Hero time again: "Ben 10 Returns"
Jul. 21st, 2008 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameI decided that since there's going to be a short (hopefully) hiatus between episodes, I'd go back and review the older episodes of Alien Force. The premiere two-parter episode has been reviewed by other, more popular and in-depth sites, but in light of recent developments in the series, I hope to offer after-the-fact analysis of certain plot points.
Five years have passed since Ben 10 first appeared--a young boy on his summer vacation who discovered an alien watch that allowed him to morph into ten different alien forms. In the years since his final battle, Ben Tennyson and his family have settled into a normal life. Ben is the school soccer star, Gwen has her black belt and has mastered her magic, and Grandpa Max is enjoying his retirement living in the Rustbucket.
But all is not well in the universe. After winning the (apparently) last game of the season, Ben visits Grandpa Max to find that he is missing and a bizarre slime-spewing alien is looking for him. Furthermore, Max has left behind a mysterious message assuring Ben that he is all right and that he has the Omnitrix, when the Omnitrix is still in Ben's possession, locked in a shoebox in his closet. Seeking Gwen's aid, Ben decides that it's time to come out of retirement and help Max's partner in the Plumbers to solve his last case before he went missing. But when they get there, they find those new aliens in the middle of a deal with their old enemies, the Forever Knights. And to make matters worse, the broker is none other than Ben's nemesis Kevin Levin, freed from the Null Void, in human form, and with a brand new twist on his powers. To fight, the Omnitrix changes to a smaller form and gives Ben brand new aliens to fight with, giving him just what he needs to fight Kevin and the rest of their enemies.
Thanks to Magister and Gwen, Kevin changes his tune and agrees to help them stop the Forever Knights. But in the ensuing battle, Magister is killed and asks the kids to finish the case, as Max believed the fate of the planet was at stake. They find the DNAliens' base and their xenophobic master, the Highbreed, and stop them in their plans for now, but Ben realizes that things are bad enough that he and Gwen need all the help they can get in defeating the DNAliens and finding Grandpa Max--even if help comes in the form of Kevin.
Right off the bat, we are introduced to Ben's new characterization. Once an Idiot Hero who seriously needed some Ritalin, the years and battles have changed him now. His popularity has grown, as he has been voted Most Valuable Player by his soccer team, and girls are starting to pay attention to him--namely, Julie. He's quieter, more analytical, and dare I say a bit jaded. His first instinct upon hearing Grandpa Max's message isn't to tear right after him, but to check its authenticity by searching for the Omnitrix, and when he finds it, he wonders if this is some kind of coded message. And as he wonders about this with Gwen, he is torn between helping his grandfather and the quiet, normal life he has without the Omnitrix now. Once, Ben had been devastated at the thought of losing the Omnitrix and returning to a normal life; now that he has, he isn't sure he wants to go back to that kind of life. He is also beginning to doubt his power now--as a child and in the potential future as Ben 10,000, he underestimated the importance of teamwork and his family. Now, he worries that he can't face this new threat without Grandpa Max's advice, and he knows he must accept whatever help he is given, including Magister and Kevin.
Gwen has also changed dramatically. She is now clearly Ben's best friend, and their fights have all but ended--with one notable exception, regarding Ben's fears of Grandpa Max's fate. She also acts as a therapist in Max's place, listening to Ben's fears and doubts and ultimately telling him that it's his choice whether or not he wants to take up the Omnitrix again, but warning him exactly what he'll be giving up in order to go hero again. Her characterization is fairly flat so far, but later episodes do round her out much more.
Kevin... Well, this is actually the hardest to analyze. I admit that I saw very little of the original series, and from what I follow of TV Tropes, I suppose Badass Decay is actually fair in describing his change from a psychopathic revenge-driven child to a loose-moraled teenager. But this episode makes it clear that Kevin does not follow any conventional rules--only his personal morals, however ill-defined they are. In his mind, it's perfectly all right to steal from the Forever Knights, since they're bad guys and they didn't pay him for the deal to boot. But if he likes someone, he will go to hell and back for them. He may say so regarding Gwen, but it shows through best with his loyalty to Magister. Much as he may not have liked Magister in the beginning, the Plumber did get through to him and did save his life. When Magister died, I think the single most important Kevin scene happened in the entire series--he took Magister's badge and told Ben that he was in. He later repeated to Ben and Gwen that he made a promise to someone (Magister) to see this through to the end, and so he would join them on their mission.
The Omnitrix deserves just as much analysis as the other main characters in the series. Like Ben, it goes from a tempermental character that utterly refuses to listen, to more mature and more willing to work with someone else. The Omnitrix puts the power into Ben's hands now, giving him free reign over who he turns into and for how long--Ben is able to demorph on his own, without worrying either that the watch will time out at the worst possible moment or that he's going to be stuck in the form for several minutes. It also allows him to change morphs much faster without needed to recharge after every single one (seen later in "Be-Knighted," and the only recharges are seen in "Pier Pressure" and "The Gauntlet"). It is much more docile, and it also recognizes that it needs to grow just as Ben has, morphing to a more functional, smaller design that actually looks like a watch this time. It may have the new drawback of injuring Ben if his alien forms are hurt, but so far, it looks like the new benefits outweigh the new risks.
And the new aliens are a new treat as well: Swampfire, the unlikely mix of fire and wood, manages to make both elements work well in this and his other appearances. Echo Echo provides for more creativity in Ben's attacks, allowing him to attack from multiple sides, and providing mass destruction through his sonic cries. And finally, Humongousaur (spelling provided by Wikipedia, as I've struck out every time on spelling his name) is just the kind of alien you'd expect from the original series--big, strong, and easy enough to just smash around as.
The soccer game at the beginning of the episode holds an apparent contradiction with the later episode "The Gauntlet"--JT and Cash are on the opposite soccer team as Ben's, yet "The Gauntlet" implies heavily that they still go to the same school, and it doesn't appear to be a JV vs. Varsity match. It is possible that this is a soccer league outside of school, but extremely popular, judging by the crowd watching them.
The episode also features a great bit of foreshadowing. First, in the Forever Knights' castle, Team 10 has to fight a mechanical dragon--one that looks very much like the draconic alien from the later episode "Be-Knighted." Indeed, it's possible that this dragon is often used as training for the real thing. And second, the DNAliens' very nature is hinted by the Highbreed commander when he refers to one as "halfbreed vermin," as the later episode "Max Out" reveals that the DNAliens are mutated humans.
And while on the subject of "Max Out," in retrospect, very little light has been shed on Max's unusual message. We still don't know why he said that he had the Omnitrix, unless it's a very convoluted way of saying "Get the Omnitrix out of the closet, Ben, and get ready to fight these guys." Which, knowing how Gwen made sure to tell Ben that he had to choose himself, sounds so out of character that the DNAlien threat is even bigger than we've seen. But also, we never get an explanation as to why a DNAlien appears on the message for an instant before it flickers out. "Max Out" gave no indication that the message was a fake, a trap set for Ben, as that episode clearly indicates they consider Max to be the real threat. The second message from the later episode "Kevin's Big Score" doesn't offer anything else either. It is a question left hanging that we will never figure out, unfortunately.
And finally, the reason why I keep griping about the main ship. Kevin and Gwen's romance appears completely out of the blue--here is a guy who has threatened her life and tried to kill her cousin, and tried to trap the both of them in the Null Void. Here is a girl who helped fight him, and really didn't mind locking him in the Null Void for all those years. Yeah, I know--teenage hormones and everything--but they could have done a better job building up to it. She suddenly tries to be nice to him (believable enough, I suppose) and then draws back in embarrassment when he looks at her. And I have to agree with the people who said that it was a bit creepy the way Kevin said that he'd follow Gwen anywhere. Again, I think it would have been much easier to accept if they'd waited a little bit, maybe started the ship in "All That Glitters," but it's up to later episodes to make up for that and evolve their relationship a lot more. In contrast, when you see Ben and Julie talking in the first few minutes, and Ben tripping over his words a bit, you know they're going to end up as the secondary ship, and it's much better handled.
"Ben 10 Returns" was written by Dwayne McDuffie. Ben is played by Yuri Lowenthal, Gwen by Ashley Johnson, Kevin by Greg Cipes, and Ben's aliens by Dee Bradley Baker. Max, as in all of his guest appearances and in the original, is played by Paul Eiding.Dee Bradley Baker also plays Magister.
Edit: Actually, it's Jeff Bennet who plays Magister.
Five years have passed since Ben 10 first appeared--a young boy on his summer vacation who discovered an alien watch that allowed him to morph into ten different alien forms. In the years since his final battle, Ben Tennyson and his family have settled into a normal life. Ben is the school soccer star, Gwen has her black belt and has mastered her magic, and Grandpa Max is enjoying his retirement living in the Rustbucket.
But all is not well in the universe. After winning the (apparently) last game of the season, Ben visits Grandpa Max to find that he is missing and a bizarre slime-spewing alien is looking for him. Furthermore, Max has left behind a mysterious message assuring Ben that he is all right and that he has the Omnitrix, when the Omnitrix is still in Ben's possession, locked in a shoebox in his closet. Seeking Gwen's aid, Ben decides that it's time to come out of retirement and help Max's partner in the Plumbers to solve his last case before he went missing. But when they get there, they find those new aliens in the middle of a deal with their old enemies, the Forever Knights. And to make matters worse, the broker is none other than Ben's nemesis Kevin Levin, freed from the Null Void, in human form, and with a brand new twist on his powers. To fight, the Omnitrix changes to a smaller form and gives Ben brand new aliens to fight with, giving him just what he needs to fight Kevin and the rest of their enemies.
Thanks to Magister and Gwen, Kevin changes his tune and agrees to help them stop the Forever Knights. But in the ensuing battle, Magister is killed and asks the kids to finish the case, as Max believed the fate of the planet was at stake. They find the DNAliens' base and their xenophobic master, the Highbreed, and stop them in their plans for now, but Ben realizes that things are bad enough that he and Gwen need all the help they can get in defeating the DNAliens and finding Grandpa Max--even if help comes in the form of Kevin.
Right off the bat, we are introduced to Ben's new characterization. Once an Idiot Hero who seriously needed some Ritalin, the years and battles have changed him now. His popularity has grown, as he has been voted Most Valuable Player by his soccer team, and girls are starting to pay attention to him--namely, Julie. He's quieter, more analytical, and dare I say a bit jaded. His first instinct upon hearing Grandpa Max's message isn't to tear right after him, but to check its authenticity by searching for the Omnitrix, and when he finds it, he wonders if this is some kind of coded message. And as he wonders about this with Gwen, he is torn between helping his grandfather and the quiet, normal life he has without the Omnitrix now. Once, Ben had been devastated at the thought of losing the Omnitrix and returning to a normal life; now that he has, he isn't sure he wants to go back to that kind of life. He is also beginning to doubt his power now--as a child and in the potential future as Ben 10,000, he underestimated the importance of teamwork and his family. Now, he worries that he can't face this new threat without Grandpa Max's advice, and he knows he must accept whatever help he is given, including Magister and Kevin.
Gwen has also changed dramatically. She is now clearly Ben's best friend, and their fights have all but ended--with one notable exception, regarding Ben's fears of Grandpa Max's fate. She also acts as a therapist in Max's place, listening to Ben's fears and doubts and ultimately telling him that it's his choice whether or not he wants to take up the Omnitrix again, but warning him exactly what he'll be giving up in order to go hero again. Her characterization is fairly flat so far, but later episodes do round her out much more.
Kevin... Well, this is actually the hardest to analyze. I admit that I saw very little of the original series, and from what I follow of TV Tropes, I suppose Badass Decay is actually fair in describing his change from a psychopathic revenge-driven child to a loose-moraled teenager. But this episode makes it clear that Kevin does not follow any conventional rules--only his personal morals, however ill-defined they are. In his mind, it's perfectly all right to steal from the Forever Knights, since they're bad guys and they didn't pay him for the deal to boot. But if he likes someone, he will go to hell and back for them. He may say so regarding Gwen, but it shows through best with his loyalty to Magister. Much as he may not have liked Magister in the beginning, the Plumber did get through to him and did save his life. When Magister died, I think the single most important Kevin scene happened in the entire series--he took Magister's badge and told Ben that he was in. He later repeated to Ben and Gwen that he made a promise to someone (Magister) to see this through to the end, and so he would join them on their mission.
The Omnitrix deserves just as much analysis as the other main characters in the series. Like Ben, it goes from a tempermental character that utterly refuses to listen, to more mature and more willing to work with someone else. The Omnitrix puts the power into Ben's hands now, giving him free reign over who he turns into and for how long--Ben is able to demorph on his own, without worrying either that the watch will time out at the worst possible moment or that he's going to be stuck in the form for several minutes. It also allows him to change morphs much faster without needed to recharge after every single one (seen later in "Be-Knighted," and the only recharges are seen in "Pier Pressure" and "The Gauntlet"). It is much more docile, and it also recognizes that it needs to grow just as Ben has, morphing to a more functional, smaller design that actually looks like a watch this time. It may have the new drawback of injuring Ben if his alien forms are hurt, but so far, it looks like the new benefits outweigh the new risks.
And the new aliens are a new treat as well: Swampfire, the unlikely mix of fire and wood, manages to make both elements work well in this and his other appearances. Echo Echo provides for more creativity in Ben's attacks, allowing him to attack from multiple sides, and providing mass destruction through his sonic cries. And finally, Humongousaur (spelling provided by Wikipedia, as I've struck out every time on spelling his name) is just the kind of alien you'd expect from the original series--big, strong, and easy enough to just smash around as.
The soccer game at the beginning of the episode holds an apparent contradiction with the later episode "The Gauntlet"--JT and Cash are on the opposite soccer team as Ben's, yet "The Gauntlet" implies heavily that they still go to the same school, and it doesn't appear to be a JV vs. Varsity match. It is possible that this is a soccer league outside of school, but extremely popular, judging by the crowd watching them.
The episode also features a great bit of foreshadowing. First, in the Forever Knights' castle, Team 10 has to fight a mechanical dragon--one that looks very much like the draconic alien from the later episode "Be-Knighted." Indeed, it's possible that this dragon is often used as training for the real thing. And second, the DNAliens' very nature is hinted by the Highbreed commander when he refers to one as "halfbreed vermin," as the later episode "Max Out" reveals that the DNAliens are mutated humans.
And while on the subject of "Max Out," in retrospect, very little light has been shed on Max's unusual message. We still don't know why he said that he had the Omnitrix, unless it's a very convoluted way of saying "Get the Omnitrix out of the closet, Ben, and get ready to fight these guys." Which, knowing how Gwen made sure to tell Ben that he had to choose himself, sounds so out of character that the DNAlien threat is even bigger than we've seen. But also, we never get an explanation as to why a DNAlien appears on the message for an instant before it flickers out. "Max Out" gave no indication that the message was a fake, a trap set for Ben, as that episode clearly indicates they consider Max to be the real threat. The second message from the later episode "Kevin's Big Score" doesn't offer anything else either. It is a question left hanging that we will never figure out, unfortunately.
And finally, the reason why I keep griping about the main ship. Kevin and Gwen's romance appears completely out of the blue--here is a guy who has threatened her life and tried to kill her cousin, and tried to trap the both of them in the Null Void. Here is a girl who helped fight him, and really didn't mind locking him in the Null Void for all those years. Yeah, I know--teenage hormones and everything--but they could have done a better job building up to it. She suddenly tries to be nice to him (believable enough, I suppose) and then draws back in embarrassment when he looks at her. And I have to agree with the people who said that it was a bit creepy the way Kevin said that he'd follow Gwen anywhere. Again, I think it would have been much easier to accept if they'd waited a little bit, maybe started the ship in "All That Glitters," but it's up to later episodes to make up for that and evolve their relationship a lot more. In contrast, when you see Ben and Julie talking in the first few minutes, and Ben tripping over his words a bit, you know they're going to end up as the secondary ship, and it's much better handled.
"Ben 10 Returns" was written by Dwayne McDuffie. Ben is played by Yuri Lowenthal, Gwen by Ashley Johnson, Kevin by Greg Cipes, and Ben's aliens by Dee Bradley Baker. Max, as in all of his guest appearances and in the original, is played by Paul Eiding.
Edit: Actually, it's Jeff Bennet who plays Magister.