Side Effects (Ben 10 episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ben 10 episode | |
|---|---|
| "Side Effects" | |
 Evil Clancy. |
|
| Episode # | 12 |
| Production # | 112 |
| Airdate | March 18, 2006 |
| Writer(s) | Greg Klein |
| Director | Scooter Tidwell |
| Story | Chuck Drost Fred Reyes Patrick Kochakji Sebastian Montes |
| Guest star(s) | Nancy Linari Nicholas Guest Rosalind Chao |
| Season 1 December 27, 2005 – March 25, 2006 |
|
| TV.com episode summary | |
| List of all Ben 10 episodes... | |
"Side Effects" is the twelfth episode for the American animated television series Ben 10, which premiered on March 18, 2006.
[edit] Recap
The episode begins at an abandoned apartment building. There, a man named Bob is knocking the building down with a wrecking ball, clearly enjoying his work. After a few hits on the building, a blue-skinned man in ragged clothes named Clancy steps out of one of the holes made by the wrecking ball. Bugs are crawling over him, which he doesn't seem to mind. He constantly speaks in plural, including the insects as if they were a part of him. Bob's supervisor, Joe, notices this and has Bob stop. Clancy tells the construction workers to leave. Bob laughs at this, saying that the building is condemned by order of Councilwoman Liang. Joe confirms this, telling Clancy that the place is coming down whether he likes it or not. Clancy growls and releases a swarm of wasps from his sleeves. The hornets chase down Bob and lift him up to Clancy. Bob demands that Clancy get the bugs off of him. Clancy simply says, "Well, if you think we're bugging you now..."
In another part of town, a criminal is speeding through the streets in a hot rod, confident that he won't be caught. In the RV, Gwen sees someone and tells Grandpa Max. He wants to know if she's sure. She says "totally" and Upgrade passes by merged with a motorcycle. As the criminal cuts through traffic, Upgrade takes a different route by driving on the sidewalk. He tells the people to get out of his way when doing so. During the chase, a car-transporting semi cuts Upgrade off. To get by, he uses the back of the truck as a ramp. Noticing Upgrade closing in, the criminal speeds up, passing through an intersection just as the light turns red. An RV moves into the intersection once the light changes, forcing Upgrade to tip on his side to avoid a crash. As he catches up to the criminal, he uses his eye-mounted plasma ray to blow up the criminal's trunk, sending all of the cash he had stolen into the air. Upgrade comments that some people just can't hold onto their money. He then grows a spike on his front wheel and rams into the rear-left tire of the criminal's car, causing it to crash. When Upgrade drives next to the criminal and he finally notices that no one is driving the bike that Upgrade is merged with, he can't believe it. Upgrade starts burning rubber into the criminal's face until the cops show up, at which point he drives off. Around the corner, Upgrade finds an ice cream truck. Having stopped the bad guy, he feels it's OK to take some, so he unmerges with the motorcycle and climbs inside.
Back at the criminal's car, the criminal is trying to relate what he saw to the police. They don't believe his story about a driverless motorcycle, of course. Meanwhile, Gwen and Grandpa Max are looking for Ben. Seeing the nearby ice cream truck and the oddly-placed motorcycle nearby, Gwen figures out that he's inside. Sure enough, Ben is inside, having reverted to human form. He's shivering and his skin is much paler. He also has a runny nose. Grandpa Max asks him if he's OK, which he replies to with a sneeze. Grandpa Max takes that as a no.
In the RV, Grandpa Max measures Ben's temperature as 101, confirming that he has a summer cold. Gwen makes fun of him, saying that maybe he'll think twice about having snack time inside an ice cream truck. Ben starts to sneeze after this, and uses Gwen's new blouse as a rag. After she complains, he says that maybe she'll think twice about leaving her new clothes lying around. Gwen then starts pulling various medical supplies out of a box, including a hospital mask. Ben doesn't think he needs any of it. She says that it's for her, since a bug like Ben's tends to spread to everyone. Ben asks if they can just lock him in a closet somewhere until he's better. Gwen is excited about this idea. Grandpa Max thinks that all Ben needs is a dose of his famous San Ju Yen Pien cold medicine. He decides to take them to Chinatown to get the ingredients.
In Chinatown, a celebration is taking place. There's a dragon dance taking place, as well as a parade of various people in costume. Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max leave a drug store just after the parade passes. Grandpa Max is unhappy about not being able to find fresh potaigadon root, since most of it is freeze dried these days. Ben asks for a milkshake for his sore throat. Grandpa Max assures him that the stinkweed honey in the San Ju Yen Pien will do the trick. Ben sniffs the medicine, which is clearly repulsive. Gwen asks where Grandpa Max learned the recipe. He says that he picked it up from a monk in Guangdong, China. Gwen just gives him a blank stare, so he backs his statement up by saying that there's plumbing in China, too.
On a nearby platform, Councilwoman Liang is thanking everyone in a crowd for their support of her downtown redevelopment program. According to her, it's a dream come true. She's interrupted by a swarm of wasps, which scares off the crowd. Clancy flies up, riding on a cloud of wasps, and tells her to make that a nightmare. The wasps continue to chase everyone as they talk. Clancy says that they won't let her tear down their apartment. Liang recognizes him as the nutjob who wouldn't leave. Clancy is glad they've made an impression. He has his wasps pick her up, saying that he's bringing her home for dinner - she'll be the main course.
In another part of Chinatown, Ben decides to deal with the bugs. He prepares to transform, but is interrupted by a sneeze. He activates the Omnitrix during his sneeze, turning into Wildmutt. His cold has spread to the alien form, and Wildmutt's nostrils are clogged with mucus. Unable to "see," he runs about aimlessly, smashing into things as he does. Gwen wonders about the strange behavior. Grandpa Max has caught on, and explains it to Gwen. Gwen decides to jump on Wildmutt's back and direct him. It doesn't work well. Her directions only get her thrown into a fireworks stand. The boxes fall on top of her, trapping her. The collision also knocks down one of the paper Chinese lamps on a nearby stand, starting a fire near the fireworks. Luckily, Grandpa Max steps in, tipping a cart full of chicken dumplings onto the fire. Gwen thanks him for the save. He just hopes she doesn't mind smelling like chicken dumplings for a while. Wildmutt is still running around aimlessly, now with a trash can on his head, and crashes into yet another obstacle.
In the RV, Ben is feeling the effects of his stint as a sick Wildmutt. He's unhappy about the development, thinking that things can't get any worse. Grandpa Max hands him some of his San Ju Yen Pien. Ben smells it, still repulsed. Grandpa Max says that it smells worse than it tastes, then thinks it might be the other way around. In any case, it's not just Ben he worried about, since the virus has obviously spread to Ben's alien forms. Ben drinks the medicine, not too happy about the taste. Grandpa Max assures him that he'll get used to it after ten or so doses. Ben's not sure if the cure is worse than the disease. Gwen comes up with some information about Clancy, having found the only apartment building left for demolition. Ben uses the distraction to hide the medicine Grandpa Max gave him so he won't have to drink it. Gwen says that Clancy lives at 8610 Chester Street.
At Clancy's apartment, Councilwoman Liang is covered in spiders. She pleads with Clancy not to hurt her. Clancy says that the spiders are black widows, so she shouldn't make any sudden moves. He then explains that his grandfather built the building, and that he and his insects grew up here. He says that they are the only ones who understand, and no one is evicting them.
Outside the building, Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max arrive in the RV. Gwen says that it's a nice place to visit, but not to live in. Grandpa Max tells her and Ben that they should stay together. Inside, the place is falling apart and insects are crawling through the rafters. Ben ends up getting separated during the search. Grandpa Max finds an article on the wall. It reads "BUGS SURVIVE NUCLEAR BLAST" and has appropriate pictures. Gwen finds an insect nest nearby and comments that they're getting close. Grandpa Max notices that Ben is missing and wonders where he went. When they start searching, a large shadow covers them. In a nearby doorway, a shadowy figure with four eyes and horns approaches them. Gwen screams "Mega-bug" and the two get ready to face it. They stop when it's revealed to be Four Arms. He is suffering from the cold virus, too. His skin is much paler than normal. After Four Arms laughs at his own joke, they hear Councilwoman Liang's scream from the floor above. Four Arms picks up Gwen and Grandpa Max and prepares to jump through the roof. When he does, they notice another symptom of the cold: hives. They have mutated on Four Arms, becoming much larger and far more pungent, which Gwen comments on. He then jumps to the next floor.
On the floor above, the three find Councilwoman Liang still covers in spiders. She tells them to stop since the spiders are black widows. Four Arms inadvertently takes care of the spiders when he sneezes, which covers Liang in mucus and washes them away at the same time. Despite the nature of the rescue, she thanks him. Clancy shows up, telling them that they're trespassing, and rallies an army of fire ants to deal with them. They form a makeshift fist and punch Four Arms. Clancy then claims that they'll rule mankind. The ants regroup and try to attack Grandpa Max. He dodges them. At the same time, termites devour the floor beneath Gwen, leaving her hanging from a ledge. Liang pulls her back up. Getting up, Four Arms tries to attack Clancy. He rallies the ants again. This time, they cover Four Arms. He scratches wildly at them, knocking over many of the building's supports as he does. Clancy yells at him for this, but Four Arms doesn't listen. After Four Arms hits one too many supports, the entire place begins to collapse. Clancy summons a swarm of wasps to protect himself. With Four Arms still jumping around, Gwen comments on the rapidly collapsing building. Liang thinks they should escape, but there's no time and it collapses on top of them.
After the building collapses completely, Four Arms lifts up a rather large slab of concrete, having shielded the others from the collapse. He falls back onto the slab and reverts back into human form. Clancy crawls out of the rubble, too, now covered in cockroaches. The cockroaches died protecting him, which he is not happy about. Angry, he plans to exterminate the entire city. He summons a humongous swarm of wasps to pick him up. After he leaves, Councilwoman Liang comments on the very weird day she's had. Gwen just says "Welcome to our world." Ben is just happy that his hives are gone. Liang wonders where Four Arms went, wanting to thank Four Arms for saving her. Ben says that he'll let him know. Grandpa Max asks if she can find her way home, which she nods "yes" to. After she leaves, Ben wonders where Clancy went. Grandpa Max ponders the question and looks around, eventually spotting the local nuclear plant. It then becomes clear where he went, since a nuclear blast would be the only way to exterminate an entire city.
On the way to the nuclear plant, Ben is freezing in the RV. He asks Grandpa Max to turn the heat on, which it already is. Grandpa Max tells Gwen to get some of the San Ju Yen Pien for Ben. Ben would rather not drink it, so he lies and says that he already did. Gwen has found some information on insects and starts repeating it aloud. Ben just wants to know how to kill them. She says that short of an ice age or a tanker full of pesticide, barbequeuing them would be the best bet. Ben says that he knows just the chef.
At the nuclear plant, Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max are looking for Clancy. The lights go off for a moment, then come back on followed by an alarm. Ben wonders if it's bad, which it clearly is Gwen points this out saying "No, I'm sure every time an alarm goes off in a nuclear powerplant it's a good thing". An automated voice confirms that by stating that the reactor core temperature is rising and nearing critical. They run to the control room, only to find all the controls destroyed. Grandpa Max says that they'll have to shut it down manually. Ben wants to know how. Grandpa Max tells him that there's an emergency override system inside the reactor core. Gwen wonders if he learned this from a monk in China, too. A cockroach crawls near Gwen and she jumps away. Clancy then walks into the room, making a joke about them wanting a front row seat. Ben tells Clancy that the nuclear blast will kill him, too. Clancy doesn't think so, and cockroaches begin pouring from his clothes, forming a makeshift suit around him. Gwen realizes that the cockroaches would be the only thing likely to survive the blast. Ben transforms into Heat Blast in order to stop him, but once again encounters problems with the cold. This time, Heat Blast's body has shifted from the normal red and orange to red and blue. Gwen points out that Heatblast looks a little weird, but Heat Blast says, "This is no time for you to diss me," and has Gwen and Max head to the reactor. As they run, Heat Blast tries to attack Clancy. The cockroach suit has augmented his strength, so he easily bats Heat Blast away. He then sends wasps to deal with Gwen and Grandpa Max. Heat Blast tries to fry Clancy, but nothing happens and he sneezes. Heat Blast realizes that the cold must have frozen his flames just as Clancy hits him again.
In a hallway, Gwen and Grandpa Max are fleeing the wasps. The automated voice announces that a meltdown will occur in five minutes. At the end of the hall, they find a hose and spray the insects down. In the control room, Heat Blast is still getting beat up by Clancy. When he tries to get Clancy to talk, he accidentally triggers his mutated power, which is the ability to control cold instead of heat. Gwen and Grandpa Max make it to the reactor room, followed by more insects. At this point, the automated voice announces that they have one minute left. Heat Blast fights with Clancy as they try to shut the reactor down, freezing off one of his cockroach arms. It just grows back. Clancy then tackles Heat Blast through the window. Heat Blast makes an icicle to slide down to the floor, which surprises Gwen. In response to her question of, "Since when did you become an automatic ice-cube maker?" Heatblast replies, "I guess for some aliens, getting a cold isn't just an expression." Grandpa Max tells them that the manual overrides have overheated and he can't shut the reactor down. Clancy then gets back up and goes after Heat Blast again. Grandpa Max warns him this time, giving Heat Blast enough time to make a large ball of cold and toss it at Clancy, completely freezing him. He then turns to the reactor and freezes it, bringing the temperature back down to acceptable levels. After Gwen and Grandpa Max congratulate him, he suggests that they get some hot chocolate.
In the RV, Ben has gotten over his cold. With the bad guy defeated and the nuclear disaster averted as well, everything seems to have worked out. Gwen gets some milk when a cockroach crawls out from under the fridge. As she prepares to smash it, many more insects begin crawling over every surface of the RV, bringing it to a stop. Clancy then lets himself in, still wearing the cockroach suit. He's not happy about getting frozen earlier saying "We're not too happy about the cold shoulder you gave us at the powerplant". Grandpa Max tries to attack him, but Clancy dodges and tosses him back into the front of the RV. As he walks over to deal with Grandpa Max, his insects advance on Ben and Gwen. Ben tries to activate the Omnitrix, but it doesn't work. Gwen yells at Ben, thinking that he had frozen Clancy earlier. Ben says that he must have thawed out. As she tries to spray the bugs away with a fire extinguisher, he asks how they're going to stop them. She mentions something about attracting them with a candy bar, which gives Ben an idea. He retrieves the San Ju yen Pien he had hidden earlier and opens it. All the bugs, including Clancy's cockroach suit, move to it. Ben tosses it out of the window to get rid of them. Now lacking any backup, Clancy is easily knocked out by Grandpa Max. Gwen says that she's happy Clancy is out cold, since he was really starting to bug her, then sneezes. Ben is happy about this, saying that everything really did work out for the best, and he is cured from his illness, but Gwen got it.
[edit] Trivia
- Because of the cold, Wildmutt's senses didn't work so he kept crashing into things, Fourarms became less strong and developed hives in his underarms and Heatblast controlled cold instead of fire.
