Devo, but also because it's her husband's artistic progress she's looking out for. But of course, Cleve will be Cleve, and not only does he miss the rehearsal the night before the shoot, but is also late to set on the day of. When the monster man finally makes his debut appearance in his giant monster suit, the effect is stunning. The spines, the teeth, the black eyes - it fills everyone with glee. They begin shooting, but before long, Cleve is overwhelmed and having trouble breathing, and falls to the ground. He's incoherent and oxygen-deprived, and Sonia is furious at Roy and Cindy for pushing him so hard. Cleve gets out of the suit and makes some modifications to it so he can breathe, then gets back to work. They're able to shoot the rest of the campy, sci-fi inspired, building-smashing video. The guys from Devo are so excited about the artwork Cleve and Roy have brought to the project, they almost don't want to take off their silver masks!