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akinoameAzmuth starts yelling at the team for failing once again to protect the Map of Infinity, and though they insist that they plan to protect the Forge directly, he argues that he has no idea where the Forge is. But Ben has a plan. Kevin and Gwen insert special keys into the Ultimatrix dial, unlocking transformation 10—Alien X. With the power of an exploding planet (or is it a dwarf planet?), Ben transforms into Alien X, and Azmuth admits this just might work. Unfortunately, Bellicus isn’t happy to see Ben, voting to ignore him for a thousand years, then set him on fire for another thousand. Serena tells him to stop being obstinate, and they move from a spouse-like relationship to a sibling-like relationship as they start bickering in front of Ben. Paradox teleports directly into Alien X’s mind and tells Ben that he’s not going to get any cooperation out of them today, but the Voices are pissed to see the timewalker. Apparently, he made some kind of treaty with the Celestialsapiens, Alien X’s race, that involved a 500 lightyear restraining order, which must be one hell of a story to tell at parties. As the Voices agree to destroy him, Paradox decides it’s time to go and ports Ben out, transforming him back to normal. Paradox says that he’ll take the team to the Forge, but Azmuth calls shenanigans, saying that it was a mistake to let Ben have the Omnitrix. Paradox gives him a stern look and reminds him there was a reason, and a sheepish Azmuth admits that it’s Ben’s destiny to become a legendary hero. But before he can reveal just what Ben will do that will make him legendary, Paradox puts up a spoiler warning and reminds them that they need to solve this crisis of saving the universe before they even begin to wonder about Ben’s destiny.
Paradox takes them outside their universe to the Forge of Creation—a hidden nebula where ideas become real, where Celestialsapiens are born. Aggregor’s goal was to absorb the power of a newborn Celestialsapien and thus become even more pants-wettingly powerful than he is now. After passing the next universe over to theirs, where physics is screwy, Paradox leads them to the chronal randomization barrier that hides the nebula. He’s sort of a Secret Keeper for the Forge, to make a Harry Potter reference, and so he knows where it is and can lead the team there. He’s not allowed far within it, admitting that there are places he can’t go and things he can’t do (such as preventing Greg from getting the map), but it’s unclear if it’s a physical limitation of his powers or politics. He has, however, arranged for life support within the Forge (similar to what he’d done to ensure they were able to breathe on the moon in his first appearance in Alien Force), but to Ben’s disappointment, he can’t arrange for them not to die.
The Rustbucket flies through the nebula, but Aggregor’s army attacks, knocking the ship’s wing into the chronal randomization barrier, bringing them to a stop. Terraspin manages to throw their stowaways overboard, but they still have to pry the wing out of the barrier. Kevin fails to, and Ben suggests that he turn into something that can pull it out. And then he leans against the barrier. Yeah, didn’t Paradox warn against this? Gwen fishes him out when he falls through, but he’s freaked and says that he saw something moving in there. That something comes through and says that it’s not something, but someone, accompanied by the synthesizer notes of a very familiar theme song. He’s Ben Tennyson, he’s ten years old, and he wants to know what the hell is going on.
Legitimately thinking that he’s been kidnapped by a bunch of crazies, Kidlet Ben generally starts being a pain in the ass, though Teen Ben tries to talk him down. Unfortunately, his Mini-Me isn’t keen on listening and rushes him. Ben proves to be a lot stronger than he looks, one-handedly picking up his past self, but Chibi Ben headbutts him right in the head, pissing him the hell off. Kevin mockingly tells Ben to cool it since they’re dealing with a kid, but Mini-Me recognizes Kevin right off the bat and starts wondering what’s going on. Ignoring Ben’s attempts to explain that Kevin’s a good guy now, he goes Heatblast and attacks Kevin. Though they fight, Kevin is surprisingly outmatched by the kid, and Ben attempts to go Big Chill to break up the fight, only to go NRG (P’andor) instead. Heatblast just attacks him too. Gwen manages to break up the fight, telling Tiny Ben that if he recognizes Kevin, then he must recognize her too. Little Ben is shocked to recognize his “Dweeb,” and asks what happened to her. Kevin answers, “Puberty.” Ben transforms back and explains that six years have passed and introduces himself as 10!Ben’s future self. Still, despite all the explanations, 10!Ben isn’t impressed, nor does he trust Kevin. UA!Ben suggests that maybe if he touches the barrier again, he might be able to send the kid home, but Gwen worries that might summon a twenty-one-year-old Ben, which contrary to the ten-year-old Ben’s beliefs, would not be awesome. 10!Ben decides that the best way to free the Rustbucket is to go Wildmutt and take a bite out of it, but to his shock, UA!Ben puts his hand on Mini-Me’s Omnitrix and transforms him back, telling him he really should lock the Omnitrix. Somehow or another, they manage to get the Rustbucket free, and the past Ben is having a hard time coping. Though the others warn him to be quiet so they don’t attract the Celestials’ attention, he’s freaking out. He doesn’t know how they’re able to breathe in a damaged spaceship in the middle of a nebula, he doesn’t know where Grandpa Max is, and if he’s in the future, who won the last five World Series and seriously, where the hell is his jetpack? Fed up, Gwen makes him hand over all his sugar, and he responds by saying she’s got a big butt. Gwen tries to reason with him, saying that he’s hitting below the belt and trying to hurt her feelings, and it really pisses UA!Ben off. He calls out his Mini-Me on being a total brat, and Kevin adds that it’s not a game. 10!Ben says that he knows that, and admits that maybe he just acts the way he does so he can keep his sanity instead of being an angstbucket about what he risks losing and what he might have to do. Shocked, Gwen looks to her Ben, who weakly denies it.
The rest of the ride isn’t much better, with 10!Ben running through the Ultimatrix and deciding everyone but Humongousaur is lame, then asking UA!Ben how he broke the Omnitrix, and losing interest halfway through his older self’s attempts to defend himself and asking if they were there yet. They finally see a female Celestialsapien ahead, holding what looks like a small star—a baby Celestialsapien. Unfortunately, something’s hit them from behind, and they’re about to crash. 10!Ben tells Kevin to hand over the wheel, but Kevin manages to get him to sit down and shut up. As they crash into the mom’s hands, both Bens go Four-Arms by accident and make an escape route for everyone. Aggregor attacks, taking out Gwen, and the younger Ben is pissed and attacks, easily thrown aside. He admits to his older self that he should have picked a flier, so the older Four-Arms touches the Omnitrix and changes him into Stinkfly, promising that one day, the younger Ben will figure out how to do this himself. Meanwhile, UA!Ben transforms into Ultimate Swampfire, whom 10!Ben thinks is just a copy of Wildvine. Ultimate Swampfire traps Aggregor with vines while Stinkfly swarms around, blasting him, but Greg knocks both aside. The kidlet is KO’ed and the Omnitrix timed out, but thanks to the Omnitrix not having any side-effects of transferred injuries, he’s able to recover quickly. The teen isn’t nearly as lucky, with Greg using his one true weakness this season, electricity, to knock him out before kicking him in the face to turn him over. As Aggregor heads over to the baby, 10!Ben knows they’ve only got one choice. He wakes Kevin and holds out the Omnitrix, telling him to absorb it again and regain his alien form, with all Ben’s powers at once. But Kevin decides that if he’s going to do this, he’s going to make sure he’s got the best possible, heading straight to the unconscious UA!Ben and absorbing the Ultimatrix.
Ultimate Kevin 11 stops Aggregor from absorbing the baby, then makes him his bitch, easily pwning him and absorbing his stolen powers. Unfortunately the problem with phenomenal cosmic powers is itty-bitty sanity, and Ben and Gwen try to talk him down. They fail, until 10!Ben outright calls him a jerk, calling him out on his emo party and saying that every goddamn time they try to something nice for him, he fails to see it and just sinks deeper into his self-loathing. While pissed, Kevin is struck deeply by his younger friend’s words and agrees to leave them alone, if only for today. He flies off, leaving his devastated friends in his wake.
Paradox arrives to congratulate the Bens and Gwen, and to take them home. 10!Ben realizes that he’s not going to remember any of this, if his older self doesn’t, and Paradox explains that he will, but only as a dream. One day, the younger Ben will grow up and remember enough of this adventure that he’ll trust Kevin again and ask him to join his team, so he will one day save the universe. UA!Ben points out that it’ll only lead to Kevin turning evil again, but Paradox promises him that it’s not over yet. When the time comes, Ben will do “what needs to be done,” and this is his “great gift.” Gwen kisses 10!Ben goodbye, making him blush and mutter why she had to do that, telling him to be nice to his cousin. As Paradox hurries them all along so the Celestials won’t notice him violating the restraining order, Gwen asks what to do about Kevin, and UA!Ben promises to “take care” of him.
This is probably the best episode of any of the three series to date, and it’s really hard to put into words. The words “sudden yet inevitable” have never been truer, and this really hits you with shock and awe. It’s been hinted as far back as “Vengeance of Vilgax” that Kevin’s going to mutate into a guano loco alien and betray the team again, but I never saw it coming that he wasn’t going to be saved so easily.
Ultimate Kevin 11 is very visually similar to the classic Kevin 11, rather than a total redesign like Kevin 11,000 had been. He’s got the same basic structure of the original, just using mostly different aliens. His face is mostly Jetray’s, with one spot near his left eye a green mutation of Humongousaur’s facial structure, his eyes green like Ben’s aliens (which might technically make him 12 aliens instead of 11, but I digress). On his left side, his top arm is a mutation of Swampfire’s, bulked out like Humongousaur’s arms, with a shoulder from Lodestar and a wrist-spike from Rath. His lower arm is replaced by two midsection legs from Brainstorm. On his right side, his top arm is Diamondhead’s, as in the original, but the hand mutated into a pincer from Brainstorm, and with Chromastone’s shoulder. His lower arm comes directly from Spidermonkey. His torso and tail come from Humongousaur, and wings and antennae come from Big Chill, hence being able to fold into a cloak. The legs are harder to guess, but I’d say they’re probably Jetray’s, given he’s supposed to be 10 donor aliens and himself as the eleventh. And like the original, he has his own hair and pants. He argues that he deserves the power that the baby Celestialsapien would give him, because it’s always him—he sees himself as the universe’s whipping boy. It’s always him who turns into a monster and is never trusted or loved. Gwen insists that it’s not true, but he argues that no matter what he looks like, he’s still a freak. His emotional insecurities brought to the forefront in season three of Alien Force haven’t left him; whatever psychological abuse he suffered as a kid has left scars too deep for Gwen and Ben to heal.
The only one who manages to get through to him is an annoying, obnoxious, ten-year-old little brat version of the one person who thinks of him as a brother. In fact, Ben’s Mini-Me provides quite a bit of character exploration for both his older self and for Kevin, which explains why Paradox barely warned Ben not to lean against the barrier back in “Map of Infinity.”
10!Ben apparently comes from a point in time before the episode “Ben 10,000,” since the idea that an older version of him can control the Omnitrix so well that just by touching it, he can transform himself in and out of forms is a shock. He’s not very quick to accept UA!Ben as his future, unable to accept the idea that he’ll one day trust Kevin and thinking that all the new aliens are either lame or a ripoff of ones he’s already got. It isn’t until the both of them accidentally go Four-Arms and admit as such that he really accepts it. The younger Four-Arms looks at the older, and is pretty well surprised. While Ben himself got a slight redesign, his facial features smoothed out to match the art style of Ultimate Alien and to look a lot more like a younger version of the sixteen-year-old Ben (sometimes a little too much, as it can go into the uncanny valley once in a while), all of the aliens look just as they had in the original series. The Omnitrix symbol is in its original place for each one, rather than on the chest like with the older Ben, and no eye colors are changed. The younger, yellow-eyed Four-Arms looks at the older, green-eyed Four-Arms and is shocked by how much bigger he looks—taller, and with a bit more muscle. Surprised, he asks how strong he’s going to grow up to be, and the older Ben answers, “A lot.” You know right then and there, he’s okay with who he’s going to grow up to be. He’s looking forward to it now.
And for all he’s a complete pain in the ass sometimes, 10!Ben admits that it’s all an act. Despite what everyone thinks, he knows the risks, and he’s blunt enough to say it. He knows that every time he goes hero, if he screws up, someone could die. If he messes up here, everyone could die, and it scares him to death. The only way he can retain his sanity, the only way he’s not going to be bound by fear and angst, is by laughing in the dark. He treats it like a joke so he doesn’t have to think about it. So that when the time comes, he can do what needs to be done—heavily implied to be killing somebody. Which explains a lot about Ben’s aversion to killing as a teenager; 10!Ben himself says that this is something that’s way too much for a kid to have to deal with. The scars are still there when he’s older, and he does the same laughing in the dark, and he does everything he can to keep from doing what he knows needs to be done, always looking for another way out. In some ways, it’s hard to tell if he’s more or less mature than he was at ten on this issue.
As the younger Ben begins to accept his future, he begins to accept his future self’s decisions as well. When Aggregor attacks and knocks everyone else out, 10!Ben wakes up Kevin immediately and holds out the timed out Omnitrix. He knows that Kevin 11 is the only one with enough power to take down Aggregor, that all ten Omnitrix aliens are needed at once. Kevin, however, decides to use the Ultimatrix instead, and he sacrifices his sanity to save the universe. When UA!Ben and Gwen fail to get through to him, 10!Ben walks up and just outright calls him a jerk and insist he’s always been one. He doesn’t mince his words at all, and it’s clear that he’s still raw from the original betrayal, which would have happened anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months earlier for him. And this is why it makes sense that he’s the only one who can get through to Kevin. UA!Ben sees him as his brother. He understands that Kevin’s out of control, that he’s sick. And for all he’ll be strict with him on this and insist he’ll do what has to be done, he can’t. Because he’s too emotionally attached. Because for him, the keyword in “tough love” is “love.” He’s too close to the situation, and he can’t see that this isn’t something where Kevin will listen to reason.
10!Ben, on the other hand, has just been horribly betrayed, and now this is the second time. He isn’t Kevin’s brother; he’s his enemy. He knows that Kevin’s out of control, but you know what? It’s bringing back a surge of memories and fresh wounds, not healed scars. He’s not going to try to hold his hand and talk with him about his feelings. No, he’s going to solve this with blunt force trauma, the only language Kevin can understand right now. And every single thing Kevin did to him so recently is right there again, and he can finally say it. He calls him out on his bullshit, says that he gave Kevin a second chance, showed that he cared about him, tried to trust him, and Kevin threw it back in his face. Now, here are two people who love him more than anything else in the world, and what is he trying to do? He’s threatening them, throwing away their love all the while insisting that they don’t care about him. They’re trying to help him, and he won’t let them. Kevin must be the world’s biggest asshole if he’s so self-absorbed that he can’t see that, too intent on throwing his own pity party to realize that he’s talking out of his ass and Ben and Gwen really do trust and love him. In essence, 10!Ben is a drill sergeant acting as a therapist. And it works. Instead of trying to work through Kevin’s issues, he just picks at them, tearing him down and telling him he’s being a fucking moron, all the while working out his own issues with his timeline’s Kevin. It’s a subtle challenge—“Prove me wrong, Kevin. You and everyone else said you were better than this, but you’re just proving me right. Show me that you’re better than I think you are.” It’s not enough to save Kevin from himself, but the sharp jab to his insecurities is enough to make him leave them alone—one tiny moment of sanity on the edge of the light.
Everything that the younger Ben does here eventually has an effect on the older Ben. Unlike “Ben 10,000,” which retconned the future by having the older Ben decide to change things in the past, the younger Ben this time has no recollection of anything that happened and therefore can’t make any changes. Except one. Ben will remember this as only a dream. As implied in “Gwen 10,” he seems to be able to at least partially remember alternate timelines (which would have been interesting to see in the aftermath of “Time Heals”). This far-off memory like a scattered dream will remain very dim in his subconscious, but it will influence his actions. When he turns fifteen and comes face to face with Kevin again for the first time in years, he’ll know to trust him, even when he knows he has no reason to. His memory changes Kevin’s destiny. Yes, Kevin’s going to go evil again, but just maybe, that second chance Ben remembered to give him will be enough to help save him. It’s certainly provided the love that he was so lacking.
Both Paradox and the younger Ben talk about Ben doing “what needs to be done.” In the younger Ben’s case, it’s pretty clear he means killing an enemy, which is Ben’s biggest taboo. The way Ben vows to “take care” of Kevin in the end implies that he’s sure that this is what Paradox means by that too. However, Paradox says that this is Ben’s “great gift,” something that seems entirely counter-intuitive. Why would the ability to kill his brother be a gift? Ben’s a savior at heart, not a killer. He saved the Highbeed from extinction, thereby ending a war that would have slaughtered the galaxy. He never gives up and always believes there’s a better way. So maybe this is more along the lines of what Paradox is talking about, and hopefully Ben will realize that when he has to face off with his brother once more.
To keep this from becoming too utterly depressing a review, I want to compliment the writing, the dialogue, and the humor of this episode. Yes, having teenage Ben and child Ben in the same room is utterly hilarious. It’s even funnier when you have child Ben playing off teenage Kevin. When 10!Ben asks where baby Celestialsapiens come from, Kevin quips, “When two constellations love each other very much…” Gwen tells Kevin off, and Kevin insists that he had to learn “astrophysics” on the streets. Oh, so that’s what they’re calling it these days (trust me, no way was “astrophysics” not a euphemism for sex). Though Ben does have a point. If Celestialsapiens are locked in constant debate, doesn’t that mean an eternal “Not tonight, honey, I have a headache”? No wonder the birth of a Celestialsapien was such a big deal!
“Forge of Creation” was written by Dwayne McDuffie. Jeff Bennett played Bellicus and Tara Strong played Serena. Tara Strong also reprised her role as Ben. Dee Bradley Baker played both Four-Arms, Heatblast, and reprised his roles of Stinkfly and Wildmutt.
Paradox takes them outside their universe to the Forge of Creation—a hidden nebula where ideas become real, where Celestialsapiens are born. Aggregor’s goal was to absorb the power of a newborn Celestialsapien and thus become even more pants-wettingly powerful than he is now. After passing the next universe over to theirs, where physics is screwy, Paradox leads them to the chronal randomization barrier that hides the nebula. He’s sort of a Secret Keeper for the Forge, to make a Harry Potter reference, and so he knows where it is and can lead the team there. He’s not allowed far within it, admitting that there are places he can’t go and things he can’t do (such as preventing Greg from getting the map), but it’s unclear if it’s a physical limitation of his powers or politics. He has, however, arranged for life support within the Forge (similar to what he’d done to ensure they were able to breathe on the moon in his first appearance in Alien Force), but to Ben’s disappointment, he can’t arrange for them not to die.
The Rustbucket flies through the nebula, but Aggregor’s army attacks, knocking the ship’s wing into the chronal randomization barrier, bringing them to a stop. Terraspin manages to throw their stowaways overboard, but they still have to pry the wing out of the barrier. Kevin fails to, and Ben suggests that he turn into something that can pull it out. And then he leans against the barrier. Yeah, didn’t Paradox warn against this? Gwen fishes him out when he falls through, but he’s freaked and says that he saw something moving in there. That something comes through and says that it’s not something, but someone, accompanied by the synthesizer notes of a very familiar theme song. He’s Ben Tennyson, he’s ten years old, and he wants to know what the hell is going on.
Legitimately thinking that he’s been kidnapped by a bunch of crazies, Kidlet Ben generally starts being a pain in the ass, though Teen Ben tries to talk him down. Unfortunately, his Mini-Me isn’t keen on listening and rushes him. Ben proves to be a lot stronger than he looks, one-handedly picking up his past self, but Chibi Ben headbutts him right in the head, pissing him the hell off. Kevin mockingly tells Ben to cool it since they’re dealing with a kid, but Mini-Me recognizes Kevin right off the bat and starts wondering what’s going on. Ignoring Ben’s attempts to explain that Kevin’s a good guy now, he goes Heatblast and attacks Kevin. Though they fight, Kevin is surprisingly outmatched by the kid, and Ben attempts to go Big Chill to break up the fight, only to go NRG (P’andor) instead. Heatblast just attacks him too. Gwen manages to break up the fight, telling Tiny Ben that if he recognizes Kevin, then he must recognize her too. Little Ben is shocked to recognize his “Dweeb,” and asks what happened to her. Kevin answers, “Puberty.” Ben transforms back and explains that six years have passed and introduces himself as 10!Ben’s future self. Still, despite all the explanations, 10!Ben isn’t impressed, nor does he trust Kevin. UA!Ben suggests that maybe if he touches the barrier again, he might be able to send the kid home, but Gwen worries that might summon a twenty-one-year-old Ben, which contrary to the ten-year-old Ben’s beliefs, would not be awesome. 10!Ben decides that the best way to free the Rustbucket is to go Wildmutt and take a bite out of it, but to his shock, UA!Ben puts his hand on Mini-Me’s Omnitrix and transforms him back, telling him he really should lock the Omnitrix. Somehow or another, they manage to get the Rustbucket free, and the past Ben is having a hard time coping. Though the others warn him to be quiet so they don’t attract the Celestials’ attention, he’s freaking out. He doesn’t know how they’re able to breathe in a damaged spaceship in the middle of a nebula, he doesn’t know where Grandpa Max is, and if he’s in the future, who won the last five World Series and seriously, where the hell is his jetpack? Fed up, Gwen makes him hand over all his sugar, and he responds by saying she’s got a big butt. Gwen tries to reason with him, saying that he’s hitting below the belt and trying to hurt her feelings, and it really pisses UA!Ben off. He calls out his Mini-Me on being a total brat, and Kevin adds that it’s not a game. 10!Ben says that he knows that, and admits that maybe he just acts the way he does so he can keep his sanity instead of being an angstbucket about what he risks losing and what he might have to do. Shocked, Gwen looks to her Ben, who weakly denies it.
The rest of the ride isn’t much better, with 10!Ben running through the Ultimatrix and deciding everyone but Humongousaur is lame, then asking UA!Ben how he broke the Omnitrix, and losing interest halfway through his older self’s attempts to defend himself and asking if they were there yet. They finally see a female Celestialsapien ahead, holding what looks like a small star—a baby Celestialsapien. Unfortunately, something’s hit them from behind, and they’re about to crash. 10!Ben tells Kevin to hand over the wheel, but Kevin manages to get him to sit down and shut up. As they crash into the mom’s hands, both Bens go Four-Arms by accident and make an escape route for everyone. Aggregor attacks, taking out Gwen, and the younger Ben is pissed and attacks, easily thrown aside. He admits to his older self that he should have picked a flier, so the older Four-Arms touches the Omnitrix and changes him into Stinkfly, promising that one day, the younger Ben will figure out how to do this himself. Meanwhile, UA!Ben transforms into Ultimate Swampfire, whom 10!Ben thinks is just a copy of Wildvine. Ultimate Swampfire traps Aggregor with vines while Stinkfly swarms around, blasting him, but Greg knocks both aside. The kidlet is KO’ed and the Omnitrix timed out, but thanks to the Omnitrix not having any side-effects of transferred injuries, he’s able to recover quickly. The teen isn’t nearly as lucky, with Greg using his one true weakness this season, electricity, to knock him out before kicking him in the face to turn him over. As Aggregor heads over to the baby, 10!Ben knows they’ve only got one choice. He wakes Kevin and holds out the Omnitrix, telling him to absorb it again and regain his alien form, with all Ben’s powers at once. But Kevin decides that if he’s going to do this, he’s going to make sure he’s got the best possible, heading straight to the unconscious UA!Ben and absorbing the Ultimatrix.
Ultimate Kevin 11 stops Aggregor from absorbing the baby, then makes him his bitch, easily pwning him and absorbing his stolen powers. Unfortunately the problem with phenomenal cosmic powers is itty-bitty sanity, and Ben and Gwen try to talk him down. They fail, until 10!Ben outright calls him a jerk, calling him out on his emo party and saying that every goddamn time they try to something nice for him, he fails to see it and just sinks deeper into his self-loathing. While pissed, Kevin is struck deeply by his younger friend’s words and agrees to leave them alone, if only for today. He flies off, leaving his devastated friends in his wake.
Paradox arrives to congratulate the Bens and Gwen, and to take them home. 10!Ben realizes that he’s not going to remember any of this, if his older self doesn’t, and Paradox explains that he will, but only as a dream. One day, the younger Ben will grow up and remember enough of this adventure that he’ll trust Kevin again and ask him to join his team, so he will one day save the universe. UA!Ben points out that it’ll only lead to Kevin turning evil again, but Paradox promises him that it’s not over yet. When the time comes, Ben will do “what needs to be done,” and this is his “great gift.” Gwen kisses 10!Ben goodbye, making him blush and mutter why she had to do that, telling him to be nice to his cousin. As Paradox hurries them all along so the Celestials won’t notice him violating the restraining order, Gwen asks what to do about Kevin, and UA!Ben promises to “take care” of him.
This is probably the best episode of any of the three series to date, and it’s really hard to put into words. The words “sudden yet inevitable” have never been truer, and this really hits you with shock and awe. It’s been hinted as far back as “Vengeance of Vilgax” that Kevin’s going to mutate into a guano loco alien and betray the team again, but I never saw it coming that he wasn’t going to be saved so easily.
Ultimate Kevin 11 is very visually similar to the classic Kevin 11, rather than a total redesign like Kevin 11,000 had been. He’s got the same basic structure of the original, just using mostly different aliens. His face is mostly Jetray’s, with one spot near his left eye a green mutation of Humongousaur’s facial structure, his eyes green like Ben’s aliens (which might technically make him 12 aliens instead of 11, but I digress). On his left side, his top arm is a mutation of Swampfire’s, bulked out like Humongousaur’s arms, with a shoulder from Lodestar and a wrist-spike from Rath. His lower arm is replaced by two midsection legs from Brainstorm. On his right side, his top arm is Diamondhead’s, as in the original, but the hand mutated into a pincer from Brainstorm, and with Chromastone’s shoulder. His lower arm comes directly from Spidermonkey. His torso and tail come from Humongousaur, and wings and antennae come from Big Chill, hence being able to fold into a cloak. The legs are harder to guess, but I’d say they’re probably Jetray’s, given he’s supposed to be 10 donor aliens and himself as the eleventh. And like the original, he has his own hair and pants. He argues that he deserves the power that the baby Celestialsapien would give him, because it’s always him—he sees himself as the universe’s whipping boy. It’s always him who turns into a monster and is never trusted or loved. Gwen insists that it’s not true, but he argues that no matter what he looks like, he’s still a freak. His emotional insecurities brought to the forefront in season three of Alien Force haven’t left him; whatever psychological abuse he suffered as a kid has left scars too deep for Gwen and Ben to heal.
The only one who manages to get through to him is an annoying, obnoxious, ten-year-old little brat version of the one person who thinks of him as a brother. In fact, Ben’s Mini-Me provides quite a bit of character exploration for both his older self and for Kevin, which explains why Paradox barely warned Ben not to lean against the barrier back in “Map of Infinity.”
10!Ben apparently comes from a point in time before the episode “Ben 10,000,” since the idea that an older version of him can control the Omnitrix so well that just by touching it, he can transform himself in and out of forms is a shock. He’s not very quick to accept UA!Ben as his future, unable to accept the idea that he’ll one day trust Kevin and thinking that all the new aliens are either lame or a ripoff of ones he’s already got. It isn’t until the both of them accidentally go Four-Arms and admit as such that he really accepts it. The younger Four-Arms looks at the older, and is pretty well surprised. While Ben himself got a slight redesign, his facial features smoothed out to match the art style of Ultimate Alien and to look a lot more like a younger version of the sixteen-year-old Ben (sometimes a little too much, as it can go into the uncanny valley once in a while), all of the aliens look just as they had in the original series. The Omnitrix symbol is in its original place for each one, rather than on the chest like with the older Ben, and no eye colors are changed. The younger, yellow-eyed Four-Arms looks at the older, green-eyed Four-Arms and is shocked by how much bigger he looks—taller, and with a bit more muscle. Surprised, he asks how strong he’s going to grow up to be, and the older Ben answers, “A lot.” You know right then and there, he’s okay with who he’s going to grow up to be. He’s looking forward to it now.
And for all he’s a complete pain in the ass sometimes, 10!Ben admits that it’s all an act. Despite what everyone thinks, he knows the risks, and he’s blunt enough to say it. He knows that every time he goes hero, if he screws up, someone could die. If he messes up here, everyone could die, and it scares him to death. The only way he can retain his sanity, the only way he’s not going to be bound by fear and angst, is by laughing in the dark. He treats it like a joke so he doesn’t have to think about it. So that when the time comes, he can do what needs to be done—heavily implied to be killing somebody. Which explains a lot about Ben’s aversion to killing as a teenager; 10!Ben himself says that this is something that’s way too much for a kid to have to deal with. The scars are still there when he’s older, and he does the same laughing in the dark, and he does everything he can to keep from doing what he knows needs to be done, always looking for another way out. In some ways, it’s hard to tell if he’s more or less mature than he was at ten on this issue.
As the younger Ben begins to accept his future, he begins to accept his future self’s decisions as well. When Aggregor attacks and knocks everyone else out, 10!Ben wakes up Kevin immediately and holds out the timed out Omnitrix. He knows that Kevin 11 is the only one with enough power to take down Aggregor, that all ten Omnitrix aliens are needed at once. Kevin, however, decides to use the Ultimatrix instead, and he sacrifices his sanity to save the universe. When UA!Ben and Gwen fail to get through to him, 10!Ben walks up and just outright calls him a jerk and insist he’s always been one. He doesn’t mince his words at all, and it’s clear that he’s still raw from the original betrayal, which would have happened anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months earlier for him. And this is why it makes sense that he’s the only one who can get through to Kevin. UA!Ben sees him as his brother. He understands that Kevin’s out of control, that he’s sick. And for all he’ll be strict with him on this and insist he’ll do what has to be done, he can’t. Because he’s too emotionally attached. Because for him, the keyword in “tough love” is “love.” He’s too close to the situation, and he can’t see that this isn’t something where Kevin will listen to reason.
10!Ben, on the other hand, has just been horribly betrayed, and now this is the second time. He isn’t Kevin’s brother; he’s his enemy. He knows that Kevin’s out of control, but you know what? It’s bringing back a surge of memories and fresh wounds, not healed scars. He’s not going to try to hold his hand and talk with him about his feelings. No, he’s going to solve this with blunt force trauma, the only language Kevin can understand right now. And every single thing Kevin did to him so recently is right there again, and he can finally say it. He calls him out on his bullshit, says that he gave Kevin a second chance, showed that he cared about him, tried to trust him, and Kevin threw it back in his face. Now, here are two people who love him more than anything else in the world, and what is he trying to do? He’s threatening them, throwing away their love all the while insisting that they don’t care about him. They’re trying to help him, and he won’t let them. Kevin must be the world’s biggest asshole if he’s so self-absorbed that he can’t see that, too intent on throwing his own pity party to realize that he’s talking out of his ass and Ben and Gwen really do trust and love him. In essence, 10!Ben is a drill sergeant acting as a therapist. And it works. Instead of trying to work through Kevin’s issues, he just picks at them, tearing him down and telling him he’s being a fucking moron, all the while working out his own issues with his timeline’s Kevin. It’s a subtle challenge—“Prove me wrong, Kevin. You and everyone else said you were better than this, but you’re just proving me right. Show me that you’re better than I think you are.” It’s not enough to save Kevin from himself, but the sharp jab to his insecurities is enough to make him leave them alone—one tiny moment of sanity on the edge of the light.
Everything that the younger Ben does here eventually has an effect on the older Ben. Unlike “Ben 10,000,” which retconned the future by having the older Ben decide to change things in the past, the younger Ben this time has no recollection of anything that happened and therefore can’t make any changes. Except one. Ben will remember this as only a dream. As implied in “Gwen 10,” he seems to be able to at least partially remember alternate timelines (which would have been interesting to see in the aftermath of “Time Heals”). This far-off memory like a scattered dream will remain very dim in his subconscious, but it will influence his actions. When he turns fifteen and comes face to face with Kevin again for the first time in years, he’ll know to trust him, even when he knows he has no reason to. His memory changes Kevin’s destiny. Yes, Kevin’s going to go evil again, but just maybe, that second chance Ben remembered to give him will be enough to help save him. It’s certainly provided the love that he was so lacking.
Both Paradox and the younger Ben talk about Ben doing “what needs to be done.” In the younger Ben’s case, it’s pretty clear he means killing an enemy, which is Ben’s biggest taboo. The way Ben vows to “take care” of Kevin in the end implies that he’s sure that this is what Paradox means by that too. However, Paradox says that this is Ben’s “great gift,” something that seems entirely counter-intuitive. Why would the ability to kill his brother be a gift? Ben’s a savior at heart, not a killer. He saved the Highbeed from extinction, thereby ending a war that would have slaughtered the galaxy. He never gives up and always believes there’s a better way. So maybe this is more along the lines of what Paradox is talking about, and hopefully Ben will realize that when he has to face off with his brother once more.
To keep this from becoming too utterly depressing a review, I want to compliment the writing, the dialogue, and the humor of this episode. Yes, having teenage Ben and child Ben in the same room is utterly hilarious. It’s even funnier when you have child Ben playing off teenage Kevin. When 10!Ben asks where baby Celestialsapiens come from, Kevin quips, “When two constellations love each other very much…” Gwen tells Kevin off, and Kevin insists that he had to learn “astrophysics” on the streets. Oh, so that’s what they’re calling it these days (trust me, no way was “astrophysics” not a euphemism for sex). Though Ben does have a point. If Celestialsapiens are locked in constant debate, doesn’t that mean an eternal “Not tonight, honey, I have a headache”? No wonder the birth of a Celestialsapien was such a big deal!
“Forge of Creation” was written by Dwayne McDuffie. Jeff Bennett played Bellicus and Tara Strong played Serena. Tara Strong also reprised her role as Ben. Dee Bradley Baker played both Four-Arms, Heatblast, and reprised his roles of Stinkfly and Wildmutt.
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Date: 2010-11-13 09:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-14 01:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-14 01:39 am (UTC)