Vendetta

This article belongs to the Classic Continuity

Vendetta is the seventeenth episode of the second season of Ben 10: Alien Force, and the forty-third episode overall.

Synopsis

Kevin finds his house ransacked and enlists Ben and Gwen's help to find out who did it and why. They soon cross paths with a deadly criminal.^{[CN 1]}

Plot

In the Null Void, a criminal named Ragnarok escapes from Incarcecon. He destroys the guards and exits the building, evading shots from guards. He exits the Null Void through a nearby vortex, avoiding the Null Guardians.

The team is fighting the Forever Knights. Rath scares them away, and Gwen and Kevin surround them. Rath ties them up and transforms back into Ben. The team can't go to Mr. Smoothy because Kevin has to get home. Kevin returns home to find his house ransacked. His mother then confesses to him the truth about Ragnarok. In the morning, Kevin goes to Ben's house and asks Ben and Gwen if they know anything about Ragnarok, and when they tell him that they have no knowledge, he tells them to stay out of the situation.

The two, now concerned, decide to investigate anyway. Ben and Gwen meet with Max and ask him if he knows anything about the escape, as well as an alien named Ragnarok. He confesses of having a partner named Devin, who gave his life to stop Ragnarok several years back. His partner's full name was Devin Levin, Kevin's dad, and Kevin wants revenge on Ragnarok for killing his father. Ben and Gwen go after Kevin by tracking him with his Plumber badge.

Ragnarok searches for the key he needs in Devin's storage units^{[script 1]} before Kevin confronts him, but Ragnarok beats him up in a fight and demands his key. Ben and Gwen arrive and Ben transforms into Lodestar and battles Ragnarok, but Kevin pushes him out of the way and attacks Ragnarok himself with Gwen and Lodestar helping. Ragnarok teleports away and Lodestar transforms back into Ben. Kevin blames Ben and Gwen for letting Ragnarok get away and storms off. Gwen uses her manna to scan Kevin's subconscious and find the key. They go to Kevin's house, where the key is disguised as a picture frame. Ragnarok teleports in and attacks the team. He takes the frame and turns it into his key. Kevin attacks Ragnarok, as does Gwen. Ben transforms into Diamondhead. Ragnarok attacks him, but Diamondhead redirects his blast and shoots diamonds at him. Ragnarok defeats the team, inserts the key into his head, and calls his ship into Earth's orbit. He then teleports away, but Gwen is able to jump onto his teleport signal and they follow.

They emerge on Ragnarok's ship and split up to search, Kevin going a different way than Ben and Gwen. Gwen worries about what Kevin will do if he finds Ragnarok first. Just then, Kevin tricks Ben and Gwen into an escape pod and launches them to Earth. Ragnarok prepares to use his ship to drain the sun, which was what he was trying to do when he was captured. He powers up the ship, but Kevin arrives on the bridge and distracts him. He starts to suck the sun's energy out and attacks Kevin. Kevin starts smashing the controls. Ragnarok tosses him away, but the ship starts to malfunction and send the energy back.

Explosions rock the bridge and the window shatters, exposing them to space. Ragnarok is sucked out and begs Kevin to save him. Kevin, refuses saying he killed his dad and now must die. He takes the key and Ragnarok flies into space. The ship explodes as Ben and Gwen watch. Gwen starts to cry, thinking that Kevin is dead. Ben tries to calm her down by telling her that Kevin was a hero to the very end. Kevin then shows up, making a joke about them caring about him. Ben is surprised that he survived, and Gwen runs up to Kevin, hugging him and telling him that she was worried. Ben and Gwen ask what happened; he simply states that Ragnarok didn't make it.

Noteworthy Events

Major Events

• It is revealed that Max was partners with Kevin's father, Devin.
• Devin's cause of death is revealed.
• Kevin is revealed by Ragnarok to be an Osmosian hybrid.

Character Debuts

• Devin Levin
• Ragnarok
• Kevin's Mother

Minor Events

• It is revealed that Kevin's main garage is located at his mother's house.
• Lodestar is revealed to be a Biotsavartian.
• It is shown that Gwen can scan one's memories in order to obtain information.

Characters

Main Characters

• Alien Force
  • Kevin Levin
    • Kevin's Elemental Form
  • Gwen Tennyson
  • Ben Tennyson

Supporting Characters

• Max Tennyson (flashback and present)
• Devin Levin (first appearance; flashback; death)

Antagonists

• Ragnarok (first appearance; flashback and present; death)
• Forever Knights

Other Characters

• Null Guardians
• Kevin's Mother (first appearance)

Aliens Used

• Rath (off-screen activation)
• Lodestar
• Diamondhead

Quotes

“

Devin: Max! He's getting closer! Max: Ship won't go any faster, Devin! Devin: Have you tried flapping your arms?

”

“

Ragnarok: Enough games. Where is my key? Devin: Have you tried checking under the couch?

”

“

Max: Ben, Gwen! Well, this is a pleasant surprise. You kids interested in one of my famous wombat omelets? Gwen: Maybe later.

”

“

Ben: Hey! Who died and made you boss? Kevin: If you got a problem with it, you!

”

“

Gwen: He's going through a lot, Ben. He idolizes his father and...(whispers) We have to find Ragnarok before Kevin does. I'm afraid of what he might do. Ben: Kevin? Come on. He talks all tough, but he would never- Kevin: Guys. Quick, come here! (Ben and Gwen run towards him) This way, I found him! (Points to what appears to be a small room) Ben: We have to be ready for any- (Realizes Ragnarok isn't there) Hey! What is this? (Kevin seals Ben and Gwen in the room) Gwen: It's an escape pod! Ben: This isn't funny, Levin. Let us out!! Kevin: Just remember, Tennyson, I asked you to stay out of this! (launches the escape pod) Gwen: Oh, Kevin, what have you done? Ben: There's got to be a way for us to get back there. Gwen: It's on auto pilot to Earth. No controls. No space suits. Kevin is on his own. Ben: (angry) Just like he planned it.

”

“

Kevin: Thanks for the tip. Ragnarok: The vortex is destabilized! Please, take my hand! Save me! Kevin: Save you? You killed my dad, remember? Ragnarok: Yes your father! He was a plumber, an honorable man. He would never let anyone die if he could help it. Please, for your father! No! Kevin: For my father. Gwen: Kevin! (crying) Oh, Kevin! Ben: He was a hero, Gwen, right to the very end. Kevin: And then some. Nice to know you guys appreciate me. Ben: You're alive?! Gwen: I was worried! Kevin: Hey, I'm a survivor, remember? Guess I got it from my dad. Like saving the world. Ben: And Ragnarok? Kevin: Didn't make it.

”

Naming and Translations

Language	Name	Origin
Bulgarian	Vendetta	From original english name
French	Vendetta	Vendetta
Hungarian	Vérbosszú	Vendetta
Italian	Vendetta	Vendetta
Polish	Zemsta	Revenge
Portuguese (Br)	Vingança	Revenge
Romanian	Vendetta	Vendetta
Spanish (HA)	Venganza	Revenge
Spanish (Spain)	Venganza	Revenge

Cast

Voice Actor	Role(s)
Yuri Lowenthal	Ben Tennyson
Ashley Johnson	Gwen Tennyson
Greg Cipes	Kevin Levin
Dee Bradley Baker	Diamondhead Lodestar Knight Leader
Paul Eiding	Max Tennyson
John DiMaggio	Rath Ragnarok
Pamela Adlon	Kevin's Mother
Ioan Gruffudd	Devin Levin Robot Guard

Allusions

• When Rath, Gwen, and Kevin are fighting the Forever Knights, Gwen says "Lady or the tiger, boys? Your choice." referring to the 1882 short story, The Lady, or the Tiger?.
• When Kevin says "My name's Kevin Ethan Levin. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" he is quoting Inigo Montoya from the movie, The Princess Bride.
  • The in-universe reason for this reference is because Kevin's mother read the book to Kevin when he was little.^{[DM 1]}
• The act of Ragnarok using a vortex is very similar to the plot of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, in which a similar technology is used to claim solar system's Sun by the Decepticons before Optimus Prime stops them.

Errors

• When Kevin drops Ben and Gwen off at Ben's house, he has a black eye.
• Kevin's mother's house looks different from previous episodes. Most notably, the garage is attached to the house rather than being a separate unit.
• Kevin's pants are the same color as Gwen's in one shot.
• When Kevin leaves Ben's house after asking Ben and Gwen what they know about Ragnarok, half of Ben's hair is darker.
• When Ragnarok destroys the engine coupling of the ship that Max and Devin are in, the ship should keep going at the same speed due to inertia and lack of friction, but it stops completely.
• Before Lodestar uses his powers to attack Ragnarok, Lodestar is taller than usual.
• Diamondhead's jaw does not move when he shouts his name.
• When Gwen hugs Kevin, he is taller than usual.

Trivia

• In the Original Series, Max and Kevin were portrayed as being unfamiliar with one another.^[1] However, this is retconned with the flashback in this episode which reveals that, through his partnership with Devin, Max has known Kevin since the latter was a young child.^{[BTP 1]}
• In this episode, it is shown that Diamondhead can absorb and redirect energy beams like Chromastone.
  • In Derrick J. Wyatt's opinion, this was probably due to some storyboard artist who was not familiar with Diamondhead's powers,^{[DJW 1]} despite it being present in the third draft of the script, dated March 23, 2009.^{[script 2]}
• This episode reveals a lot about Kevin's past including his father and his father's killer. However, in The Rooters of All Evil, it and the photo of Kevin and Devin^{[DJW 2]} were revealed to be false memories and images created by Servantis.^{[BTP 1]}
• In the third draft of the script:
  • Ragnarok is big, with wide shoulders and oversized hands, described as a bigger, meaner, nastier version of Blastaar from Marvel Comics.^{[script 3]}
  • To dig through the rubble in his mother's house, Kevin shapeshifts his hands into a shovel and pitchfork.^{[script 4]}
  • Max drops the frying pan off-screen.^{[script 5]}
  • Devin is named Lucas.^{[script 6]}
  • Ragnarok calls Kevin an Osmosium, the working name for Osmosians.^{[script 1]}
  • Instead of dying, Ragnarok is transported to another dimension in a flash of light.^{[script 7]}
  • When Kevin reunites with Ben and Gwen, an escape pod is shown lying behind him, implying that's how he returned to Earth.^{[script 8]}

References

Production Material

Scripts

Crew Statements

T.J. Collins

Dwayne McDuffie

Derrick J. Wyatt

Cartoon Network

Ben 10 Planet

Ben 10: Alien Force Episodes

Production Order U.S. Airing Order Season 1 Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 • Ben 10 Returns: Part 2 • Everybody Talks About the Weather • Kevin's Big Score • All That Glitters • Pier Pressure • Max Out • Be-Knighted • What Are Little Girls Made Of? • The Gauntlet • Plumbers' Helpers • Paradox • X = Ben + 2 • Alone Together • Darkstar Rising • Good Copy, Bad Copy • Save the Last Dance • Undercover • Birds of a Feather • Grounded • Pet Project • Unearthed • Voided • Inside Man • War of the Worlds: Part 1 • War of the Worlds: Part 2 Season 2 Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 1 • Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2 • Inferno • Don't Fear the Repo • Simple • Fool's Gold • Singlehanded • If All Else Fails • In Charm's Way • Trade-Off! • Ghost Town • Busy Box • Con of Rath • Primus • Above and Beyond • The Secret of Chromastone • Vendetta • Time Heals • The Final Battle: Part 1 • The Final Battle: Part 2 Movies Ben 10: Alien Swarm Unproduced Unproduced Alien Force Episode Season 1 Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 • Ben 10 Returns: Part 2 • Everybody Talks About the Weather • Kevin's Big Score • All That Glitters • Max Out • Pier Pressure • What Are Little Girls Made Of? • The Gauntlet • Paradox • Be-Knighted • Plumbers' Helpers • X = Ben + 2 Season 2 Darkstar Rising • Alone Together • Good Copy, Bad Copy • Save the Last Dance • Undercover • Pet Project • Grounded • Voided • Inside Man • Birds of a Feather • Unearthed • War of the Worlds: Part 1 • War of the Worlds: Part 2 Season 3 Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 1 • Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2 • Inferno • Fool's Gold • Simple • Don't Fear the Repo • Singlehanded • If All Else Fails • In Charm's Way • Ghost Town • Trade-Off! • Busy Box • Con of Rath • Primus • Time Heals • The Secret of Chromastone • Above and Beyond • Vendetta • The Final Battle: Part 1 • The Final Battle: Part 2 Movies Ben 10: Alien Swarm Unproduced Unproduced Alien Force Episode