You are supposed to use your powers to help people, not to find some stupid trading card.
A veterinarian called Dr. Animo terrorizes Washington by mutating animals. Also, Ben learns what it means to be a hero.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Gwen calls Stinkfly "Butterfly" before being corrected by Ben.
- Animal Testing: Animo used to do these (Causing horrific mutations in the process) wich made him unable to win the "Verities" award.
- Batman Cold Open: Two different ones in fact. At the start Heatblast saves a few people from a fire and then he captures the two robbers that started it as a distraction.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: Ben says that he deserves the golden Sumo Slammer card because he is constantly saving people. Grandpa Max tells him that being a hero is it's own reward, though he admits he read that in a greeting card at the supermarket.
- Evil Is Petty: Animo takes revenge on another scientist because the latter won an award that the former wanted.
- Evilutionary Biologist: Dr. Animo uses a device to turn random animals into "enhanced" versions of them. He apparently wants to dominate the entire world with them.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: The revived mammoth gets killed by Four Arms when he throws it against a wall with some much force that it shatters.
- Foreshadowing: Max compares the Animo incident to “just like before I retired”, which confuses Gwen, who was told he was a plumber.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Towards the climax, Ben (as Stinkfly) happens upon a golden Sumo Slammer card in his reach. But at the same time, he sees an innocent colleague of Dr. Animo's is in danger. As much as he wanted the card, Ben reluctantly abandons it as it's buried in rubble, saving the man in the process.
- Fossil Revival: Animo brings back to life a mammoth and a T. rex using their museum replicas.
- Giant Flyer: The giant cockatiel, which rivals a Tyrannosaurus rex in size.
- Human Hammer-Throw: How Four Arms ultimately defeats the mammoth.
- Ignored Epiphany: When Ben gripes about how bummed out he is about not getting a golden Sumo Slammer card despite all the good work he does, Max wisely advises him that being a hero should be its own reward. Ben merely shrugs off the advice as being too cheesy to take seriously. And it doesn't help that per Ben's guess, Max really did read such advice from a gift card.
- No Ontological Inertia: As soon as Ben destroys the Transmodulator, every mutant goes back to being a normal animal and the T. rex goes back to being a skeleton.
- Personal Gain Hurts: By using the Omnitrix to turn into Grey Matter and look for the rare golden Sumo Slammer card, Ben couldn't turn into anything useful to battle against the mutant hamster.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: The mutant hamster is as big as a bear.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers!: Ben turns into Grey Matter to get a golden Sumo Slammer card without buying the cereal it comes with.
- Shadow Archetype: Upon his arrest, Dr. Animo rants that he deserves the Verity Award and he's entitled to it. Ben isn't too surprised that his words sound familiar, as he spent the episode believing he deserves a golden Sumo Slammer card for all his hard work as a hero. The difference is, Ben overcame his need to be rewarded.
- Shout-Out: Tyrannosaurus Rex sound effects from the Jurassic Park franchise can be heard in this episode.
- Starter Villain: While Vilgax’s robots are the first enemies to fight Ben after he gained the Omnitrix, Dr. Animo serves as the first proper villain for Ben to face.
- Tail Slap: The T. rex uses this against Stinkfly.
- Title Drop: Dr. Animo when he declares what he wants to turn the city into.
- Transformation Ray: Dr. Animo's Transmodulator can accelerate genetic mutations and reanimate dormant cells.
- Unknown Rival: Dr. Animo to Dr. Kelly, the scientist who won the Verity Award that wanted so badly. Ironically, he's rather humble about having long-received the Verity Award and credits that it was all thanks to the well-adjusted and reputable scientists he worked alongside.
