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akinoameThe Beginning of the End: Previously on Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: It’s been two weeks since St. George decided to use the Sword of Omens or whatever it is to face off against Dagon. Seriously. Two weeks. In the course of fourteen days, the Weapons Master of Techadon appeared, Hopecaster went nuts, Hopecaster/Darkstar sailed and sank, a really terrible psychological case study featuring Jennifer Nocturne/Captain Nemesis aired, Animo started a farm selling PTERADACTYL NOT DRAGON eggs, and Albedo was a total troll by proving to be damn good at faking Ben’s psyche. That’s what the heroes were doing. What were the Forever Knights up to? Really? Were they acting like me and being totally hyped for the releases of the last two Gokaiger movies before Super Hero Taisen? Did they go see The Hunger Games? Oh my god, was Glee on?!
To be perfectly honest, there’s not a lot to cover here. This episode was purely set-up for the big battle to come. The Forever Knights and the Esotericas/Flame Keepers/those guys who kinda look like Kamen Rider Hibiki clash, Ben and the team try to help the Forever Knights, and Squire Winston dies. I’d be more broken up if he were, you know, more plot-important.
Speaking of which, how’s Pierce doing? Oh, we never address his potential death? Ever? I guess he and Jet are just going to chill then.
That’s the entire plot of the episode. And then we find out that Vilgax is back, as Dagon’s Herald. And he’s naked, in all his aqua naked glory. WE DO NOT NEED NAKED DOCI VILGAX, GODDAMNIT.
And the mental image of Naked Doci Vilgax is the last thing we’re left with as we move into the finale…
The Ultimate Enemy, Part 1: Naked Doci Vilgax fights St. George and our heroes for a while, while at the same time trying to break the seal. Which revealed the city of Dagon in the previous episode, but really? THEY DON’T ADDRESS IT. But Dagon’s power leaking out has turned anyone who isn’t one of our heroes or one of the helmeted Forever Knights into an Esoterica. Which is apparently now a SPECIES, instead of just being a costume you put on. By their standards, Clark Kent taking off his suit to reveal the Superman costume underneath is a full-blown henshin sequence. Julie, however, is protected because Ship turns into her battlesuit mech again.
Kevin and Gwen retreat while St. George and Ben kick…well, they get their asses mostly kicked around the place, who am I kidding? While Gwen looks for a spell that can destroy Dagon, Kevin—I shit you not—puts together a green version of the Faiz Blaster Form gear. I know this because I am a dork, and Faiz Blaster Form is one of my favorites. I have the Figuart. Along with Ryuki, Knight, Faiz regular, NEW Den-O, Princess Shinken Red, and more to come. I have a problem, okay?
Unfortunately, for Kevin Blaster Form, Gwen has previously been possessed by the Lucubra. And Dagon. And so Dagon takes her over again. Seriously, they knew this was a problem, and they knew the solution. Why the hell didn’t they use protection? So Prior Gwen goes over to blast at the seal, including going full Anodyte. You know, I remember when this was a big deal that she changed forms, that it meant she might not be able to change back. Anybody else remember that? Oh well, Kevin goes over to her and manipulates the steel/cold iron around himself to form a helmet around her, which saves her. Then he makes a helmet for Ben and offers to make one for St. George, but he insists the sword will protect him. At least we know one important thing, which I’m sure will mean so much to Gwen’s Esoterica parents: Kevin insists on using protection.
What? I’m twenty-four—plenty young enough still to get a giggle out of that.
But Psyphon arrives with…something, and Vilgax is going to kick their asses as soon as he feels like it. But then the seal crumbles, and Dagon escapes…
…Wait a cotton-picking moment. St. George points out a few times that Dagon is a “dragon,” and we’re to assume that the English word, instead of deriving from the Greek word I absolutely will not even attempt to spell pronounced “drakon,” it’s actually derived from the beast’s name. BUT THAT’S NOT A DRAGON. That’s even less of a dragon than the pteradactyls in “The Eggman Cometh”! Here’s a dragon! There’s a dragon! And another little dragon! Fuzzy dragon! Funny dragon! Dragon, dragon, SQUID.
I have now learned that I’ve been misspelling the Old Wet One’s name. Apparently, it’s spelled “Diagon.” Which, logically, would be pronounced “Die-ah-gon” like “Diagon Alley” in Harry Potter. What am I doing trying to apply logic to Ben 10? Fuck it already. Spelling it the way that makes sense in my head.
The evil plate of calamari waiting to happen is hovering above them and threatening to rain down hell upon this universe…
The Ultimate Enemy, Part 2: Apparently, this episode featured a dedication to its writer and the story editor, the late Dwayne McDuffie. I already did a dedication back in “Ben 10,000 Returns,” which I think is a little stronger one to dedicate to his memory, but really? Who am I to argue?
The final battle commences, with St. George taking on his immortal enemy, but Esotericas are overrunning him. Ben uses Ultimate Way Big—who resembles yet another Ultra I can’t identify; I seriously need to get into that franchise after Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Nexus in Junis Blue form, maybe? But Ultraman Ben isn’t faring well, with Dagon turning his powers against him and forcing him to klutz out. No, really. Ben’s accidentally destroying a dam and power lines. He’s the prince of collateral damage. Kevin Blaster Form and Gwen manage to protect St. George, and he goes to take on Dagon…only to get killed by a strike of lightning while he’s holding the sword in “Thundercats, HO!” position.
…No. I have nothing else to say on this. This is the most pathetic death I’ve seen since a bridge got dropped on Captain Kirk.
Ben returns to the others and grabs the sword as Vilgax decides to have his “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal” moment. I’m sure that Dagon was thinking that as Psyphon fired up his machine—the very machine that Vilgax had used to drain the powers of the ten champions of the galaxy that he’d defeated back in Alien Force season three. They’ve had this waiting for a WHILE, guys. Dagon’s power being himself, he’s absorbed directly into the machine and then into Vilgax and didn’t we do this shtick last season, guys? Vilgax becomes God, becoming an omnipotent, disembodied head in the sky. So can we call him Oz, the Great and Powerful?
…It occurs to me to mention here that the voice of Dagon was the voice of Dr. Claw God from “Enemy of My Frenemy.” Which means that the afterlife in Ben 10 means you’re going to be the slave of some evil plate of calamari. Squire Winston and quite possibly Pierce but it’s really unclear included. I miss the Avatar Cycle already.
Deciding to get the hell out of town, Gwen teleports them to the Plumbers’ base in Mt. Rushmore. Vilgax manages to track them down and sends Esotericas, in a scene looking oddly like the Piranhatron attack at the end of Power Rangers Turbo. Before Kevin and Ben can take the TJ option and hit self-destruct, Gwen activates the defenses, which are eye lasers on George Washington.
EYE LASERS ON GEORGE WASHINGTON. Why didn’t Man of Action think of that? That’s right up their alley!
But Vilgax takes on Naked Doci form and tears the face off George Washington and attacks. With Gwen and Kevin knocked out, Ben takes up the sword and cleaves whatever Vilgax throws at him in two. You know, Kingdom Hearts style. Vilgax mocks Ben, asking just what tired alien/ultimate form he’s going to use next, and you know it’s sad when the villain thinks that the whole thing is cliché. But Ben’s figured out how to use the sword, and the next thing Vilgax knows, Ben HAS THE POWER and transforms…into Ben in a suit of Forever Knight armor. It’s cool, but nothing customized for him? I was kind of hoping at least that the Omnitrix symbol would appear in the hilt of the sword, right where that circle is, just begging for an Eye of Thundera reference. Knight Ben and Dagon Vilgax clash, and Ben manages to stab Vilgax. Who’s apparently surprised. Dude, you’re evil, he’s good. He’s going to stab you once he gets a sharp, pointy object. Ben reveals that by stabbing Vilgax, he’s managed to absorb Dagon’s power into the sword…or something. Gwen and Kevin recover in time to hear Vilgax—now mercifully CLOTHED—taunt Ben that now that he has Dagon’s power, the sword, and the Ultimatrix, what is he going to do? Hey, no fair using Linkara’s patented Entity-breaking question on heroes! He tries to goad Ben into using the power to rewrite reality, arguing that they’re the same and seek to mold the universe to fit them.
Ahem.
BULL. SHIT.
This is a Ryuki-style batch review, so I can do an analysis right here and now: Ben is not like Vilgax. Sure, he may be his Only Nemesis, but they’re different, okay? Vilgax wants to conquer the universe and would like to remold it in his image. Ben? Not so much. When have we ever seen Ben desire to change the universe to fit his needs or desires? He even takes the whole “Will Harangue thinks I’m the Destroyer of Worlds” thing pretty damn well. He’s just annoyed. He doesn’t angst about his situation, and in fact, the only times he’s angsted, I can name:
1. When Grandpa Max disappeared, then was thought dead.
2. When he left Reiny behind on the desert planet.
3. Freaking out about blackouts in “Save the Last Dance.”
4. Saying goodbye to Grandpa Max in “Voided.”
5. His breakdown and breakthrough in “The Final Battle.”
6. Worrying about what his friends would say at school when his identity got out.
7. His parents being targeted by supervillains.
8. Aggregor.
9. Kevin.
10. Breaking up with Julie.
11. “Revenge of the Swarm.”
12. Discovering the prison under Area 51.
And this is over the course of the two sequels. That’s twelve major instances that I can name, only seven of which happened in this series.
Ben is not an angsty guy. Sure, he’s messed up. He’s got some screwed up mental processes due to having to fight evil aliens at ten years old. He’s been forced to grow up, he’s immature, he regresses like you wouldn’t believe, and he is terrified of losing his loved ones. But you know something? This is a guy who still loves to watch superheroes on TV. Who still loves videogames. Who still gives his aliens ridiculous names and gets excited every time he gets a new power.
He’s a kid. A sixteen-year-old with a damn good heart despite the occasionally questionable judgment. The kind of guy who knows what his priorities are: saving people. Not having power and exercising it. The kind of person who will still fight with all of his heart even if he loses his powers.
A hero.
And you know what? He’s the kind of hero I’d want saving me.
So in the last few minutes of the episode, we have Gwen and Kevin and a recently arrived Julie trying to talk Ben out of taking moral advice from Vilgax—their words, not mine this time. And like the whole thing about Ben’s ability to kill, I don’t believe for one second that Ben will use this power. Ben turns away from everybody, telling them to shut up so he can think. As he struggles with the power inside him, he thinks back over everything that’s happened over the past two series—all of the battles, all of the people he’s met, his friends, his enemies, his younger self, his greatest and worst moments since he took up the Omnitrix again.
And the montage ends with a shot of Ben, Gwen, and Kevin putting their hands together for the first time in “Ben 10 Returns.”
These memories convince Ben of what the right thing to do is: to release the power, restoring all of the people transformed by Dagon. And he gives it up, deciding that Azmuth was right all along and the sword was too powerful to be left in anyone’s hands. Julie kisses him for that, and he’s convinced that he really did make the right choice after all. Azmuth then appears to take it off of his hands—which is comforting, knowing that he’s lost stuff in the past—and then takes the Ultimatrix too. Ben is heartbroken, asking if it means that Azmuth thinks he’s not worthy of it. But Azmuth insists that the Ultimatrix was never worthy of Ben and tells him to check his wrist (remember: this is Ben; he doesn’t get subtle). A new Omnitrix has been given to him, massively improved over the prototype Ben used six years ago and in the previous series. And Azmuth even teases that he might give Ben Master Control for his eighteenth birthday. Azmuth takes his leave, Vilgax is taken away to jail or something, and our heroes await a new beginning.
Endpoint analysis will come soon enough, I hope, incorporating the season 2 summation.
To be perfectly honest, there’s not a lot to cover here. This episode was purely set-up for the big battle to come. The Forever Knights and the Esotericas/Flame Keepers/those guys who kinda look like Kamen Rider Hibiki clash, Ben and the team try to help the Forever Knights, and Squire Winston dies. I’d be more broken up if he were, you know, more plot-important.
Speaking of which, how’s Pierce doing? Oh, we never address his potential death? Ever? I guess he and Jet are just going to chill then.
That’s the entire plot of the episode. And then we find out that Vilgax is back, as Dagon’s Herald. And he’s naked, in all his aqua naked glory. WE DO NOT NEED NAKED DOCI VILGAX, GODDAMNIT.
And the mental image of Naked Doci Vilgax is the last thing we’re left with as we move into the finale…
The Ultimate Enemy, Part 1: Naked Doci Vilgax fights St. George and our heroes for a while, while at the same time trying to break the seal. Which revealed the city of Dagon in the previous episode, but really? THEY DON’T ADDRESS IT. But Dagon’s power leaking out has turned anyone who isn’t one of our heroes or one of the helmeted Forever Knights into an Esoterica. Which is apparently now a SPECIES, instead of just being a costume you put on. By their standards, Clark Kent taking off his suit to reveal the Superman costume underneath is a full-blown henshin sequence. Julie, however, is protected because Ship turns into her battlesuit mech again.
Kevin and Gwen retreat while St. George and Ben kick…well, they get their asses mostly kicked around the place, who am I kidding? While Gwen looks for a spell that can destroy Dagon, Kevin—I shit you not—puts together a green version of the Faiz Blaster Form gear. I know this because I am a dork, and Faiz Blaster Form is one of my favorites. I have the Figuart. Along with Ryuki, Knight, Faiz regular, NEW Den-O, Princess Shinken Red, and more to come. I have a problem, okay?
Unfortunately, for Kevin Blaster Form, Gwen has previously been possessed by the Lucubra. And Dagon. And so Dagon takes her over again. Seriously, they knew this was a problem, and they knew the solution. Why the hell didn’t they use protection? So Prior Gwen goes over to blast at the seal, including going full Anodyte. You know, I remember when this was a big deal that she changed forms, that it meant she might not be able to change back. Anybody else remember that? Oh well, Kevin goes over to her and manipulates the steel/cold iron around himself to form a helmet around her, which saves her. Then he makes a helmet for Ben and offers to make one for St. George, but he insists the sword will protect him. At least we know one important thing, which I’m sure will mean so much to Gwen’s Esoterica parents: Kevin insists on using protection.
What? I’m twenty-four—plenty young enough still to get a giggle out of that.
But Psyphon arrives with…something, and Vilgax is going to kick their asses as soon as he feels like it. But then the seal crumbles, and Dagon escapes…
…Wait a cotton-picking moment. St. George points out a few times that Dagon is a “dragon,” and we’re to assume that the English word, instead of deriving from the Greek word I absolutely will not even attempt to spell pronounced “drakon,” it’s actually derived from the beast’s name. BUT THAT’S NOT A DRAGON. That’s even less of a dragon than the pteradactyls in “The Eggman Cometh”! Here’s a dragon! There’s a dragon! And another little dragon! Fuzzy dragon! Funny dragon! Dragon, dragon, SQUID.
I have now learned that I’ve been misspelling the Old Wet One’s name. Apparently, it’s spelled “Diagon.” Which, logically, would be pronounced “Die-ah-gon” like “Diagon Alley” in Harry Potter. What am I doing trying to apply logic to Ben 10? Fuck it already. Spelling it the way that makes sense in my head.
The evil plate of calamari waiting to happen is hovering above them and threatening to rain down hell upon this universe…
The Ultimate Enemy, Part 2: Apparently, this episode featured a dedication to its writer and the story editor, the late Dwayne McDuffie. I already did a dedication back in “Ben 10,000 Returns,” which I think is a little stronger one to dedicate to his memory, but really? Who am I to argue?
The final battle commences, with St. George taking on his immortal enemy, but Esotericas are overrunning him. Ben uses Ultimate Way Big—who resembles yet another Ultra I can’t identify; I seriously need to get into that franchise after Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Nexus in Junis Blue form, maybe? But Ultraman Ben isn’t faring well, with Dagon turning his powers against him and forcing him to klutz out. No, really. Ben’s accidentally destroying a dam and power lines. He’s the prince of collateral damage. Kevin Blaster Form and Gwen manage to protect St. George, and he goes to take on Dagon…only to get killed by a strike of lightning while he’s holding the sword in “Thundercats, HO!” position.
…No. I have nothing else to say on this. This is the most pathetic death I’ve seen since a bridge got dropped on Captain Kirk.
Ben returns to the others and grabs the sword as Vilgax decides to have his “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal” moment. I’m sure that Dagon was thinking that as Psyphon fired up his machine—the very machine that Vilgax had used to drain the powers of the ten champions of the galaxy that he’d defeated back in Alien Force season three. They’ve had this waiting for a WHILE, guys. Dagon’s power being himself, he’s absorbed directly into the machine and then into Vilgax and didn’t we do this shtick last season, guys? Vilgax becomes God, becoming an omnipotent, disembodied head in the sky. So can we call him Oz, the Great and Powerful?
…It occurs to me to mention here that the voice of Dagon was the voice of Dr. Claw God from “Enemy of My Frenemy.” Which means that the afterlife in Ben 10 means you’re going to be the slave of some evil plate of calamari. Squire Winston and quite possibly Pierce but it’s really unclear included. I miss the Avatar Cycle already.
Deciding to get the hell out of town, Gwen teleports them to the Plumbers’ base in Mt. Rushmore. Vilgax manages to track them down and sends Esotericas, in a scene looking oddly like the Piranhatron attack at the end of Power Rangers Turbo. Before Kevin and Ben can take the TJ option and hit self-destruct, Gwen activates the defenses, which are eye lasers on George Washington.
EYE LASERS ON GEORGE WASHINGTON. Why didn’t Man of Action think of that? That’s right up their alley!
But Vilgax takes on Naked Doci form and tears the face off George Washington and attacks. With Gwen and Kevin knocked out, Ben takes up the sword and cleaves whatever Vilgax throws at him in two. You know, Kingdom Hearts style. Vilgax mocks Ben, asking just what tired alien/ultimate form he’s going to use next, and you know it’s sad when the villain thinks that the whole thing is cliché. But Ben’s figured out how to use the sword, and the next thing Vilgax knows, Ben HAS THE POWER and transforms…into Ben in a suit of Forever Knight armor. It’s cool, but nothing customized for him? I was kind of hoping at least that the Omnitrix symbol would appear in the hilt of the sword, right where that circle is, just begging for an Eye of Thundera reference. Knight Ben and Dagon Vilgax clash, and Ben manages to stab Vilgax. Who’s apparently surprised. Dude, you’re evil, he’s good. He’s going to stab you once he gets a sharp, pointy object. Ben reveals that by stabbing Vilgax, he’s managed to absorb Dagon’s power into the sword…or something. Gwen and Kevin recover in time to hear Vilgax—now mercifully CLOTHED—taunt Ben that now that he has Dagon’s power, the sword, and the Ultimatrix, what is he going to do? Hey, no fair using Linkara’s patented Entity-breaking question on heroes! He tries to goad Ben into using the power to rewrite reality, arguing that they’re the same and seek to mold the universe to fit them.
Ahem.
BULL. SHIT.
This is a Ryuki-style batch review, so I can do an analysis right here and now: Ben is not like Vilgax. Sure, he may be his Only Nemesis, but they’re different, okay? Vilgax wants to conquer the universe and would like to remold it in his image. Ben? Not so much. When have we ever seen Ben desire to change the universe to fit his needs or desires? He even takes the whole “Will Harangue thinks I’m the Destroyer of Worlds” thing pretty damn well. He’s just annoyed. He doesn’t angst about his situation, and in fact, the only times he’s angsted, I can name:
1. When Grandpa Max disappeared, then was thought dead.
2. When he left Reiny behind on the desert planet.
3. Freaking out about blackouts in “Save the Last Dance.”
4. Saying goodbye to Grandpa Max in “Voided.”
5. His breakdown and breakthrough in “The Final Battle.”
6. Worrying about what his friends would say at school when his identity got out.
7. His parents being targeted by supervillains.
8. Aggregor.
9. Kevin.
10. Breaking up with Julie.
11. “Revenge of the Swarm.”
12. Discovering the prison under Area 51.
And this is over the course of the two sequels. That’s twelve major instances that I can name, only seven of which happened in this series.
Ben is not an angsty guy. Sure, he’s messed up. He’s got some screwed up mental processes due to having to fight evil aliens at ten years old. He’s been forced to grow up, he’s immature, he regresses like you wouldn’t believe, and he is terrified of losing his loved ones. But you know something? This is a guy who still loves to watch superheroes on TV. Who still loves videogames. Who still gives his aliens ridiculous names and gets excited every time he gets a new power.
He’s a kid. A sixteen-year-old with a damn good heart despite the occasionally questionable judgment. The kind of guy who knows what his priorities are: saving people. Not having power and exercising it. The kind of person who will still fight with all of his heart even if he loses his powers.
A hero.
And you know what? He’s the kind of hero I’d want saving me.
So in the last few minutes of the episode, we have Gwen and Kevin and a recently arrived Julie trying to talk Ben out of taking moral advice from Vilgax—their words, not mine this time. And like the whole thing about Ben’s ability to kill, I don’t believe for one second that Ben will use this power. Ben turns away from everybody, telling them to shut up so he can think. As he struggles with the power inside him, he thinks back over everything that’s happened over the past two series—all of the battles, all of the people he’s met, his friends, his enemies, his younger self, his greatest and worst moments since he took up the Omnitrix again.
And the montage ends with a shot of Ben, Gwen, and Kevin putting their hands together for the first time in “Ben 10 Returns.”
These memories convince Ben of what the right thing to do is: to release the power, restoring all of the people transformed by Dagon. And he gives it up, deciding that Azmuth was right all along and the sword was too powerful to be left in anyone’s hands. Julie kisses him for that, and he’s convinced that he really did make the right choice after all. Azmuth then appears to take it off of his hands—which is comforting, knowing that he’s lost stuff in the past—and then takes the Ultimatrix too. Ben is heartbroken, asking if it means that Azmuth thinks he’s not worthy of it. But Azmuth insists that the Ultimatrix was never worthy of Ben and tells him to check his wrist (remember: this is Ben; he doesn’t get subtle). A new Omnitrix has been given to him, massively improved over the prototype Ben used six years ago and in the previous series. And Azmuth even teases that he might give Ben Master Control for his eighteenth birthday. Azmuth takes his leave, Vilgax is taken away to jail or something, and our heroes await a new beginning.
Endpoint analysis will come soon enough, I hope, incorporating the season 2 summation.
