The Secret Order of the Midnight Well

Evil Organization
Full Name	The Secret Order of the Midnight Well
Alias	Midnight Well Cannibal Tribe Cannibals
Origin	Popeye the Sailor Man
Foundation	Caribbean Island
Headquarters	Joe's Always Inn
Commanders	Joe (formerly) Popeye
Agents	Various unnamed members
Powers / Skills	Deception
Goals	Eat people (succeeded until redemption) Eat Popeye (failed)
Crimes	Cannibalism Murder
Type of Villains	Cannibalistic Tribe

“	Salami, salami, balonga!	„
	~ The Secret Order of the Midnight Well

The Secret Order of the Mignight Well is a group of minor antagonists in Popeye the Sailor Man, only appearing in the episode "Pop-Pie a la Mode". They are a cannibalistic tribe led by Joe, who also work at a hotel called Joe's Always Inn, where they lure in customers only to eat them later.

Biography

In "Pop-Pie a la Mode", Popeye checked into Joe's Always Inn, where he was quickly tended to by a couple of butlers. The butlers took Popeye to a hammock on the beach, where they fed him tons of junk food that was as delicious as it was fattening. Popeye thought he was just being pampered but in actuality, the servants were just fattening him up so that they could eat him, themselves. A baby cannibal nearly jumped the gun when he tried to eat Popeye's leg before his prime. Joe stopped him and told him to wait for dinner. Joe later went to Popeye and told him that they'd be initiating him into their tribe, which they referred to as "The Secret Order of the Midnight Well". Popeye thought this as just some kind of a promotional gimmick and didn't think there was any real or official "tribe" so he accepted. That night, Popeye entered a drum circle, where he sat in a hot tub that would soon turn out to actually be a cauldron, where they were trying to boil him to a crisp and then eat him. When it finally dawned on Popeye that he was about to be eaten by cannibals, he started fighting them all off. However, the cannibals got the best of him and tied him up and then smashed him flat with a giant mallet, turning him into a pancake, which they flipped through the air on a frying pan. Popeye popped out a can of spinach, giving him the power to fight all of the cannibals for real and this time, to much greater success. Popeye knocked down every cannibal tribesman one by one and took down their leader, Joe last. Popeye blew Joe up with a bunch of cannonballs, sending him flying into the ocean, where he was appropriately devoured by man-eating sharks. After this, Popeye seized control of The Secret Order of the Midnight Tribe and crowned himself as the new leader of the tribe. The cannibals worshipped Popeye and from then on, the tribe had turned good and no longer ate human beings. Instead, they ate healthier and more wholesome food, such as spinach.

The Secret Order of the Midnight Well cannibal tribe made a reappearance, via stock footage in the flashback episode "Spinach vs. Hamburgers", where Popeye referred back to the events of said episode, trying to convince his nephews that spinach can save their lives, much like how it did back then. A clip of the episode from the climax to the ending was shown. The nephews were still not convinced, however.

Members

• Joe (leader; formerly)
• Popeye (leader; currently)
• Baby Cannibal
• Other unnamed cannibals

Gallery

The cannibals providing excellent service for Popeye.

A cannibal feeding Popeye mashed potatoes.

The cannibals boiling Popeye in a cauldron.

The cannibals frying Popeye like a pancake.

Popeye becomes the new leader of the cannibal tribe.

The baby cannibal eating Popeye's foot.

Trivia

• Despite the fact that this tribe is meant to represent an Afro-Caribbean islander tribe, it was mentioned by Popeye at the beginning of the episode, that he found their island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
• At the end of the episode, The Secret Organization of the Midnight Tribe utters the phrase, "Salami, Salami, Balonga!", when worshipping Popeye as their new leader.
  • This exact same gag would be used again in the episode "Wigwam Whoopee", when Popeye overthrew Chief Schmohawk as leader of his Indian tribe and all of his Indians worshipped him as the new leader, doing the same actions and once again quoting "Salami, Salami, Balonga!".
  • This exact phrase was also previously quoted in the episode "Aladdin and His Magical Lamp", by a number of Arabian citizens, as this was their method of greeting each other.
• Due to the stereotypical nature of these characters, in that they are extremely offensive blackface caricatures of Afro-Caribbean islanders, the episode he comes from has been banned from broadcast syndication. However, the uncut episode can still be found intact on DVD.