Ben 10: Omniverse Forums

Part 1 summary: When Gwen and Kevin leave for college, Ben teams up with a new rookie Plumber and they discover a hidden alien city.

Airdate: August 1, 2012

Part 2 summary: Ben fights Khyber and Psyphon and along with his new partner, Rook.

Airdate: August 4, 2012

so apparently gwen skips her last year of high school? wasn't she and ben still in the same grade? does this seem like a cop out to anyone else?

still doesn't explain how gwen just magically skipped some grades

really 12th grade? odd it was offered to 10th and 11th on average at my school. and i went to a hick school in backwoods kentucky.

Tonight Ben 10 fans are treated to the first episode of the 4th Series in the franchise, Ben 10: Omniverse!

*It looks like this episode begins during Kid Ben's time period! Four Arms is fighting an evil Galvanic Mechamorph! Richard McGonagle isn't voicing Four Arms here, but John DiMaggio does well at it too!

*The evil Galvanic Mechamorph's name is revealed to be "Malware" and he drains the rest of the Omnitrix time, reverting Four Arms back to Ben!

*The Opening is very catchy! Definitely reminiscent of the Original Series Opening!

*Malware's speech buys Ben the time he needs for the Omnitrix to recharge (which Ben hangs a lampshade on)! Ben changes into a new alien (named "Feedback") and proceeds to lay the smack down on Malware!

*Now we jump ahead 5 years later where the Sequel Shows' Power Trio give chase to Zombozo (who keeps his Ultimate Alien voice)! Gwen's new look is great if you ask me, but I'm not too keen on Kevin's new look.

*During the chase, Ben changes into another familiar face, Load Star (still voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)! While on the subject, it's nice to see that Baker won't be voicing 99% of the Omnitrix Aliens as he did in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. That's not to say I thought he did bad, mind you, I actually think he's one of the few who could pull off such a feat. In fact, I felt bad that they gave the poor guy all those roles and I think it's nice of others to help take the load off for him. But I Digress.

*Looks like Zombozo's capture was the last hurrah for the Trio, Gwen's going to college (she always came off a kid/teen prodigy, so I can buy her going to college at a slightly younger age then usual) and Kevin's moving to a building near her campus! Kevin didn't become a regular cast member until Alien Force, but Gwen had been a big part of the Franchise since Day 1, so this will be quite a change for long time fans! But hey, it's only the 1st Season, it's possible that they'll be back in the "front seats" in future seasons. I suppose all we can do is wait and see.

*Ben asking himself why he was claiming he can do hero work by himself to Zombozo was a Crowning Moment of Funny!

*Ben visits Grandpa Max at his Plumbing Store (the perfect disguise for his actual career) and is offered one of his grandpa's many exotic food selections! Before Max can tell his grandson something important, Ben rushes off at the sound of an alarm!

*Ben arrives to a destroyed alien plumbing shop, unaware that he is being watched...

*According to the Crew Members, the one watching Ben is the (at least for Season 1) main villain, named "Khyber" (voiced by David Kaye) and the device he uses on his pet is called the "Nemetrix". It will be interesting to see how things play out with this villain.

*Ben tries to turn into Humongosaur, but instead turns into Spider-Monkey. Speaking of which, I've noticed that Ben hasn't been shouting the names of the aliens as he transforms into them, this works for me!

*After a little bit of fighting, Khyber calls his pet back. Unaware of Khyber's presence, Ben is confused by the pet's departure, but tries to act confident. He also meets the store's owner, "Pakmar", who explains to Ben that some aliens offer others protection for a fee...and cause damage if they don't pay up. Elsewhere, Khyber concludes that Ben is "worthy prey"...

*Ben arrives to the store of a new character, "Mr. Baughman", whose conversation with Ben fills us, the audience, in on the fact that Ben has a habit of (unintentionally) destroying his store when trying to protect it. After much pleading on Ben's part, Mr.Baughman relents and (reluctantly) allows Ben to act undercover.

*Ben transforms in Cannonbolt (who is voiced by David Kaye in this Series) and ends up causing some damage in the store. He does end up meeting a silent and polite customer at the counter.

*3 Alien show up, soon after demanding Mr. Baughman pay them the fee or else. The credits refer to them as "Bubble Helmet" (the purple armored one), "Fistina" (the red armored one) and "Liam" (the chicken).

*Cannonbolt's battle against the trio of aliens reminded me a lot of the battles from the Original Series!

*After the Omnitrix times out, the silent and polite customer steps in to help! He revealed himself to be a new plumber named "Rook" (voiced by Bumper Robinson) and was assigned by Grandpa Max to be Ben's new partner!

*Ben asking Rook if he had a whole class about him, only for Rook to tell him it was just a chapter and a half was a Crowning Moment of Funny!

*Although Ben tries to say he doesn't need a partner, Rook proves to be a pretty good ally! Ben also transforms into a new, Lego-themed alien, which, according to the credits, is named "Bloxx" (voiced by Bumper Robinson)!

*Bloxx is a pretty cool alien, if you ask me! His banter with Rook was also hilarious!

*After the explosion, an underground pathway is revealed, which the trio of alien crooks use to escape! Ben and Rook give chase, unaware of the fact that Khyber has sent his pet in close on their trail!

*This episode/Part I ends with Ben and Rook discovering that the pathway has lead them to an underground alien city!

On the whole, I gotta say that Omniverse's 1st episode has throughly impressed me! The art style is much closer to the Original Series' art style compared to Alien Force and Ultimate Alien's art style and the tone and theme song also have similar vibes as the Original Series! I get the feeling I'm going to like Omniverse better thenAlien ForceandUltimate Alien! That isn't to say I thoughtAlien ForceandUltimate Alienwere terrible, mind you. I found them to be good on their own terms, but they just didn't mesh well with the Original Series to me. Omniverse, on the other hand, definitely has the same spirit as the Original Series! I will definitely wait with excitement for Part II/the next episode!

I liked the shouting out names has ended. I am not entirely sure what to think yet, I have to see more episodes. I did feel this was different from AF/UA and that is a good thing. This did feel a little more like the original series, but not quite like it (which is also good). Ben seemed more likable for me. He was cocky still, but not in completely overbearing. Gwen and Ben's goodbye was a nice throw back to the original. Not a fan of the theme song, but that is just me. I liked lego alien though. It also had comedy and sillniess the first series had. I'll keep watching until I come up with a decision on rather I like it or not.

Gwen is in the Ivy league? I know she was always smart, even in the original series, but getting into the Ivy League at 16, wow. Rook seems likable. I am kind of excited that we only saw one AF alien and we saw two new aliens. One in the past and one in the present.

@Fourarms: A Ben and Gwen team minus Kevin. I could get behind that. It worked well in that UA episode with Captain Nemesis.

I am not really sure McDuffie would be upset about the changes. I mean he made a lot of changes to Ben 10 universe that contridicted the original series, such as Kevin turning good. It was a out of character moment and the change was so fast it was unconvincing at all given what we knew and saw of him in the original series. It wasn't until years later that he and the other writers thought of a reason for why Kevin changed so radically. I am sure he himself would understand other writers wanting to make changes themselves.

I honestly just sat through the first eight or so minutes. Not sure if it's my thing, anyone care to give me the highlights of the episode so I know if I should give it another shot?

Also, really lost some confidence when they announced (and just confirmed) that Ben 10Y has a new alien, Feedback, which seems to be his favorite alien from the past... that Ben 16Y never spoke of.

One thing I really don't get is that under the threat of a ticking bomb Ben and Rook stood there talking.