Crossover Nexus
Over the years, Cartoon Network has created and aired various animated shows and presented imaginative ways of advertising them. Imagine a lot of those ideas coming together for one crossover. This cartoon is easily that idea come to life with young K.O. at the center of it all.
He’s transported to a dimension which is apparently inhabited by several heroes portrayed as characters from nearly all Cartoon Network shows. In fact, the setting also brings a major nostalgic flair of being modeled after an era where all characters of the network would live and interact together in a city. From what I remember, that was basically the perfect way to describe the network’s nature. There are only three Cartoon Network characters K.O. teams up with though, but they make sense considering what shows were popular at the current time. There’s Garnet, a fan favorite character of Steven Universe, Ben 10 himself from the network’s long running franchises, and Raven of the network’s big cash cow, Teen Titans Go. Of all these crossover characters, Garnet is the one I’m personally most interested in since I’m not exactly a fan of where Ben and Raven come from. Thankfully, they’re plenty enjoyable even if you don’t care for their shows.
As for the conflict, it is a very interesting one to play to the idea of Cartoon Network like one entire city. A villain called Strike has invaded and summoned characters from various shows to X them out which depowers them and turns them into stone. Only K.O., Garnet, Ben, and Raven remain active to stop him, though all except K.O. lose something valuable to them from Strike’s weapon to destroy all creations. Out of this comes some decent situational comedy of Ben stuck in only one alien form of Four Arms, and Garnet losing her shades. The big thing about the latter is how they’re a vital part of her future vision, which is confirmed canon and makes sense since this show’s creator also worked on Steven Universe. While petrification is dark, it’s a treat to see the statue forms of a huge plethora of Cartoon Network characters, even from obscure shows.
When making it to Strike’s lair, the interactions between the featured characters perfectly give a feel of what it’s like for cast members of different shows to act. Raven and Ben are always at each other’s throats due to the former’s frustration and the latter’s egotism while Garnet just wants everyone to work as a team.
K.O. is the true hero keeping everyone together though, and is the most mature in figuring out a weak point in Strike’s plan. It may be too easily staged, but he finds that Strike’s weapon is basically a pen, meaning it can create as well as destroy. He gives everyone their power’s back, the most notable one being Ben’s special watch called an Omnitrix. Instead of aliens, it turns Ben into several Cartoon Network stars from over the years, resulting in an awesome sequence where they all destroy Strike for good. Also as a nice touch, the pen is programmed to basically restore the Cartoon Network city just before the emotional farewells. If only it could do that in real life.
Overall, this cartoon is a major treat for
anyone who’s grown up with or was ever the least bit familiar with Cartoon
Network. I only wish it was longer so it
could be explored more, and the funny thing is that it was supposed to be
longer until Cartoon Network insisted on cutting it in half. Despite that unfortunate fact, what we have
is still a strong tribute to one of the channels most devoted to animation.
A+
Season 2
Rankings
1. Your World is an Illusion
2. T.K.O.’s House
3. Final Exams
4. CarolQuest
5. Dendy’s Power
6. Crossover Nexus
7. Lord Cowboy Darrell
8. Bittersweet Rivals
9. Red Action to the Future
10. My Fair Carol
11. Are You Ready for Some Megafootball?!
12. Boxman Crashes
13. Wisdom Strength and Charisma
14. Mystery Sleepover
15. Point to the Plaza
16. Special Delivery
17. Seasons Change
18. The So-Bad-Ical
19. Plaza Film Festival
20. Let’s Watch the Boxmore Show
21. Be a Team
22. Soda Genie
The next OK K.O. review has fun with more references as well as Enid's background as a witch as old school friends get together for a Monster Party.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews, we're "Homeworld Bound" in Steven Universe Future.
If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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