The Albedo story arc comes to a close, or at the very least an immediate halt and has been released to DVD in the form of Duel of the Duplicates. How is the quality of this Ben 10 arc specific DVD, as well as the arc it focuses on?

Ben 10: Omniverse Duel of the Duplicates is a 2014 DVD focusing on a single Ben 10: Omniverse arc. It is produced and developed by Cartoon Network, and is available only on DVD.

Ben 10 forcibly disguised as Albedo.

Ben 10 is one of those crazy franchises that has major appeal with kids, but is either hit or miss with adults. As someone who’s watched Ben 10 since the original series debuted when I was 15, I can say that overall it’s been pretty hit for the most part. There were admittedly some on and off moments with Ultimate Alien, however Ominverse has been pretty stellar since it’s debut. With the return of fantastic key villains, as well as the debut of an excellent group of new ones.

Ben’s new alien.

THE GOOD: The Albedo arc has been apart of Ben 10 since his debut in Alien Force. This villain was once Omnitrix creator Azmuth’s assistant, however he was fired for requesting an Omnitrix of his own. He has since been on the hunt for Ben & his Omnitrix. Albedo has been one of the many thorns in Ben’s side since his debut so many years ago, and has been an excellent addition to it’s large roster of villains. The Duel of the Duplicates arc focuses on Albedo attempting to steal Azmuth’s brain as well as upgrade his version of the Omnitrix. This results in Ben & Albedo switching places, as Albedo had taken the shape of Ben earlier on in the franchise’s overall storyline.

Albedo in his Ultimate Galvan form.

The Duel of the Duplicates arc featured some solid comedy & action, which has been a bit of an usual happening since the franchise debuted almost 10 years ago. Bonus episodes were included on the DVD that focused on Amino as well as the Forever Knights, both are villains who have been with Ben 10 since the beginning almost. The episodes while having a serious plot, seemed to focus on comedy more than action, this has been the general direction since Omniverse debuted, but the series has still maintained a solid balance between the two.

Albedo disguised as Ben, with Rook in the background.

THE BAD: Fans of any of the other Ben 10 series may not like the Omniverse team’s decision to go with comedy over action. This DVD may also not be a great start as far as getting into Omniverse for fans who called it quits.

Ben & partner Rook.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Fans of the original series, who have stuck with Ben 10 throughout it’s debut will likely have no problems with Ben 10: Omniverse as a whole, but as far as the Albedo arc goes it’s a fairly interesting piece of the overall canon. Albedo is an awesome villain, and his Omnitrix gives him a bit of a edge over the other villains, not mention his intelligence, thus making him an even more serious threat. some may not enjoy the push on comedy over action compared to the other three series, and Duel of the Duplicates may not be the best entry for new fans. However, the solid writing, ok comedy, and great action provides fans of Ben 10 something to enjoy. Otaku Dome gives Duel of the Duplicates an 80 out of 100.