The Fantastic Four have beaten him time and again, and Ronan the Accuser is not happy. In anger, he enters himself and the Four in the Contest of Champions — a competition which forces you to fight for your life and the lives of your race, under the eye of the Grandmaster. Will the team survive?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Distillation: The plot is a very loose adaptation of a comic book story where Ben went up against another Elder of the Universe for the fate of the Earth and also won the day when outmatched because he refused to yield.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Implied by a character's statement that "[the Grandmasters] play by their own rules."
- Combat by Champion: In a manner of speaking. Each planet is represented by a team who has been entered.
- Determinator: Ben. Even when being beaten down by Ronan, who is "augmenting" himself in order to win, he won't stay down.
- Growing Muscles Sequence: Ronan cheats with an orbital bombardment of a ray from a Kree ship that enhances his muscles until he's towering over Ben.
- Harmless Villain: The Mole Man. Ronan complains about this, so the Grandmaster replaces him in the team roster with Impossible Man.
- Heroic Spirit: What keeps Ben going.
- Hope Spot: Susan can take away the Grandmaster's power crystal, there's no need for the rest of — never mind.
- Recurring Character: Ronan.
- Revenge: Ronan's motive.
- Save the Villain: After a manner of speaking. Ben asks the Grandmaster to let everyone go, which includes the villains who were just fighting them.
- Selfless Wish: Ben, rather than wishing for his humanity back, wishes for everyone to be released.
- Sufficiently Advanced Alien: The Grandmaster.
- Tempting Fate: Ronan, near the end. Overlaps with Evil Gloating.There is nothing you can do now to save your friends!
- We Will Meet Again: The Grandmaster to Ben after the latter won the Contest of Champions.Grandmaster: Know this, Ben Grimm: the Contest will continue, and, one day, I will call on you again.Ben: Just don't call collect.
- Why Did It Have to Be Waterball?: One of Johnny's rounds unnerves him — for understandable reasons.
