MAIN
CAST:
Ben 10 (retroactively known
as Ben 10 Classic following the debut of the series reboot in 2016) was
the first entry in what would become an ongoing media franchise. Created by Man of Action—a collective of comic book
writers Duncan
Rouleau, Joe Casey,
Joe Kelly and Steven T. Seagle—the
premise of the series took inspiration from DC
Comics’ Dial H for
Hero. 10-year-old Ben Tennyson
(Tara Strong) embarked on a cross-country road trip with his cousin Gwen
(Meagan Smith) and Grandpa Max (Paul Eiding) in his old RV affectionally dubbed
the “Rust Bucket”.
He stumbled across an alien device known as the Omnitrix, which
bonded to Ben and gave him the ability to call up several different alien
forms, each with their own unique abilities. As a result, Ben got to play
superhero in a new world of aliens, magicians, mutants and the supernatural.
 |
| Ben and Gwen. |
Ben was a typical 10-year-old boy:
headstrong, immature and cocky, however with a good heart and capable of being
resourceful, intelligent and shrewd when needed. His brash behavior often put
him at odds with Gwen, who was very intelligent and tech-savvy and tried to be
the level-headed one of the pair. As the series progressed, she became more
than Ben’s support when she was given one of the mystical Charms of Bezel by
Ben, granting her supernaturally good luck and allowing her to become the
costumed heroine Lucky Girl. She also had an aptitude for magic and would
slowly grow into using it regularly. Before Gwen was made Ben’s cousin, she was
originally intended to be a classmate and close friend who didn’t join him on
the road trip.
 |
| Grandpa Max: along for the ride. |
As for Grandpa Max, the weirdness
that came to follow him and his family was actually not so unusual for him. It
would come to be revealed that he was once a Plumber. No, not the kind
that worked with pipes—they were members of a secret law-enforcement agency
created by the American Founding
Fathers to “plug the leaks” caused by the presence of aliens, monsters and
the supernatural and keep the general populace protected and unaware of such
things. His experiences and contacts became a great help to Ben on various
missions, and the Rust Bucket was outfitted with a variety of secret Plumber equipment.
 |
| Ben with (from left top) Ghostfreak, Heatblast, Ripjaw, Wildmutt, Diamondhead, Grey Matter, Four Arms, Upgrade, XLR8 and Stinkfly. |
The
Omnitrix allowed Ben to transform into 10 different aliens at a time, changing
his physical form and abilities in the process while keeping his mind intact
(for the most part). Originally,
the concept would have been closer to that of Dial H with Ben
transforming into various human-looking super heroic characters until they were
changed to be aliens. Among the initial alien selections was Four Arms (the first
alien to be animation-tested, voiced by Richard McGonagle), a humanoid Tetramand from the
planet Khoros with
four arms (as the name implies) and super strength; Grey Matter (Richard Steven
Horvitz), a bipedal frog-like Galvan from Galvan Prime
that gave super intellect as well as agility, flexibility, wall-climbing and
underwater breathing; Diamondhead (Jim Ward), a crystalline humanoid Petrosapien from
Petropia that
could generate and utilize various crystal structures; Heatblast (Steve Blum),
a magma-like humanoid Pyronite
from Pyros capable
of generating fire and flight; Wildmutt (Dee Bradley Baker), a dog-like Vulpimancer from
Vulpin capable of tracking
through enhanced senses and possessing sharp claws; XLR8 (Ward), a
Velociraptor-like Kineceleran
from Kinet capable
of super speed; Stinkfly (Baker), an insect-like Lepidopterran
from Lepidopterra
who could fly, throw slime and generate a noxious gas; Ripjaws (Fred
Tatasciore), a Piscciss
Volann from Piscciss
that possessed the combined abilities and traits similar to that of an alligator,
eel, anglerfish and shark; Upgrade (Strong), a Galvanic
Mechamorph from Galvan
B made up of nanites that allowed for a malleable body as well as
technological possession, enhancement and repair; and Ghostfreak (Blum), a
ghost-like Ectonurite
from Anur Phaetos who
could phase though solid objects, go invisible, disrupt electricity, consume
life forces and souls, or possess bodies. Utilizing Ghostfreak always made Ben
uneasy, and rightfully so as Ghostfreak would become an entity unto himself and
escape from the Omnitrix; returning to battle ben. This fulfilled the producers’
desire to have a villain in the Omnitrix.
 |
| Ben joined by new alien forms (from bottom left) Upchuck, Ditto, Cannonbolt and Wildvine. |
As the series progressed, Ben gained access to new alien forms; typically, as a situation called for their unique abilities. The first was Cannonbolt (Tatasciore), who was intended to be among the original 10 until he was replaced with Ghostfreak. Cannonbolt was a hulking Arburian Pelarota from Arburia that could curl up into a ball like an armadillo, using his armored plating offensively by rolling at great speeds. Other new forms included Wildvine (Ward), a humanoid-plant Florauna from Flors Verdance that could grow, extend vine-like tentacles, change colors for camouflage and merge with plant life, as well as grow fruit-like pods containing a variety of substances; Benwolf (Strong), a werewolf-like Loboan from Luna Lobo that not only possessed the attributes of a humanoid wolf, but could emit a powerful ultrasonic howl; Benmummy (Richard Green), an Egyptian mummy-like Thep Khufan from Anur Khufos that could reshape his bandage-like body at will and generate more bandages for various uses, as well as regenerate any damage; Benvicktor (Michael Dorn), a Frankenstein’s monster-like Transylian from Anur Transyl that could generate and manipulate lightning and electromagnetism from the conductor coils on his back; Upchuck (Dave Wittenberg), a Gourmand from Peptos XI that had three strong adhesive tongues and could eat virtually any form of matter that could be converted into explosive balls of liquid, as well as use his breath to fly; Ditto (Rob Paulsen), a child-sized Splixson from Hathor who could split into an unlimited amount of duplicates that acted independently of each other; Eye Guy (Baker), a humanoid Opticoid from Sightra whose body was covered in eyes that could fire energy beams whose intensity could be enhanced by the various eyes merging together on his body; and Way Big (Tatasciore), a giant To’kustar from Cosmic Storms with combat skills and the ability to shoot cosmic rays. Two running gags featured Ben either selecting the wrong alien for a task because he considered his choice cooler, or the Omnitrix changing Ben into the alien he didn’t want at a particular time.
 |
| Vilgax. |
There were several recurring
villains in the series. The primary one was Vilgax (Blum), a Chimera Sui
Generis warlord who had dealings with Max during his Plumber days. Vilgax
wanted to acquire the Omnitrix to make his own transforming super army. After
being seriously injured, Vilgax was placed in a regeneration chamber that made
him cybernetically enhanced and more than a match for Ben’s initial aliens.
 |
| Kevin's mutated form. |
Next was Kevin Levin (Michael Reisz & Charlie Schlatter). He was an
11-year-old mutant with the ability to absorb energy. Doing so from the
Omnitrix also gave him the ability to assume duplicates of Ben’s alien forms.
His rivalry with Ben began when Ben refused to join him as a partner in a life
of crime. Eventually, Kevin’s powers made his DNA unstable and he mutated into
an amalgamation of all the alien forms, making him hate Ben even more.
 |
| The Forever Knights. |
The Forever Knights were a
British paramilitary organization that began in the Middle Ages. Their original
intent, as prescribed by their founder, Sir George (Peter Renaday), was to protect
the Earth from Dagon (John DiMaggio): an
extra-dimensional demonic entity, by any means necessary. The Knights had split
into different factions over the centuries, with one having expanded Sir
George’s mission to include all unnatural beings not originally from the
planet. Another faction was led by Driscoll (Richard Doyle), a former
Plumber who stole alien technology for his own benefit, and sought to rule the
world.
 |
| Dr. Animo and one of his mutated projects. |
Dr. Aloysius
James Animo (Dwight Schultz)
was a rising veterinary scientist who was discovered performing twisted genetic
experiments on animals. Driven insane by being shunned by his colleagues, he
went underground to perfect his methods. He was able to control animals, revive
deceased ones, or create all-new twisted mutations.
 |
| Charmcaster and Hex. |
Finally, there was Hex (Khary Payton); a
self-proclaimed master magician that wanted to use his powers to take over the
world. His powers were once enhanced by the Charms of Bezel. He was often
accompanied and assisted by his niece, Charmcaster (Kari Wahlgren), who developed a
rivalry with Gwen due to their shared magical aptitude. Charmcaster only worked
with her uncle so that she could steal any power he acquired for herself.
 |
| The Omnitrix fuses to Ben's arm. |
Ben 10 debuted on Cartoon Network on December 27, 2005 during
their Sneak Peek Week
before formally beginning on January 14th. The series was written by
Man of Action with Thomas Pugsley,
Greg Klein, Marsha Griffin, Adam Beechen, Kevin Hopps, Sean Jara, Marty Isenberg, Jeff Hare, Greg Weisman, James Phillips, Michael Jelenic, Eugene Son and Amy Wolfram, with Puglsey and
Klein serving as story editors. The series’ theme was written by Andy Sturmer, who composed the
rest of the series’ score, and performed by Mz.
Moxy over a title sequence animated by Renegade Animation. That sequence
would be updated to replace Ghostfreak with Cannonbolt once his betrayal
occurred. It was also designed to let the audience know that the show was going
to be fun as well as full of action. Animation for the show proper was handled
by Sunmin
Image Pictures, Dong
Woo Animation and Lotto
Animation, Inc. The original characters were designed by Dave “Cornelius” Johnson with
additional designs by Thomas
Perkins, Phil Bourassa, Dave Williams and Virginia Hawes. Steven E. Gordon worked on initial
concepts for the show, which featured Ben with red hair instead of brown along
with the superhero transformations.
 |
| Eye Guy about to deliver an eyeful. |
Ben 10 ran for four seasons,
being nominated for a Gold Reel Award
and two Daytime Emmys, winning one.
While the series was still popular and doing well in the ratings, Cartoon
Network wanted to shake things up a bit and revamp the show. The network tapped
Glen Murakami and Dwayne McDuffie to develop the
sequel series, Ben 10:
Alien Force, set five years after the original. It would be the first
of several sequel spin-offs to come.
During
production of the final season, the franchise’s first movie spin-off was
produced: Secret of the Omnitrix. The film introduced the creator of the
Omnitrix, Azmuth (Robert David Hall), a Galvan
like Grey Matter. The Tennysons had to journey to find Azmuth to stop the
Omnitrix from self-destructing. The film was meant to serve as the official
final episode of the series, despite airing before the final six episodes of
the series did. This was revealed during the special “Ben 10 Week” that aired
in April of 2008. The show’s actual final episode, “Goodbye and Good Riddance”,
was declared a non-canonical what if story by pop-up trivia featured in one
version of Secret. That version was also one of four, as three others
were made depicting a different alien used at the beginning of the film: red
has Heatblast (and is the original), blue has XLR8 and gold has Eye Guy. Secrets
was later broken up into three episodes for future re-airings. A trailer
for Secret was aired alongside another Cartoon Network film, Billy & Mandy: Wrath of
the Spider Queen.
A second film, Race Against Time,
was set after the events of the series and was done in live-action. Written
by Mitch Watson from a story by Pugsley and Klein and directed by Alex Winter of Bill & Ted fame,
Ben (Graham Phillips), Gwen
(Haley Ramm) and Max (Lee Majors) were adjusting to
normal life back in Bellwood when a rapidly aging alien foe, Eon (Christien Anholt), escaped from
Plumber captivity and threatened to destroy the town. Heatblast (David
Franklin), Diamondhead (Daran
Norris), Grey Matter (Carlos
Alazraqui) and Wildmutt (Baker) were the only transformations featured.
Debuting on Cartoon Network on November 21, 2007, the film was largely
negatively received as it compared poorly to the show on which it was based. Initially,
Race was canon to the series proper but was relegated to an alternate timeline
once Alien Force revisited the future first seen in Ben 10, where
an older and more experienced Ben (Tatasciore) was a revered hero with access
to over 10,000 alien forms.
In 2012, four years after the series
had ended, Cartoon Network commissioned a third movie based on Ben 10.
Destroy All Aliens was written by Isenberg and directed by Victor Cook, and was the first
collaboration between Cartoon
Network Asia and Cartoon Network
Studios, as well as being the first CG movie for the network and the
franchise. Set a year after Secret, the film saw Ben being pursued by
alien bounty hunters at a time when his Omnitrix was malfunctioning and simply
cycled through his alien forms when it timed out rather than returning him to
normal. The original voice cast reprised all of their roles. Destroy debuted
on March 11 in Asia and March 23 in the United States to a positive audience
reception. It went on to win an Asian
Television Award and a ProMax Award.
 |
| The season 2 DVD. |
Warner
Bros. Home Video released the complete series to DVD in four
volume sets between 2007 and 2008. Two compilation DVDs were also released:
The
Hero Collection: Four Arms in 2012, featuring four Four Arms-centric
episodes, and Ben
10 and Friends was released in 2014 containing the first six and 11th
episodes of the third season. Secret
of the Omnitrix was released exclusively to Walmart stores in 2008; however only the season
4 DVD contains the alternate versions of the film. Race
Against Time was also out in 2008, but with a much wider release. Destroy
All Aliens would be released in Region 4 first in 2012 by Madman
Entertainment, with a Region 2 release from Warners a few months later and
a Region 1 release finally coming in 2013. The films, as well as the second
live-action film Alien
Swarm, was collected in the set 4
Kid Favorites: Ben 10 Movies in 2014.
EPISODE
GUIDE:
“And
Then There Were 10” (12/27/05) – On his summer road trip, Ben discovers a
device that allows him to transform into 10 aliens and decides to become a
superhero.
“Washington
B.C.” (1/14/06) – Ben faces off against Dr. Animo, who can mutate living animals
or resurrect dead ones.
“The
Krakken” (1/21/06) – A fishing trip turns into a hunt for a mysterious lake
monster.
“Permanent
Retirement” (1/28/06) – Ben and Max go to visit their Aunt Vera at a retirement
home only to learn shapeshifting aliens are kidnapping the residents for food.
“Hunted”
(2/4/06) – Vilgax hires three bounty hunters to get the Omnitrix from Ben just
as the Rust Bucket breaks down outside of a ghost town.
“Tourist
Trap” (2/11/06) – A practical joke causes Ben to accidentally release small
electrical creatures that could multiply and destroy the town.
“Kevin
11” (2/18/06) – Energy-absorber Kevin Levin uses his friendship with Ben in
order to absorb the Omnitrix’s energy for his revenge against those who wronged
him.
“The
Alliance” (2/25/06) – When a thief hurts Max, Ben realizes the Omnitrix will
continually put him and Gwen in danger.
“Last
Laugh” (3/4/06) – Ben fights his fear of clowns to stop Zombozo from draining
people’s souls through laughter.
“Lucky
Girl” (3/11/06) – While dealing with sorcerer Hex, Ben gives Gwen one of the
charms he dropped which allows her to become the luck-bending hero Lucky Girl.
“A
Small Problem” (3/18/06) – Ben is captured by an alien enthusiast while stuck
as Grey Matter and both end up having to work together to escape from the
Forever Knights.
“Side
Effects” (3/25/06) – While a councilwoman is targeted by a man who can control
insects, Ben’s cold plays havoc with his alien forms.
“Secrets”
(4/1/06) – Vilgax decides to go after Ben himself and captures him on his
spaceship.
Season
2:
“The
Big Tick” (5/6/06) – Ben gains a new alien form in time to deal with an alien
that’s impervious to all his original ones.
“Framed”
(5/13/06) – Ben discovers Kevin has gained the ability to change himself into
Ben’s alien forms and has used them to frame Ben in San Francisco.
“Gwen
10” (5/20/06) – Ben wakes up in a world where Gwen is the one who found the
Omnitrix.
“Grudge
Match” (5/27/06) – Ben and Kevin are abducted by an alien and forced to compete
together in a gladiator match.
“The
Galactic Enforcers” (6/3/06) – Ben teams up with alien superheroes to stop a
bomb threat, but the heroes find themselves at odds more than being cooperative.
“Camp
Fear” (6/17/06) – The Tennysons return a camper to his camp only to find it
under siege by fungal mutants.
“Ultimate
Weapon” (6/24/06) – The Tennysons race to claim a found mask that would lead to
a powerful weapon, but the Forever Knights want it as well.
“Tough
Luck” (7/1/06) – Gwen finds the Keystone of Bezel which enhances all of her natural
abilities while Hex is freed from prison by his niece, Charmcaster.
“They
Lurk Below” (7/8/06) – The Tennysons visit an underwater resort run by an old
friend of Max’s where Ben, Gwen and his grandson discover an alien plot that
could destroy the place.
“Ghostfreaked
Out” (7/15/06) – Ben’s nightmares about Ghostfreak come true when Ghostfreak
asserts himself out of the Omnitrix and plots to possesses ben in order to
control it.
“Dr.
Animo and the Mutant Ray” (8/26/06) – Ben breaks the Omnitrix causing him to
become merged versions of the aliens and giving Dr. Animo the parts he needs to
complete his Transmodulator.
“Back
with a Vengeance” (10/28/06) – Ben accidentally unlocks the ability to change
into any alien he wants while Kevin teams up with Vilgax.
Season
3:
“Midnight
Madness” (12/2/06) – Gwen volunteers Ben to be hypnotized by Sublimino, not
knowing he uses his victims to commit crimes for him.
“A
Change of Face” (12/9/06) – Charmcaster attempts to switch bodies with Ben to
control the Omnitrix but ends up switching with Gwen instead.
“Merry
Christmas” (12/23/06) – The Tennysons visit a cursed Christmas village where the
person in charge kidnaps Max, believing he’s Santa.
“Benwolf”
(1/20/07) – While visiting a Navajo village, Ben is attacked by a werewolf
whose scratch seems to be changing him into a wolf himself.
“Game
Over” (1/27/07) – Ben and Gwen get themselves zapped into a video game and must
collect the exit token before the game’s villain does.
“Super
Alien Hero Buddy Adventures” (2/24/07) – Ben is angry when a show ripping off
his forms replaces his favorite one, whose star seems to always be around
strange happenings at the studio.
“Under
Wraps” (3/10/07) – Max takes Ben and Gwen to a farm to teach them the value of
hard work, which is where they encounter a strange alien mummy.
“The
Unnaturals” (3/17/07) – A little league game goes wrong when the opposing team
turns out to be robots with
“The
Return” (3/31/07) – A monstrous scientist and alien werewolf and mummy attract
the attention of the Tennysons, only to discover the trio is working for
Ghostfreak.
“Be
Afraid of the Dark” (4/7/07) – Ben battles Ghostfreak to prevent his plan of
bringing eternal darkness to the world, which would allow him to conquer it.
“The
Visitor” (4/14/07) – Max’s old alien lover returns to reclaim the Omnitrix, but
when Max ends up kidnapped by a Vilgax drone she unlocks a new form for Ben so
they can rescue him.
Season
4:
“Divided
We Stand” (7/14/07) – Ben discovers his new Ditto form while battling Dr.
Animo’s mutant seagull, and one of his copies ends up captured by Animo.
“Big
Fat Alien Wedding” (/7/28/07) – The Tennysons attend a wedding designed to
bring a truce between the Plumbers and Sludgepuppies aliens, but the bride’s ex
threatens to ruin it.
“Ben
10: Secret of the Omnitrix” (8/4/07) – Ben, Gwen and Tetrax must track down the
Omnitrix’s creator in order to stop its self-destruct sequence.
“Ben
4 Good Buddy” (9/22/07) – Rescuing a fancy RV from road pirates causes Ben and
Gwen to complain about the Rust Bucket—which the same pirates manage to steal
to use in their plans.
“Ready
to Rumble” (9/29/07) – Ben enters a wrestling competition as Four Arms to win
money to replace Gwen’s laptop and ends up having to help mutant brothers save
their mother.
“Ken
10” (10/6/07) – In the future, Ben’s son is tricked into releasing Kevin from
his confinement, allowing him to become Kevin 11,0000.
“Ben
10 vs. the Negative 10: Part 1” (3/9/08) – Some of Ben’s past foes led by the
Forever King team-up to raid various Plumber bases looking for a potent alien
power source.
“Ben
10 vs. the Negative 10: Part 2” (3/9/08) – The Forever King is revealed to be a
former Plumber and uses the power source to increase his armored suit and take
on Ben.
“Goodbye
and Good Riddance” (4/15/08) – The summer vacation is over, but life doesn’t
return to normal for the Tennysons as Vilgax and Dr. Animo renew their attacks
against them.
Shorts:
“Snack
Break” (2/18/08) – Ben goes into a vending machine as Grey Matter to rescue his
snack only to end up changing back and stuck.
“Survival
Skills” (3/10/08) – Ben cheats as Heatblast to reignite the fire he
accidentally put out, but it comes at a cost.
“Radio
Dazed” (3/24/08) – Tired of Max’s music, Gwen convinces Ben to Upgrade the Rust
Bucket’s radio.
“Sleepaway
Camper” (4/7/08) – Ben uses the Omnitrix to get away from Max’s snoring.
“Dogged
Pursuit” (4/21/08) – No good deed goes unpunished as Ben retrieves an elderly
woman’s stolen purse.
“Let
the Games Begin” (7/1/08) – Ben attempts to use XLR8 to cheat at Roadkill bingo
so he’ll get to sit in the front seat.
“Handle
with Care” (7/8/08) – Ben as Diamondhead attempts to stop thieves while
protecting the crystal eggs they’re after.
“Road
Trip Rumble” (3/12/12) – Ben and Gwen’s bickering leads to a battle of the
powers.
Films:
“Destroy
All Aliens” (3/23/12) – Ben, Gwen and Tetrax are pursued by an Upgrade warrior
who apparently killed Azmuth just as a spell causes the Omnitrix to act up.
No comments:
Post a Comment