- “Salvation comes in the blink of an eye.”
- ―Kevin
Kevin Van Newton is a supporting character in the third season of Final Space. He was a world renowned European roboticist, and the original creator of KVN, as well as the other KVN units.
Biography[]
Background[]
Very little is known about Kevin Van Newton's background, although he is said to have a "dark past" [2] , and mentions that he graduated magna cum laude at Hot Dog Sandwich University.
At some unknown point, the Infinity Guard contracted Kevin to construct a device that was capable of lightfolding sentient beings between two points in time. Kevin Van Newton began the construction of the device, calling it the Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge. He was able to construct the first bridge, but the Infinity Guard abruptly cancelled the project, resulting in the bridge technology being scrapped and shipped off to London.
Six years prior to the Battle for Earth, Nightfall approached Kevin and asked for the creation of a ship, warning him that there would be dangerous consequences without it. Heeding Nightfall's warnings, Kevin constructed the ship, which he named the "Bearded Turkey Wing", and stored it at Belgium.
Kevin Van Newton was on Earth at the time when it was pulled into Final Space, resulting in him being trapped within the eldritch dimension, along with his intern, Biskit. He miraculously survived Earth's abduction, and was still able to use his resources to build an army of KVNs.
Season 3[]
In "The Hidden Light", three months after being trapped within Final Space, Kevin Van Newton meets Gary Goodspeed, Quinn Ergon, and H.U.E. shortly after his KVNs abducted the former and brought him to Kevin's lab. He befriends and two, seemingly recognizing Quinn, although Quinn says that they have never met, which confuses Kevin. Kevin agrees to help the two find a ship, setting off with them to find the Galaxy Two. On the way there, the group are attacked by a group of Mutant Land Fish, which they are able to fight off. While on the way to the ship, Kevin reveals the existence of the Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge, which Quinn believes could be their way out of Final Space. After obtaining the Galaxy Two, Kevin reveals to Gary and Quinn that he had constructed the ship at the behest of Nightfall. Shortly after, Kevin leaves to go to London and finish the construction of the bridge.
In "One of Us", Kevin contacts Gary, giving him an update on the Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge. Despite some hiccup, Kevin reports that the bridge should be constructed within 10-30 days, much to Gary's dismay.
In "Change is Gonna Come", H.U.E. contacts Kevin while the latter was constructing Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge. H.U.E. inquires to know how Kevin has avoided contracting Final Space Poisoning, so that the Team Squad can use the information to save Quinn. Kevin says he used an extremely rare substance that absorbs everything, called Celenium, although he warns H.U.E. that it is one of the rarest substances in the universe.
In "Forgiveness", Kevin contacts the Team Squad during Fox's funeral. He informs them that the bridge is nearly completed and tells the Team Squad to come to Earth.
In "Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge Rising", the Team Squad arrive to see the completion of the bridge, but Kevin reveals the "wrinkle" he had previously warned Gary about; someone must activate the bridge on the other side of Final Space. Luckily, the Team Squad are able to convince Clarence to activate the bridge for them. With the bridge activated, Tribore Menendez, Quatronostro, and the many alien species trapped in Final Space are able to escape back into the main universe. The Team Squad are nearly about to leave as well, until Quinn stumbles upon a KVN Net in Van Newton's files. Kevin reveals that the KVNS were originally created to be Titan-killing superweapons. Upon learning this, the Team Squad opts to stay and use the KVNs to cripple Invictus's Titan army.
In "Until the Sky Falls", a pre-recorded message of Kevin Van Newton guides Avocato, Sheryl Goodspeed, Biskit, and Little Cato on their mission to stop the Lord Commander before he merges with a Titan. Later, Kevin attempts to activate the KVN Net, but discovers that Earth's magnetic field has become disturbed by the constant earthquakes, frying the signals used to activate KVN Net. Kevin says that they need another signal, revealing the only one to be in Wisconsin, so Gary and Quinn leave with Bolo to activate the signal, leaving Kevin alone with Ash and Mooncake. Gary, Quinn, and Bolo are successful in activating the signal, to Van Newton's joy. However, things go south when an army of Zombie Garys attack Earth and Kevin's lab. Kevin soon discovers that Avocato is preparing to launch the massive bomb in order to stop the Lord Commander when he reaches Earth's core, which would likely lead to Earth's destruction, so he tells Ash and Mooncake the way out of his lab. Ash asks Kevin what he will do, Kevin says that, as "Earth's Most Visionary Roboticist", he is staying behind on Earth. Shortly after Ash and Mooncake reluctantly leave, Kevin, with a tear in his eye, finally activates the KVN Net. As the Gary Zombies invaded his lab, Kevin uttered his final words; "Salvation comes in the blink of an eye," seconds before the bomb explodes, resulting in his death in the ensuing explosion.
Personality[]
Kevin Van Newton is a surprisingly upbeat and eccentric person, given his circumstances, as he was willing to assist Gary and Quinn in finding a new vehicle to use in order to get off of Earth and save their friends, and he proved to be very hospitable towards them as he allowed the two to rest up in his bed. He is also extremely intelligent, being a world renowned inventor and having created an army of KVNs, as well as possibly being the only human who knows how to escape Final Space.
Kevin seems to have lost a bit of his sanity while stuck in Final Space with nobody but his KVNs and his assistant, Biskit, as he at one point mentions hearing "voices" that he tries to ignore, and he possibly suffers from hallucinations, given his reaction to first seeing Gary and Quinn.
Appearance[]
Kevin Van Newton is an aged man with tan skin, scruffy grey hair, and a grey beard. He wears a futuristic chestplate containing Celenium that protects him from the effects of Final Space Poisoning. In images portraying him in the past, he has a more handsome and kempt appearance with darker hair, showing that his time in Final Space has changed him greatly.
Quotes and Catchphrases[]
- "Kevin's got the magic!"
- "Remember, the voices aren't real, Kevin. They're not real. I wish they were real."
- "Oh, oh, of course you'd show up now that I've officially lost it."
- "I see you saved a spot for me. Very thoughtful of you."
- "There we are. No, no! Don't get up! I will beat you if you get up! Rest."
- "To the land of beer and spaceships! Belgium!"
- "When you invent a teleporter, you can name it whatever the hell you like."
- "Uh, she said something about everything going to hell and the two of you meant to be together, but never meant to be, and... honestly, I don't remember much."
- "Cheerio from old blighty, Constable Goodspeed. Ha! I'm making some progress here in London, but these JX10 trans-vector plasma coils are really, well, 'snogging my bum,' as the Brits used to say."
- "Newton out! And Goodspeed? Godspeed."
- "Hey! That's professor to you. Remember, I graduated magna cum laude from Hot Dog Sandwich University."
- "The relay! They made it to Wisconsin! Cheddar cheese capital of the world! No... the universe!"
- "I'm Earth's most visionary roboticist! So... I'm staying here... On Earth."
Appearances[]
Season 3 | ||||||||||||
Theme Song: | Absent | |||||||||||
1. "...And Into The Fire": | Absent | 7. "The Chamber of Doubt": | Absent | |||||||||
2. "The Hidden Light": | Debut | 8. "Forgiveness": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "The Ventrexian": | Absent | 9. "Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge Rising": | Appears | |||||||||
4. "One of Us": | Appears | 10. "Until the Sky Falls": | Appears | |||||||||
5. "All The Moments Lost": | Absent | 11. "The Dead Speak": | Absent | |||||||||
6. "Change is Gonna Come": | Appears | 12. "The Leaving": | Absent | |||||||||
13. "The Devil's Den": | Absent |
Trivia[]
- His name was first confirmed in a Reddit AMA hosted by Olan Rogers.
- According to Olan Rogers, Kevin Van Newton was originally intended to be of Indian descent, but the production team were unable to cast an Indian voice actor as a result of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, so Tom Kenny filled the role. [3]
- In Van Newton's bedroom, there is a motivational poster on his wall with the quote "Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.", which is a an actual quote from real-life physicist Stephen Hawking.
- In "Until the Sky Falls", Kevin Van Newton claims that he is also a professor and graduated with honors at Hot Dog Sandwich University.