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akinoameAs a special tie-in for the move Ben 10: Alien Swarm, Cartoon Network Action Pack released an all Ben 10 issue: three comics telling a story leading up to the movie. And with one and a half hours until the movie premieres, I figured I'd write up a trio of mini-reviews.
All three pieces were written by Merrill Hagan and Matthew Lehosit.
Badass is in the blood: "Old Friends"
This story features a younger Max Tennyson, training raw recruit Victor Validus before he's ready to become a Plumber. On a mission trying to stop an illegal tech trade on an isolated moon, Max realizes that the situation is far too dangerous for a rookie, and he warns Victor to keep out of this. However, Victor is headstrong and argues against Max's orders, attracting the dealer's attention. Max must fight off the dealer and his goons while Victor must prove his worth to his commanding officer.
This piece highlights how badass Max was in the day, even managing to fight off an entire dogpile of aliens singlehandedly. Overall, other than the age, there's not a whole lot of difference between the Max of the past and the Max of the present. As a leader and mentor, he's fair, insisting on obedience from his subordinates but recognizing that sometimes the only way to get results is to disobey. When Victor does disobey his orders, he reminds him of this, but then adds that if he hadn't, Max would have been killed. He then recommends the younger man for full Plumber status before joking that Victor's little trick may have destroyed the evidence.
Victor Validus is introduced as a headstrong young Plumber-in-training under Max's command. He's eager to learn and eager to earn his badge, however it leads to him clashing with his superior's orders. When Max insists that the situation is too dangerous for him and orders him to remain behind, Victor decides to blow up the dealer's ship to create a diversion, allowing him to get in an attack on the dealer while Max fights off the mooks. Despite his rebellious streak, Victor is indicated to have a great deal of respect for Max and the Plumbers, making the arrest in the name of the Plumbers despite his lack of rank and feeling deeply ashamed when Max calls him out on his behavior.
Artwork by Min S. Ku.
Puppy love: "Plumbers' Kids"
Ben and his best friend, Elena Validus, are walking back from playing soccer when Elena insists that Ben owes her ice cream for teaching him her swift kick. Unfortunately, an old enemy of Max's shows up, eager to take revenge by attacking Ben. Elena warns Ben to use the Omnitrix, much to his shock. It's up to both of the Plumbers' kids to stop the alien and his accomplice, on their own.
Elena Validus, the main new character of the movie, is introduced in this piece. As Victor's daughter, she's been forced to move around a lot, keeping her from making many friends. Ben, having been considerably less popular as a kid than as a teen, befriends her fairly easily over soccer, and even he's got to admit she's good...for a girl. However, Elena knows about the Omnitrix thanks to her father's stories, and she hasn't told Ben about that until they're attacked in public. But it's not the only surprise Elena has in store for him--she helps him take down the attacking alien by passing Four-Arms her soccer ball and reminding him to use the swift-kick. And when the ice cream vendor turns out to be the alien's accomplice, she tries to take him down herself, telling Ben to use a fire hydrant to make the accomplice's freeze ray backfire on him and the alien. Elena explains that she knows all about him thanks to her father, who had trained under Ben's grandpa, but Ben is still confused. Elena then takes some of the ice cream that had spilled out of the truck, realizing she's going to have to treat him as she explains everything that he's never been told--Elena is kept in the loop despite not having powers, and Ben is kept out of the loop despite having the Omnitrix.
An interesting implication that naturally isn't explored due to the shortness of the piece is that Elena may have only befriended Ben because she was a fan of his. That she wanted something out of him. It's possible that this is an underlying implication in her reappearance in Alien Swarm, as she specifically resurfaces after three years to get Ben's help, but no matter what, Ben still considers her truly his friend.
Artwork by Mike Cavallero.
That's it?: "It's a Set-Up"
Kevin is working on his car in the Mysterious Garage (not to be confused with the Garage that had been their command center up until he and Ben blew it up in "Vengeance of Vilgax"--this is the one that's part of the house that we don't know whose it is, as it clearly isn't Gwen's or Ben's). Suddenly, Argit shows up behind him. Kevin attacks, but Argit insists he's caught wind of an alien tech deal, but the seller apparently doesn't know what it is he's selling. Kevin thinks this is worth investigating on his own, and tells Argit to let the broker know he'll be there in an hour.
And that's it. This piece is a direct set-up to the opening of the movie (hence, the title), but overall it's pretty pointless. We already know that Kevin gets his information from the alien underground, and nothing is revealed that we don't already know from the previews. Kevin will get to the sale, with Ben and Gwen in hiding, discover that the sellers really don't have any clue what the chips are, and when Ben and Gwen show up, Elena will reveal her identity and ask for Ben's help in finding her father. This piece is supposed to be a missing scene, but still, there's nothing interesting revealed. Honestly, it feels like it was thrown in there to get a present day/one-year-post-Alien Force piece and get Kevin's five seconds in.
Artwork by Min S. Ku.
All three pieces were written by Merrill Hagan and Matthew Lehosit.
Badass is in the blood: "Old Friends"
This story features a younger Max Tennyson, training raw recruit Victor Validus before he's ready to become a Plumber. On a mission trying to stop an illegal tech trade on an isolated moon, Max realizes that the situation is far too dangerous for a rookie, and he warns Victor to keep out of this. However, Victor is headstrong and argues against Max's orders, attracting the dealer's attention. Max must fight off the dealer and his goons while Victor must prove his worth to his commanding officer.
This piece highlights how badass Max was in the day, even managing to fight off an entire dogpile of aliens singlehandedly. Overall, other than the age, there's not a whole lot of difference between the Max of the past and the Max of the present. As a leader and mentor, he's fair, insisting on obedience from his subordinates but recognizing that sometimes the only way to get results is to disobey. When Victor does disobey his orders, he reminds him of this, but then adds that if he hadn't, Max would have been killed. He then recommends the younger man for full Plumber status before joking that Victor's little trick may have destroyed the evidence.
Victor Validus is introduced as a headstrong young Plumber-in-training under Max's command. He's eager to learn and eager to earn his badge, however it leads to him clashing with his superior's orders. When Max insists that the situation is too dangerous for him and orders him to remain behind, Victor decides to blow up the dealer's ship to create a diversion, allowing him to get in an attack on the dealer while Max fights off the mooks. Despite his rebellious streak, Victor is indicated to have a great deal of respect for Max and the Plumbers, making the arrest in the name of the Plumbers despite his lack of rank and feeling deeply ashamed when Max calls him out on his behavior.
Artwork by Min S. Ku.
Puppy love: "Plumbers' Kids"
Ben and his best friend, Elena Validus, are walking back from playing soccer when Elena insists that Ben owes her ice cream for teaching him her swift kick. Unfortunately, an old enemy of Max's shows up, eager to take revenge by attacking Ben. Elena warns Ben to use the Omnitrix, much to his shock. It's up to both of the Plumbers' kids to stop the alien and his accomplice, on their own.
Elena Validus, the main new character of the movie, is introduced in this piece. As Victor's daughter, she's been forced to move around a lot, keeping her from making many friends. Ben, having been considerably less popular as a kid than as a teen, befriends her fairly easily over soccer, and even he's got to admit she's good...for a girl. However, Elena knows about the Omnitrix thanks to her father's stories, and she hasn't told Ben about that until they're attacked in public. But it's not the only surprise Elena has in store for him--she helps him take down the attacking alien by passing Four-Arms her soccer ball and reminding him to use the swift-kick. And when the ice cream vendor turns out to be the alien's accomplice, she tries to take him down herself, telling Ben to use a fire hydrant to make the accomplice's freeze ray backfire on him and the alien. Elena explains that she knows all about him thanks to her father, who had trained under Ben's grandpa, but Ben is still confused. Elena then takes some of the ice cream that had spilled out of the truck, realizing she's going to have to treat him as she explains everything that he's never been told--Elena is kept in the loop despite not having powers, and Ben is kept out of the loop despite having the Omnitrix.
An interesting implication that naturally isn't explored due to the shortness of the piece is that Elena may have only befriended Ben because she was a fan of his. That she wanted something out of him. It's possible that this is an underlying implication in her reappearance in Alien Swarm, as she specifically resurfaces after three years to get Ben's help, but no matter what, Ben still considers her truly his friend.
Artwork by Mike Cavallero.
That's it?: "It's a Set-Up"
Kevin is working on his car in the Mysterious Garage (not to be confused with the Garage that had been their command center up until he and Ben blew it up in "Vengeance of Vilgax"--this is the one that's part of the house that we don't know whose it is, as it clearly isn't Gwen's or Ben's). Suddenly, Argit shows up behind him. Kevin attacks, but Argit insists he's caught wind of an alien tech deal, but the seller apparently doesn't know what it is he's selling. Kevin thinks this is worth investigating on his own, and tells Argit to let the broker know he'll be there in an hour.
And that's it. This piece is a direct set-up to the opening of the movie (hence, the title), but overall it's pretty pointless. We already know that Kevin gets his information from the alien underground, and nothing is revealed that we don't already know from the previews. Kevin will get to the sale, with Ben and Gwen in hiding, discover that the sellers really don't have any clue what the chips are, and when Ben and Gwen show up, Elena will reveal her identity and ask for Ben's help in finding her father. This piece is supposed to be a missing scene, but still, there's nothing interesting revealed. Honestly, it feels like it was thrown in there to get a present day/one-year-post-Alien Force piece and get Kevin's five seconds in.
Artwork by Min S. Ku.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-26 12:33 am (UTC)Surprisingly I find myself intrigued by Elena-she seems relaxed around Ben and willing to get to know him, even if she had ulterior motives. And, that is truly an irony between both of them: Elena being kept in the loop even if she has no powers, and Ben being kept out of the loop even though he's the bearer of the Omnitrix.
Though I wasn't too surprised to see that there isn't much difference between the Max Tennyson in the series from the Max Tennyson in the past. Seeing Victor challenge Max's orders reminds me of how Ben would act in the original Ben 10 series with Max-going against the grain and doing whatever he wanted when it came to 'going hero.' Glad to see that both of them had earned Max's respect in the long run.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-26 02:35 am (UTC)Elena definitely struck me as an interesting character, both in the comic and in the movie. I'm not sure if they're planning on keeping her around for Evolutions, in which case it would be great to see more of her. And it absolutely is ironic that Elena, who shouldn't be expected to help because she's human, is told everything that can possibly help while Ben isn't when he is expected to help because he's ten different aliens.
Yes, and that makes me wonder if maybe Max carries a bit of that with him when he reacts to Ben. He's willing to give Ben his freedom, but if Ben pushes too far, it might just remind him too much of Victor, so he pushes back. I also wonder if he does the same to Kevin regarding Kevin's father.