Ben 10 is an American media franchise created by "Man of Action" (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The franchise is about a boy who acquires a watch-like alien device called the Omnitrix (later the Ultimatrix) attached to his wrist that allows him to turn into alien creatures. In April 2008, Ben 10 (the original television series) was succeeded by Ben 10: Alien Force, which itself was succeeded in April 2010 by Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. The theme song for the first series was written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Moxy. The theme songs for both of the sequel series were instrumental. Reruns of previously aired episodes are currently being aired on Cartoon Network and its fellow television channel, Boomerang.
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As the original series, Ben Tennyson and his cousin Gwen Tennyson shared the same birth date, making them both 10 years old. Later chronologically they turn 11, with Grandpa Max being 59-60. This version of Ben was more childish, rude, and cocky. Dr. Animo, Vilgax, and Kevin 11, recurred through the series as main villains. The pilot episode aired on December 27, 2005, as part of a sneak peak of Cartoon Network's Saturday morning lineup. The second episode was shown as a special on Cartoon Network's Fridays on January 13, 2006. The final regular episode aired on April 15, 2008. A total of 52 episodes, spanned across 4 seasons were produced and aired.
Ben 10: Alien Force is the sequel to the original series set five years later, with Ben and Gwen being 15 years old. Kevin 16, a former villain of Ben and Gwen's now becomes an ally, replacing Grandpa Max (when he goes missing). As an indirect result, this series is darker in tone compared to its predecessor, featuring more complex plots and more characters dying. Major villains from the first series including Vilgax, guest star in various episodes. The series premièred on Cartoon Network on April 18, 2008 and ended on March 26, 2010. It has since been premiered in Canada, on Teletoon.[1] Unlike the previous series, and the later sequel series, Cartoon Network ordered 3 seasons of the series, with a total of 46 episodes making the whole series. The series was originally entitled Ben 10: Hero Generation.[2]
Another sequel series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien premiered on April 23, 2010 and takes place 3–4 weeks after the finale of Alien Force.[3] Ben, Gwen, and Kevin have been announced to be aged by 1 year, making both Ben and Gwen age 16, and Kevin age 17. With a total of 20 episodes in its first season and 32 episodes in its second Ben 10: Ultimate Alien has been confirmed to hold 53 episodes. The series originally went under the title of Ben 10: Evolution.
A fourth series has been announced, and is under production, set to premiere in the year of 2012.[4] Yuri Lowenthal, Greg Cipes and Ashley Johnson will reprise their roles as Ben, Kevin and Gwen from Alien Force and Ultimate Alien.[5]
A game show titled Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge, developed for television by United Kingdom-based produced company Twenty Twenty, airs on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, the Nordic region, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East.[6] Ultimate Challenge is a trivia show tasking children to answer questions about all three series.[6] Ultimate Challenge was executive produced by Daniel Marlowe and produced by Mandy Morris.[7]
The first is a regular animated feature called Secret of the Omnitrix. A trailer of the film was released with the film Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen, and it aired August 10, 2007. Michael Ouweleen described the film's villain, which was actually Vilgax, as "like Darth Vader without the sense of humor."[8] A different version of Secret of the Omnitrix, which introduced a different alien (Eye Guy) to the one in the original (Heatblast), aired on September 1, 2007. A third version (in which XLR8 was featured) aired on October 34, 2007. It was stated during the premiere of Alien Force that Secret of the Omnitrix was intended to be the chronological finale of Ben 10, even though it was broadcast long before the last episode, which was not canon.
The second is a live-action film titled Ben 10: Race Against Time[9] which aired November 21, 2007, It revolves around Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max returning to their hometown of Bellwood and attempting to adjust to being 'normal' again. Unfortunately, their lives are once again disrupted by a mysterious alien known as Eon, who has an unexpected connection to the Omnitrix. It premiered on Cartoon Network on November 21, 2007. The film was directed by Alex Winter.[10] The film was nominated for two Visual Effects Society Awards: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special - Dina Benadon, Evan Jacobs, Brent Young, Chris Christman; and Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program or Commercial - Brent Young, Michael Smith.[11]
The third is a live-action film titled Ben 10: Alien Swarm which aired November 25, 2009. It is about Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Grandpa Max. In the movie the group stumbles upon a hive of alien nanobots using humans as host bodies in order to take over the world. The Nanochips, or "alien swarm", are controlled by a single consciousness and must work together to stop them.
A CGI animated movie has been announced, titled Ben 10: Destroy all Aliens and will be released sometime in 2012[12] This film had previously been under the working title Ben 10: Alien Dimensions.[13] The film will be based on the original series, and will feature the original voice cast. The CGI was animated by Tiny Island Productions, in Singapore.
During Cartoon Network's panel at 2011's San Diego Comic-Con, Ben 10 and Generator Rex creators "Man of Action" announced a crossover special between the Ben 10 and Generator Rex series titled Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United. The forty minute special aired on November 25, 2011 as a Generator Rex episode.[14][15]
A comic book based on the special titled: "Hero Times Two" was released on November 30, 2011, as the sixty-fifth issue of DC Comics's Cartoon Network: Action Pack.[16]
On June 14, 2011, Producer Joel Silver announced that he along with Warner Bros. and Dark Castle Entertainment would bring Ben 10 to the big screen.[17]
Ben 10: Protector of Earth is the first Ben 10 video game, which was released in autumn 2007. Five aliens, Heatblast, Wildvine, XLR8, Four Arms and Cannonbolt serve as Ben's playable aliens. High Voltage Software developed the console versions of game, while 1st Playable Productions developed the Nintendo DS version.
Heavily based on on the first two seasons of Ben 10: Alien Force, the game features Ben and five aliens from the Alien Force series. On the PlayStation 2, Wii, and PlayStation Portable (PSP) versions of the game, the game is styled as a 3D action platformer, while players can play as Gwen and Kevin for select missions.[18] Monkey Bar Games developed the console versions of the game, while 1st Playable Productions resumed their role as the developer of the DS version.
Based on the third and final season of Ben 10: Alien Force, players are able to control 10 of Ben's aliens in order to defeat Vilgax. Cannonbolt makes an appearance as the 10th alien on the Wii, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. While, Upchuck makes an appearance the 10th alien on the Nintendo DS. Alien X makes also appears in the game as a non-playable character. Papaya Studio developed the console versions, with 1st Playable Productions again developing the DS version.
A downloadable game exclusively for the Wii and Xbox 360. The Rise of Hex the first Ben 10 video game to feature the alien, Lodestar. Hex and Charmcaster serve as the main villains in the game. The game is styled as more of a side-scrolling game. Black Lantern Studios developed the game. Sales of the game have been announced extremely poor, with the Xbox Live version moving less than 1,000 units as of the end of 2010.
Based on the third installment of the Ben 10 franchise, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction allows players to access 16 (17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) of Ben's aliens, including the new ultimate aliens. Papaya Studio, who previously developed Vilgax Attacks developed the console versions of the game, with Griptonite Games developing the DS version.
Based on Ultimate Alien and the sixth installment in the Ben 10 video game franchise, Ben 10: Galactic Racing is a racing themed video game. Gameplay is similar to Mario Kart. This is the first Ben 10 game that allows players to play as both villains and heroes. An all-new alien Fasttrack and Ben 10 classic Diamondhead make their first video game debut appearances. Monkey Bar Games, developers of Protector of the Earth developed the game, and Straight Right developed the DS version.[19]
Originally the main cast of Ben 10 was Ben Tennyson (Tara Strong), Gwen Tennyson (Meagan Smith) and Max Tennyson (Paul Eiding). Each of these characters appear in all three series. Max Tennyson or "Grandpa Max" was replaced in Alien Force by villain Kevin Levin (who in Ben 10 was voiced by Michael Reisz and later Charlie Schlatter). This change was made due to story purposes, with Max in the story had gone missing. Grandpa Max later returned in later episodes in Alien Force and guest stars in Ultimate Alien. The current lead cast is Ben Tennyson (now Yuri Lowenthal), Gwen Tennyson (now Ashley Johnson) and Kevin Levin (now Greg Cipes). Vilgax, the archenemy of the Tennyson family was the most recurring villain. Vilgax was originally voiced by Steven Blum in Ben 10 and voiced by James Remar in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. A various amount of aliens in all three series have appeared, most commonly Ben's aliens. The first alien in the original series Ben turned into was Heatblast, in Alien Force it was Swampfire and in Ultimate Alien it was Humungousaur.
There are two watches that Ben Tennyson used in the series, the Omnitrix was used in the original Ben 10 and Alien Force while the Ultimatrix was used in Ultimate Alien. Each watch includes the following modes: Active Mode, Time Out Mode, Capture Mode and Self-Destruct Mode.
The Omnimatrix commonly referred to as The Omnitrix was originally created by a Galvan (Grey Matter's species) named Azmuth. The Omnitrix was intended to allow beings to experience life as other species in order to bring understanding and foster peace in the universe. In the first form that Ben found, the Omnitrix looked like a wristwatch, primarily black and gray in color, with a gray (or black) dial in the middle (like a watch face) and had a green hourglass shape on it (actually the intergalactic "peace" symbol, also on Plumber's Badges and Azmuth's home world). However, many beings, like Vilgax have seen the Omnitrix's abilities as something that could be used as a powerful weapon. The Omnitrix also possesses a Master Control, activated by inserting a certain code into the Omnitrix. Once the Master Control is unlocked, the user can remain in an alien form indefinitely and is able to switch between alien forms at will just by thinking it, speaking the name of the alien given by the user, or operating the Omnitrix which can still be found on the body when activated. But the Omnitrix was originally intended for Max according Xylene, but since she was in battle she sent it to the forest by mistake. But when Ben found it, his DNA was close enough to Max's that it mistook him for Max and locked itself on Ben's wrist.
The Ultimatrix, also known as the Ultimate Omnimatrix in other words the evolved omnitrix, is gauntlet-like device that the series Ben 10: Ultimate Alien centers around. Ben uses it to replace the Omnitrix in Ben 10: Alien Force, which he destroyed with the self-destruction on a battle with Vilgax in order to prevent him from taking over the Universe. The Ultimatrix is a level 20 technology, like the Omnitrix, and the Omnitrix's successor. It was originally developed by Azmuth, then Albedo stabilized his power core, because it was unstable; this after he had stolen, and also added more features besides evolving alien. When Albedo used it, the Ultimatrix had a red color scheme. After Ben took the Ultimatrix from Albedo, the device became green in color. The selection interface is identical to the original dial, with the intergalactic peace sign that changes color to reflect the mode of Ultimatrix. It was shown that Azmuth wasn't so fond of how it's made, noting that it was incomplete, he also said it was "pathetic workmanship" and was ranting and frustrated with the Evolutionary feature implying that Albedo isn't as skilled in mechanical devices as Azmuth. It is hinted to be eventually replaced by Azmuth's third generation of the Omnitrix sometime in the future (likely his rebuilt Ultimatrix), what will happen to the current Ultimatrix is as of yet unknown. Azmuth's exact plans for the Ultimatrix are currently unknown.
Following the success of the Ben 10 animated TV series and films, various Ben 10 merchandise has been released for general sale. These items include Ben 10 comic books, card games such as Top Trumps, toys, video games, Lego construction sets, bedding, coloring books, and footwear, such as the Ben 10 season 1-4, Ben 10: Alien Force volumes 1-9, and 3 DVDS of 10 episode in each DVD of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, along with four video games: one of Ben 10, two of Ben 10: Alien Force, and two so far of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. Along with the watches- the Omnitrix and the Ultrimatrix, three different watches for each of the series', card games for Ben 10, and coloring books for Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.
Bandai has manufactured a massive amount of Ben 10 toys from each of the series. The series received three McDonald's Happy Meal promotions internationally, as well as one in America for August 2011.[20]
Ben Tennyson appears in Cartoon Network's online MMO FusionFall. The character design for Ben Tennyson was changed when the original Ben 10 series ended and was replaced by Ben 10: Alien Force. In the game, he serves as a "Player Guide" offering guide-based missions and special items.
In another browser-based game entitled Cartoon Network Universe: Project Exonaut Ben's aliens, alongside Gwen, appear as "exosuits". The exosuits revolve around protecting the player and giving them unique abilities and powers. The planet Kylmyys (the home of one of Ben's aliens, Big Chill) and the Perplexhedron are featured as battle arenas.
Ben appears in the game as a playable character. Swampfire, Humungousaur, Big Chill and AmpFibian (with Ultimate Humungousaur as a Punch Time) appear as Ben's playable aliens. Vilgax, the archenemy of Ben Tennyson appears also as a playable character for the first time. Gwen and the Vreedle Brothers are summons in the game. Additionally, Bellwood and the Null Void are included as battle arenas. Kevin also appears as a summon in the game, but is featured as a playable character on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii versions, called Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL. Kevin in Ultimate Kevin form appears in the game as a boss. The young version of Ben appears in the console version of the game as a playable character.[21]
Titanic Kungfubot Offensive, also known as TKO is a multiplayer online game featured on Cartoon Network website. The game features famous and notable Cartoon Network characters in a robot-type form. Big Chill, Swampfire, a DNAlien, Kevin, Vilgax, Rath, Armodrillo, Ultimate Humngousaur, Ultimate Echo Echo and Ultimate Big Chill appear as playable characters.
To promote the Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United special, Cartoon Network updated Titanic Kungfubot Offensive, adding new bots, such as "Shocksquatch" and "Clockwork;" both are aliens accessible to Ben.
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