Steven Universe: Arkham Edition - EXTRAS

How Huge Gigantacus Carried The Story

Major Spoilers to Steven Universe Arkham Edition.

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I originally meant to name this "Why Huge Gigantacus is underrated,"but I made it very apparent that he's underrated that it would be kind of redundant.

So I went with the more straightforward title.

HG carried the entire story and nobody talks about it (except me). So let's discuss how and why.

A: Plot Device (Used Correctly)
B: Underrated Performance
C: Conclusion

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A: Plot Device (Used Correctly)

HG is a Plot Device. He literally advances the story by aiding the Crystal Gems while still being a villain.

He is the only villain (or former-villain) that helps the Crystal Gems while still being an enemy.

Here's a list of the things he did during the entire story:

● Indirectly gave Steven Detective Mode, Explosive Gel and Cryptographic Sequencer, which allowed him to survive without his powers on Night 2.
● Indirectly gave Spinel the injector she used on Night 2.
● Reluctantly saved Earth from Spinel's plan after she took his equipment and then he cured Steven.
● Indirectly resurrected Spinel after stealing her remains from Steven's room.
● Aiding Moonlight by giving her Steven as well as giving Squaridot the stuff to build her own robots and cause Steven and White some trouble.
● Indirectly gave White Diamond the idea to build the Freeze Blast, which help saved Lapis from being fused with Jasper - also being a hard counter to Lapis in general.
● Worked with Volleyball to create Rose Repellent and being the only one who helped the characters fight Rose.

All of these moments are key parts in the plot. The entire story wouldn't be the way it is now without the little man. Which is why I'm going to briefly give you an in-depth summary of why these matter to the plot. 

Bullet-Point #1: Steven wouldn't have survived without his gadgets on Night 2, which he got from Huge Gigantacus during his first night on Homeworld (Night 1). 

Bullet-Point #2: Within Night 1, HG loses an injector and it's implied by a random gem that a clown (Spinel) took his injector while he was distracted. This is what lead to Night 2 happening, since he owned the injector and let it slip away under his watch. 

Bullet-Point #3: After nearly dying from Spinel and then getting his heart ripped out of his body by Steven, he agreed to help Peridot to shut down Spinel's injector while helping Pearl Garnet and Amethyst with their rejuvenation issue. This helped Steven a lot since he had to focus on stopping Spinel, Squaridot and the rebellion all at once. 

Bullet-Point #4: When he was collaborating with Moonlight, HG managed to collect Spinel's shards in Steven's room. And then he tried finding a way to revive her so he could shatter her again as revenge. However, White Diamond intercepted his plan and brought Spinel's remains to Yellow Diamond - which led to her piecing Spinel back together. And then led to the plot point in Night 3 where Steven and White Diamond had temporary turmoil with each other. 

Bullet-Point #5: The aforementioned collaboration with Moonlight only led to her being more deranged and then helping Squaridot is what allowed her to build that mech she boarded during Night 3, and those robots that were with her. This is probably the weakest plot point HG has done in the story, since these two things are insignificant compared to everything else. 

Bullet-Point #6: During Night 3 when he was trying to steal Jewels before leaving Homeworld for good, White Diamond intercepted him once again and destroyed his freeze ray during one of their encounters. She took the crucial components from it and this led to her and Volleyball creating the Freeze Blast, which ultimately saved Lapis from being fused with Jasper since the pearl gave half of the supply to Steven. This also became Lapis' greatest weakness when Steven was fighting her during Night 5. 

Bullet-Point #7: This is probably the biggest plot point that would have changed the entire story if HG didn't exist. With his extensive knowledge of Rose The Flower and amazing ingenuity, the Crystal Gems most likely would not have survived Rose's foul plans. His Cryptographic Sequencer knew where to find Rose - which White Diamond borrowed from Steven after he looted it from the little man - and then he told White that a human named George was important to the British flower. Then he worked with Volleyball to create a hard counter to Rose. And it's because of him why they even won the first fight with Rose, otherwise they would all die. 

As the title of the segment implies, HG is a plot device done correctly. You see, sometimes (or most of the time) a plot device feels forced when looking at it in retrospect or even from your first viewing. But Huge Gigantacus being a plot device feels so organic and flows very well. Out of all the things I did for Arkham Edition, using HG as a plot device was done very well - in my opinion.

HG is the unsung hero of Arkham Edition; change my mind.

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B: Underrated Performance

No one gives HG enough credit, and I don't just mean the characters in Arkham Edition. 

It's understandable, since the little man is just... well, underwhelming at first glance; as well as being a villain at first. But he makes up for his size with accomplishments and ingenuity.

But the one I see giving the purple bean credit is RoseTheMagicalFlower. 

Just to be clear, I'm talking about HG as an individual character - not him being paired with Volleyball.

I don't mean to demand everyone to give him respect. In fact, it actually helps make him more of an underrated character and it could really surprise everyone to realize how much of a hidden gem of a character he is to the story (pun intended). 

Especially when he literally could've nuked Homeworld if he wanted to. Remember? Back on Night 1, Steven learned that the Diamonds gave him planets in exchange for weapons - otherwise he would've done what Harry Truman did and dropped the Fat Man on the Palace. 

[The Fat Man is the bomb America used to bomb Japan, to which ended World War II.]

So he basically held their doom above their heads just to make sure they honored their bargain. That really wasn't talked about much without me bringing it to discussion - which further shows how underestimated the little man is. 

Here's another example of how underrated he is: he manipulated Squaridot into helping him. In Chapter 23, HG was discussing a collaboration with Squaridot in an attempt to collect items he needs to manufacture his robots. Squaridot was going to refuse to help him, but then he played mind games with her to force her to cooperate.

I intentionally wrote that bit to show the audience that he's a skilled manipulator, but nobody picked up on it so I just decided not to try to make HG an interesting character anymore and only have him be the support character for the team. 

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C: Conclusion

Out of all the villains, I'd say HG is the smartest on par with Spinel, Moonlight and Squaridot. And even though he lacks strength and size, he definitely makes it up with intellect, resources and gadgetry. 

Sure, he's not as impressive as Moonlight and Spinel but you can't deny that he mattered to the plot way more than the both of them put together (both figuratively and literally). 

Considering he has (or had) his freeze ray that was capable of stopping most of the characters in Arkham Edition, I'd say he's in the top ten most powerful characters in the story (that list may end up becoming the next update for the Extras). 

In summary, he's basically that one character who earns a big-shot title by smurfing everybody into thinking he's harmless or weak. 

June 28th, 2023. 12:54 AM.