When was the last time you washed that uniform?
Just like old times, eh? I think this is gonna be the beginning of a new partnership.
After the events of last episode, Max finally tells the children of his time as a Plumber and they coincidentally meet an old partner of Max. He's not all he seems.
Tropes:
- Attack Reflector: Grey Matter uses the mirror of Phil's car to make the Pumbler shoot himself with the Projector.
- Broken Pedestal: Ben initally looked to Phil as being the ideal Plumber who stood for everything that Max left behind: adventure, heroism, and a ludicrous income. But as it turns out, he's pretty disappointed to learn Phil is just a hack who uses the Null Void Projector to make himself a quick buck, and he's especially displeased to witness Phil try to kill Max.XLR8: You're no Plumber! You're nothing but a big drip!
- Call-Back: Max goes back to the Plumber headquarters inside Mount Rushmore he visited last episode to look for another powerful artifact, the Null Void Projector.
- Conveyor Belt o' Doom: Wildmutt fights against one of the Vulpimancers in a conveyor belt connected to a meat grinder. Phil shuts it down before any of them get smashed to pieces.
- Contrived Coincidence: The same day Max and the children meet Phil a Havok Beast and two Vulpimancers attack the city. Max realizes that something's up but Phil brushes it off as a simple coincidence. Of course, Max's right.
- Of course, the fact that they meet Phil right after Grandpa Max explains what the Plumbers are is a big coincidence on its own.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- During the flashback, Max sends Vilgax flying to his ship attached to the nuclear warhead that he planned to launch on a city.
- Phil is ultimately sent to the Null Void because Grey Matter reflects the Projector's beam with a mirror.
- Monster Protection Racket: Near the end, it's revealed that Phil frees aliens with the Null Void Projector and gets paid to capture them.
- Nitro Boost: Max reveals that the RV has an alternate mode where it basically grows a few rockets.
- Nothing Is Scarier: When Ben wonders what will become of Phil in the Null Void, Grandpa solemnly tells the kids it's better they not know.
- Phantom Zone: The Projector traps aliens in the dimension known as Null Void which, according to Max, could theoretically house millions of aliens. Phil uses it to bring back aliens to get paid for getting rid of them.
- Reveal Shot: The first shot of the Havok Beast is from below, making it look huge. The camera pans away and reveals that it's actually the size of a housecat.
- Secret Legacy: Max used to stop alien menaces on Earth while he was part of the Plumbers which is exactly what Ben's been doing since he got the Omnitrix.
- Sensory Overload: Phil temporarily stops the Vulpimancers from attacking him by using a weapon that creates ultrasound.
- Slaughterhouse Fight: Phil, Ben, Max and Gwen fight two Vulpimancers in a slaughter house and Wildmutt uses the chains the meat is hanging from to avoid their attacks.
- Sonic Stunner: Phil uses one of his Plumber devices to stun two Vulpimancers plus Ben as Wildmutt. The latter was unintentional, though.
- We Can Rule Together: A minor example. Phil tells Ben that he should join him and restart the Plumbers. Ben is excited to continue Max's legacy but when he learns that it would involve setting dangerous aliens free on purpose, he rejects his offer.
