Fun fact: Ironically, out of all of the Lovecraftian pantheon, Dagon is one of the few without tentacles or any cephalopod-like qualities. He was depicted as an obese fish frog man.
@@rodrigofigueiredo8597 1. Has a cult. 2. Eldritch deity That’s about it. Even the whole forbidden knowledge schtick is more of a Cthulhu thing, Dagon just bribes people with gold and immortality.
Chromastone being the last alien used in UAF is ironic because when the omnitrix recalibrated at the start of AF, chromastone was the first hologram to appear when Ben activated it.
and in Omniverse he's the second to last transformation we see, as well as the last transformation (since it technically includes all of the aliens, which makes them all the final transformation in a way)
Vilgax going "you stabbed me >:(" at the end always cracks me up. It's like when you're play fighting with your sibling and accidentally hurt him for real, he just sounds so offended.
I think it was more he was surprised that Ben would actually stab him. Instead of trying to find a creative way to fight him or using something else to fight him with.
@@KumiChan2004 dude he already tried to pop vilgax's head off as diamondhead with gatling crystals when he was TEN, vilgax shouldn't he surprised anymore lol
the first uaf breakdown released September 17th, 2021, And here we are at the final uaf breakdown, and what a ride it's been. We had some episodes that were great, some that were awful, things that Kuro said that I agreed with, and things I disagreed with. But overal, it's been such a great time.
@@lulukomadori9651 yeah it's annoying but it would be boring if Ben could just transform into his stronger aliens and wreck the threat easily and weaker aliens would be left behind being completely useless.
Is it just me that actually likes when he points out animation errors? Like honestly he says he tries not to overdo it but I've learned a good amount about animation
Every part of WayBig from his design to his beam attack to his flying pose, heck even his name, are all Ultraman references and that makes me very happy. The species is literally Tokustar, as in tokusatsu star, you know, because he's the lead in a tokusatsu show.
Because if Ben falls, vilgax wins. He’s lost the physical battle and he knows that Ben could wipe him out in an instant and he’s too far away to absorb any ammount of power. But if he can make Ben the villain, turn him into the new vilgax, it doesn’t matter that Ben won the physical battle, he ends up a tyrant no better then vilgax. And that means to vilgax that even in death, he won the battle of wills. His legacy would live on through Ben.
Well they were talking about using alien tech to progress humanity, not use supreme power to stop evil. It's not like she knew their motives back then.
To be fair, Advancing Tech is insignificant compared to total power, domination, and control over the Universe. Nothing, not even the very Laws of Physics itself, was bound to him at that moment. Combine that with Julie learning about her mistake, and we get what we see of her.
1) The Flamekeeper's Circle never talked about stopping all evil when they first appeared, they just talked about using alien technology to advance medicine and other things like that. 2) Julie didn't trust that the laws about alien technology improving primitive worlds were justified, and the Trio didn't really explain their reasoning well. 3) Julie _did_ trust in Ben's judgement in recognizing his arch-nemesis Vilgax, Conqueror of Ten Worlds, blah blah blah, while the rest of the Flamekeeper's Circle barely considered the possibility that Vilgax was an imposter. 4) Ben was about to try to play god. Whether it failed or succeeded, Ben would forever be on that Waters of Mars, Time Lord Victorious grindset.
@@ManicFiction Boom, this. He'd forever be stuck on that Waters of Mars, Time Lord Victorious grindset too. She would lose Ben, not to fame, not to his own ego, but to godhood.
You know what? I think that the reason this is so rough is because they didn't want to tamper with Dwayne Mcduffie's script. He wasn't around to edit it, and they didnt want to stick another writer on the title card to honor him and his legacy.
As someone who knows nothing of animation, kuro’s explainations are fun to see as it gives a slight peer into the process used for making my favorite childhood show
I like how this ending comes full circle with the Generator Rex ending, where Rex becomes the most powerful being in the Universe and decides to use this power to cure all EVOs on Earth.
For some reason I really love how skinny ultimate way big looks in certain shots. Most ultimates became more buff and armored. I love how his proportions supvert expectations despite ultimate way big himself being a bit of a let down
It's like Toriyama's method when he created final form Frieza during the Namek Saga: Most people you'd expect to buff up and get big to emphasize power, but for Frieza, you compact that power into one small form but with all the powerful packed into it, making for a sleeker but more terrifyingly powerful new shape
I think Vilgax’s reaction to being stabbed by Ben is reasonable given he’s never had that level of injury before by Ben’s hands. Think back to the times Ben’s defeated Vilgax: left in the Null Void, then into space, beaten by Diamondhead in which he got a black eye, thrown into space again, ship exploded. Vilgax has been hurt before by Ben, but never to the point where his physical structure was damaged with the closest thing to being stabbed was probably being given a black eye, so of course he would be fazed by something simple like being stabbed.
I love the scene of everyone trying to convince Ben to make the right choice with all the power he has after beating Vilgax. One thing that I think could have made it even better was to have Grandpa Max show up. Max was there from the start when he first got the watch and helped him learn what it means to be a hero. And in Alien Force, Max going missing and then "dying" is what leads Ben to use what he learned and grow into the hero he needed to be. Having Max here to give his guidance to Ben one last time would have been so fulfilling and would have been a great call back to how much of an impact he had on Ben's life.
I disagree. If max was there, he would have been the one to make the choice not ben. He would let ben make his own choice and not try to guide him, but just by being there, that reassurance would be taking away credit of ben growing up enough to make the hard choices on his own. That whole scene is about Bens ability to stand on his own and make the right choice. No one to support him, guide him, or tell him whats right and wrong. No paradox, no asmuth, no max.
@@Hadeks_Marow Best thing would have been to have him there and when Ben or the rest of the group tell him to convince Ben to have him say Ben is grown and needs to make his own decision now.
@@awildgbrandom For the record, the exact thing I blame max would have done, is the same thing Julie ended up doing >.> I forgot she was in this episode when I wrote the original reply. But again, even him just being there would give ben a guilty conscious. Just max's presence would peer pressure him to doubt himself. Again, that's the peer pressure talking, not him making/coming to the conclusion all his own. For the scene to work perfectly with the series theme, Ben needs to make the right decision with no outside influences to fall back on. Max being there just makes the choice too obvious.
I feel in the flashbacks, even though he wasn’t present for some of them, he’s able to view them thanks to having the powers of Dagon and the Sword together.
Plus as shown with Zs'kkarr certain Alien's consciousness resides in their DNA. Maybe Ben was able to see Galapgegs memories because his species has similar DNA functionality, or because they can tap into Mana more naturally then other species
Thank you for your in-depth analysis of Ben’s character. It is easy to take childhood shows for granted, often just remembering them as fun or epic. I love channels like yours because they open my eyes to an actual theme or message or arc that child me overlooked that adult me can appreciate.
Lol I'm glad you said this because I also had my own little "rewrite" for ultimate enemy. Atleast for that last battle, since I found it so mundane. Obvs the bit with Ben being influenced was cool. To clarify, what I describe takes place just before they teleport to mount Rushmore, and ends before the whole Ben being influenced by power. So let's do this. (Btw, this is long, and doesn't even have an ending [make up your own idk]) Vilgax has taken control. Ben knows that no matter what they do, they cannot defeat him. He had the ultimate power. Siphon had run off after giving Vilgax the Dagon's powers and the trio stood in shock as the tentacle monster with a menacing, powerful, glowing gold aura was as large as the sky itself. As he rained down lazers upon then, Gwen teleported them as far as she could. To a safe spot. They ended up inside the base behind Mount Rushmore. Gwen, having been exhausted due to excessive use of her powers, collapsed, to the shock of Kevin, who helps her stand and offers advice. All the while, Ben is standing, eyes closed, searching for something. Anything to stop the villain. Just as Kevin muttered a line about being safe for the time being, Vilgax's thunderous laughter can be heard all around them. Aware of the impending doom upon them, Ben focuses and thinks hard for a solution. But he needed time. Using the cameras in the base, he saw Esoterica climbing the base of the mountain. They'd be intercepting the crew within moments. Suddenly, an idea pops. Just as Vilgax came hurtling towards the 4 faces, Ben slaps his watch and turns into Echo Echo. Meanwhile, Julie in her ship suit is speeding over counties trying to figure out where Ben and the others are. She arrives above the mountains to see a very large, glowing Vilgax tearing the face off the mountain. There were millions of Esoterica surrounding the base and Julie thought of the danger the trio were in. Suddenly, a huge flash of greenlight erupted from seemingly, just outside of where face broke off, and two massive beings emerged and landed on top of and in the middle of the gigantic army. One of the beings' head was even able to go higher than that of Julie herself, who was incredibly high in the air. Upon looking at their designs, Julie recognised the smaller one, identifying it as Ben's Alien Way Big and concluded the other was the ultimate version due to the similar design with a tinge of blue added on. However, Julie was confused as to how two different Aliens were present. Back in the base, there were over a hundred different Aliens staring down Vilgax, who himself was looking bewildered and perplexed. Every Alien were different. Swampfure, Humongousaur, Diamond head and so on. Almost every Alien's ultimate form also appeared and surrounded Ben's ultimate Enemy. All Aliens had Ben's green eyes and sported the Omnitrix logo onto chests, indicating that they had some affliction with Ben, somehow. "How is this.." left Vilgax's mouth, shock cutting off the rest of his sentence. Without a second thought, all ranged Aliens launched everything they had at Vilgax, enveloping the area around him in immense smoke. As it dispersed, the melee fighters moved in to attack, with Humongousaur delivering a devasting smash to Vilgax, sending him flying out the base and toward the bottom of the mountain. It was at this point, that both Way Bigs, who before were stomping at the Esoterica, launched themselves at the falling villain, using power blasts and pummeling him with punches with such ferocity, it shook thr earth around them. A few miles away from them was Ben, in human form, Kevin, Gwen and the Sword of Ascalon. With both his comrades not filled in as to what happened, they began to ask what has just occured. At this point, Julie also touched down and looked bewildered at the trio. Ben, after hugging Julie, explained his plan. He knew he needed time to think of a permanent solution, so he opted to get it. Using the trick he used some time ago, where he created three versions of himself to attend a movie viewing, Julie's tennis game and a mission with Kevin, Ben had created 100s of clones of Echo Echo, pressing the Omnitrix at the right time, and simultaneously all turning into Ben, just as Vilgax was tearing away at the mountain. Two of the Ben's ran as soon as it went away (those two being the Way Big Bens), with the rest pressing their watches to turn into a different Alien than the other, including Ultimate variations. The one who turned into Fast-Track supersped normal Ben, Kevin, Gwen and the Reality Bending sword away, before returning to face the shocked menace. Although they all bared different personalities, they all had Ben's unwavering will and spirit, which they would use to keep Vilgax occupied, until they could think of a long term fix. As the conversation took place, Vilgax snapped back to his senses and outright vaporised a lot of Aliens in front of him including Spider-Monkey, Wildmutt and Ultimate Way Big. Although the Aliens surrounded Vilgax, they were no match for his limitless power. Ben knew he had little time. He, in his mind, had two choices; to turn into the Alien who wasn't already out there, the Alien that could erase and create entite universes, the Celestialsapien that can blink anything away, Ben had the choice of turning into Alien X. Despite how powerful he was, and how appealing the choice was, Ben knew it was too risky. Although, he himself would live, everyone around him would suffer, and after defeating Vilgax, there'd be nothing left. This left Ben with the other option. Ben picked up the Sword of Ascalon and tried to figure out how it worked. Lol if you read all this, thanks but you gotta go live life man 😭
I absolutely love how hyped Vilgax is to see Godly Ben. I always took it as his begrudging respect for Ben as "the ultimate good", and how it contrasts himself to the point that seeing this ultimate triumph, for Ben to have an equal and opposite ambition, is awesome. Being destroyed in an evil destroying act of god is way cooler than going to jail or something at least.
I also think he is projecting his desired on his greatest enemy. That if vilgax can corrupt his counter part to do the thing he would do, it validifies what he (vilgax) would do and corrupting his enemy in it's own right is a victory on it's own.
Ben: “Why would you WANT me to eradicate all evil? You’re the most evil person I know, so I would destroy you too and I won’t lie… I kinda want to.” Vilgax: “Yes, and being wiped out by a GOD would be the ultimate honor. I always despised losing to you because I thought you weren’t a worthy opponent, losing to you was a disgrace but now, I’ll finally die a warrior’s death and you, as well as the universe at large will finally be rid of me, it’s a win-win.”
As a huge Ultraman fan, I personally love Ultimate Way Big even if he was super underutilized. Fun fact too, that jumping shot you commented on the episode is actually a reference to Ultraman's transformation pose! It's usually a pose in that exact angle with the right hand pointed skyward and the elbow bent, which I noticed when airing!
Clearly the most important addition of Omniverse won't be all the new lore and worldbuilding, the more fluid and expressive animation, the expansive supporting cast, or even giving Ben control of Alien X. It'll be increasing the hero time counter.
14:50 that pose that Ultimate Waybig does is actually a reference to an iconic pose that ultramen do in the franchise. All ultramen have a variation of this pose when they grow from their human form to the size of an ultraman
Ultimate alien had its ups and downs but that scene and the final episode were a great send off to the original story before omniverse soft rebooted it.
UAF wasn’t perfect but, for me, it came really close when it got things really right. We laughed, we cried, and the journey still ain’t over. Looking forward to Omniverse.
0:00-7:24: Thank you Man of Action, Glen Murakami, and Dwayne McDuffie for this incredible era of "Ben 10". And thank you Kuro for your profound description of Ben's journey up till this point, it was detailed, well thought out, and made me appreciate Ben as a character even more.
And it gives even more meaning to the subtitle Ultimate Alien. It was never just about the Ultimatrix and its aliens. UA is a show about power. The major arcs were all lusts for power, with the team going against enemies who were seeking or had already obtained ultimate power. And in the finale, Ben has the chance to take all that power, himself becoming The Ultimate Enemy.
They did at least give input, @@yashjoshi6168. Which for sure helped the UAF crew through UA Season 3. A lot of general plots for episodes of Gen. Rex and UA S3 are almost the exact same.
Ya know I really appreciate Kuro’s efforts to unite the story of UAF, especially when the authors themselves didn’t necessarily have one, and I know I, as many others, would have a hard time uniting all of the disparate plot lines.
I think that if Sir George would've been the one tempting Ben to wipe out all evil instead of Vilgax (with him dying and turning into dust right after) the scene would've been more effective and Ben totally would've done it. The only reason why that didn't happen was because having Vilgax as the one saying those things specifically was almost the same as seeing the little devil on Ben's shoulder telling Ben to do something bad.On the other hand Ben has the same huge ego and relates to Sir George (even admitting to himself that despite being capable of following other people's plans he always thinks that his plans and methods are better than everyone else's), so if he was the one trying to tempt him to use all that power for a supposedly noble cause his dilema would've been even stronger and he would totally fall for that under those circumstances. Even Gwen and Kevin were lowkey preparing to fight Ben, so they clearly deep down know that Ben would be someone that could succumb to that kind of power due to his huge ego. I think that would've been a better way to give some relevance to Sir George in the last episode of this arc.
Agreed with you. If it had been Sr George the one who planted that seed, i think Ben would've been more open to the idea. Heck, i think Gwen, Kevin and Julie would have to fight him to let go of the sword.
I do honestly like Ultimate Way Big because as a tokusatsu fan I can tell exactly what they're going for. Ultraman Taro's horns, Ultraman Tiga's combined form's colours and the OG's razor disk attacks made me really happy seeing this episode again. The original show and UltraSeven are genuinely great shows even today, half a century later
One cool but sad fact I found out about Dwayne McDuffie: he is related to Keegan-Micheal Key, their half brothers from their father's side. The sad part being that Key found out about this as well as another half brother after they both passes away, so i don't believe they had a chance to meet.
This is the end of an era. RIP Dwayne Mcduffie, the man who brought us the ups and downs of bens teenage life and a thank you to Kuro and the rest of the ink tank for creating these breakdowns for every Ben 10 fans to enjoy. Here’s to omniverse and the stories to come along with it
I know it probably wasn't a choice that they made on purpose but the fact that Ben doesn't blink or close his eyes the whole time Vilgax was trying to convince Ben, up until he starts to be influenced by his friends. Shows how much he could be on the edge there of given into the power.
I watched UA as a 11-12 yol and never fully finished Omniverse, but I remember this being one of my favourite moments ever. Looking back, its seems kinda weird now cause I have different tastes and standards for animated shows but Ben 10 will always be one of those shows that you tell your kids about. Thx for letting me re-experience Ben 10 AF and UA man. Now on to Omniverse which even tho I never fully watched, I vividly remember it being my favourite despite all its slander.
As an Ultraman fan, I freaking love Ultimate Way Big. As a Ben 10 fan, ehhhhh I feel like it could've been better. Also, when Ultimate Way Big flies, his pose is quite reminiscent of the Ultraman rise sequences, where after the human host/form transforms, there will be a sequence where the Ultraman will rise with his fist in the air The moves Ultimate Way Big uses are also references to the various techniques that the Ultras use, that spinning deflecting move reminds me most of Ultraman Cosmos, and he does the Ultra Saw Disc move that is used by Ultraman, Jack and Ace. And also, I'm probably stretching this one a bit. The acid rain attack might be a reference to how Ultraman can only stay on Earth for 3 minutes due to the pollution of the Earth's atmosphere, and acid rain is a product of pollution.
@@darrylbonner7208 personally, I think it's awesome. Plus I find it a bit funny that O.R.Ash took inspiration from Evangelion, where it is also inspired from Ultraman. I like that he leaned more into the Cosmic Storms aspect of Way Big's origin, and making Way Big the size of a freaking planet?? Heck yeah that's rad! It feels like an evolution of the Tokustar species
As a Ben 10 fan who only knows of Ultraman indirectly (Raised in the 00's, first anime was stuff like Naruto), I really liked Ultimate Way Big's design. I always appreciated when the ultimates decided to go more sleek over bulking up like Swampfire/Wildmutt/Humongosaur. So I appreciated that. Was he underutilized? Yup. But so was the entire concept of Ultimates, so nothing special there. I really wonder what happened there. Did the ratings really fall so badly or the toys not profitable enough that they decided to just focus on Omniverse and ignore all these dropped plot points of UA? Was it executive meddling to make sure the focus was on the brilliant idea of an arrogant Ben who barely has time for his GF, instead of those pesky aliens or on promoting George/Dagan? Was it simply unresolved creative differences? Guess we'll never know, but it's a shame between this and OV's advertising putting me off that this is the last time I'd think about Ben 10 until like, 2021 when I (re)-found Kuro's channel (it was still called Kuro the Artist the last time I browsed the channel, some 2016 or so).
I do feel that the Dagon arc suffered because the only real attachment the group had to it was Gwen being mind controlled early on. The forever knights and the esoterica have their intertwining stories that work but the story follows Ben and friends so when they are involved they take the focus which causes the arc to suffer. Even with the ending, Ben has no personal connection to the Dagon so instead they use Vilgax as a stand in to be “Ben’s Dagon”
My guess about why the Esoterica store attacking once Dagangax turned human-sized was probably Dagangax's pride demanded that he destroy Ben alone and by his own hands.
It would be cool if you re-imagine this final episode like you did with The Negative 10, cause I think this episode deserved it. Goodbye UAF. It was a long ride.
I would say for Vilgax's Dagon form have a chaotic mesh of his regular and lucubra face, not just even on each side, but just random bits of each part across the face, and have it be constantly shifting like Rorschach's mask in Watchmen.
I would have liked to see a take on cyborg Vilgax not just because it’s iconic, but also because if he has the power of Dagon it would have made sense for Vilgax to be able to appear in anyway he pleased and present himself as what he thinks his most powerful form is.
@EveleenKisune Cyborg Vilgax was never his strongest form though, Warlord Vilgax had 10 different _superpowers,_ compared to Cyborg Vilgax who was just a big buff guy with implants.
man, what a great ride. this really gave me a nostalgic feeling. UAF era will always be my favorite cartoon of all time. this show completed my childhood and brought me a lot of joy and fun memories. I would say, I'm grateful to have this channel brought me back to my childhood self. I may sound weird here but Ben Tennyson is the person that I grew up wanting to be since I was a child. He was my role model at that time since I can't relate to some people of mine back then. To grow up with this show, it feels like a childhood friend that you've been with since pre-school. There isn't enough words I can describe of how much love this show especially the UAF era which highlights most of my childhood. Damn, gave me tears on that final minutes of the episode.
A pretty great breakdown on Ben Tennyson's development as a character throughout alien force and ultimate alien, along with how it leads to this finale. This analysis shows great respect and much attention to Ben's character, and reminds me of what I like about Ben as a character.
My take for the final flashback is since Ben has the powers of the Dagon, he was able to see events that he wasn’t there for. Still some weird choices for scenes though.
Another fun fact about Ultimate WayBig is when he fly up to Daagon is actually a reference to the Ultraman trope of when they transform they usually show them flying up ward with their right arm up
I feel like for Vilgax’s Dagon design, they could’ve just gone full Lovecraft & lean more into the Cthulhu design. Giant body, webbed claws & feet, massive wings. Pretty much just the Cthulhu design but with Vilgax’s head.
This would’ve been the perfect time for “Alien X” to appear against Dagon Vilgax but no, we get Ben stabbing Vilgax, which is anti-climactic. I blame the Cartoon Network for the execution of the finale. You should do a rewrite like the Negative 10. Goodbye Ultimate Alien, Hello Omniverse. R.I.P Dwayne McDuffie.
I feel like Alien X would be just as anti-climatic, since he could simply make it so Dagon vanished from existence, so I understand why the writers chose not to use him
I feel like Alien X would be overkill But also Alien X could've transitioned to Omniverse very smoothly, with Ben being trapped in the form for a few months before becoming human again and adapting to the changes that have been made
I've been a fan of ben 10 since long I could remember and watching these videos helped understand the small details of the series and what struggles it had to endure. I'm just glad I watched all of ben 10 and now I got to watch all over again with a newer perspective thank you kuro you really are a great creator on this platform!
I'm in tears, I was 6 y/o when UAF ended and now after so many years I still rewatch the episodes and feel fresh, thank you Cartoon Network, Man of Action, and GOAR Dwayne McDuffie for making my childhood great
I can't believe the UAF breakdowns are over. As someone who dropped off Ben 10 after Alien Force, you've really made me appreciate Ultimate Alien a lot more than I used to. Now it's time to get excited for the Omniverse breakdowns!
With this finale, it seems to me like they wanted to replace the dagon with vilgax and George with Ben to show some kind of link between them but I really don't see the point of wasting these characters they have spent so many episodes setting up. Great breakdown Kuro, and excited to see what you think about OV
yeah , you thought right basically they wanted to show contrast in two battles fought in the past and present by showing dagon vs george and vilgax vs ben , its a kinda like giving us a message that history repeats itself , but they completely ruined it with the lame battle
I think that's what they really planned, the thing is, only the connection between Ben and George felt more natural than Dagon and Vilgax because of how rushed the ending was.
@@ardzzz1010 Yeah they shouldve atleast devoted one more episode to the show to give it an epic ending , Heck ill even take it if kuro would rewrite the entire dagon arc like he did with negative ten
@@faizakhalid5710 I'm down with that! I think ultimate humungosaur and ultimate echo echo should have made an appearance in the three episode finale considering they're the two most iconic ultimate aliens. ultimate humungosaur should've battled Vilgax in last episode because that was such a missed opportunity.
About the omnitrix is a prototype thing, in ben 10 hyper scan when ben mistransforms max will appear and say "the omnitrix is a PROTOTYPE and doesn't always function correctly" and hyper scan game was released far back as 2005,even before this 49:47
The Introduction part got me very good. Joy, resemblance, sadness, sacrifices and Control. Very well put monolog Kuro. I love the Ben 10 as a kid, teenager and an adult rn. It was a great story and journey as I grow up with the show Ben got grow up too.
Fun Fact: Thanks to this episode UAF Ben is the only version of Prime Ben to have all 4 versions of the main Omnitrix devices on his wrist during his show airing He wore the classic one in Ben 10 Returns It recalibrated to the Alien Force design in the same episode He destroyed that Omnitrix in the finale of Alien Force and stole Albedo's Ultramatrix for the duration on Ultimate Alien And in this episode he is given the perfected Omnitrix that's used in Omniverse going forward
54:52 a PERFECT opportunity for Ben to say “it’s hero time!” Would be before he cured all the esoterica, like add in shot of him saying it before doing a zoom out if him raising the sword. It would have played up the dramatics. Also, based on how you treat it in 5YL as a sort of battle cry to help him be fearless, it could be a way to show Ben struggling but ultimately succeeding in giving up all that power, something for Ben to say to help him let go by remembering what he is and always should be: a hero.
31:28 You know that squid form Vilgax takes at the end of Alien Force? Maybe he turns into that just with the lucubra patterns on it. That way it's like a combo of the two things and hey it would allow us to see that squid form again
I never thought about it until now, but there's an alternate universe in Ben 10 where Ben does keep the powers of the Dagon, the sword, and the ultimatrix to rule his world, with Anodite Gwen, Amalgam Ultimate Kevin, and Vilgax by his side. With Armored Julie and Azmuth as part of the resistance. Like, even Eon won't touch that universe because he knows how overwhelmed he'd be. This would be worthy of a multiverse Ben 10 (and Gwen 10, and Max) crossover event. Including the 3 Ben 10,000's and maybe even Ben 10-Finity. Basically, I liked that you called attention to how Gwen and Kevin can relate to Ben in a moment where he needs them the most. Also, I did peep that UAF Ben has worn all 4 versions of the Omnitrix and Im glad more people know this piece of trivia.
33:54 MY BOY Chromestone being the last transformation of the era and hurting the lovecraftian monster of dagon is so cool yet so underwhelming w context
For Dagon-Vilgax I would have personally made it a true mix of both of them, like the head could have dagon's helmet or that brown piece, the eyes and mouth of vilgax could have remained the same and the tentacles could have been a weird mix of both his and dagon's tentacles.
Ben at his best(especially in Omniverse) is a guy who can be ignorant about things, and has alot of learning to do, but t the end of the day is a pretty wise guy who tries his best to do the right thing.
Man, this has been a trip. Rekindling my love of Ben 10 by watching this channel and now meeting the end of the series I watched before I stopped paying attention ito it, it feels like the end of a nostalgia binge. And with the inspiration both me and everyone else in this great community you guys have helped foster, I think I want to stick around longer; see what Omniverse has in store; get more isnpired for my own projects like we see you guys do. I personally would like to just thank everyone in The Ink Tank for being a source of inspiration, fun and passion. I wish you all the best.
The introductory essay at the start is the reason why I think Ultimate alien is the perfect end to Ben's Character arc. Kuro explained it beautifully .
Another title could have been Ben 10: Hero of Heros Thank you so much kuro cause of you my love for the show has come back Started watching since og series season 2 and now you have completed 3 series Definitely excited for omniverse
This feels like how I actually felt when I watched the finale. I feel so nostalgic, and for the first time in a while, I feel like crying out of sadness. Ben 10 IS my childhood. Especially the UAF era, as a younger kid, that didn't grow up with OS due to age. Thankyou Kuro.
You can really see the parallels between Ultimate Alien and Justice League Unlimited. Both at least partially written by Dwayne McDuffie, has themes of ultimate power and how it should be used. We see Ben at the most powerful in the series where most of his defeats come from him holding back or saving others, very superman like of him. And when Ben deciding to kill kevin after all the people he's hurt can also be seen in superman killing Lex Luther in the alternate timeline. There are differences sure but it's a great way to see how Dwayne can really elevate cartoon shows past the point of just entertainment with really great theming that's actually a lot better done than most superhero shows today
I loved the ending of this as much as I did when I was 7 years old. When I was little it was always Ultimate Way Big (me) vs Multi-Shadow Clone Naruto (my friend) running around in the field. I didn’t understand that Ben was going away back then and I still could watch OG on Boomerang and reruns of AF on CN. I didn’t realize that this nostalgia would mean so much to me and I thank you for that Kuro.
I already stated this MULTIPLE times: TURBO is an amplification spell that "turbo-charges" whatever mana act she is using at the time at the cost of higher mana drain. It's her version of the ultramatrix's "going ultimate". High cost - high output. She could cast TURBO on a shield to create a more powerful shield.
@@TheInkTank I mean, it's in the literal name of the spell, so it kinda makes sense. 😅 The cost thing was just a cop-out to explain why she doesn't always use turbo, similar to how she doesn't always use teleportation magic.
It's been 2 years since the whole Fandom started a new journey with the Ink Tank community Ben-10 Classic, AF & UAF. It was hell of a roller-coaster ride so many polls, wrong alien count, Kevin's car crash count, many interconnect series references. I just like to sincerely thank the whole Ink Tank community for reminding me and many people from the fandom about our childhood days that we left somewhere in our busy lives. Brothers who read this, prepare yourselves for one last ride with our good friends for Omniverse, cause who knows what tomorrow holds, maybe we'll never get a good Ben-10 series again so we must enjoy what's left with us. And again thanks to the Ink Tank community for they hard work👍✌
I think Dagon would have been a bit more memorable if he broke the Ultimatrix. When Dagon zaps George he could blast Ben at the same time, but the watch's feedback manages to save ben's life & gives a good reason why Ben uses Ascalon to fight Vilgax. That would carry some real Captain America's Shield breaking energy.
I wonder if Ben 10 UAF had any influence on SU. The Highbreed arc did the redeem alien dictators story years before SU. Considering both have influence from sci fi and magical girl anime, I wouldn’t be surprised. Both the Ben and Steven get a custom jacket in their signature color to signify the timeskip.
I commented it before but Bens last words of each series were: "Going Hero" for Classic, "Its Hero Time" for Alien force, "I dont know how to thank you" UA, and "We're going on a road trip" for OV. I've kinda always felt that the last words for each series should have been hero time or somthing similar. he should have atleast said it somewhere in the finale for each series but we only got it for Classic and AF (I think, I dont remember the OV finale as well as I do the others)
This series inspired me to start up my own Ben 10 D&D Campaign series. Big thanks to Rob, Ash, Kellen, and everyone else on the team, for reigniting my passion and hyperfixation on this franchise! Keep up the amazing work, can't wait for Omniverse!
@@ksoundkaiju9256 Yeah! There's a trailer and some teasers for it on my channel! Basically, one player is gonna start with an omnitrix, and as they fill it up more, the others will be given their own unique gimmicks so that it doesn't become unbalanced! Not sure just yet on all the specifics, but opportunities for the other players to get unique watches of their own isn't currently off the table!
14:45 A Fun fact : This specific Flying scene is homage to the iconic Ultraman Flying sequence at the end of their transformations. It's kinda their signature thing. And I loved Ultimate WayBig ❤❤
In my bad Ben story I'm writing when this moment presents itself my Ben kind of does the same thing. He lets humans have free will because as he puts it "It would be very boring if I had no one to challenge me" he even gives up the power but after his multiversal adventure he decided that he still has to get stronger and so he becomes Ben 10,000 ruler of earth
I like hiw that sounds!! I mean, Ben has a bad side, but it was always overlooked and he didn't really went to the deeper end because he has his friends. But let's be honest, in your timeline where Ben succumbed to the dark side he could easily remember all those times he was undermined. I mean, there were times where Ben was the third wheel on the group, sometimes Gwen sided with Julie more often than with his cousin (Yes, Ben was a jerk sometimes but that time where he almost died and if it wasn't for Helena in disguise he would have.) and both Gwen and Kevin Left soon after this happened. So.... I can totally see your AU happening. I've read a comment above that maybe if Sr George had been the one who planted the seed Ben would've have fallen for the tentation.
For Dagon Vilgax, Dagon usually has what look like Brown Scales like a Makeshift Helmet. Dagon Vilgax should’ve had a Skull-Helmet Design. If you drew it, I think it’d have a similar rough Texture to your Waybig Design. Plus, having either Waybig or Alien X using the Sword and Armour would’ve been amazing, like the Cosmic Gladiator from Omniverse (I think that’s what it’s called). Maybe the Magic Sword gives Ben the Ability to use Alien X without the Green Heads’ Input. (Too many Names to Spell). 42:29 also Ben’s Chest Plate looks like Lodestar’s Head.
BEN BEING THE GENTLE PERSON HE IS, IS A DIRECT PARALLEL TO HOW IT IS DEALING WITH A KIND PERSON IN OUR REALITY. Don't mistreat the people who treat you with kindness 💯. If you do, they could end up doing the things they struggle to hold themselves back from.
Ben: "I wasn't finished _talking_ yet. ULTIMATE WAAAY BIIIG!"
_gets totally bodied_
Dagon: "Are you finished talking _now,_ speck?"
So much for a way big speck
Fun fact: Ironically, out of all of the Lovecraftian pantheon, Dagon is one of the few without tentacles or any cephalopod-like qualities. He was depicted as an obese fish frog man.
Sounds like some shit Animo would make
So how much Dagon is like the actual Dagon?
@@rodrigofigueiredo8597 it’s mostly Cthulhu-esque stuff.
Technically Dagon is also a deity from actual middle eastern mythology.
@@rodrigofigueiredo8597
1. Has a cult.
2. Eldritch deity
That’s about it. Even the whole forbidden knowledge schtick is more of a Cthulhu thing, Dagon just bribes people with gold and immortality.
Chromastone being the last alien used in UAF is ironic because when the omnitrix recalibrated at the start of AF, chromastone was the first hologram to appear when Ben activated it.
yo...
Wow, I never noticed that.
and in Omniverse he's the second to last transformation we see, as well as the last transformation (since it technically includes all of the aliens, which makes them all the final transformation in a way)
Then .... It isn't ironic...
Y'all know what irony means, right ??
How do *BREAK THE BREAKDOWNS* work!?
Vilgax going "you stabbed me >:(" at the end always cracks me up. It's like when you're play fighting with your sibling and accidentally hurt him for real, he just sounds so offended.
vilgax the type of guy to relentlessly try to blow someone up and then get offended when they fight back
I think it was more he was surprised that Ben would actually stab him. Instead of trying to find a creative way to fight him or using something else to fight him with.
@@KumiChan2004 dude he already tried to pop vilgax's head off as diamondhead with gatling crystals when he was TEN, vilgax shouldn't he surprised anymore lol
@@parry3439 I suppose not.
The way that scene played out makes me think maybe that was the “edited death” he had been trying to look out for 🤔 would be cool to actually *know*
the first uaf breakdown released September 17th, 2021, And here we are at the final uaf breakdown, and what a ride it's been. We had some episodes that were great, some that were awful, things that Kuro said that I agreed with, and things I disagreed with. But overal, it's been such a great time.
Can't wait for Omniverse
You need a pin asap
Will miss the trio😢
damn, it really feels like AF's first breakdown released yesterday, and yet we are here
Time moves like a motherfucker huh...?
The final scene of Ben getting the official Omnitrix after Azmuth deemed him worthy of it will always be one of my favorites moments in Ben 10
Man, too bad we're gonna see the Mis-transformation SKYROCKET in the early season of Omniverse
Plus, I'm so excited for the Omniverse breakdowns
@@lulukomadori9651 especially the fact that he wants to turn into humongousaur each time.
@@lulukomadori9651 yeah it's annoying but it would be boring if Ben could just transform into his stronger aliens and wreck the threat easily and weaker aliens would be left behind being completely useless.
And then Omniverse happened. God how I dislike that show. 🙄
Is it just me that actually likes when he points out animation errors? Like honestly he says he tries not to overdo it but I've learned a good amount about animation
same bro.
Right I feel like I'm going though learning how to make video game but I do not have the eye for it like I do for video games 😅
Same dude. Kuro is great at pointing out animation errors for us casual watchers.
Crazy he didn’t say anything about the kevin error at 20:20 though his metal just vanishes for a second then he’s metal again
Same buddy
Every part of WayBig from his design to his beam attack to his flying pose, heck even his name, are all Ultraman references and that makes me very happy. The species is literally Tokustar, as in tokusatsu star, you know, because he's the lead in a tokusatsu show.
Your deconstruction of Ben character arc gave me goosebumps. I love how you put this entire journey into perspective.
Because if Ben falls, vilgax wins. He’s lost the physical battle and he knows that Ben could wipe him out in an instant and he’s too far away to absorb any ammount of power. But if he can make Ben the villain, turn him into the new vilgax, it doesn’t matter that Ben won the physical battle, he ends up a tyrant no better then vilgax. And that means to vilgax that even in death, he won the battle of wills. His legacy would live on through Ben.
I like how Julie was all over the esoterica when they were talking about the power to destroy all evil but changed her mind when its Ben.
she's just trying to make sure Ben still has a career bro lmfao
Well they were talking about using alien tech to progress humanity, not use supreme power to stop evil. It's not like she knew their motives back then.
To be fair, Advancing Tech is insignificant compared to total power, domination, and control over the Universe. Nothing, not even the very Laws of Physics itself, was bound to him at that moment. Combine that with Julie learning about her mistake, and we get what we see of her.
1) The Flamekeeper's Circle never talked about stopping all evil when they first appeared, they just talked about using alien technology to advance medicine and other things like that.
2) Julie didn't trust that the laws about alien technology improving primitive worlds were justified, and the Trio didn't really explain their reasoning well.
3) Julie _did_ trust in Ben's judgement in recognizing his arch-nemesis Vilgax, Conqueror of Ten Worlds, blah blah blah, while the rest of the Flamekeeper's Circle barely considered the possibility that Vilgax was an imposter.
4) Ben was about to try to play god. Whether it failed or succeeded, Ben would forever be on that Waters of Mars, Time Lord Victorious grindset.
@@ManicFiction Boom, this. He'd forever be stuck on that Waters of Mars, Time Lord Victorious grindset too. She would lose Ben, not to fame, not to his own ego, but to godhood.
You know what? I think that the reason this is so rough is because they didn't want to tamper with Dwayne Mcduffie's script. He wasn't around to edit it, and they didnt want to stick another writer on the title card to honor him and his legacy.
Yeah that actualy sounds like a good theory, the whole 3 parter really feels like a first draft in terms of story
I always find Kuro explaining or simply doing edits for these breakdowns fascinating and interesting, especially as someone learning animation.
As someone who knows nothing of animation, kuro’s explainations are fun to see as it gives a slight peer into the process used for making my favorite childhood show
The animation explanations are honestly my favourite parts since I know nothing about the subject and it's really interesting to learn about the topic
I like how this ending comes full circle with the Generator Rex ending, where Rex becomes the most powerful being in the Universe and decides to use this power to cure all EVOs on Earth.
For some reason I really love how skinny ultimate way big looks in certain shots. Most ultimates became more buff and armored. I love how his proportions supvert expectations despite ultimate way big himself being a bit of a let down
It's like Toriyama's method when he created final form Frieza during the Namek Saga: Most people you'd expect to buff up and get big to emphasize power, but for Frieza, you compact that power into one small form but with all the powerful packed into it, making for a sleeker but more terrifyingly powerful new shape
@@Jaded_Jinx I believe we call that the Bishounen Line.
@@Jaded_Jinx yea I love friezas final form design. He did the same with kid buu and even perfect cell to an extent.
Toriyama still does it with the God forms making characters leaner.
I think Vilgax’s reaction to being stabbed by Ben is reasonable given he’s never had that level of injury before by Ben’s hands. Think back to the times Ben’s defeated Vilgax: left in the Null Void, then into space, beaten by Diamondhead in which he got a black eye, thrown into space again, ship exploded. Vilgax has been hurt before by Ben, but never to the point where his physical structure was damaged with the closest thing to being stabbed was probably being given a black eye, so of course he would be fazed by something simple like being stabbed.
I love the scene of everyone trying to convince Ben to make the right choice with all the power he has after beating Vilgax. One thing that I think could have made it even better was to have Grandpa Max show up. Max was there from the start when he first got the watch and helped him learn what it means to be a hero. And in Alien Force, Max going missing and then "dying" is what leads Ben to use what he learned and grow into the hero he needed to be. Having Max here to give his guidance to Ben one last time would have been so fulfilling and would have been a great call back to how much of an impact he had on Ben's life.
I disagree. If max was there, he would have been the one to make the choice not ben. He would let ben make his own choice and not try to guide him, but just by being there, that reassurance would be taking away credit of ben growing up enough to make the hard choices on his own.
That whole scene is about Bens ability to stand on his own and make the right choice. No one to support him, guide him, or tell him whats right and wrong. No paradox, no asmuth, no max.
@@Hadeks_Marow Best thing would have been to have him there and when Ben or the rest of the group tell him to convince Ben to have him say Ben is grown and needs to make his own decision now.
@@awildgbrandom For the record, the exact thing I blame max would have done, is the same thing Julie ended up doing >.>
I forgot she was in this episode when I wrote the original reply.
But again, even him just being there would give ben a guilty conscious. Just max's presence would peer pressure him to doubt himself. Again, that's the peer pressure talking, not him making/coming to the conclusion all his own. For the scene to work perfectly with the series theme, Ben needs to make the right decision with no outside influences to fall back on. Max being there just makes the choice too obvious.
I feel in the flashbacks, even though he wasn’t present for some of them, he’s able to view them thanks to having the powers of Dagon and the Sword together.
Plus as shown with Zs'kkarr certain Alien's consciousness resides in their DNA. Maybe Ben was able to see Galapgegs memories because his species has similar DNA functionality, or because they can tap into Mana more naturally then other species
damn, I gotta steal your headcanon.
Thank you for your in-depth analysis of Ben’s character. It is easy to take childhood shows for granted, often just remembering them as fun or epic. I love channels like yours because they open my eyes to an actual theme or message or arc that child me overlooked that adult me can appreciate.
With how Kuro was talking, and making improvement points. Kinda makes me wanna see a Ultimate Enemy rewrite, like what he did for the negative ten.
Same
Lol I'm glad you said this because I also had my own little "rewrite" for ultimate enemy. Atleast for that last battle, since I found it so mundane. Obvs the bit with Ben being influenced was cool. To clarify, what I describe takes place just before they teleport to mount Rushmore, and ends before the whole Ben being influenced by power. So let's do this. (Btw, this is long, and doesn't even have an ending [make up your own idk])
Vilgax has taken control. Ben knows that no matter what they do, they cannot defeat him. He had the ultimate power. Siphon had run off after giving Vilgax the Dagon's powers and the trio stood in shock as the tentacle monster with a menacing, powerful, glowing gold aura was as large as the sky itself. As he rained down lazers upon then, Gwen teleported them as far as she could. To a safe spot. They ended up inside the base behind Mount Rushmore. Gwen, having been exhausted due to excessive use of her powers, collapsed, to the shock of Kevin, who helps her stand and offers advice. All the while, Ben is standing, eyes closed, searching for something. Anything to stop the villain. Just as Kevin muttered a line about being safe for the time being, Vilgax's thunderous laughter can be heard all around them. Aware of the impending doom upon them, Ben focuses and thinks hard for a solution. But he needed time. Using the cameras in the base, he saw Esoterica climbing the base of the mountain. They'd be intercepting the crew within moments. Suddenly, an idea pops. Just as Vilgax came hurtling towards the 4 faces, Ben slaps his watch and turns into Echo Echo. Meanwhile, Julie in her ship suit is speeding over counties trying to figure out where Ben and the others are. She arrives above the mountains to see a very large, glowing Vilgax tearing the face off the mountain. There were millions of Esoterica surrounding the base and Julie thought of the danger the trio were in. Suddenly, a huge flash of greenlight erupted from seemingly, just outside of where face broke off, and two massive beings emerged and landed on top of and in the middle of the gigantic army. One of the beings' head was even able to go higher than that of Julie herself, who was incredibly high in the air. Upon looking at their designs, Julie recognised the smaller one, identifying it as Ben's Alien Way Big and concluded the other was the ultimate version due to the similar design with a tinge of blue added on. However, Julie was confused as to how two different Aliens were present. Back in the base, there were over a hundred different Aliens staring down Vilgax, who himself was looking bewildered and perplexed. Every Alien were different. Swampfure, Humongousaur, Diamond head and so on. Almost every Alien's ultimate form also appeared and surrounded Ben's ultimate Enemy. All Aliens had Ben's green eyes and sported the Omnitrix logo onto chests, indicating that they had some affliction with Ben, somehow. "How is this.." left Vilgax's mouth, shock cutting off the rest of his sentence. Without a second thought, all ranged Aliens launched everything they had at Vilgax, enveloping the area around him in immense smoke. As it dispersed, the melee fighters moved in to attack, with Humongousaur delivering a devasting smash to Vilgax, sending him flying out the base and toward the bottom of the mountain. It was at this point, that both Way Bigs, who before were stomping at the Esoterica, launched themselves at the falling villain, using power blasts and pummeling him with punches with such ferocity, it shook thr earth around them. A few miles away from them was Ben, in human form, Kevin, Gwen and the Sword of Ascalon. With both his comrades not filled in as to what happened, they began to ask what has just occured. At this point, Julie also touched down and looked bewildered at the trio. Ben, after hugging Julie, explained his plan. He knew he needed time to think of a permanent solution, so he opted to get it. Using the trick he used some time ago, where he created three versions of himself to attend a movie viewing, Julie's tennis game and a mission with Kevin, Ben had created 100s of clones of Echo Echo, pressing the Omnitrix at the right time, and simultaneously all turning into Ben, just as Vilgax was tearing away at the mountain. Two of the Ben's ran as soon as it went away (those two being the Way Big Bens), with the rest pressing their watches to turn into a different Alien than the other, including Ultimate variations. The one who turned into Fast-Track supersped normal Ben, Kevin, Gwen and the Reality Bending sword away, before returning to face the shocked menace. Although they all bared different personalities, they all had Ben's unwavering will and spirit, which they would use to keep Vilgax occupied, until they could think of a long term fix. As the conversation took place, Vilgax snapped back to his senses and outright vaporised a lot of Aliens in front of him including Spider-Monkey, Wildmutt and Ultimate Way Big. Although the Aliens surrounded Vilgax, they were no match for his limitless power. Ben knew he had little time. He, in his mind, had two choices; to turn into the Alien who wasn't already out there, the Alien that could erase and create entite universes, the Celestialsapien that can blink anything away, Ben had the choice of turning into Alien X. Despite how powerful he was, and how appealing the choice was, Ben knew it was too risky. Although, he himself would live, everyone around him would suffer, and after defeating Vilgax, there'd be nothing left. This left Ben with the other option. Ben picked up the Sword of Ascalon and tried to figure out how it worked.
Lol if you read all this, thanks but you gotta go live life man 😭
I absolutely love how hyped Vilgax is to see Godly Ben. I always took it as his begrudging respect for Ben as "the ultimate good", and how it contrasts himself to the point that seeing this ultimate triumph, for Ben to have an equal and opposite ambition, is awesome. Being destroyed in an evil destroying act of god is way cooler than going to jail or something at least.
I like how in omniverse he gets his tentacles strangled by ben lmfao complete opposite of what he was hoping for
I also think he is projecting his desired on his greatest enemy. That if vilgax can corrupt his counter part to do the thing he would do, it validifies what he (vilgax) would do and corrupting his enemy in it's own right is a victory on it's own.
Ben: “Why would you WANT me to eradicate all evil? You’re the most evil person I know, so I would destroy you too and I won’t lie… I kinda want to.”
Vilgax: “Yes, and being wiped out by a GOD would be the ultimate honor. I always despised losing to you because I thought you weren’t a worthy opponent, losing to you was a disgrace but now, I’ll finally die a warrior’s death and you, as well as the universe at large will finally be rid of me, it’s a win-win.”
@@susanaalmeida593 Nonono Ben, let him cook, Vilgax spittin', maybe Ben should've done more with sword.
As a huge Ultraman fan, I personally love Ultimate Way Big even if he was super underutilized. Fun fact too, that jumping shot you commented on the episode is actually a reference to Ultraman's transformation pose! It's usually a pose in that exact angle with the right hand pointed skyward and the elbow bent, which I noticed when airing!
Clearly the most important addition of Omniverse won't be all the new lore and worldbuilding, the more fluid and expressive animation, the expansive supporting cast, or even giving Ben control of Alien X.
It'll be increasing the hero time counter.
Definitely
And the Wrong Alien counter
14:50 that pose that Ultimate Waybig does is actually a reference to an iconic pose that ultramen do in the franchise.
All ultramen have a variation of this pose when they grow from their human form to the size of an ultraman
This is it. The final episode of Ben 10 ultimate alien. Thank you Dwayne McDuffie for creating this artwork. May you rest in peace old friend.
@TheGlassesPro true.
He was at his prime at JL/JLU & Static Shock But he was still great in AF/UA
@TheGlassesPro facts. Oh and don't forget static shock.
Yea
I always loved the bit where Ben has a flashback montage of everything he has been through. Contender for my favourite moment in the entire franchise.
Ultimate alien had its ups and downs but that scene and the final episode were a great send off to the original story before omniverse soft rebooted it.
Yeah. Pretty weird to think of that time he almost kissed Eunice though lol
42:20 see when you talk about Ben’s potential darkness, it makes me really disappointed Bad Ben didn’t get more focus in Omniverse.
Would have been great to explore his universe like we did with Dimension 23s earth and Mad Bens earth
UAF wasn’t perfect but, for me, it came really close when it got things really right. We laughed, we cried, and the journey still ain’t over. Looking forward to Omniverse.
0:00-7:24: Thank you Man of Action, Glen Murakami, and Dwayne McDuffie for this incredible era of "Ben 10". And thank you Kuro for your profound description of Ben's journey up till this point, it was detailed, well thought out, and made me appreciate Ben as a character even more.
Man of action never worked on uaf.
And it gives even more meaning to the subtitle Ultimate Alien. It was never just about the Ultimatrix and its aliens. UA is a show about power. The major arcs were all lusts for power, with the team going against enemies who were seeking or had already obtained ultimate power. And in the finale, Ben has the chance to take all that power, himself becoming The Ultimate Enemy.
They did at least give input, @@yashjoshi6168. Which for sure helped the UAF crew through UA Season 3. A lot of general plots for episodes of Gen. Rex and UA S3 are almost the exact same.
@@jasonnguyen2575 They also gave input to ov
Ya know I really appreciate Kuro’s efforts to unite the story of UAF, especially when the authors themselves didn’t necessarily have one, and I know I, as many others, would have a hard time uniting all of the disparate plot lines.
I think that if Sir George would've been the one tempting Ben to wipe out all evil instead of Vilgax (with him dying and turning into dust right after) the scene would've been more effective and Ben totally would've done it.
The only reason why that didn't happen was because having Vilgax as the one saying those things specifically was almost the same as seeing the little devil on Ben's shoulder telling Ben to do something bad.On the other hand Ben has the same huge ego and relates to Sir George (even admitting to himself that despite being capable of following other people's plans he always thinks that his plans and methods are better than everyone else's), so if he was the one trying to tempt him to use all that power for a supposedly noble cause his dilema would've been even stronger and he would totally fall for that under those circumstances. Even Gwen and Kevin were lowkey preparing to fight Ben, so they clearly deep down know that Ben would be someone that could succumb to that kind of power due to his huge ego.
I think that would've been a better way to give some relevance to Sir George in the last episode of this arc.
Agreed with you. If it had been Sr George the one who planted that seed, i think Ben would've been more open to the idea. Heck, i think Gwen, Kevin and Julie would have to fight him to let go of the sword.
I do honestly like Ultimate Way Big because as a tokusatsu fan I can tell exactly what they're going for. Ultraman Taro's horns, Ultraman Tiga's combined form's colours and the OG's razor disk attacks made me really happy seeing this episode again. The original show and UltraSeven are genuinely great shows even today, half a century later
No way I'm a tokusatsu fan too
I kind of wish they went the Kamen rider route with it to subvert what we would expect like his Ultimate is a new henshin
The color scheme resembles dyna more than tiga to me.
One cool but sad fact I found out about Dwayne McDuffie: he is related to Keegan-Micheal Key, their half brothers from their father's side. The sad part being that Key found out about this as well as another half brother after they both passes away, so i don't believe they had a chance to meet.
This is the end of an era. RIP Dwayne Mcduffie, the man who brought us the ups and downs of bens teenage life and a thank you to Kuro and the rest of the ink tank for creating these breakdowns for every Ben 10 fans to enjoy. Here’s to omniverse and the stories to come along with it
I know it probably wasn't a choice that they made on purpose but the fact that Ben doesn't blink or close his eyes the whole time Vilgax was trying to convince Ben, up until he starts to be influenced by his friends. Shows how much he could be on the edge there of given into the power.
I watched UA as a 11-12 yol and never fully finished Omniverse, but I remember this being one of my favourite moments ever. Looking back, its seems kinda weird now cause I have different tastes and standards for animated shows but Ben 10 will always be one of those shows that you tell your kids about.
Thx for letting me re-experience Ben 10 AF and UA man. Now on to Omniverse which even tho I never fully watched, I vividly remember it being my favourite despite all its slander.
Only Kuro could pull off a breakdown of an entire series finale wearing THAT shirt.
As an Ultraman fan, I freaking love Ultimate Way Big.
As a Ben 10 fan, ehhhhh I feel like it could've been better.
Also, when Ultimate Way Big flies, his pose is quite reminiscent of the Ultraman rise sequences, where after the human host/form transforms, there will be a sequence where the Ultraman will rise with his fist in the air
The moves Ultimate Way Big uses are also references to the various techniques that the Ultras use, that spinning deflecting move reminds me most of Ultraman Cosmos, and he does the Ultra Saw Disc move that is used by Ultraman, Jack and Ace.
And also, I'm probably stretching this one a bit. The acid rain attack might be a reference to how Ultraman can only stay on Earth for 3 minutes due to the pollution of the Earth's atmosphere, and acid rain is a product of pollution.
Was gonna comment the Ultraman pose, but I'll comment on this hoping Kuro reads it.
What do you think of O.R.Ash’s ultimate Way Big?
@@darrylbonner7208 personally, I think it's awesome. Plus I find it a bit funny that O.R.Ash took inspiration from Evangelion, where it is also inspired from Ultraman. I like that he leaned more into the Cosmic Storms aspect of Way Big's origin, and making Way Big the size of a freaking planet?? Heck yeah that's rad! It feels like an evolution of the Tokustar species
As a Ben 10 fan who only knows of Ultraman indirectly (Raised in the 00's, first anime was stuff like Naruto), I really liked Ultimate Way Big's design. I always appreciated when the ultimates decided to go more sleek over bulking up like Swampfire/Wildmutt/Humongosaur. So I appreciated that.
Was he underutilized? Yup. But so was the entire concept of Ultimates, so nothing special there. I really wonder what happened there. Did the ratings really fall so badly or the toys not profitable enough that they decided to just focus on Omniverse and ignore all these dropped plot points of UA? Was it executive meddling to make sure the focus was on the brilliant idea of an arrogant Ben who barely has time for his GF, instead of those pesky aliens or on promoting George/Dagan? Was it simply unresolved creative differences?
Guess we'll never know, but it's a shame between this and OV's advertising putting me off that this is the last time I'd think about Ben 10 until like, 2021 when I (re)-found Kuro's channel (it was still called Kuro the Artist the last time I browsed the channel, some 2016 or so).
I do feel that the Dagon arc suffered because the only real attachment the group had to it was Gwen being mind controlled early on. The forever knights and the esoterica have their intertwining stories that work but the story follows Ben and friends so when they are involved they take the focus which causes the arc to suffer. Even with the ending, Ben has no personal connection to the Dagon so instead they use Vilgax as a stand in to be “Ben’s Dagon”
My guess about why the Esoterica store attacking once Dagangax turned human-sized was probably Dagangax's pride demanded that he destroy Ben alone and by his own hands.
It would be cool if you re-imagine this final episode like you did with The Negative 10, cause I think this episode deserved it.
Goodbye UAF. It was a long ride.
I would say for Vilgax's Dagon form have a chaotic mesh of his regular and lucubra face, not just even on each side, but just random bits of each part across the face, and have it be constantly shifting like Rorschach's mask in Watchmen.
I would have liked to see a take on cyborg Vilgax not just because it’s iconic, but also because if he has the power of Dagon it would have made sense for Vilgax to be able to appear in anyway he pleased and present himself as what he thinks his most powerful form is.
@EveleenKisune Cyborg Vilgax was never his strongest form though, Warlord Vilgax had 10 different _superpowers,_ compared to Cyborg Vilgax who was just a big buff guy with implants.
man, what a great ride. this really gave me a nostalgic feeling. UAF era will always be my favorite cartoon of all time. this show completed my childhood and brought me a lot of joy and fun memories. I would say, I'm grateful to have this channel brought me back to my childhood self. I may sound weird here but Ben Tennyson is the person that I grew up wanting to be since I was a child. He was my role model at that time since I can't relate to some people of mine back then. To grow up with this show, it feels like a childhood friend that you've been with since pre-school. There isn't enough words I can describe of how much love this show especially the UAF era which highlights most of my childhood. Damn, gave me tears on that final minutes of the episode.
A pretty great breakdown on Ben Tennyson's development as a character throughout alien force and ultimate alien, along with how it leads to this finale. This analysis shows great respect and much attention to Ben's character, and reminds me of what I like about Ben as a character.
My take for the final flashback is since Ben has the powers of the Dagon, he was able to see events that he wasn’t there for. Still some weird choices for scenes though.
I will say that these breakdown's gave me a new appreciation for George as a character and I wish they could've done more with him in the finale.
Another fun fact about Ultimate WayBig is when he fly up to Daagon is actually a reference to the Ultraman trope of when they transform they usually show them flying up ward with their right arm up
I feel like for Vilgax’s Dagon design, they could’ve just gone full Lovecraft & lean more into the Cthulhu design. Giant body, webbed claws & feet, massive wings. Pretty much just the Cthulhu design but with Vilgax’s head.
This would’ve been the perfect time for “Alien X” to appear against Dagon Vilgax but no, we get Ben stabbing Vilgax, which is anti-climactic.
I blame the Cartoon Network for the execution of the finale.
You should do a rewrite like the Negative 10.
Goodbye Ultimate Alien, Hello Omniverse.
R.I.P Dwayne McDuffie.
Ikr?! Imagine Alien X wearing Ascalon Armor and fights Diagon Vilgax in an epic fight of Multiversal Proportions!
I would love if Kuro rewrote the 3 part finale with all his ideas I mean they sound really cool.
@@freddieadams8435 yeah his rewrite of the Negative 10 was amazing
I feel like Alien X would be just as anti-climatic, since he could simply make it so Dagon vanished from existence, so I understand why the writers chose not to use him
I feel like Alien X would be overkill
But also Alien X could've transitioned to Omniverse very smoothly, with Ben being trapped in the form for a few months before becoming human again and adapting to the changes that have been made
I've been a fan of ben 10 since long I could remember and watching these videos helped understand the small details of the series and what struggles it had to endure. I'm just glad I watched all of ben 10 and now I got to watch all over again with a newer perspective thank you kuro you really are a great creator on this platform!
I'm in tears, I was 6 y/o when UAF ended and now after so many years I still rewatch the episodes and feel fresh, thank you Cartoon Network, Man of Action, and GOAR Dwayne McDuffie for making my childhood great
I can't believe the UAF breakdowns are over. As someone who dropped off Ben 10 after Alien Force, you've really made me appreciate Ultimate Alien a lot more than I used to. Now it's time to get excited for the Omniverse breakdowns!
The introduction is probably my favourite piece of video that Kuro has written. Great job my dude, can't wait for Omniverse
With this finale, it seems to me like they wanted to replace the dagon with vilgax and George with Ben to show some kind of link between them but I really don't see the point of wasting these characters they have spent so many episodes setting up. Great breakdown Kuro, and excited to see what you think about OV
yeah , you thought right basically they wanted to show contrast in two battles fought in the past and present by showing dagon vs george and vilgax vs ben , its a kinda like giving us a message that history repeats itself , but they completely ruined it with the lame battle
I think that's what they really planned, the thing is, only the connection between Ben and George felt more natural than Dagon and Vilgax because of how rushed the ending was.
@@ardzzz1010 Yeah they shouldve atleast devoted one more episode to the show to give it an epic ending , Heck ill even take it if kuro would rewrite the entire dagon arc like he did with negative ten
@@faizakhalid5710 I'm down with that! I think ultimate humungosaur and ultimate echo echo should have made an appearance in the three episode finale considering they're the two most iconic ultimate aliens. ultimate humungosaur should've battled Vilgax in last episode because that was such a missed opportunity.
About the omnitrix is a prototype thing, in ben 10 hyper scan when ben mistransforms max will appear and say "the omnitrix is a PROTOTYPE and doesn't always function correctly" and hyper scan game was released far back as 2005,even before this 49:47
The Introduction part got me very good. Joy, resemblance, sadness, sacrifices and Control. Very well put monolog Kuro. I love the Ben 10 as a kid, teenager and an adult rn. It was a great story and journey as I grow up with the show Ben got grow up too.
Hey, Ben has the ultimate power in all the universe and yet he’s one of the most humble beings on the planet
did you really just call Ben humble??? LMAOOOO
No anymore in Omniverse.
@@mayotango1317 we'll see 🙂 cause I love OV Ben
@@trevoranthony3018 Really? Is kinda the MCU Thor, is more stupid in later movies.
@@parry3439 fr bro Ben ain't humble for jack shit.
Fun Fact: Thanks to this episode UAF Ben is the only version of Prime Ben to have all 4 versions of the main Omnitrix devices on his wrist during his show airing
He wore the classic one in Ben 10 Returns
It recalibrated to the Alien Force design in the same episode
He destroyed that Omnitrix in the finale of Alien Force and stole Albedo's Ultramatrix for the duration on Ultimate Alien
And in this episode he is given the perfected Omnitrix that's used in Omniverse going forward
I was going to say something similar that UAF is the only art style to feature every Prime omnimatrix device
And ov ben is only ben to wear every type of clothings .
I also remember in the Ben 10 Hyperscan game, Grandpa Max also says the Omnitrix is a prototype
I always heard that the flashback scene was also a tribute to the episodes that Dwayne wrote in addition to the experiences that Ben went through.
21:32 "Due to Dagon size and being in the sky" That sounded clean tho
54:52 a PERFECT opportunity for Ben to say “it’s hero time!” Would be before he cured all the esoterica, like add in shot of him saying it before doing a zoom out if him raising the sword. It would have played up the dramatics. Also, based on how you treat it in 5YL as a sort of battle cry to help him be fearless, it could be a way to show Ben struggling but ultimately succeeding in giving up all that power, something for Ben to say to help him let go by remembering what he is and always should be: a hero.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
E
31:28 You know that squid form Vilgax takes at the end of Alien Force? Maybe he turns into that just with the lucubra patterns on it. That way it's like a combo of the two things and hey it would allow us to see that squid form again
I never thought about it until now, but there's an alternate universe in Ben 10 where Ben does keep the powers of the Dagon, the sword, and the ultimatrix to rule his world, with Anodite Gwen, Amalgam Ultimate Kevin, and Vilgax by his side. With Armored Julie and Azmuth as part of the resistance. Like, even Eon won't touch that universe because he knows how overwhelmed he'd be. This would be worthy of a multiverse Ben 10 (and Gwen 10, and Max) crossover event. Including the 3 Ben 10,000's and maybe even Ben 10-Finity. Basically, I liked that you called attention to how Gwen and Kevin can relate to Ben in a moment where he needs them the most. Also, I did peep that UAF Ben has worn all 4 versions of the Omnitrix and Im glad more people know this piece of trivia.
As a kid, I was screaming for a WEEK when I saw Ultimate Way Big. I even pretended to “go ultimate” during recess. Man I feel old
In Memory of Ultimate Alien:
2010 - 2012
"There's a time to go Hero and there's a time to go ULTIMATE!"
Even though I like ov series but still I'm gonna miss this Ben & this trio a lot 😢
33:54 MY BOY Chromestone being the last transformation of the era and hurting the lovecraftian monster of dagon is so cool yet so underwhelming w context
Thank you to Dwayne McDuffie for Ben 10: Alien Force and Ultimate Alien (2008-2012). May you forever rest in peace. 💚
Same here. Amazing writer. 😔
For Dagon-Vilgax I would have personally made it a true mix of both of them, like the head could have dagon's helmet or that brown piece, the eyes and mouth of vilgax could have remained the same and the tentacles could have been a weird mix of both his and dagon's tentacles.
14:42 For another Ultraman reference, Way Big in the jump is posing the same way many of the Ultramen do when completing their transformation.
Just gonna add this to those who are curious.
The Ultraman transformation sequence/pose is called a "Rise".
Head canon: Reason Ben had the aura when getting the knight armoured compared to Vilgax and George is because of the Ultimatrix
These breakdowns are always so fun, so sad that they're nearly over(ik omniverse is long but still)
@@paulosm7070yh but there's alot of filler so there will be alot of of short breakdowns
@@PersonallyUnqualified Kuro doesnt quick breadown just becoz they are fillers.
@@yashbjoshi12 oh why does he do quick breakdowns?
@@PersonallyUnqualified It depends on his schedule and how good episode is.
33:34 it's kinda cool that chromastone was also the last transformation in omniverse that Ben actuality dail up and uses
true
Technically Skurd dialed him up
Ben at his best(especially in Omniverse) is a guy who can be ignorant about things, and has alot of learning to do, but t the end of the day is a pretty wise guy who tries his best to do the right thing.
Man, this has been a trip. Rekindling my love of Ben 10 by watching this channel and now meeting the end of the series I watched before I stopped paying attention ito it, it feels like the end of a nostalgia binge. And with the inspiration both me and everyone else in this great community you guys have helped foster, I think I want to stick around longer; see what Omniverse has in store; get more isnpired for my own projects like we see you guys do.
I personally would like to just thank everyone in The Ink Tank for being a source of inspiration, fun and passion. I wish you all the best.
The introductory essay at the start is the reason why I think Ultimate alien is the perfect end to Ben's Character arc. Kuro explained it beautifully .
Another title could have been
Ben 10: Hero of Heros
Thank you so much kuro cause of you my love for the show has come back
Started watching since og series season 2 and now you have completed 3 series
Definitely excited for omniverse
Loved the analysis of Ben's character throughout UAF. Was a great breakdown and I'm glad I enjoyed the UAF journey with you. Excited for Omniverse
Still remember Theflamingshark reaction to the Ultimate Alien finale!
"It was WORTH IT ! It was all worth it !"
At the beginning of UAF, Labrid tells Ben
"You are Ben Tennyson. You can do anything."
At the end of UAF, he literally can.
R.I.P Dwayne was such a touching tribute by the crew
Loved the whole deeper meaning aspect you brought up at the beginning
This low-key is another Ink Tank Classic💯
This feels like how I actually felt when I watched the finale. I feel so nostalgic, and for the first time in a while, I feel like crying out of sadness. Ben 10 IS my childhood. Especially the UAF era, as a younger kid, that didn't grow up with OS due to age. Thankyou Kuro.
You can really see the parallels between Ultimate Alien and Justice League Unlimited. Both at least partially written by Dwayne McDuffie, has themes of ultimate power and how it should be used. We see Ben at the most powerful in the series where most of his defeats come from him holding back or saving others, very superman like of him. And when Ben deciding to kill kevin after all the people he's hurt can also be seen in superman killing Lex Luther in the alternate timeline. There are differences sure but it's a great way to see how Dwayne can really elevate cartoon shows past the point of just entertainment with really great theming that's actually a lot better done than most superhero shows today
I loved the ending of this as much as I did when I was 7 years old. When I was little it was always Ultimate Way Big (me) vs Multi-Shadow Clone Naruto (my friend) running around in the field. I didn’t understand that Ben was going away back then and I still could watch OG on Boomerang and reruns of AF on CN. I didn’t realize that this nostalgia would mean so much to me and I thank you for that Kuro.
I already stated this MULTIPLE times:
TURBO is an amplification spell that "turbo-charges" whatever mana act she is using at the time at the cost of higher mana drain. It's her version of the ultramatrix's "going ultimate". High cost - high output. She could cast TURBO on a shield to create a more powerful shield.
That’s a cool way to look at it!
@@TheInkTank I mean, it's in the literal name of the spell, so it kinda makes sense. 😅
The cost thing was just a cop-out to explain why she doesn't always use turbo, similar to how she doesn't always use teleportation magic.
It's been 2 years since the whole Fandom started a new journey with the Ink Tank community Ben-10 Classic, AF & UAF. It was hell of a roller-coaster ride so many polls, wrong alien count, Kevin's car crash count, many interconnect series references. I just like to sincerely thank the whole Ink Tank community for reminding me and many people from the fandom about our childhood days that we left somewhere in our busy lives.
Brothers who read this, prepare yourselves for one last ride with our good friends for Omniverse, cause who knows what tomorrow holds, maybe we'll never get a good Ben-10 series again so we must enjoy what's left with us. And again thanks to the Ink Tank community for they hard work👍✌
17:39 this frame is used many times in OV, mostly when Shocksquatch is fighting and yup it was used in his first appearance in OV too
I think Dagon would have been a bit more memorable if he broke the Ultimatrix. When Dagon zaps George he could blast Ben at the same time, but the watch's feedback manages to save ben's life & gives a good reason why Ben uses Ascalon to fight Vilgax. That would carry some real Captain America's Shield breaking energy.
15:15 same thing happened with Steven universe with Obsidian being massive for a fusion, but immediately dwarfed by white diamonds ship, it’s pain 😔
I wonder if Ben 10 UAF had any influence on SU. The Highbreed arc did the redeem alien dictators story years before SU. Considering both have influence from sci fi and magical girl anime, I wouldn’t be surprised. Both the Ben and Steven get a custom jacket in their signature color to signify the timeskip.
I commented it before but Bens last words of each series were: "Going Hero" for Classic, "Its Hero Time" for Alien force, "I dont know how to thank you" UA, and "We're going on a road trip" for OV. I've kinda always felt that the last words for each series should have been hero time or somthing similar. he should have atleast said it somewhere in the finale for each series but we only got it for Classic and AF (I think, I dont remember the OV finale as well as I do the others)
Yeah especially since Hero time has been a merchandising tag line at times as well.
This series inspired me to start up my own Ben 10 D&D Campaign series.
Big thanks to Rob, Ash, Kellen, and everyone else on the team, for reigniting my passion and hyperfixation on this franchise!
Keep up the amazing work, can't wait for Omniverse!
Like, can the players have their own watch?
@@ksoundkaiju9256 Yeah! There's a trailer and some teasers for it on my channel!
Basically, one player is gonna start with an omnitrix, and as they fill it up more, the others will be given their own unique gimmicks so that it doesn't become unbalanced!
Not sure just yet on all the specifics, but opportunities for the other players to get unique watches of their own isn't currently off the table!
14:45 A Fun fact : This specific Flying scene is homage to the iconic Ultraman Flying sequence at the end of their transformations. It's kinda their signature thing. And I loved Ultimate WayBig ❤❤
In my bad Ben story I'm writing when this moment presents itself my Ben kind of does the same thing. He lets humans have free will because as he puts it "It would be very boring if I had no one to challenge me" he even gives up the power but after his multiversal adventure he decided that he still has to get stronger and so he becomes Ben 10,000 ruler of earth
I like hiw that sounds!! I mean, Ben has a bad side, but it was always overlooked and he didn't really went to the deeper end because he has his friends. But let's be honest, in your timeline where Ben succumbed to the dark side he could easily remember all those times he was undermined. I mean, there were times where Ben was the third wheel on the group, sometimes Gwen sided with Julie more often than with his cousin (Yes, Ben was a jerk sometimes but that time where he almost died and if it wasn't for Helena in disguise he would have.) and both Gwen and Kevin Left soon after this happened. So.... I can totally see your AU happening. I've read a comment above that maybe if Sr George had been the one who planted the seed Ben would've have fallen for the tentation.
This is it… there was so much story that was told and there is still more left to tell and I for one can’t wait to see Kuro cover the rest of it.
The end of an Era is here 😢❤🎉. Congratulations Kuro and the amazing team of Ink Tank 🎉 UAF rocks.
For Dagon Vilgax, Dagon usually has what look like Brown Scales like a Makeshift Helmet. Dagon Vilgax should’ve had a Skull-Helmet Design. If you drew it, I think it’d have a similar rough Texture to your Waybig Design.
Plus, having either Waybig or Alien X using the Sword and Armour would’ve been amazing, like the Cosmic Gladiator from Omniverse (I think that’s what it’s called). Maybe the Magic Sword gives Ben the Ability to use Alien X without the Green Heads’ Input. (Too many Names to Spell).
42:29 also Ben’s Chest Plate looks like Lodestar’s Head.
BEN BEING THE GENTLE PERSON HE IS, IS A DIRECT PARALLEL TO HOW IT IS DEALING WITH A KIND PERSON IN OUR REALITY. Don't mistreat the people who treat you with kindness 💯. If you do, they could end up doing the things they struggle to hold themselves back from.