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| “ | Why use your powers to help people when you can use them to get whatever you want? | ” |
Michael "Mike" Morningstar, also known as Darkstar, is one of the recurring villains of the franchise. He gained a grudge against Ben Tennyson and his team after they accidentally caused him to turn into a zombie-like being who has to wear a helmet to hide his face. His plans usually involve gaining back his original face and feeding himself though he seems to still be interested in feeding from Gwen's vast stores of Anodite energy.
Appearance[]
Michael Morningstar[]
Michael's general appearance is that of a tall, handsome young man in his late teens with blond hair, light blue eyes, dark eyebrows, and pale skin. He is dressed in a dark brown overcoat, a black shirt, a orange scarf, khaki pants and black dress shoes.
Darkstar[]
When drained of his energy, Michael becomes almost zombie-like as his hair becomes patchy and eyes become sunken, black and beady. His lips are pulled back, showing his pale yellow teeth his skin turns grey. He wears a metallic helmet and gloves to hide his face and hands, the holes in his helmet for his eyes and mouth still keep those parts of his face hidden in shadows. He now wears a medieval tunic and pants.
In Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, Darkstar's tunic and pants were bluish-grey and the boots worn over his pants were black.
In Omniverse, his tunic and pants are recolored bright bluish-purple, but he now has metallic gauntlets and tigh length boots.
Occasional Appearances[]
In Absolute Power: Part 1 as Darkstar he wore a knee length grayish cloak.
In Couples Retreat he wore a white suit with, purple belt and gray pants.
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Personality[]
Michael is vain, often seen admiring himself in a mirror or some other reflective surface when he gets his original looks back.[3] He seems to view all women he comes into contact with as "trophies."[4] He is also power-hungry and egocentric, being more in love with himself than anything else.[DM 3]
However, at times he is shown to have some sense of morality, such as when he started absorbing the DNAliens, but stopped once Ben pointed out that he was killing them, although he was irritated and even called Ben a fool.[3]
Michael seems to be shortsighted as shown when he prioritized stealing the power Kevin had stolen rather than the offer of manna for a year as promised by Gwen.[5]
History[]
Alien Force[]
Michael Morningstar
In All That Glitters, Michael was initially depicted as a well-mannered individual who appeared eager to help Ben and company. He came from a rich family, as he states that his family has multiple mansions. How his family acquired such wealth wasn't explained but it is known his is the only family which has such wealth, which are armed with a menagerie of Plumber technology. The technology in question is monitoring equipment that uplinks to a variety of networks, which funnels information to him. Part of the monitoring equipment features a communication network between the Plumber badges.
Michael as he absorbed Gwen's powers
As they travelled with him, he showed a very uncaring attitude to others around him. This was evident by his slamming of the door in Kevin's face as well as his remarks to Gwen while they are alone. While Ben and Gwen quickly trusted him, Kevin knew since the beginning about Morningstar's true motivation (partially because of his jealousy, as Michael and Gwen tended to flirt with each other). After a fight with zombified schoolgirls from unknown origin, Kevin guessed that Michael was the one responsible for these zombifications. His guess later proved to be right when Morningstar drained Gwen's energy, becoming nearly unstoppable and easily defeating both Ben and Kevin. However, Gwen proved to have enough will to resist his control, and drained her energy back from him, as well as part of his own, leaving him weakened. His other zombie victims then turned against him, and took back what remained of his energy, leaving him almost desiccated and powerless. His Plumber badge was then taken and destroyed by Kevin, who stated that he doesn't deserve it.
Darkstar
He later reappeared as Darkstar in Darkstar Rising, his powers having gradually returned much stronger and more powerful than before. In order to get revenge, he tries to get Ben, Gwen, and Kevin arrested by Prior Gahlil for impersonating Plumbers and by making a deal with a Highbreed lord he defeated. When the Highbreed did his part of the deal, Darkstar tried to absorb Ben, Gwen, Kevin, the Highbreed, and Gahlil's life force energy, but he was unable to absorb Gwen's because she escaped. He later captured the four and was about to absorb all of their life force energy when Gwen came in with the DNAliens in which he was unable to absorb all of them because of fatigue. He was defeated by Ben using a combination of Spidermonkey, Echo Echo, Jetray and Humungousaur. Afterwards, he was arrested by Magister Gahlil and thrown in the Null Void.
In the two-part first season finale War of the Worlds, Darkstar was eventually released from the Null Void by Cooper so he can help them stop the Highbreed invasion. During the battle, he tried to absorb the life force energy of several DNAliens, transforming his face back to its original youthful appearance, but Ben managed to talk him out of it because Michael realized that he was killing real people under alien control. After the fight was over, Darkstar managed to evade them.
Darkstar appeared again in the second season in the episode Trade-Off!, where he tricked Kevin into finding him so that he could convince Kevin to join him to find the Dominus Librium to which they eventually retrieved and used to absorb their powers and return them to normal. Then he sucker punched Kevin in the face. Darkstar kept the Librium so he could still use his powers. When Gwen discovered the truth about Kevin, she confronted Darkstar and he started to drain her power as well as Swampfire's. Darkstar's full power was eventually perished by Kevin when he broke the Librium and got his regular powers and ugly appearance again. Enraged, Darkstar then swore that he would make them all pay someday before running away.
Ultimate Alien[]
When Darkstar appeared in the two-part second season finale Absolute Power, it is revealed that he is now in a weakened state and was forced to feed off the energy of stray animals just to survive and tries not to cause too much attention to himself. He was later found and recruited by Gwen to stop Ultimate Kevin. As payment, she changed his face back to normal using a powerful transformation spell and promised him manna, enough to keep him fully restored for a year. Michael then agreed to help her to stop Kevin, much to Ben's chagrin. Michael revealed that he kept a fragment of the Dominus Librium after it had exploded in Trade-Off!, though it was ineffective. However, a strong energy surge would make it usable again. The group went to Los Soledad and met Cooper, who also agreed to the plot. Both Michael and Cooper created a device while Ben and Gwen stalled Kevin.
Darkstar after absorbing the Dominus Librium
When Kevin became normal, Michael took advantage of this moment and absorbs the vast powers and abilities of the Dominus Librium, becoming the power-hungry Morningstar again. He then shreded off his clothes and becomes pure energy. However, Ben anticipated this plot and presses a button which caused Morningstar to become normal again in his briefs. Ben revealed that he told Cooper to create a mechanism to revert the process of the absorption. Afterwards, Kevin punched him in the eye as retaliation for the events in Trade-Off! knocking him out.
In Couples Retreat, having reverted back to his ugly form. He broke into Kevin's garage to steal one of Gwen's spellbooks and used a spell in it to summon the Door to Anywhere, but was badly injured while fighting Ben, Gwen, and Kevin in the process. Escaping his pursuers, Darkstar collapsed at the foot of the open door, and Charmcaster appeared, taking him to her castle in Legerdomain. Once in Legerdomain, Darkstar reverted to his handsome form, now having access to an unlimited supply of manna.
Charmcaster and Darkstar are later engaged in a romantic relationship, but Darkstar, of course, was only using Charmcaster for her power and that of Legerdomain as well. After telling him her real name, Hope, Charmcaster planted a rune on Darkstar's hand that acts like the key to Legerdomain, so he can come and go as he pleased. However, Darkstar soon found that the power of Legerdomain leave him when he left the realm, so he returned there, but is pursued by Ben, Gwen, and Kevin.
Darkstar and Charmcaster
At Charmcaster's castle, Darkstar fought Ben and Kevin, ranting about how he'll take over Earth and Legerdomain, and keep the "lovely Gwen" as a trophy. Charmcaster confronted him about this, but Darkstar denied having meant it seriously and offered Charmcaster to join him in being evil. However, Charmcaster asked him if he remembers her real name. Darkstar, unable to completely remember, replied "Heather." Charmcaster become enraged, destroying her castle in a magical burst and also kicking out Ben's Team. In addition, she expelled him from Legerdomain, stripping him of his powers and returning to his ugly appearance. Charmcaster closed the Door to Anywhere in Darkstar's face, despite his pleas for her to take him back. Ben, Gwen, and Kevin then approached Darkstar, ready to beat him up and apprehend him once more.
Omniverse[]
He cameod in Special Delivery where he is one of the many people who are in the stands awaiting the items being auctioned off by Psyphon in Undertown.
In Mystery, Incorporeal, Darkstar disguised himself as a nerd named Dante using an ID mask and captured Gwen using one of the Charms of Bezel at her college. He attempted to use her as a sacrifice to open a portal to Legerdomain to gain an unlimited supply of manna and was almost successful, until Ben used Ghostfreak to possess him and make him reverse the spell at the last minute. After being taken into police custody, Charmcaster appeared before him in order to take revenge.
In Charmed, I'm Sure, it was revealed that Charmcaster turned Darkstar into a stone totem along with Addwaitya and trapped him in her bag. He whispers a plan in her ears which she liked enough to keep her from smashing him.
In Charm School, though Darkstar made no on-screen appearance, Charmcaster told him in her bag that he was a horrible boyfriend.
In Third Time's a Charm, Darkstar, along with Addwaitya, Hex, and Gwen, were freed from Charmcaster's bag, while out of it he attempted to escape, but was stopped by Rook and is presumably arrested.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | You did this to me and you will feed my hunger! I will take your strength and make it my own until you have no more to give. | ” |
Michael has the power to absorb energy (life force, manna, electricity, etc.), but his powers are a vicious cycle; the more life force he drains from others, the stronger and more powerful he becomes.[2] But the more power he gains, the greater his hunger becomes.
As Morningstar or Darkstar, his strength is great enough to lift large pieces of rubble and rip open metal doors with his bare hands.[6]
Mike as Darkstar can easily withstand DNAlien blaster fire and being knocked back by a Highbreed. He is also durable enough to withstand attacks from Ben's aliens, Gwen, Kevin, Magister Gahlil, and being stomped on by Humongousaur all at once (which made a crater), but it did knock him unconscious as a result.[6]
Darkstar has gained an affinity for using magic, as he could move objects with waves of his hands, recite a spell from Gwen's Spellbook to summon the Door to Anywhere, and create Rock Monsters powered by his life energy.[4]
As Michael Morningstar[]
Through the absorption of energy, Michael's skin tone becomes more healthy looking. When he absorbs a great amount of energy, he gains a gold membrane over his skin. All these features are lost should he lose the energy he's absorbed. This can happen by means of him coming into contact with someone he's drained.[2] Whether he needs to recharge or something of the sort is unknown but it is known that he uses his draining as a sort of feeding.
Michael's strength increases as he absorbs more energy.
When he is overflowing with power, Michael is resistant enough to shrug off Ultimate Humungousaur's missiles unfazed.[4]
Michael can fly, and he leaves behind a sparkling energy trail when he does it.[2]
Michael can release glowing, yellow energy bolts from his hands or eyes and projecting shockwaves from his body. He can also use this energy as a defensive shield around himself.
Michael's draining of people has a few aftereffects on his victims: The victims become "attracted" to him and may feel a slight level of infatuation after being drained a bit. Victims may exhibit a ring of 'bite marks' from being drained, correlating with a mark on Michael's hand with the appearance of a mouth and throat with spiked teeth in it. Finally, after multiple drainage victims enter a zombie-like state and their skin becomes grey and begins to desiccate and shrivel.[2] In Omniverse, their hair turns white, making it look more like rapid aging than zombification.[1]
As Darkstar[]
Darkstar is Michael's negative form. Michael becomes Darkstar when his energy levels are below average. His face becomes gray and zombified with a matching deteriorating hairline, so he wears a metal helmet/mask to hide it. His powers change while he is in this form.
Darkstar can still fly, but he no longer glows or leaves an energy trail when he does so.[4]
Darkstar can manipulate and control dark energy and display it as blasts of black energy, due to absorbing all stray energy in their path; including light.[DM 4] This is similar to Gwen's manna manipulation and control.
Darkstar no longer needs physical contact to absorb energy, but can using his own dark energy projections as conduits to the people he wants to steal life force from, which expands his list of targets exponentially. Manna shields seem to be the only defense against these long-range attacks; short-lived and imperfect as it may be.[6]
Darkstar was shown to resist cold temperatures.[3]
Weaknesses[]
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| “ | When you ruined my plan, you nearly destroyed me, but over the weeks, my powers returned. Stronger than ever and so did my hunger. My old method of feeding is no longer sufficient. | ” |
– Michael, revealing he needs even more energy than before to survive.[6] | ||
Due to Michael's constant cycle of absorbing greater and greater amounts of manna/life energy, energy from both normal aliens and humans alike will not sustain Michael for long, making him more desperate for larger amounts, such as those found in Legerdomain[4] or from Anodites.[6]
Michael's primary weakness is when his own energy can be drained to the point where he is practically powerless.
Michael was shown to experience pain from electricity.[4]
Michael's absorption powers cannot affect Ectonurites since they do not have any manna for him to absorb.[1]
Michael is currently so gorged on manna that he has trouble absorbing low-quality energy.[6]
Michael is vulnerable to an Ectonurite's possession powers, which Ghostfreak used to make Michael attack himself.[1]
Michael's arrogance can make him careless and greatly underestimate his opponents. Additionally, he assumed that the women that he targeted would not fight back against him and was proven wrong by Gwen.[2]
Michael's misogynistic attitude has led to his downfall; he once did not care to remember Charmcaster's true name that she told him in confidence and lost their extremely beneficial relationship.[4]
Darkstar is susceptible to certain rune spells, such as the one Gwen placed on his forehead to prevent him from using his absorption powers.[1]
Appearances[]
Alien Force[]
Season 1[]
- All That Glitters (first appearance)
- Darkstar Rising
- War of the Worlds: Part 1
- War of the Worlds: Part 2
Season 2[]
Ultimate Alien[]
Season 2[]
- Absolute Power: Part 1 (first reappearance; flashback and present; flashback was non-speaking)
- Absolute Power: Part 2
Season 3[]
- Couples Retreat
- The Ultimate Enemy: Part 2 (flashback; cameo)
Omniverse[]
Season 3[]
- Special Delivery (first reappearance; cameo)
Season 5[]
- Mystery, Incorporeal
- Charmed, I'm Sure (stone form; non-speaking)
Season 8[]
Video Games[]
Alien Force[]
Books[]
Story Books[]
Video Games[]
Michael drained of energy in Vilgax Attacks
Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks[]
Darkstar appeared in Vilgax Attacks, where he tries to steal an energy core on Encephalonus IV. Soon, Ben arrives and after a battle, Darkstar is defeated by him once again.
DS Version[]
Darkstar appeared on Vulpin and claims Vilgax is giving him power. He is invincible, and can only be attacked when acid fills the floor by pressing switches. However, only Goop can withstand the acid. Also, the switches will go up after a few seconds, and Darkstar will be invincible again. Once defeated, his mask will fall off.
Powers and Abilities[]
Darkstar served as the boss of Encephalonus IV. He attacked by shooting dark energy lasers at Ben. He can either shoot multiple blasts of dark energy or a dark energy laser at Ben. Darkstar's energy blasts can regenerate his health. He also had melee attacks at his disposal. Darkstar ran faster than Jetray and Spidermonkey.
Etymology[]
Michael's first name comes from the archangel Michael and his last name comes from the fallen angel Lucifer, The Morning Star, often addressed by the Hebrew name "Satan" in Judeo-Christian tradition.
Trivia[]
- While his mother and stepfather live in the main mansion on their estate, Michael has his own mansion for himself nearby.[2]
- Michael was originally referred to by himself and others by his nickname, "Mike".[2] As of Darkstar Rising, he is referred to by his full first name.
- It is a running gag in the show that whenever Michael regains his normal appearance, he quickly gets defeated and looks ugly again.
- It is unknown how Michael found out about the energy he thirsts for is known as manna.[6]
- Michael's hold over women is supposed to represent drug addiction and was inspired by vampire themes.[DM 5]
- Michael's Alien Force and Ultimate Alien appearance was designed by Glenn Wong, with color styling by Chris Hooten.[GW 1][GW 2]
- In All That Glitters, Michael was supposed to wear his Plumber Badge on a chain around his neck instead of on his belt.[script 1]
- As Darkstar, Michael was originally supposed to wear a cloak, and his beams were meant to be indigo instead of black.[script 2]
- Michael was originally supposed to appear in the dream in Night of the Living Nightmare, being the one who killed Kevin instead of Ampfibian.[script 3]
- In Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, Michael's helmet and his Darkstar uniform resemble both Iron Man and Doctor Doom.
- The sweater Michael wears as Dante is similar to one worn by Star Trek character Wesley Crusher, who was played by Darkstar's voice actor, Wil Wheaton.
- Dwayne McDuffie thought of Darkstar as Ben's most dangerous enemy.[DM 6]
Notes[]
- ↑ Michael's exact genetic composition/source for his powers was never stated on-screen and is disputed by different sources. During the run of Alien Force, Dwayne McDuffie first stated that his species and the origin of his powers had not yet been decided.[DM 1] Over the years, he was claimed to be:
- A zombified Vladat in a Ben 10: Alien Force trading card.[Bandai 1] However it was later declared he is not a Vladat.[DM 2]
- A human/alien hybrid (son of an alien Plumber and human mother) in the Ben 10: Alien Adventures magazine's 84th issue.[mag 1][mag 2]
- A human in the Plumbers' database in the Nintendo DS version of Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks.[VA 1]
- A mutant human by Derrick J. Wyatt.[DJW 1]
- A human with magical[DJW 2] or supernatural powers[DJW 3] by Derrick, correcting himself.
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