Benjamin Kirby "Ben" Tennyson, commonly known as Ben 10, is a fictional superhero and the title protagonist of Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise, created by Man of Action.
Ben started out as a regular 10-year-old boy until he encounters the Omnitrix during his summer vacation; a watch-shaped alien device which initially allowed him to transform into 10 different aliens, but he unlocks more as the franchise progresses. Supported by his cousin Gwen and grandfather Max, Ben fights criminals, but is quickly drawn into fighting supervillains as well. At some point, for unknown reasons, Ben removes the Omnitrix and briefly retires from being a hero for four years. In Alien Force, Ben returns to active duty after Max's disappearance, and along with Gwen and former enemy and rival Kevin Levin, stops the Highbreed invasion and defeats Vilgax, destroying the Omnitrix in the process.
In Ultimate Alien, Ben starts using the Ultimatrix, which is capable of evolving his aliens. In addition, his identity is revealed and he becomes famous not only on Earth, but also across the universe. Over the course of the series, he thwarts the plans of foes like Aggregor and Dagon, and gains a new Omnitrix. In Omniverse, Gwen and Kevin leave for college and Ben gains a new partner, Rook Blonko. In addition to being hunted down by Khyber, Ben also engages in a Multiversal War against Eon and Vilgax and a Time War against Maltruant.
In the 2016 series, the character underwent a reboot, returning to being a 10-year-old boy who travels across the country during his summer vacation, along with his grandfather Max and cousin Gwen, and uses his powers to fight supervillains. Ultimately, Ben meets his adult future self, helps the young Generator Rex, and fights alongside his alternate versions.
He was created for original 2005 series, voiced by Tara Strong. Yuri Lowenthal voiced Ben as a teenager in the sequel series: Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse. Strong returned to voice young Ben in one episode of Ultimate Alien, and then continued to voice him in Omniverse during flashbacks.
Tara Strong reprises her role as 10-year-old Ben in the 2016 reboot; along with voicing his 2005 counterpart in the series finale. Yuri Lowenthal also returns to voice counterparts of teenage Ben from Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse in the series finale of the 2016 series.
Concept and creation
Ben 10 was created by Man of Action, consisting of comic book creators Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle, and was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The group worked on the concept of Ben 10 and its title character roughly three years before Cartoon Network picked up the series. Dave Johnson also helped with the design development. Early on in development, it was decided that a villain would be within the Omnitrix. After Ghostfreak was created, the creators added dialogue into the first season to hint there is something more to Ghostfreak. Originally, Cannonbolt, the 11th alien transformation in the series, was going to be in the original set of aliens, but was replaced with Ghostfreak.
When doing test animations for the series, the first alien transformation to be tested was Four Arms, and it was the most popular transformation out of all the aliens for Man of Action. Many unused designs for Upchuck were repurposed in the episode "Ben 10,000" as two of Ben's aliens, Spitter and Arctiguana, and the villain Sploot. Steven E. Gordon worked on an early version of the series, and his concept work shows that Ben was originally going to have red hair. It also shows early designs of the Omnitrix which resemble a watch more than the final version, as well as different designs and names for the alien transformations. Some of the early names for the Omnitrix transformations were "StrongGuy", "Inferno", "RazorJaws", "Dragonfly", "Plantguy", and "Digger", and some of their early designs were more human, similar to Dial H For Hero. The character's middle name, Kirby, was designed as a reference to comic book artist Jack Kirby. Initial concepts for Ben's Alien Force and Ultimate Alien designs were made by Glen Murakami. His head and hair were reworked by Glenn Wong, who also gave him his green jacket, while colors were added by Chris Hooten.
Personality
Initially cocky, childish, and selfish, Ben's immaturity and attention-seeking behavior often led him to joke around, even in serious situations. His allies often criticized his attitude, unaware that he used humor to mask his fears. Despite his childish attitude, he was heroic, caring, and good-natured, always willing to save others.