Ben 10: Alien Force

Ben 10: Alien Force
Genre	Fantasy Science fiction Action Adventure Drama Superhero
Created by	Man of Action
Based on	Ben 10 by Man of Action
Developed by	Dwayne McDuffie
Voices of	Yuri Lowenthal Ashley Johnson Greg Cipes Dee Bradley Baker Paul Eiding Vyvan Pham Jeff Bennett John DiMaggio Kevin Michael Richardson Richard McGonagle James Remar
Theme music composer	Andy Sturmer
Composer(s)	Kristopher Carter Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	46 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sam Register
Producer(s)	Donna Smith Glen Murakami (supervising producer)
Running time	23 minutes
Production company(s)	Cartoon Network Studios
Release
Original network	Cartoon Network
Original release	April 18, 2008 (2008-04-18) – March 26, 2010 (2010-03-26)
Chronology
Preceded by	Ben 10
Followed by	Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
External links
Website

Ben 10: Alien Force is an American animated television series created by team Man of Action (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It takes place five years after Ben 10 and takes a darker turn than its predecessor.

The series premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on April 18, 2008 and on Teletoon In Canada on September 6, 2008, and ended on March 26, 2010. The series was originally produced under the working title of Ben 10: Hero Generation. The series ran for a total of three seasons and forty-six episodes with its final episode being aired on March 26, 2010.

It was nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Sound Mixing - Live Action and Animation.

Episodes

Characters

Heroes

• Benjamin Kirby Tennyson:

At the age of fifteen, Ben fills the role of the leader after Grandpa Max mysteriously disappears. The powerful Omnitrix has recalibrated, giving him access to a new set of alien heroes that are much stronger and more powerful. Over the past five years, Ben has matured dramatically, and gained strength, leadership and wisdom. He is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

• Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson:

At the age of fifteen, Gwen is much more skilled with her innate magical powers, able to create, control, and manipulate magenta/fuchsia/pink-colored magic energy and mold it into various shapes and forms such as ropes, bridges, slides, grappling hooks, shields for protection, and even stepping stones for transportation. Although she's not nearly as fiery or short-tempered as before, Gwen is still always looking out for her first cousin. She cares more about Ben in this series than she did in Ben 10. Ashley Johnson replaces Meagan Smith as her voice actress in this series.

• Kevin Ethan Levin:

A former nemesis of Ben, Kevin is now working as an alien tech dealer. He unintentionally gets involved in the Highbreed plot, and joins Ben out of a desire to make up for his actions. His Osmosian abilities now allow him to absorb the properties of any solid matter he touches. Kevin is voiced by Greg Cipes.

• Julie Yamamoto:

Julie is Ben's love interest and girlfriend. She enjoys tennis, eating chili fries, and caring for her pet, Ship (an alien Galvanic Mechomorph found by her and Ben). She is voiced by Vyvan Pham.

• Max Tennyson:

Max is a semi-retired member of the Plumbers and Ben and Gwen's paternal grandfather. He disappears while investigating the Highbreed plot, leaving only a few cryptic messages for Ben to find. He is briefly reunited with his grandchildren in "Max Out", but sacrifices himself to destroy a Highbreed factory at the end of the episode (actually transporting himself to the Null Void). In the episode "Voided", Ben and Max reunite in the Null Void, and he promises Ben that he'll come back soon. He eventually returns in the second season finale of the show to aid Ben in his final assault against the Highbreed. He is voiced by Paul Eiding.

Villains

• Highbreed:

The Highbreed believe themselves to be the purest and most powerful of all species and intend to cleanse the galaxy of impure lower life forms. It was later revealed that they were dying out, having become sterile and vulnerable to disease due to heavy inbreeding, and that they intended to destroy the rest of the universe.

• DNAliens:

Hybrids of humans and Xenocytes, alien drones serving the Highbreed, the DNAliens are able to disguise themselves as humans using special identity masks, called ID Masks.^[1]

• The Forever Knights:

A paramilitary organization that has worked in secret since their formation in the Middle Ages. The Forever Knights will trade alien technology with anyone who is willing to pay large amounts of money, even the Highbreed.^[1]

• Vilgax:

Vilgax returns in Season 3 with new powers and abilities. He loses to Ben in the episode "Vengeance of Vilgax" and was banished from Earth, though he swore vengeance. Keeping his promise, Vilgax returned in the episode "The Final Battle" to procure the Omnitrix and destroy Ben, but was unsuccessful.^[2]

• Albedo:

Albedo is a young and arrogant Galvan. At one point, he was the assistant to Azmuth, whom he asked for an Omnitrix of his own. When Azmuth refused, he built one of inferior quality and synchronized it to work exactly like Ben's. Because Ben's form was the default, Albedo was transformed into a clone of Ben (until his Omnitrix came into contact with Ben's, giving him whitish-gray hair, a dark red jacket, black pants and deep red eyes). As a result, he also developed many of Ben's habits, which he considers utterly repulsive.

Themes

Ben 10: Alien Force is set five years after the original series. The second series is quite different from the first one: the story-line is notable for having matured the characters and taken a darker tone, with more complex plots, more characters dying, and much less humor. The original logo has changed from the original series. This change received mixed reactions from the fans, and caused a division among them. Despite this, Ben 10: Alien Force's ratings were successful, allowing the production of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, taking place one year later.

The Evolved Omnitrix

When the Omnitrix was recalibrated, it gained a more watch-like shape, a green wristband, and became smaller and sleeker, with the face plate becoming black and green. The inside of the hourglass shape now glows in different colors at special moments; these colors signify the state that the Omnitrix is in. Occasionally, the Omnitrix's safeguard mode initiates and randomly transforms Ben into another alien that he did not choose.

In Ben 10, the reason Azmuth invented the Omnitrix was for all the beings of the universe to better understand each other. It was revealed in Ben 10: Alien Force that there was another reason for the creation of the Omnitrix. Azmuth tells Ben that the Omnitrix was invented to preserve the DNA of all living beings in the Milky Way Galaxy and restore them if they should ever become extinct.

Recalibration Mode

The Omnitrix begins transforming whilst selecting an array of new alien forms. The Omnitrix makes a beep-like noise and flashes a blue light, then it changes to a glowing black and green and finally morphs into its more watch-shaped form. The opposite can occur as well, as shown in "Vengeance of Vilgax" when the watch turns from its new form into its original form. The trigger for Recalibration mode is unknown, but Dwayne McDuffie said it recalibrated as a result of Ben's maturity.

The display mode of the black silhouettes of the desired alien were replaced by a dark green hologram. Dwayne McDuffie confirmed that by changing the settings on the Omnitrix, either display can be used in either one of the Omnitrix's forms.

The abilities of his old aliens were recognized by the Omnitrix and therefore "upgraded" as well, bringing 10 new aliens with the same abilities as the old aliens such as Swampfire, for example, replacing Wildvine and Heatblast. This feature of the Omnitrix was first seen in "Ben 10 Returns Part 1"; while it rescans Ben, the Omnitrix turns a darkish blue color. Benjamin Tennyson said "it never did that before". Also, during the transformation, all information on the alien is dumped into the user's mind.

Active Mode

After the Omnitrix was recalibrated, the symbols on the aliens were also of the same color, and located on their chests (Dwayne McDuffie said this was because it means the Omnitrix was working properly).

It was revealed that the Omnitrix's main function was to act as a wireless receiver for the Codon Stream, Azmuth's DNA database on Primus. By accessing the Codon Stream, the Omnitrix rewrites the wearer's DNA on a quantum level and transforms them into one of the 1,000,913 species in the Codon Stream (excluding the wearer's species). In order for the host to change size, matter is created from energy or reconstituted to energy as needed.

Delete Mode

When the Omnitrix Was recalibrated, all of Ben's aliens when he was 10 years old were deleted, but many of the original aliens were unlocked.

Plumber's Badge use

The Omnitrix is revealed to be a Plumber's Badge and became Ben's badge. It has the same uses as a normal Plumber Badge:

• Can be a communicator
• Creates a holographic map that can be used to track and show the location of another Plumber's Badge
• Universal translator, translates alien languages and writing to the wearer's language
• Detect radiation, produces a flashing red light and sounds
• Accesses the Extranet (an intergalactic Internet).

Healing Mode

The Omnitrix is able to restore the DNA of DNAliens, but it is unknown if it is able to restore the DNA of humans or any other alien species. It is also unknown if this function is meant to eliminate the foreign DNA from a being and if it can change hybrids such as Manny, Helen, and Pierce back to their human forms.

In "War of the Worlds: Part 2", the Omnitrix shown to be able to genetically manipulate alien DNA or reprogram the species' DNA (in this case, fuse DNA from different species of aliens).

Time Out Mode

The recalibrated Omnitrix does not do this; instead, it simply reverts the transformation without a warning given because this feature was accidentally switched off when the Omnitrix recalibrated. In "War of the Worlds Part 2", the Omnitrix had reset, also turning the time out warning function back on. The hourglass, when recharging, also flashes red instead of remaining a solid red as it had when the Omnitrix was in its original configuration. In "Ben 10: Alien Force The Video Game", when the Omnitrix was out of power it beeped differently from in the original series. From "The Secret of Chromastone" and so on, the Omnitrix flashes green instead of red when signaling a time out.

Capture Mode

When a new DNA sample has been unlocked from the Codon Stream for future use (it identifies the DNA against the database on Primus, then unlocks that code on the Omnitrix), or when the Omnitrix actually captures new DNA that is not already present in the Codon Stream.

It can also reclaim lost alien forms that may have escaped the Omnitrix. Absorbing lost alien forms can be done in two ways: when transformed into an alien, the Omnitrix flashes a yellow light and absorbs the alien; or when the Omnitrix is inactive, it sends some radar waves and then reabsorbs the alien. Unlike in the original series, if an alien touches the Omnitrix in Ben 10: Alien Force, it will not be captured because it doesn't work the same way after it recalibrated.

Self-Destruction Mode

It was used when Ben wanted to take back the Omnitrix from Vilgax, but it didn't work; despite that the S.D.M was used and successfully triggered in, it only destroyed the Omnitrix rather than the universe, though this is because it only charged for 30 seconds.

The voice-activated self-destruct sequence is the same code from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock that James T. Kirk used to activate the Enterprise's one-minute self-destruct sequence (000 destruct-0).

Other features

• It functions as a GPS;
• In the original series, the Omnitrix could adapt the clothing of the wearer to suit the selected alien form. Ben lost this function in Ben 10: Alien Force because the Omnitrix recalibrated. Now, "nanomachines" break them down and store them until his transformation ends.
• The Omnitrix also alters its shape and size to accommodate the wearer's size.
• When the user is transformed, a button with the Omnitrix symbol on it appears on the chest which can be used to switch to another form while already transformed into a specific alien, the symbol is actually the Omnitrix itself, appearing in this form because many species don't have wrists.
• When the Omnitrix is locked to a certain set of aliens, new aliens can be unlocked in mid-transformation with rough contact with a member of that species. This simply unlocks the DNA in the Codon Stream, although the Omnitrix also has the capability to capture new DNA.
• The Omnitrix can show a database image of all aliens available at the time, or show a database image of aliens that escaped the Omnitrix. The images of the aliens in the Omnitrix are shown in green, while the escaped ones are shown in black.
• There is a particular method used to safely remove the Omnitrix, that could be how he removed it between the two series. It involves a code that the wearer of the Omnitrix uses with voice activation (Decouple Omnitrix Command Code: 000 Release Coupling 0). Ben may have known this code as he may have remembered it if he used the code to take off the Omnitrix after he was done with it at the end of Ben 10.
• When suffering from electromagnetic interference, the Omnitrix can cause unintentional transformations, and the Omnitrix will be unable to deactivate until the source of the interference is gone. This is how the Tiffin was unintentionally sending signals that caused the Omnitrix to malfunction, turning Ben into Rath. It also can work in reverse, rapidly changing the user from one form to another until it times out. This happened in "Secrets";
• When in danger, Primus can send a distress call to the Omnitrix, which teleports itself to Primus with its host in order to protect the planet;
• As revealed in "Vengeance of Vilgax", if the Omnitrix is hacked, some of the stored species may escape the Codon Stream. The escaped aliens are practically mindless and function on instinct, roaming with no stable conscience or fixed motives. If the aliens are not returned to the Omnitrix within 24 hours, they will die out and be permanently lost to the Omnitrix;
• The new Omnitrix also develop a voice command, and his voice is identical to Ben's voice;

Allusions

• It is possible that Professor Paradox is inspired by the Doctor of the British television show Doctor Who, as they have similar traits, for instance their English accents and dislike of guns and other weapons. Furthermore, Paradox at one point prevents Ben 10,000 from revealing the future to young Ben by saying "Spoilers," a line that The Doctor and River Song uses in similar situations.
• "If All Else Fails" is a reference to John Kenneth Galbraith's line "If all else fails", immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
• "Good Copy, Bad Copy" comes from Good cop/bad cop, a psychological tactic often used by police for interrogation.
• "Darkstar Rising" resemblance to the Marvel Uncanny X-Men comic "Deathstar Rising".
• "Inside Man" is an allusion of the movie of the same name.
• In "The Gauntlet", Ben said to Kevin no juice for you, it is a parody to a Seinfeld's line, where the soup chef says no soup for you.
• In "Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2" makes two allusions to urban legends.

- First, Kevin mentions that "spiders lay eggs in humans" when Spidermonkey goes after Gwen.

- Second, that Ben states about sewer alligator when they go to a sewer.

• "In Charm's Way" is a reference to the 1965 war film, In Harm's Way; also, when Charmcaster disguises as "Caroline", she seems to resemble her voice actress Kari Wahlgren.
• In "Ghost Town", the Vilgaxia's symbol is similar to HYDRA's symbol.
• Ben makes an allusion of Ben 10: Alien Force at itself in "Final Battle Part 1" when he and Kevin were watching "Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation":
  • They were watching the final episode.
  • Is a sequel of the original Sumo Slammers, which is set five years after the original series.
  • The villain called Kenko, from the original joining up with the hero, Ishiyama.
  • "Hero Generation" was the working title for Alien Force.
• "Save the Last Dance" comes from the movie of the same name.
• In "Simple", the visual styles of the vehicles' both armies use seems to be based on Advance Wars, right down to the single bright color scheme.
• "All That Glitters" comes from the saying All that glitters is not gold.
• The plot of "Alone Together" is based on the movie Enemy Mine.
• "Con of Rath" is a play on Wrath of Khan.
• In "Undercover", Ben's concerns about a "banana fly monster" in the beginning of the episode is a reference to the science-fiction horror film The Fly, the main character had a similar problem when he and a fly entered the teleporter he was working on at the same time transforming him into a fly monster.
• In "Vendetta", Kevin says "My name is Kevin Levin. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" similar to Inigo Montoya in Princess Bride. Also this episode has a similarity to the Batman Beyond episode "Rebirth Part 1". It is alike in many ways:
  • The father of one of the main characters is killed by a villain.
  • A possession wanted by that villain is in a photo frame with a picture of the boy and his dad.
  • Both of the boys have black hair.
  • When Kevin reveals that he has a home, Ben says that he would not be surprised if Kevin lived in some "underground cave" - this might be a reference to the Batcave.

Ben 10: Alien Swarm

Ben 10: Alien Swarm is a live-action film based on the series, announced by Cartoon Network at their 2008 upfront. It is a sequel to Ben 10: Race Against Time. The first teaser trailer was shown on October 3, 2008 during the premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a full trailer was shown after the season 2 finale on March 27, 2009, and another full trailer, this time showing a preview of Humongousaur, was shown during the season 3 premiere on September 11, 2009. The film aired on November 25, 2009. According to the sweepstakes site, it was rated TV-PG. Again directed by Alex Winter, the film's cast included Ryan Kelley as Ben, Nathan Keyes as Kevin, and Galadriel Stineman as Gwen. Lee Majors was offered to reprise his role as Grandpa Max, but he turned it down; the role was recast with Barry Corbin. The film also featured Alyssa Diaz as a new character named Elena, who was a childhood friend of Ben.^[3] The aliens seen were Big Chill, Humongousaur, and a new alien named Nanomech. In the movie, Kevin's car was a green Dodge Challenger.

Video games

A total of three games based on Ben 10: Alien Force were produced: Ben 10 Alien Force: The Game, Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks, and Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex. Characters from the Ben 10 series also made appearances in Cartoon Network's MMO, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.

Comics

Ben 10: Alien Force has been featured in Cartoon Network Action Pack!, an anthology comic book series published by DC Comics, since issue #27 (September 2008 cover date). It normally alternates bi-monthly with The Secret Saturdays as the lead story.

Ben 10: Alien Force stories have been published in Cartoon Network Action Pack! #27, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, and 43.^[4]

Ben 10 Alien Force: Doom Dimension is a two-part graphic novel series published by Del Rey Books, written by Peter David, and illustrated by Dan Hipp.^[5]

Books

Scholastic Books has published a number of books based on the series, including a collection of chapter books written by Charlotte Fullerton, who has written several episodes for the show.^[6]

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ben 10: Alien Force

External links

• Ben 10: Alien Force official US site
• Ben 10: Alien Force official AU site
• Ben 10: Alien Force official UK site
• Ben 10: Alien Force at the Internet Movie Database