Ben 10 (New Series)

I know that feels cheap... but considering D'Void, that's somehow more hilarious to me than anything. BUT this raises a question.

Was it Forever Knight, Override or Vilgax that told Animo where to look for samples? Or Charmcaster as unlikely as that is?

They've mentioned Vilgax and Override twice already and the consequences of Ben's previous final fights on his mind, I feel we got another thing coming.

Goodness, this show's passive way of handling a part of its continuity between filler episodes makes it so damn ominous when they acknowledge past events, it feels weird when they're actually pointing out what logically happens.

Duncan Rouleau clarified that Season 5 is completely comprised of movie events and has no regular episodes, and that naturally it's the final season. So definitely looking forward to that.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Feb 9th 2020 at 11:43:25 AM

Neat. Guess I'll get to looking at the show. But you know, no hurry.

This show hasn't lasted so long because it has so many episodes or anything, but because its releases are so slow. Like, season 2 started in October. It finished also in October. I have time.

Well, it definitely exceeded Omniverse in screentime and airing time, so there's that.

401 - "Summer Breakers"

402 - "Funhouse"

403 - "Gentle Ben"

404 - "The Monsters in Your Head"

405 - "Tokyo Fun: Big Bugg Bash"

406 - "Tokyo Fun: Slamming It Up"

407 - "Queen of Bees"

408 - "Falls, Falls, Falls"

409 - "The Greatest Lake"

410 - "Mud of the Run"

411 - "Chicken in Chicken Itza, Part 1"

412 - "Chicken in Chicken Itza, Part 2"

413 - "It's Story Time!"

414 - "Cosplay Day"

From https://www.fernsehserien.de/ben-10-2016/episodenguide

If the Chicken two-parter doesn’t have Animo I will be mad.

It's aired overseas, and Animo is the villain in Part 1, LaGrange in Part 2.

And wake me up when we finally unite Hex and Charmcaster, given one of the last-minute extra episodes for Season 3 hinted at him still being Charmcaster's uncle in this continuity after all.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Feb 23rd 2020 at 7:35:31 AM

Season 4 has also began airing in the US since last month. The episodes are also out of order. Animo looks very different now.

All new episodes on the app:

Queen of Bees - Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max arrive in Bismarck, North Dakota for its annual celebration of bee pollination, bringing them face-to-face with Queen Bee and a bold new scheme, forcing Ben to conquer his new fear of bees!

Falls, Falls, Falls - Team Tennyson looks to take in the sights of the Shoshone Falls, but when they arrive to find Steam Smythe siphoning off the water, it is up to Ben to distract the steam punk baddie long enough to allow Grandpa Max and Gwen the time to shut down the hydropower plant and save the Falls.

The Greatest Lake - While visiting Lake Erie, a relaxing day at the beach gets all washed up when Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max come face-to-face with Hex, and his summer intern, Kevin! Mud on the Run - Ben gets a tough lesson on knowing his limits when he competes in a grueling obstacle race, made even worse by the Weatherheads!

It’s Story Time - After the Rustbucket breaks down, Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max find themselves killing time at the local town library but soon scramble to out maneuver Hex as he searches for a hidden ancient artifact.

Cosplay Day - Team Tennyson enjoy the biggest convention in town, but when a gawky costume store employee finds a familiar-looking helmet in the back of the store and tries it on, Ben is faced with the return of an old foe in a new form: Forever Knight!

Bottomless Ben - While visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the Tennyson’s come across the “Bottomless Pit”, a naturally formed pit with no bottom. Ben fights his better judgment to jump in the pit and be the first person to find the bottom, until Kevin 11 shows up and starts to goad Ben into a contest to the bottom of the pit! The natural rivalry is put on hold, however, with the arrival of Breaker One-Nine, who has come to destroy the Caverns!

Tales from the Omnitrix - Team Tennyson trade campfire stories in an anthology-style series that pits Ben against his archrival, Kevin 11, and teaches our hero the power of imagination.

And now for some pics:

• babies◊

• XLR8 OMNI-KIX◊ ASS◊

• When a Ben dabs, a Kevin flosses◊

• Dual transformation!

• female Weatherhead alien boss◊

• Thanks to Kev, Forever Knight's aesthetic is trending. And his helmet with his consciousness as an AI can take over people◊. (He's pissed Ben left him behind)

• Gwen tattles in Tim Burton◊. Max does so in Schoolhouse Rock◊.

• Ben makes his story look hilariously bad◊ before we go DRAGON BALL Z, BABY!◊

• Omni-Tracker.◊

• Goku Ben and Puah Gwen◊

• Vegeta Kevin◊

• Shock Rock◊ vs Hot Rush Smack◊

• A truly epic battle◊

• What was ACTUALLY happening◊

Wolf, I can’t see any of those, can you upload them to another thing please?

I have no idea how, srry

Oh ok.

When you found out you predicted Gwen’s armor: Oh.

https://mobile.twitter.com/cartoonnetwork/status/1230160127187091459

There's a TV movie coming out in fall. It's called Ben 10 Vs The Universe.

Another trial story with Chadzmuth?

And here's a summary!

Currently in production, the action-packed movie will focus around a blast from Ben's past returning to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day. Meanwhile, Gwen and Grandpa Max team up to help protect the world in Ben's absence. But when our boy hero is confused for the villain in space, Ben must figure out a way to get back to Earth to help save it!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Cartoon-Network-to-Air-BEN-10-VS-THE-UNIVERSE-This-Fall-20200219

So, um, what’s y’all’s opinion on the Reboot Graphic Novels. I think they seem neat.

I was unable to read any, but they all seem pretty interesting!

So, this is what happened in the Rome 2-parter:

• Ben wanted Italy for its pizza and so did Max. It's a mood, even with Gwen mentioning the culture.

• They go to a restaurant. Where the Bugg Brothers work. Are significantly disgusted until they're told it'll be free as a way to mark their "change of heart."

• Yeah, they just tied up the owner and used the pizza as a gig to lure in the cops inside the restaurant while they shrunk down the pantheon.

• Ben learns of their plans while Maurice is monologuing, but he gets distracted during the monologue listening to the plans and doesn't realize Maurice was switched out with a tape recorder (Sydney is annoyed he lost it).

• Gwen and Max hope Ben learned his lesson. Ben protests because... he hasn't done anything wrong this time, at all. Which Gwen and Max realize and admit it's because they're so used to him causing trouble.

• At the very least the day after, Maurice swallows the coin Gwen threw into the Trevi Fountain. Ben points out how they literally just sent them to jail in the previous episode.

• Sydney got kidnapped and Maurice is convinced he ran away of his own free will. We actually see he does care about Sydney even if he prefers complaining about him.

• The Tennysons decide to help after Max points out Maurice can't really cause trouble. Ben goes Jetray and can't take Max with him, so Max has no choice but to wait until they text him their destination. He does not know how to open his texts.

• Queen Bee is Sydney's Number 1 fan, she loves his novels and even made a statue of him holding her all dramatically in honey, along with other overly dramatic statues. She also has a giant bee gladiator named Hornet.

• Sydney cries and is genuinely touched when Maurice insults him before telling him he did miss him.

• Inspired by Max saying they should give bad guys a chance and seeing how Sydney genuinely liked Maurice's words, Gwen manages to flatter Hornet until she leaves them alone.

• Maurice and Sydney thank the Tennysons and admit it almost felt like they were all one big family. Ben is happy for them... before reminding them they're going back to jail. Gwen wants to adopt Hornet. Max backs away before the episode ends.

Now the Chicken Itza 2-parter:

• Ben can apparently get his hands on Max's wallet, but Max has a lasso ready this time.

• Mary Jo is back! And she released snakes right into the wild! Predictably scaring Ben! (Also, they nicknamed her Jojo!)

• When Ben doesn't pay respects to Quetzalcoatl, Gwen berates him. He either calls it "a stink", or mispronounces "extinct" which Gwen corrects him on, to which Mary Jo corrects her on by saying he's "mythological".

• The snake she released is grabbed by Animo. Who's got a chicken in a cage. You know where this is going as soon as they tell you Quetzalcoatl is a chicken with a snake's body.

• Max still remembers the day he became a chicken and is fluent in talking chicken, so much he's able to soothe the Quetzalcoatl down after giving her a few pats (Jojo did the same and instructed Ben to do so as well before Animo's collar messed things up). He has bird seeds on him.

• Animo is a fan of Mary Jo and wants to kidnap her. So that she'll help him make experiments on reptiles. Looks like she has the worst luck in guys ever.

• Max and Gwen catch up to the flying chicken-snake using the Copter. They don't have any Plumber weapon, so they just ram the Copter into it. You can guess why this will be a problem.

• Jetray and the Quetzalcoatl are now buddies!

• Ben doesn't know the "Last one to the [destination] is a stink!" doesn't work when he says "First one" instead. Jojo comments on it.

• Ben actually feels bad about thrashing the Copter later on, feeling responsible for Max's sour mood the rest of the evening and deciding he'd rather go with Jojo to get Quetzalcoatl to a nature preserve as a way to make sure he doesn't mess things up again.

• Alien theorists want the beast released. Driver says no. Somehow they missed the alien kid that fought the squid guy in the theorist's videos.

• Gwen admits she misses "loud annoying Ben" when Ben argues he doesn't use his aliens for everything, clearly aware that trying to protect the Quetzalcoatl with his aliens could result in more damage.

• Max eats bird seeds to soothe the pain. Ben can hear him over the communication radio before Gwen throws the bag away, mentioning he has a problem.

• Ben hesitates and clearly feels self-conscious before going hero when Lagrange, a year late on his rent, goes to steal the cargo to get rich. He mentions several times they're not friends.

• It gets worse when XLR8 can't catch up, sending Ben into even more guilt and insecurity while nearly driving me to tears. Speaking of driving, he calls up Glitch as Heatblast. They crash onto Lagrange's abandoned car mid-drive, causing the Rustbuggy and the jungle to catch on fire.

• Max pretends to be Breaker One-Nine to lure Lagrange into a trap, telling him he'll get a big amount of money if he brings the Quetzalcoatl into their trap. He later sends a message to Ben and Gwen on the Rustbuggy to give Ben the confidence he needs to get back up. I have a fuzzy feeling in my chest now.

• Episode ends with Max saying he isn't that mad, and the Rustbucket is at least still intact. Quetzalcoatl lands on it and leaves a dent there before she flies out, with Max hoping Phil can buff that out too.

Oh man, stuff, stuff, MAX IS STILL FLUENT IN CHICKEN? Also Jetray doing stuff? Yay!

One of the episodes that aired over the weekend was Falls, Falls, Falls, and so far, I think it may be the weakest episode of the season so far. The episode is completley in first person. While there were some neat scenes that happen, for example Ben transforming in first person, the transitions to scenes when Ben moves his head is not smooth at all. It gets to the point where the episode is a bit disorienting.

I wonder why they would make an episode like that. It's a mystery, alright.

Merchandise-Driven I guess?

This season, imo, while not as poor as season 1, has not been on par with seasons 2 and 3. The lack of a clear-cut overarching Big Bad ala Vilgax and Forever Knight or solid hints as to what is going on with the Omni-Kix forms when compared to the Omni-Enchaned forms hurts it.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Feb 26th 2020 at 7:07:24 AM

Perhaps they're testing out to see how a first-POV extended sequence would do, maybe for the movie or for some other scenes. That or they wanted to see people's reactions before Coppa ruined their groove.

I kinda like it actually, gives us a better idea of what Ben sees whenever he has to be the hero, kinda like when he described changing Upgrade's shapes as "imagining he's water/a rock", though I wouldn't like it if the entire show was like that.