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Sumo Slammers is a popular multi-media franchise in the world of Ben 10 spawning merchandise such as video games, TV shows, movies, comic books, trading card games, and MP3 players.
It tells all kinds of action-packed adventure stories with a mix of both steam and cyber punk that revolve around samurai warriors in the likeness of sumo wrestlers, the central character being Ishiyama on a quest to end the reign of terror against the franchise's main villain, Kenko the Shapeshifter.
In-Universe Media and History[]
Video Games[]
Kevin holding a Sumo Slammer video game
Sumo Slammer Smackdown[]
Sumo Slammer Smackdown is a video game in which the sumo samurai protagonist, Ishiyama, fights and battles against the shape-shifter Kenko, his arch-enemy. It is one of Ben's favorite games, and is also liked by Gwen and Max. It contains at least 13 levels, featuring Robo-Sumos and Samurai as standard villains with boss variants. Players can access weapons by discovering them hidden inside 'Akeni' boxes and fight their way across levels. Solving a riddle by Kappa allows players to jump to any level of their choosing. Like any video game, the "main boss" fight (in this case with Kenko on level 13) is the hardest level.[pop-up 1][1]
In Game Over, Ben and Gwen wound up in the video game when Ben attempted to use Upgrade to cheat at the game and was struck by lightning whilst playing. To unlock and transforms into his aliens, Ben must collect Omnitrix shaped tokens hidden across the game. He eventually collects Four Arms, Cannonbolt and Upgrade, which he uses to trounce Kenko and escape the game alive. Ben recalled the events of this episode in Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens.
Other Games[]
Other known video games in the franchise include:
- Sumo Slammer Game Box[2]
- Sumo Slammers 2.1[3]
- Sumo Slammers Space Wars
- Sumo Slammers IV: Tournament Edition
- Sumo Slammers IV: The Wrath of Kenko
In Perfect Day, a box full of copies of Sumo Slammers Space Wars falls out of a truck, and later Ben plays the game.
In Video Games, Humungousaur uses moves from Sumo Slammers IV: Tournament Edition to defeat Stalker, as they were the only ones it didn't copy.
In Rules of Engagement, Ben plays a Sumo Slammers game while talking to Julie on the phone, and Ben kept on losing. Because of this, Ben kept on saying insults to the opponent, and Julie thought the insults were for her, because of this, they broke up.
In Fight at the Museum, Exo-Skull tries to play Sumo Slammers while waiting for Subdora, but his hooves are too big for the controller.
In It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Ben World: Part 1, Ben and Ben 23 were seen playing a Sumo Slammers game.
In Let's Do the Time War Again, Gravattack mentions learning about the laws of gravity from a bonus move in Sumo Slammers IV: The Wrath of Kenko, but ends up creating a black hole that swallows Bellwood while trying to stop the Time Beast.
Card Game[]
Sumo Slammer cards
There are three known types of trading cards.[4]
- SUMO Blue: The most common card.
- SUMO Red: The second most common card.
- SUMO Gold: The rarest card. Ben puts a lot of effort into finding this card, and it is very valuable to Sumo Slammers fans.
MP3 Player[]
Sumo Slammer DigiDownloader
The device, called Sumo Slammer DigiDownloader, downloads songs and soundtracks from Sumo Slammer Smackdown. Ben owned and used one in Monster Weather but it broke during the events of the episode. They can be found at Sumo Slammers conventions.
Arcade Games[]
In Kevin 11, there is a Sumo Slammers arcade in a four-star hotel in New York. Ben transformed into Ghostfreak to play the game even though he wasn't allowed into the arcade and promptly caused himself, Max and Gwen to be thrown out despite having paid for the room.
TV Series[]
The Sumo Slammers TV series[5] spans multiple shows. Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation, the sequel to the original Sumo Slammers series, takes place 5 years after the original Sumo Slammers series. In it, Kenko teams up with Ishiyama.
Movies[]
Ben wearing a Sumo Slammer 3D movie glasses
The franchise also features multiple movies.
In Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 1, Ben mentions that there will be a live action Sumo Slammers movie, which made Kevin excited.
In Duped, Ben watched Sumo Slammers IV, where he and the other viewers used 3D glasses while wearing a samurai-like wig. He watches this movie again but this time with Elena (disguised as Julie) in The Perfect Girlfriend.
In Catfight, Ben watched Sumo Slammers VI in 3D with Rook, Rayona and Ester, though they did not wear 3D glasses. They watched the movie again at the end of the episode.
Toys[]
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Sumo Slammers toys include
- Battle Ring Playset
- Action Figures
In Voided, Gwen finds a Sumo Slammers battle ring playset while cleaning Ben's closet. Gwen refers to it as a dollhouse, which makes Ben upset. It was later accidentally broken when Gwen got knocked out by Helen and Manny's call.
In Have I Got a Deal for You, Ben receives a rare Sumo Slammers action figure from Blarney T. Hokestar.
In And Then There Was Ben, Gweniverse Ben is seen holding action figures of Ishiyama and Kenko in his hands while sleeping.
Comics[]
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Sumo Slammers also has a comic book series.[1]
In a flashback to Arrested Development, Ben is seen reading comics from the Sumo Slammers.
Crispy Cereal[]
In Game Over, Ben called the Sumo Slammers cereal 'cruddy', though he mentioned that he still eats it.
In a flashback scene in The Ballad of Mr. Baumann, the Sumo Slammers sold a crispy cereal for $3.49 when Ben was 11. The package says he has the crispness of a bone. Cereal has an immense amount of sugar. It was sold at Mr. Baumann's grocery store.
Other[]
In They Lurk Below, Eddie Grand Smith mentions that his Sumo Slammers pin is from Sumo Slammers Slam-Down V in Helsinki, and it had tripled in value since then.
In Monster Weather, Ben mentions that there is a Sumo Slammers convention in Milwaukee around that time.
Characters[]
Appearances[]
Ben 10[]
Season 1[]
- Washington B.C. (first appearance)
- Kevin 11
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Season 4[]
- Perfect Day (dream)
- Don't Drink the Water
Alien Force[]
Season 1[]
- Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 (first reappearance)
- Voided
Season 2[]
Ultimate Alien[]
Season 1[]
- Duped (first reappearance)
Season 3[]
Omniverse[]
Season 1[]
- Have I Got a Deal for You (first reappearance)
- Of Predators and Prey: Part 1
Season 2[]
- Rules of Engagement (flashback)
Season 3[]
Season 5[]
Season 6[]
Season 7[]
Season 8[]
Trivia[]
- Omnitrixter is Ben's Sumo Slammers online account.[6]
- As of Game Over, Ben owns every Sumo Slammer comic book, doubles of every trading card and even eats a Sumo Slammer themed cereal.
- The company purposely includes one bad episode every season to boost interest, so people can buy the toys.[7][8]
- The popularity of Ben's aliens with kids made Sumo Slammers less popular by the end of the summer in the original series.[pop-up 2][1]
- Kevin is more interested in the games and movies compared to the TV show.[9][DM 1] Meanwhile, Gwen was interested in Sumo Slammers during the original series.[1] However, she has lost interest by Alien Force.[10]
- The Dimension 23 counterpart of Sumo Slammers is known as Judo Jammers.[11][12]
- Sumo Slammers is often used as a meta-reference to the Ben 10 franchise.
- Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation is a direct parallel to Alien Force.
- It takes places 5 years after the original Sumo Slammers series,[9] just like Alien Force.
- Kenko, the villain from the original series teams up with the hero, Ishiyama,[9] just like Kevin and Ben team up.
- Ben mentions how Hero Generation was all messed up and whatnot, a meta-joke on how Alien Force wasn't as popular as the original. Adding to it, Kevin expresses disgust towards the show and Ben opines that it is not as good as the classic, a reference to Ben 10.[9]
- Ben also mentions that in five episodes, it would switch to the original.[9] This is a meta-reference to the change in the writing of the second season of Alien Force to make Ben's personality and the overall storyline mirror the original series.
- Moreover, Hero Generation was the original working name for Alien Force.
- The catchphrase, "It's slammer time!", spoken by the audience in Sumo Slammers IV, is a parody of Ben's catchphrase, "It's hero time!".[13]
- Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation is a direct parallel to Alien Force.
- There is a real toy line based on the Sumo Slammers.
- In the online game FusionFall, several other characters like Sumo Slammers such as Bloo (from Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends) and Mandark (from Dexter's Laboratory).
- Oddly enough, both of them mentioned Sumo Slammers during Nano Missions. For example, Bloo needs his Juice box back so he can play Sumo Slammers online and beat "Omnitrixter". Meanwhile, Mandark wanted to find out who "Omnitrixter" is.
References[]
Crew Statements[]
Dwayne McDuffie[]
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