The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet is the tenth episode of the first season of Ben 10: Alien Force, and the tenth episode overall.
==Synopsis==
After years of Ben being picked on by the school bullies Cash and JT, Ben stands up for himself and embarrasses both of them in front of a group of peers. An upset Cash later retaliates by pushing Kevin's GTO down a hill where a robot hand pops out of the trunk after it hits a tree. Cash and JT steal off with the glove only to have the glove possess Cash, granting him the power to get revenge on Ben.
==Plot==
Gwen and Kevin are fighting a Techadon Robot in a warehouse, while Ben is scrolling through the Omnitrix to find the right alien for the situation. They manage to hold it off, but only for a while. Ben finds the right alien and transforms into a new alien named Goop. After Goop defeats and destroys the robot, while also showering Gwen and Kevin with slime, Kevin snatches the one of its hands, which Gwen sliced off before it was destroyed, and throws it in the trunk of his car. The hand is revealed to still have some life in it.
At Mr. Smoothy, Kevin is wiping his car, thinking it still has the goo Ben blasted on it when the Techadon Robot exploded (even though Goop's Anti-Gravity Projector gathered up all of it). Nearby, Cash and JT spill nectarine smoothies on Ben and make fun of him. Gwen and Kevin go to confront the bullies, as Kevin is about to interfere. After dissuading Kevin from interfering and attempting to laugh it off, Ben nearly goes alien on them, but decides they're not worth it. Instead, he tells Cash and JT how it's just sad how they've never changed their bullying ways since they were kids, making Cash and JT look like fools in front of a crowd of people watching them. Ben is applauded for standing up to them. This leaves Cash very humiliated and defeated.
Later, Cash exasperatingly rages about how he was humiliated by Ben and JT suggests they trash Kevin's car. They throw it off an incomplete road, but it fails to break, and the technology Kevin stole pours out. JT grabs the Techadon Robot's arm and run off when Ben, Gwen and Kevin arrive. Kevin is furious with Cash for wrecking his car. Ben wants to catch up with them using Jetray, but Gwen dissuades him from doing so.
At Manny & Ken's, an old mannequin factory, Cash thinks the gauntlet is dumb, but JT tries to make it seem cool. When playing with it, he fires a laser into the ceiling accidentally and this inspires Cash. He takes it and puts it on. He decides to use it to get back at Ben, but JT notices something wrong. He tries to ask for it back, but Cash won't give it up. JT tries again later at night, but Cash warns him off. Noticing that Cash is behaving strangely, JT rushes to warn Ben.
JT tells Kevin and Gwen Cash's location and what's wrong with him (without mentioning the gauntlet). Kevin goes after Cash to get vengeance on him wrecking his car, while Gwen questions JT for his decision of hanging around Cash, since he was originally a friend of Ben's. JT says that Cash isn't that bad, since he makes JT laugh and looks out for him. He also says that he would rather see Cash beat up others instead of him. Gwen asks JT why he isn't with Cash, with JT replying that he wanted to warn Ben. Gwen says that Ben can look after himself. JT asks about his own safety and Gwen assures him that nothing bad will happen. 
When Kevin finds Cash at the factory, he is fused with the Techadon Robot and has gotten stronger. He beats Kevin up in a fight, leaving him with parts of stone, a metal arm and a torn face on his body. The Techadon Robot covers more of Cash, and he orders Kevin to tell Ben to meet him at Mr. Smoothy at three o'clock.
Gwen and JT find Ben and tell him about Kevin. They head to the factory and find him in his weakened state. Kevin tells them about Cash and JT reveals what the gauntlet is doing to him. Kevin tells Ben where Cash wants him and they rush back to Mr. Smoothy, leaving Kevin behind. 
Cash threatens the customers until Ben arrives. Ben asks Cash what's his problem, to which Cash furiously replies that Ben is his problem. Just as they confront each other, Gwen and JT arrive. JT tries to reason with Cash, but he is angry that JT betrayed him and leaps towards him, but Ben transforms into Chromastone and knocks Cash away before battling him. Chromastone tells Cash that he does not wish to fight him, however Cash proceeds to give him a beat-down, which barely fazes him. As Chromastone overpowers Cash and JT, he explains that neither of them benefits from this fight and demands him to stop, but Cash explains that the suit is making him fight as it repairs itself. However, J.T gets Cash to fight the Techadon's influence, and he reverts it into the glove, freeing himself.
JT reconciles with Ben and leaves with Cash, while Gwen feels that she has forgotten something. Ben tells her it is probably nothing. Kevin is then heard calling out to them, from off-screen, having been forgotten by Gwen.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*Cash and JT learn about Ben's ability to transform into different aliens with the Omnitrix.
====Character Debut====
*Techadon Robots
====Omnitrix Alien Debut ====
*Goop
===Minor Events===
*Ben first shows his affection for Mr. Smoothy.
*Cash is revealed to know about Kevin, stating that he used to be the coolest kid in town.
*It is revealed that Ben and JT used to be friends when they were young before the latter met Cash.
==Characters==
===Main Characters===
*Ben Tennyson
*Gwen Tennyson
*Kevin Levin
===Supporting Characters===
*JT
===Antagonists===
*Techadon Robot (first appearance)
*Cash Murray
==Aliens Used==
*Goop (first appearance)
*Chromastone (off-screen activation)
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast ==
==Allusions==
*When Ben says to Kevin "no juice for you," it is a parody of a scene in the Seinfeld episode The Soup Nazi where the soup chef says "no soup for you."
==Errors==
*Just before Ben transforms into Goop, his jacket's stripe is not fully colored.
*Goop's hologram faces away from Ben.
*When Goop, Gwen and Kevin get blasted out of the warehouse, Gwen is not shown protecting herself with a shield, but when she lands on the ground, a shield suddenly appears. 
*During the same scene, Kevin's car and the Techadon Robot's glove are smaller than they should be. The glove remains this way for the rest of the episode.
*When Jetray's hologram is shown for the second time, he is in an upward flying position.
*When Cash destroys Kevin's stone armor, his shirt is torn around his shoulders and lower arms. However, when he absorbs metal, that side of his shirt seems to be intact.
TG (57).png|Stripe error
TG (65).png|Hologram error
TG (99).png|No shield
TG (101).png|Shield/Glove size error/Car size error
TG (236).png|Hologram error
TG (420).png|Both shoulders of Kevin's shirt are torn
TG (421).png|Lower arm of the shirt is torn
TG (422).png|Intact shirt
TG (428).png|Intact shirt
==Trivia==
*When Kevin put straws up his nose in the diner, Ben was enjoying it, despite looking embarrassed.
*This episode was in the works as early as November 29, 2007.
==References==
===Production Material===
====Scripts====
===Crew Statements===
====Matt Wayne====
====Dwayne McDuffie====
===Cartoon Network===
es:El guante
it:Il Guanto Robotico
pl:Rękawica
pt-br:A Manopla
ro:Mănuşa de protecţie
Category:Episodes
Category:Ben 10: Alien Force Episodes
Category:Ben 10: Alien Force Season 1 Episodes
Category:Episodes Directed by Dan Riba
Category:Episodes Aired Out of Production Order
Category:Filler