Absolute Power: Part 1

Absolute Power: Part 1 is the ninth episode of the second season of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and the nineteenth episode overall.
==Synopsis==
Ben is infuriated when Gwen asks Darkstar for his help defeating the team's deadliest, and most unlikely foe of all.
==Plot==
Alan Albright is shown running through a cornfield, looking panicked and worried. He is being chased by Ultimate Kevin, who keeps saying Alan has something he needs, with Alan trying to convince him otherwise. Eventually, it is revealed Ultimate Kevin wants Alan's power and he absorbs it, gaining his powers. Kevin attempts to kill Alan, but Ben as NRG thwarts his plan and fights him. After a short battle, Kevin leaves and promises to come for Ben's power. After NRG transforms back into Ben, Alan explains to Ben that Kevin has gone on a power-hunting rampage and he has already absorbed Helen, Pierce, Manny, and even Dr. Viktor's powers.
At Gwen’s house, Ben finally decides that he must eliminate Kevin to stop his rampage, but Gwen disagrees, still believing there can be a way to help Kevin. Ben doesn't think so and leaves the house. However, the disagreement between the two cousins reaches a point where they started fighting, with Gwen trying to trap Ben in a mana bubble and tells him that she's not letting him go. Enraged by this, Ben transforms into Chromastone and escapes. Gwen uses a spell that increases the gravity on Chromastone, but he transforms into Terraspin and blows Gwen onto her house. Gwen uses another spell to slow Terraspin down, but Terraspin transforms into NRG and melts the floor, creating a wave of lava, but Gwen survives it by being protected in her shield. NRG transforms into Nanomech and comes up to Gwen and Gwen crushes Nanomech in her spellbook but Nanomech, finally having enough, turns into Way Big and uses his cosmic ray attack on Gwen, who then gets knocked out cold. Ben tells Gwen that because she cares too much about him, she doesn't have what it takes to deal with Kevin and makes his leave.
At a warehouse, Ben is attacking some Forever Knights as Lodestar, asking for Kevin's whereabouts, but they do not know, and he continues to attack them. Meanwhile, Gwen visits Max, asking for advice on how to help Kevin and that Ben was going to kill him. Max says that Ben is doing the right thing: Kevin has to be put down in order for innocent lives to be safe. He also tells Gwen that if she's not going to be a professional or put her feelings aside, it's best for her to stay out of Ben's way and refuses to help Gwen any further. Gwen says she's going to find someone that will help, and ironically, that person is Darkstar, who has been living off the energy of stray dogs. Gwen tries to prepare a spell, but Darkstar uses his energy to try to absorb her mana. Gwen blasts him, which knocks off his helmet. Gwen completes the spell, and Darkstar regains his old face back. When Darkstar asks why Gwen would do this for him, she says that she needs his help.
Ben is driving in his car and Max contacts him on the Ultimatrix, after having the conversation with Gwen, he agrees with Ben's intentions of stopping Kevin and believes it is the responsible move, but it's not "the Ben move", as he gives people second chances, and they live up to his expectations. He also mentions that Ben gave Kevin a second chance and trusted him, and Ben points out how that turned out. Max adds that if it were him in this situation, he too would eliminate Kevin, but he never would have expected Ben to resort to such a tactic, rather than finding another way to solve things. Ben denies it this time, stating that if the situation gets serious, he would too, and knowing the regret of having to go through with it, in order to save the lives of innocent people, Ben must destroy Kevin and tells Max that his decision is final.
In a cave, Ben as Humungousaur is fighting Vulkanus, asking him for Kevin's whereabouts, with Vulkanus trying to avoid the questions. He tries to escape Humungousaur by crawling out of his suit and running away, but Humungousaur catches him and starts shaking him. When Humungousaur was about to give Vulkanus the pounding of a lifetime, Gwen stops him. While Humungousaur was charging at Gwen, she traps him in a mana cage, but Humungousaur breaks out by punching the ground, causing Vulkanus to fall through the chasm Humungousaur makes.
After Humungousaur transforms back into normal, Darkstar arrives, offering his assistance to Ben to find Kevin, though Ben does not like it. Darkstar explains to Ben that he and Kevin are the same because of their cravings for energy (and Ben keeps pointing out they're both evil), so Darkstar can predict Kevin's next move. Darkstar explains that when Kevin destroyed the Dominus Librium, the ancient artifact that cured Kevin and Darkstar of their previous mutations, he managed to salvage a piece and that it lost all of its power, but with enough energy channeled through it, they could tap into its powers and could cure Kevin. Ben becomes reluctant to follow through Darkstar's plan and is just intent on finding Kevin in order to put him down.
At Total Zone, Gwen encounters Kevin and explains that Ben is after him and that she wants to help him, but Kevin starts to lose control and attacks Gwen; he yells at her for not staying away, with the last shred of his sanity having been his love for her (only now it's not enough to stop him). He uses his fire powers against her and surrounds her with a wall of fire, but Gwen stops the fire using a wind spell, and then Kevin traps Gwen with vine seeds. Gwen still manages to use her spellbook, and uses a spell that summons Rock Monsters. The monsters free Gwen and attack Kevin, but Kevin absorbs the mana contained in the creatures and attacks Gwen with a mana blast. Then he attacks her with a powerful sonic scream, which knocks Gwen to the wall.
Kevin begins absorbing Gwen's powers and Gwen screams in pain, while Kevin looks all the more pleased.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*Ben and Gwen battle each other for the second time.
====Character Debuts====
*Alan Albright (Ultimate Alien debut)
*Darkstar (Ultimate Alien debut)
==Characters==
===Main Characters===
*Ben Tennyson
*Gwen Tennyson (15 and 16 years old)
===Supporting Characters===
*Alan Albright (first reappearance)
*Max Tennyson
*Darkstar (first reappearance; flashback and present)
===Antagonists===
*Kevin Levin (17 years old)
**Ultimate Kevin
===Other Characters===
*Forever Knights
*Vulkanus
*Pickaxe Aliens
*Kevin Levin (16 years old)
*Rock Monsters (under Gwen's control)
==Aliens Used==
*NRG (x2; first time was an off-screen activation)
*Chromastone
*Terraspin
*Nanomech (off-screen activation)
*Way Big
*Lodestar (off-screen activation)
*Humungousaur (off-screen activation)
*Swampfire (flashback; cameo)
==Spells Used==
*Facio gravis
*Tabesco caix
*Tardus motus
*Cloudo doris (fake spell)
*Restituo navitas. Vis penetro intus. Vigoratus per vita.
*Incendia absum
*Silicis miles suscitatio
==Quotes==
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast==
==Continuity==
*Gwen reminds Ben that Kevin had been cured of his Kevin 11 mutation, which was shown in ...Nor Iron Bars a Cage.
*Max is in a regeneration tube on Galvan Mark II, after Ultimate Aggregor damaged his nervous system in Map of Infinity.
*Ben mentions Max's presumed death from Max Out.
*Darkstar recalls the events of Trade-Off!.
*The arcade Ultimate Kevin hides in is the same arcade where Ben and Gwen first met Kevin in Kevin 11.
==Allusions==
*The title references a quote by John Acton: "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
*During the fight between Ben and Gwen, NRG claps his hands together and then places them to the ground before generating the molten lava attack. This could be a reference to the manga and anime series Fullmetal Alchemist, as alchemy is also activated by clapping one's hands together before placing their hands to whatever they are attempting to transmute. Additionally, NRG wearing a large, metal containment suit is somewhat similar to the armor body of Alphonse Elric, an alchemist and one of the two main characters of Fullmetal Alchemist.
==Errors==
*Ultimate Kevin's water blast is shown to be making an impact even after Alan has landed on the ground.
*While Ultimate Kevin absorbs Alan's powers, his Spidermonkey arm is brown.
*Strangely, when confronted by Ultimate Kevin, Alan acts as though he didn't know what Ultimate Kevin wanted from him, but when talking to Ben, he talks as though he did know what Ultimate Kevin wanted and why.
*After Ultimate Kevin absorbs Alan's abilities, Alan's Plumber badge disappears.
*When NRG grabs Kevin's arm, his Ultimatrix symbol is missing.
*Before Ben transforms into Chromastone, the Ultimatrix's dial faces the wrong direction.
*When Terraspin spins, his shell is green.
*When Terraspin slows down after Gwen casts the Tardus motis spell, his fins are transparent.
*After Way Big changes back into Ben, the floor is cement even though NRG melted it into lava, which can't have cooled down in that time.
*There is a layering error with one of the Galvans who monitors Max, where his head overlaps his body.
*When Gwen raises a mana shield to protect herself from Ultimate Kevin's mana attack, it cracks before the attack hits it.
*Gwen couldn't have summoned Rock Monsters, as they only followed Charmcaster because she freed them.
*One of the arcade machines is placed a layer above the debris that falls from the air.
*In the end credits, Vulkanus' name is spelled as "Vulcanus".
Kevinalan.png|Spidermonkey arm error
AP1 (68).png|Missing Plumber badge
AP1 (72).png|Missing Ultimatrix symbol
AP1 (134).png|Ultimatrix dial error
AP1 (169).png|Shell color error
AP1 (176).png|Transparent fins
AP1 (202).png|Floor error
AP1 (227).png|Head error
AP1 Voice Credits (2).png|Credit error
==Trivia==
*The episode's title is listed as Absolute Power Part 1 within the episode itself, and on the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Power Struggle DVD, the Cartoon Network website, Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
*Way Big first used his concentrated cosmic ray attack in Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction. This episode marks its first use in the actual series.
*Kevin is revealed to still have his love for Gwen, as it is what forced him to stay away from her, so his thirst for power couldn't hurt her.
==References==
===T.J. Collins===
===Cartoon Network===
es:Poder absoluto
pl:Potęga absolutna: część 1
pt-br:Poder Absoluto: Parte 1
ro:Putere absolută: Partea 1
Category:Episodes
Category:Two Part Episode
Category:Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Episodes
Category:Episodes Written by Charlotte Fullerton
Category:Episodes Directed by Dan Riba
Category:Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Season 2 Episodes
Category:Episodes with Flashbacks