The More Things Change: Part 1

The More Things Change: Part 1 is the first episode of the first season of Ben 10: Omniverse, and the first episode overall.
==Synopsis==
Now on his own, Ben sets out to be a solo superhero, with new alien heroes at his disposal, but Grandpa Max has other plans.
==Plot==
Five years ago, Four Arms is fighting a red Galvanic Mechamorph named Malware. While Four Arms appears to have the upper hand, Malware manages to grab the Omnitrix and forces it to time out, which leads Four Arms to revert back into Ben. Malware confronts Ben and taunts him about his defeat, which allows enough time for the Omnitrix to activate again. Ben transforms into Feedback and uses his energy absorbing and redirecting powers to quickly defeat Malware. Feedback then celebrates through jumping and pretending to play basketball. The Omnitrix times out, causing Feedback to revert back into Ben and fall back onto the ground. Ben gets up from the ground and shouts to the fleeing Malware that he should be running.
In the present day, 16-year-old Ben, along with Gwen and Kevin, is in pursuit of Zombozo, who has stolen a brain from Bellwood's brain bank. After Zombozo manages to slip away several times, Ben transforms into Lodestar and uses his magnetic powers to launch steel Kevin at Zombozo, and then magnetically pulls Zombozo's brain case. Once Zombozo is tied up, Gwen and Kevin reveal that they are leaving Bellwood. Gwen is skipping several grades of high school and going directly to college. Ben is surprised to learn that Kevin won't be coming back, as he has found a place near Gwen's campus. Realizing that he will be left all alone, Ben shares an emotional goodbye with Kevin and Gwen. As they leave, Zombozo mocks Ben, claiming that he would have never captured him without his friends' help. Ben fiercely responds that he is a superhero and does not need help to get the job done. He leaves to find something to eat.
After driving past Mr. Smoothy because "it wouldn't be the same", Ben drives to Max's Plumbing. Using the secret entrance in the store's bathroom, Ben descends into the Plumbers Base beneath Bellwood. Ben meets up with Max, who tries to inform him about something important. Before he can, an alarm goes off and Ben goes off to find the problem. When he arrives, he is shocked to see half of a building destroyed, with a giant crater left. Watching from the shadows is Khyber, who attaches the Nemetrix to his pet and lets it run into the crater. Khyber whistles, and his pet transforms into Crabdozer, going after Ben. Ben tries to transform into Humungousaur but transforms into Spidermonkey instead. Spidermonkey tries to fight it but is no match for Crabdozer's strength. Just as Crabdozer is about to finish Spidermonkey, Khyber whistles again and calls it back.
As Spidermonkey transforms back to normal, an alien named Pakmar comes out of a nearby toilet he was hiding in. Pakmar reveals that this was his shop, a toilet emporium. Unfortunately, he was confronted by a gang of alien criminals. The criminals force all of the alien shops in Bellwood to pay them Taydenite for "protection". If the shop owners refuse, the criminals destroy their shops. With this information, Ben goes off to Mr. Baumann's alien grocery store. He asks him if he has had any demands from the alien criminals. While Mr. Baumann originally denies that he has had any meetings with them, he eventually admits to it. At first, he does not want Ben to interfere, Ben manages to convince him to let him observe quietly. In order to disguise himself, he turns into Cannonbolt and immediately attracts attention. After accidentally dealing some damage, he settles down in the store's food bar.
Remembering how hungry he is, Cannonbolt asks the customer next to him if he can have his food. Just as he is about to begin eating, a trio of alien criminals, consisting of Bubble Helmet, Liam, and Fistina, arrive with a bomb. Mr. Baumann quickly pays them Taydenite so that they will leave, but Cannonbolt interrupts. While both Bubble Helmet and Mr. Baumann try to convince him to stay out of it, Cannonbolt still confronts the criminals. Bubble Helmet begins to attack and the Cannonbolt rushes into the fight. Ducking behind his counter, Mr. Baumann expresses his disapproval of lasers and the damage that Ben always does to the store.
While the other customers run out of the store, the alien that sat next to Cannonbolt continues to calmly eat his meal. Bubble Helmet activates the bomb and signals his partners to run away. While Cannonbolt tries to breach the force field around the bomb, he ultimately fails as the Omnitrix times out. As Mr. Baumann inquires Ben when his friends will come to save the day, the alien sitting at the counter unveils himself. Using his Proto-Tool and agile gymnastics, the alien is able to defeat the criminals. He introduces himself to Ben as Rook, a Plumber sent by Max, and Ben's new partner. Ben is not happy to hear the news, trying to tell Rook that he works alone now. Rook insists that he is his partner and mentions how honored he is to meet Ben. While he likes hearing this, Ben still refuses to accept Rook as a partner. However, due to the events around them, Rook and Ben cooperate to disable the bomb and catch the escaping criminals.
Ben transforms into a new alien named Bloxx, and rushes to stop the bomb while Rook goes after the criminals. Seeing that he can't affect the bomb due to the forcefield, Bloxx and Rook switch places. Bloxx covers the criminals with a dome he builds his body into, as Rook evaluates the bomb. Rook states that he can't crack the force field in time and needs to get the bomb out of the current populated area. Blasting a hole in the wall with his Proto-Tool, he calls Bloxx over to help carry the bomb outside. After scanning a nearby abandoned building for sentient life, Rook deduces that there is no one for the bomb to hurt, and Bloxx attempts to throw it in. As he is about to, the alien criminals run outside and blast Bloxx's arms to bits. Bloxx tries to catch it, but the bomb breaks through him and falls back down. With little time left, Bloxx builds himself into a catapult under the bomb and launches it into the empty building.
The bomb detonates, destroying the building and leaving behind a large crater. The crater has exposed a hidden tunnel and the three criminals run into it. The Omnitrix times out and Bloxx transforms back to normal. Ben and Rook run after them and emerge from the tunnel into a secret, underground, alien city: Undertown. Ben is shocked by this discovery but remembers his mission as he runs after the criminals with Rook. Above ground, Khyber once again attaches the Nemetrix to his dog. Telling it to show no mercy, he releases it after Ben, and it runs into the tunnel.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*The team disbands and Gwen leaves for Friedkin University along with Kevin.
*Khyber starts to hunt Ben.
*Rook makes his debut and becomes Ben's new partner in place of Gwen and Kevin.
====Character Debuts====
*Ben Tennyson (Omniverse flashback and present debut)
*Rook Blonko
*Gwen Tennyson (Omniverse present debut)
*Kevin Levin (Omniverse present debut)
*Max Tennyson (Omniverse present debut)
*Magister Patelliday (Omniverse debut)
*Driba
*Blukic
*Molly Gunther 
*Jerry 
*Mr. Baumann (Omniverse present debut)
*Pakmar 
*Solid Plugg
*Lillimusha DiForestini
*Blowfeld
*Gilford Bromley
*Alien Incidental 15
*Malware
*Zombozo (Omniverse debut)
*Khyber
*Zed
*Liam
*Bubble Helmet
*Fistina
====Original Omnitrix Alien Debuts====
*Four Arms (Omniverse debut by 11-year-old Ben)
*Feedback
====Omnitrix Alien Debuts====
*Lodestar (Omniverse debut)
*Spidermonkey (Omniverse debut)
*Cannonbolt (Omniverse debut by 16-year-old Ben)
*Bloxx
====Nemetrix Alien Debut====
*Crabdozer
===Minor Events===
*In the flashback, Malware gets the Omnitrix blueprint required for Dr. Psychobos to make the Nemetrix.
==Characters==
*Ben Tennyson (first reappearance; 11 and 16 years old)
*Rook Blonko (first appearance)
*Gwen Tennyson (first reappearance)
*Kevin Levin (first reappearance)
*Max Tennyson (first reappearance)
*Plumbers
**Magister Patelliday (first reappearance; cameo)
**Driba (first appearance; cameo)
**Blukic (first appearance; cameo)
**Molly Gunther (first appearance; cameo)
**Jerry (first appearance; cameo)
*Mr. Baumann (first reappearance)
*Pakmar (first appearance)
*Solid Plugg (first appearance; cameo)
*Lillimusha DiForestini (first appearance; cameo)
*Blowfeld (first appearance; cameo)
*Gilford Bromley (first appearance; cameo)
*Alien Incidental 15 (first appearance; cameo)
===Villains===
*Malware (first appearance; flashback)
*Zombozo (first reappearance)
*Khyber (first appearance)
*Zed (first appearance)
*Psyphon's Gang (first appearance)
**Liam
**Bubble Helmet
**Fistina
==Aliens Used==
===By 11-year-old Ben===
*Four Arms (first reappearance; off-screen activation)
*Feedback (first appearance)
===By 16-year-old Ben===
*Lodestar (first reappearance; accidental transformation)
*Spidermonkey (first reappearance; selected alien was Humungousaur)
*Cannonbolt (first reappearance)
*Bloxx (first appearance; accidental transformation)
===By Zed===
*Crabdozer (first appearance)
==Quotes==
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast==
==Continuity==
*11-year-old Four Arms vaguely mentions Kevin as Upgrade and the Retaliator while explaining to Malware, "You think you're the only Galvanic Mechamorph I've ever dealt with?", referencing the events of Framed and Destroy All Aliens.
==Allusions==
*The title of this episode is based on the saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
*When the exterior of Baumann's Store is shown, some graffiti is shown, including "Mordaci" and "Pops", which are references to Regular Show, the former being a misspelling of "Mordecai", one of the series' main characters.
*Ben says to Rook, "Call me Ben, dude", with Rook responding, "All right, Ben-Dude". This is similar to how Reinrassig III refers to Ben as "Benbentennyson" after Ben told him "My name is Ben. Ben Tennyson." in Alone Together.
*Mr. Baumann alludes to the bartender in the cantina from Star Wars: A New Hope when he says "No lasers, no lasers!" This corresponds to the bartender saying "No blasters."
*When Liam approaches Cannonbolt while he is holding bird seeds, the nursery rhyme Old MacDonald Had a Farm can be heard.
The More Things Change, Part 1 (295).png|Regular Show reference
==Errors==
*At the beginning of the episode, there is a big wildfire, but later, it is gone.
*In some shots during the battle between Four Arms and Malware, Four Arms doesn't have the black stripe on his back.
*When Four Arms hits Malware with a tree, his Omnitrix symbol briefly appears in his right shoulder instead of his left.
*When Young Ben tries to activate the Omnitrix after Malware deactivated it, the activation button is on the wrong side.
*Before Young Ben transforms into Feedback, his silhouette does not appear on the Omnitrix.
*When Feedback is about to blast Malware, his fingers are square-shaped instead of circular.
*Before Ben transforms into Lodestar, the Omnitrix's core pops up without Ben activating it.
*Before Khyber sends Zed to attack Ben, the bones he wears on his back are missing.
*Crabdozer's tongue is purple instead of red in this episode.
*When Ben talks to Mr. Baumann, a Gloppenbeef sandwich table appears for a short time.
*In some shots, Cannonbolt is shown without his back shell.
*In one shot, Liam is missing his comb.
*After Ben transforms into Bloxx, he makes two cracks on the ground with his fists. When he tells to Rook to switch places, the cracks disappear.
*When Rook launches a net out of the Proto-Tool to catch Bubble Helmet, Liam and Fistina, they are laying flat, but in the next shot, they are on their sides.
*The end credits misspell Mr. Baumann's name as "Mr. Bowman".
The More Things Change, Part 1 (24).png|Missing back stripe
The More Things Change, Part 1 (29).png|Missing back stripe/Omnitrix symbol error
The More Things Change, Part 1 (48).png|Activation button error
The More Things Change, Part 1 (52).png|Missing silhouette
The More Things Change, Part 1 (70).png|Square-shaped fingertips
The More Things Change, Part 1 (72).png|No fire
The More Things Change, Part 1 (197).png|Missing bones
The More Things Change, Part 1 (212).png|Purple tongue
The More Things Change, Part 1 (306).png|Random table
The More Things Change, Part 1 (343).png|Missing back shell
The More Things Change, Part 1 (344).png|Missing back shell
Liam error.png|Missing comb
The More Things Change, Part 1 (370).png|Missing back shell
The More Things Change, Part 1 (499).png|Cracks
The More Things Change, Part 1 (508).png|Missing cracks
The More Things Change, Part 1 (506).png|Bubble Helmet, Liam, and Fistina are laying flat
The More Things Change, Part 1 (511).png|Bubble Helmet, Liam, and Fistina are on their sides
The More Things Change Part 1 Voice Credits (2).png|Credit error
==Trivia==
*The episode's title is listed as The More Things Change, Part I within the episode itself, The More Things Change Part 1 on the Ben 10 Omniverse: A New Beginning DVD, and The More Things Change Part 1 on the Cartoon Network website.
*The storyboards of the scene in the prologue and first act where Ben times out fighting Malware were cleaned up by Marcelo Matere. However, his name is not listed in the end credits.
**In the text accompanying the storyboards, Ben is referred to as being 10 years old.
==References==
===Cartoon Network===
====Crew Statements====
===Derrick J. Wyatt===
===Marcelo Matere===
bg:Колкото повече се променяш: 1-ва част
es:Muchas cosas cambian
fr:Plus les choses changent, Partie 1
it:Più le cose cambiano (prima parte)
pl:Wiele zmian: część 1
pt-br:Quanto Mais as Coisas Mudam: Parte 1
ro:Schimbări cu surprize: Partea 1
ru:Всё Меняется: Часть 1
Category:Ben 10: Omniverse Episodes
Category:Two Part Episode
Category:Ben 10: Omniverse Season 1 Episodes
Category:Episodes
Category:Episodes Written by Charlotte Fullerton
Category:Episodes Directed by Dan Riba
Category:Episodes with Flashbacks