Washington B.C.
From Wikitrix
see also: First Season Episodes
This episode featured Doctor Aloysius Animo. It introduced him as a villain that shall play a semi-major role later on in the series.
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Summary
The episode starts out at a burning building in the Washington D.C. area. People are out on the streets, speculating the view. Within it, a woman and her child are trapped by the surrounding flames. To make their situation worse, they look up to see the ceiling about to collapse onto them. They ready to brace for the impact, only for nothing to happen. The little kid looks up to find Ben, in the form of Heat Blast, holding up the fallen section of the roof. He says that he has come to rescue them, and he tosses the section aside. Heat Blast first uses his ability to absorb all the fire in the room. Once the flames were out, he leads them to safety. They are reluctant at first, but go with him anyway if they want to live. The three attempts to use the nearby staircase to escape, but another piece of the building smashes their route to oblivion. Ben quickly spots another alternate exit to get them out to safety, and starts by cutting through the wall at the end of the hallway. He then transports them to the street below them by encasing them, as well as himself in a tornado of flame.
Outside, all the onlookers are impressed by the spectacle. As Ben begins to act modest about the event, his attention is quickly drawn off by trading cards in the little boy’s hand. Ben refers to them as gold Sumo Slammer cards. Like any kid, he sits next to the kid and proceeds to ask where he found the cards. The kid replies by saying that they were a prize in a box of Sumo Smack cereal. Gwen and Grandpa Max drive up to interrupt his interrogation with the boy and informed Ben that the fire was started as a diversion so some thieves could rob the jewelry store. Ben tries to cover his ignorant behavior by saying that he knew what they just explained to him.
As Grandpa Max pursues the thieves, he notices smoke coming from the seat next to him. Ben, still as Heat Blast, is there and his ambient heat from his body is burning through the leather seat. Grandpa Max comments that he should have installed asbestos seats when he had the chance to. Gwen responds by putting out the fire with an extinguisher, only to hit Ben along with it. She also chides him for his non-strategic choice of superhero in this instance. She responds by spraying him again.
After a shot chase with the thieves, Ben leans out the window and blows up the rear axle of their car, sending it careening into a brick wall. He walks up to the driver’s side, and pulls the door off. He then convinces the thieves to get out by bending the door metal in his bare hands. He starts to berate the criminals afterwards, but ends up back to normal before he finished what he was saying. The Omnitrix has lost power again. They notice Ben and try to escape, but the police show up before they can go anywhere. Ben tries to take credit for the capture, but the cops tell him that this isn’t something that kids should not be playing. Ben leaves disappointed.
In a different part of the city, a man in a suit is knocking incessantly on an apartment door belonging to a man named Dr. Animo. He gets no response, so he lets himself in. Inside the room, cages of different sizes are seen everywhere, and animal noises can be heard in the background. The place also smells like a zoo, according to the man. Someone eventually shows up to question his intrusion. His appearance consists of white hair, and his skin has a green tinge to it. The man addresses to him as Dr. Animo, and explains that he is the landlord, telling him that his rent is past due. Dr. Animo is indifferent, and says that the money goes to his research. The landlord then attempts to insist him on paying his rent, but prompts Dr. Animo to reveal in what he was probably working on. He picks up a strange looking helmet, and he refers to it as the Transmodulator. He then takes out a frog from its cage, and explains what his device can do. He uses it to alter genetic information, and made the frog grow many times its size. The frog grabs the landlord with its tongue, and spits him into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Dr. Animo then remarks that he needs more components to complete his work. A commercial comes up in the TV about the new M-Mart, and it catches his attention.
Inside the M-Mart, Ben notices the cereal aisle and the boxes of Sumo Smack cereal. Meanwhile, Grandpa Max is searching for canned octopus and is complaining about the store’s reputation for their wide variety of foods. Gwen tries to convince him to buy some normal food for her tastes, but Grandpa Max won’t listen. As he walks off, Gwen hears the trademark sound of the Omnitrix, activated again by Ben. She looks to see what Ben is up to, and finds the cereal aisle a mess. A moving box with a voice in it leads her to Ben, in the form of yet another alien. His name is Grey Matter, a tiny alien, yet super-intelligent. When Gwen asks what he is doing, Ben answers her question by telling her that he is looking for the gold Sumo Slammer card. An employee finds her with the huge mess, which then makes her blame it on Ben. The employee mentions that someone will have to pay to make up for the mess.
Grandpa Max wonders why they are buying a large supply of cereal. Ben blames it on Gwen, who in return says that Ben was raiding all the boxes trying to find a piece of cardboard. Grandpa Max points out that his obsession over the cards has gone too far this time, making Ben try to use his earlier heroic actions as a guilt trip. They move on, and he notices a display of the whole collection of Sumo Slammer cards, and walks off to see them. Grandpa Max leads Gwen to the pet department, which she hopes that they are not buying their food there. Ben admires the card. But then a series of earthquakes attracts his attention away. In the entertainment section of the store, Dr. Animo bursts in through the wall of televisions while riding on his mutant frog. He begins looting what he needs, and Ben comes to ask what he is doing. Dr. Animo warns him not to be a hero. With the Omnitrix still recharging, he is forced to take the advice. Dr. Animo then goes off to another section of the store.
While Gwen plays with a hamster at the pet section, Dr. Animo arrives and feels the need to make a few more minions. He turns the hamster in Gwen’s hands and a nearby bird into giants. Ben arrives just as he finishes the process, and Dr. Animo goes off on a rant in what he deserves, and in what he plans to make Washington D.C. “pre-historical.” The hamster then pursues Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max. It ends up going past Ben and corners Gwen and Grandpa Max. Still unable to transform, Ben improvises with a football and a motored scooter. He attracts the hamster’s attention, and manages to trap it under selves. This angers Dr. Animo, but does nothing about it. He rants about turning D.C. into Washington “B.C.,” and leaves on the giant bird. The giant frog then follows. The store employees offer a reward for their work, which Ben uses to get his gold Sumo Slammer card, but Grandpa Max drags him off to continue his pursuing with Dr. Animo.
In the RV, Grandpa Max comments about how the chase reminds him of the good old days. This confuses Gwen, who believes him to have been a plumber. Grandpa Max just says that he was a good plumber. Ben pouts the entire time and complains by not collecting his reward. As always, Grandpa Max has advice, and answers that being a hero is what is most rewarding. Ben though isn’t convinced.
Gwen pops in to report what she's found out about Dr. Animo. It turns out that he was a veterinary scientist that was doing twisted genetic experiments. He is angry because his work did not win him an award when it should have. Dr. Animo's comments about pre-history lead Ben to a conclusion about where he's probably headed.
They head to the natural history museum. As expected, Dr. Animo is there, continuing his work on his Transmodulator. When he notices them, he goes into another scientific explanation. This one is about the true purpose of his Transmodulator, which is to bring dormant organisms back to life. His speech is lost on his audience, especially on Ben. Realizing this, he makes a visual aid out of a nearby mammoth, reanimating the currently dead creature. He leaves the mammoth to deal with them while he escapes. Ben stays to deal with the mammoth while Gwen and Grandpa Max go after Dr. Animo. To deal with the mammoth, Ben transforms into another alien named Four Arms, a giant, four-armed alien.
As Gwen and Grandpa Max chase Dr. Animo, they are deterred by the giant bird. Using a nearby spear, Gwen knocks it out easily. She comments that Ben isn't the only one with skills. They catch up to Dr. Animo, only at the point where reanimates a T-Rex. For some reason, it may have come back to life, yet several large pieces of its skin are missing. Meanwhile, Ben is still fighting the mammoth. He eventually defeats it after being tossed a few times. As Dr. Animo escapes with his new T-Rex, the bird swoops in to kidnap Gwen. Ben arrives in time to chase it, but is unable to get Gwen back. He tries to take it down, but is shaken off and falls to the street below. He reverts back to normal just after crashing into the street.
As Ben and Grandpa Max look for Gwen, Dr. Animo is on his way to retrieve his in what he says that he truly deserves. He goes through a Sumo Slammer card factory on the way, catching a gold one in the T-Rex's toe. At the same time, the bird perches itself on the Washington Monument, with Gwen still in its clutches. She remembers that she has her cell phone and uses it to call Ben and Grandpa Max. Just before getting the call, Grandpa Max hands Ben a slip of paper that Dr. Animo had dropped during his escape from the museum. It addresses the information about the person that received the award in Dr. Animo’s place -- a man named Dr. Kelly. Ben realizes that this is who Dr. Animo is probably after. Gwen's call then leads and pinpoints them to her location. As she is about to fall, Ben transforms into another form. This one is called Stinkfly, an insectoid alien capable of amazing flight in the air.
With this transformation, Ben is able to save Gwen before she hits the ground. This leaves him hindered, however, since the bird decides to attack him back for the save. He battles the bird, while Grandpa Max heads to the top of the monument. Seeing Grandpa Max at one of the observation window, Ben takes the opportunity to drop her off there. Without the extra weight, he is able to take the bird down easily. Grandpa Max then tells him to follow Dr. Animo.
Meanwhile, at Kelly Industries, Dr. Kelly is leading a group of people on a tour. Dr. Animo arrives on the T-Rex to get his award back, and promptly does so. After giving a short and pointless speech, he has the T-Rex attack Kelly. Ben arrives just in time to save him. The T-Rex uses its tail to smack Ben down to the floor, where he notices a gold Sumo Slammer card. He almost picks it up, but sees that the T-Rex is about to eat Kelly. Like any superhero would, he remembers what Grandpa Max had told him, and realizes that some things are more important than a card. He then ditches the card to save Kelly. After saving Kelly, Dr. Animo tries to use his Transmodulator to blast Ben, but he is too nimble to be hit. Ben then fires from slime from his eyestalks at the T-Rex, causing Dr. Animo to drop the award. Distracted by the destruction of that which he sought, Dr. Animo also loses the Transmodulator to Ben. Ben tosses it to the floor, and it emits a pulse, which changed every creature Dr. Animo had used it on back to normal.
Later on, as the police drag Dr. Animo away, he continues to rant about how the award should be his. The words resonate with Ben's earlier comments, and Ben realizes just how he sounded. He does get Dr. Animo’s Transmodulator as a trophy, though. On reflection, he sees that saving the city really is its own reward. Gwen thanks Ben for rescuing her, and he claims that heroes are supposed to rescue dweebs. This causes the two to call each other names as the episode ends.
Cast & Crew
Stars
Dee Bradley Baker ~ Role Value: Stinkfly
Tara Strong ~ Role Value: Benjamin Tennyson
Richard Horvitz ~ Role Value: Grey Matter
Steven Jay Blum ~ Role Value: Heatblast
Meagan Smith ~ Role Value: Gwendolyn Tennyson
Richard McGonagle ~ Role Value: Fourarms
Paul Eiding ~ Role Vaue: Maxwell Tennyson
Recurring Roles
Richard McGonagle ~ Role Value: Dr. Kelly
Bee Bradley Baker ~ Role Value: Parrot/Security Guadr #1
Steven Jay Blum ~ Store Manager/Regis
Paul Eiding ~ Role Value: TV Announcer/Security Guard #2
Tara Strong ~ Role Value: Young Boy
Guest Stars
Dwight Schultz ~ Role Value: Doctor Aloysius Animo/VIP #2
Richard Horvitz ~ Role Value: Robber #1/VIP #1
Notes & Important Points
- Gwen reveals that her mom gave her a cell phone at the beginning of the camping trip to use only for emergencies.
- Main Transformation(s): Fourarms & Stinkfly
- Cartoon Network (UK) airdate: Saturday, March 4, 2006
- Running Gags: Ben constantly tries to get a gold Sumo Slammer card, but something/someone else interrupts and prevents him from getting it.
- This episode shows that Ben is very balanced and coordinated in handling a motor scooter
- Main Villain: Doctor Aloysius Animo
- Alien Forms Used: (1) Heatblast, (2) Grey Matter, (3) Fourarms, (4) Stinkfly
- It is shown that Ben is very addicted to collecting Sumo Slammer cards. At this point, Ben identifies that his collection still needs the gold Sumo Slammer card.
- New Alien Ability: Heatblast has an ability in which he did not show previously, he is able to absorb heat and fire just as fast as he can start one. He can also manipulate firea and redirect it to any area at his liking.
- Gwen proves herself to know a few martial arts skills, too, as well as being knowledgeable
- As shown in the previous episode, Grandpa Max likes cooking exotic food, such as live octopus or sheep's bladders, which neither Ben or Gwen enjoy eating.
- This episode premiered early as part of Cartoon Network's Fridays @ 9:30 EST/PST
- Prior to the series premiere, this episode was listed as the first episode of the series on Cartoon Network's official site. However, it was actually the second episode.
