Ben 10 (2016 TV series)
Ben 10 is an American animated television series that serves as a reboot of the 2005 Cartoon Network series of the same name created by Man of Action. The series is served as a parallel world, and unlike previous Ben 10 shows, it is set in a different continuity. The series premiered in Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific on October 1, 2016, in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2016, and in the United States on April 10, 2017, before concluding on April 11, 2021, after four seasons, a film, and three specials, the latter featuring a crossover with Generator Rex and previous Ben 10 television series continuity, via the concept of the multiverse.
Plot
Building on the highly successful franchise about kid hero Ben Tennyson, Ben 10 introduces a re-imagined Ben, his cousin Gwen, and Grandpa Max, as they travel the country during summer vacation. When Ben finds the Omnitrix, a mysterious watch that transforms him into 10 different aliens, a world of extraterrestrial superpowers opens up to him. The series is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and created and executive produced by Man of Action Entertainment, with John Fang on board as supervising producer.Premise
Ten-year-old Ben Tennyson has spent his summer vacation traveling across the country with his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max, in an RV nicknamed the Rustbucket. However, after coming across a strange high-tech watch known as the Omnitrix, which enables him to transform into 10 alien heroes, he finds himself in the position of a superhero. At each place his family stops, Ben goes from trying to find a source of entertainment to doing battle against supervillains such as the mad scientist Dr. Animo, the dark sorcerer Hex, the psychotic clown Zombozo, the technology-loathing Steam Smythe, the emotionless Weatherheads, amongst other threats both big and small. Despite having lots to learn, he hones his hero skills with Gwen and Max's help.
Characters
Main
- Ben Tennyson – The ten-year-old cousin of Gwen and grandson of Max Tennyson. He wields the Omnitrix, a watch-like device which can turn him into various extraterrestrial creatures. Strong reprises her role from the original series.
- Gwen Tennyson – Ben's cousin, who uses her resourcefulness, keen intellect, and cunning to help in stopping villains. She has yet to develop and utilize her strong innate magical/mystical abilities.
- Max Tennyson – Ben and Gwen's paternal grandfather.
Supporting
- Kevin Levin – Ben's former school bully and the wielder of an Omnitrix derivative called the Antitrix, which allows him to turn into genetically altered versions of Ben's aliens, plus a new eleventh alien named Bashmouth. He becomes a reluctant ally on occasion following the last episodes of Season 3. As noted by Forever Knight and Charmcaster, he secretly harbors a crush on Gwen and has concerns for her safety. Cipes reprises his role from Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse.
- Phil Billings – An old friend of Max and the inventor of the Omni-Copter who first appears in "Omni-Tricked".
- Glitch – A fusion of Ben and Upgrade's DNA accidentally created when Ben upgraded the Omnitrix using Upgrade in "Omni-Tricked". He originally maintained the Omnitrix from within before being freed in "Innervasion". In seasons 3 and 4, Glitch exclusively appears in the form of an enhanced Rustbuggy. In Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie, Glitch's Rustbuggy form is destroyed by Vilgax though he survives by reformatting himself into experimental battle armor used by Kevin. Despite the armor being damaged, Phil believes he can salvage Glitch.
- Azmuth – An elderly Galvan and the creator of the Omnitrix who was imprisoned by Vilgax in a parallel dimension known as the Null Void until he manages to get out in the events of Ben 10 Versus the Universe.
- Grand Magistrate – The leader of a race of frog-like aliens known as the Incurseans and a court judge who appears in Ben 10 Versus the Universe.
- * Incursean Officer – An Incursean official under Grand Magistrate' command who appears in Ben 10 Versus the Universe.
- Ben 10,000 – An adult version of Ben from a parallel future and World Hero who recruits the ten-year-old Ben to save the world from the Xerge in Ben 10,010.
- * President Gwen – An adult version of Gwen from Ben 10,000's timeline and the president of the US who appears in Ben 10,010. Her inner circle consists of A.I. Max and older, reformed versions of Hex, Zombozo, Steam Smythe, Dr. Animo, Maurice, Sydney, Polar, Solar, and Kevin.
- * A.I. Max – A hologram version of Max from Ben 10,000's timeline and President Gwen's second-in-command who appears in Ben 10,010.
- * Hitch – An android version of Glitch from Ben 10,000's timeline who appears in Ben 10,010.
- Alternate Max – An alternate version of Max who visits Ben's dimension to help fight off Alien X in Alien X-Tinction.
- Alternate Bens – Alternate versions of Ben from various other timelines who appear in Alien X-Tinction. Four notable versions come from timelines based on past series in the franchise.
- Gwen 10 – An alternate version of Gwen from a timeline where she obtains the Omnitrix rather than Ben who visits Ben's dimension to help fight off Alien X in Alien X-Tinction.
Omnitrix aliens
- Four Arms – A Tetramand, a red four-armed humanoid from the desert planet Khoros whose main ability is superhuman strength.
- * Future Four Arms – An alternate version of Four Arms with darker red skin and a mustache used by Ben 10,000.
- Heatblast – A Pyronite, a magma-based humanoid from the star Pyros whose main ability is pyrokinesis.
- * Future Heatblast – An alternate version of Heatblast with miniature volcanoes on his shoulders used by Ben 10,000.
- XLR8 – A Kineceleran, a blue-and-black humanoid velociraptor-like humanoid from the stormy planet Kinet whose main ability is superhuman speed.
- Diamondhead – A Petrosapien, a humanoid made of teal crystal from the crystal planet Petropia whose main ability is generating crystal projectiles and structures.
- Cannonbolt – An Arburian Pelarota, an armored pillbug-like humanoid from the beachy planet Arburia whose main ability is superhuman strength and rolling into a sphere.
- Upgrade – A Galvanic Mechamorph, a purple techno-organic blob-like humanoid from the moon Galvan B whose main ability is technological possession.
- Grey Matter – A Galvan, a small grey frog-like humanoid from the planet Galvan Prime whose main ability is his high intelligence.
- Overflow – A Cascan, an armored water-based humanoid from the ocean planet Cascareau whose main ability is hydrokinesis.
- Wildvine – A Florauna, a plant-based humanoid from the planet Flors Verdance whose main ability is chlorokinesis.
- Stinkfly – A Lepidopterran, a humanoid blue dragonfly-like humanoid from the swamp planet Lepidopterra whose main abilities are flight and shooting goo from his shoulders.
- Gax – A Chimera Sui Generis, a green squid-like humanoid from the planet Vilgaxia whose main abilities are laser vision, superhuman strength and prehensile tentacle-like arms.
- Shock Rock – A Fulmini, a stone-armored energy being from the magnetic rock-like planet Fulmas whose main ability is manipulating blue electrical energy called Omni-Enhanced energy. He first appears in season 2, replacing Upgrade.
- Slapback – An Ekoleptoid, a toad-like humanoid from the city-like planet Ekoplekton whose main abilities are his self-duplication and density alteration. He first appears in season 3, replacing Grey Matter.
- Rath – An Appoplexian, a tiger-like humanoid from the jungle planet Appoplexia whose main abilities are wrist claws, superhuman strength and extreme rage. He first appears in season 2, being used by Animo, though Ben gains access to him in season 3, replacing Overflow.
- Humungousaur – A Vaxasaurian, a dinosaur-like humanoid from the Earth-like jungle planet Terradino whose main abilities are massive size, superhuman strength and tail mace. He first appears in season 3, replacing Wildvine.
- Jetray – An Aerophibian, a red manta ray-like humanoid from the ocean planet Aeropela whose main abilities are flight, laser vision and tail, and adaptability to any environment. He first appears in season 4, replacing Stinkfly.
- Goop – A Polymorph, a slime-like humanoid puppeteered by an Anti-Gravity Projector from the planet Viscosia whose main abilities are indestructibility and shapeshifting. He first appears in Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie.
- Way Big – A To'kustar, a massive, muscular alien born in a cosmic storm whose main abilities are superhuman strength, stamina, and the ability to fire cosmic rays by crossing his arms in an "X" shape. He first appears in Ben 10 Versus the Universe, being temporarily available to Ben so could fight Alien V. He serves as Ben's biggest and most powerful alien form.
- Spidermonkey – An Arachnichimp, a blue four-armed primate-like humanoid from the jungle planet Aranhaschimmia whose main abilities are superhuman agility and shooting webbing from his tail. He first appears in Ben 10,010 and is exclusive to Ben 10,000.
- Buzzshock – A Nosedeenian, a small black-and-white anthropomorphic battery from the Nosedeen Quasar whose main abilities are electrokinesis and possessing machinery. He first appears in Ben 10,010 and is exclusive to Ben 10,000.
- Surge – A Xerge, a small purple X-shaped alien from an unknown planet whose main abilities are levitation and a connection to his races' hive mind. He first appears in Ben 10,010.
- * Future Surge – An alternate version of Surge with a black body used by Ben 10,000.
- Chromastone – A Crystalsapien, a humanoid alien made of purple stone and magenta crystal from the planet Petropia whose main abilities are energy absorption and firing beams of a multi-colored ultraviolet energy. He first appears in Alien X-Tinction and is exclusive to Alien Force Ben.
- Big Chill – A Necrofriggian, a black and blue moth/butterfly-like humanoid from the ice planet Kylmyys whose main abilities are flight, cryokinesis, and intangibility. He first appears in Alien X-Tinction and is exclusive to Alien Force Ben.
- AmpFibian – An Amperi, a blue and white jellyfish-like humanoid from the gas planet Tesslos whose main abilities are electrokinesis, flexibility, and adaptability to any environment. He first appears in Alien X-Tinction and is exclusive to Ultimate Alien Ben.
- Ripjaws – A Piscciss Volann, a sea monster-like humanoid with the characteristics of an anglerfish, a piranha and a shark from the artificial ocean planet Piscciss whose main abilities are breathing underwater and possessing sharp teeth and claws. She first appears in Alien X-Tinction and is exclusive to Gwen 10.
- Bloxx – A Segmentasapien, a gorilla-like humanoid made of red, yellow, and blue building blocks from the "ghost planet" Polyominus whose main abilities are morphing his body into various shapes using his segments and shooting pieces of himself out of guns formed from his arms dubbed Bloxx-Lobbers. He first appears in Alien X-tinction and is exclusive to Ben Prime.
Villains
- Vilgax – A Chimera Sui Generis warlord and conqueror who tries to take the Omnitrix from Ben to take over the universe, but ends up stranded on Earth after his defeat by Ben in "Omni-Tricked", and later trapped in the Null Void in "Innervasion” by the High Override. He later escapes from the Null Void and attacks the Earth In Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie, which he is revealed to have helped create the Omnitrix with Azmuth and manipulated Kevin into creating the Antitrix. He is eventually defeated by Way Big and taken into galactic custody by Azmuth. Lowenthal previously voiced Ben Tennyson himself in Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse.
- The High Override – The villainous emperor of the Fulmini who first appears in the season two finale "Innervasion", before being defeated by Team Tennyson and sent in the Null Void.
- The Forever Knight – A mysterious armored knight who plots to alter the course of history and remove the presence of aliens from Earth. Over the course of Season 3, he recruits enemies of Team Tennyson to join his cause, including Kevin, Charmcaster, Billy Billions, Vin Ethanol, Simon Sez, and a delusional Ben. He is trapped across time by a redeemed Kevin as of "Roundabout", though his helmet escapes and gains sentience before being captured in "Cosplay Day".
- Xerge – A race of small purple X-shaped aliens who invade a future version of Earth before being defeated by Surge and his future self in Ben 10,010.
- Maurice – A human-headed cockroach who loves money and filth.
- * Sydney – A cockroach-headed human who is Maurice's henchman.
- Steam Smythe – A Victorian-themed man with a British accent who dislikes various elements of modern-day life, and often uses steampunk gadgets to attack.
- Hex – A powerful sorcerer who desires world domination. He wields a group of magical artifacts called the Charms of Bezel and a purple-and-gold-striped spellbook, the latter of which eventually falls into Charmcaster's possession.
- Doctor Animo – A mad scientist who desires to turn the world into a new age of evolution with his mind-controlled mutant animals.
- Zombozo – An evil clown who commonly uses mind tricks and hypnotism for his schemes.
- * Frightwig – A 10-year-old girl and circus freak with prehensile red hair and enhanced agility.
- * Acid Breath – A circus freak who can generate acid.
- * Thumbskull – A bald-headed muscular man with super strength and a nail-like growth on his head.
- Lagrange – An illegal racer with a heavy French accent who is typically seen driving a red race car. He first appears in "Drive You Crazy."
- Charmcaster – Gwen's rival and an apprentice magician who, unlike her original counterpart, is portrayed as a regular human carrying a spell book instead of a sorceress from another dimension.
- Billy Billions – A rich kid who loves to get his way. His weapons usually involve an assortment of high-tech robots.
- Solar and Polar Twain – Twin scientists who never get along with each other. Their plans for world domination usually have them plan to split it 50/50.
- Michael Morningstar – A teen actor from Gwen's favorite TV series, the "Un-Alivers", who turns out to be a vampire that feeds on the life force of his followers. In "The Charm Offensive", Charmcaster imprisons him in her spellbook as punishment for exploiting her.
- Xingo – An anthropomorphic purple fox who is Ben's favorite cartoon character and is not bound to normal physics.
- Lord Decibel – A sadistic DJ who can control sound and music.
- The Weatherheads — A group of emotionless alien robots who can manipulate various aspects of weather. In season 4, Sunny terminates the male Weatherheads after they fail her for the last time.
- * Gust-O — The leader of the trio, who wears a light blue tie and can manipulate wind.
- * Shock-O — The tallest and thinnest member of the group, who wears a yellow tie and can manipulate electricity.
- * Hail-O — The shortest and stumpiest of the trio, who wears a blue tie and can manipulate ice.
- * Sunny — The Weatherhead Trio's female superior, who can manipulate fire and seems to display more emotion than the three male Weatherheads combined.
- Null Void Inmates – Alien criminals imprisoned in the Null Void.
- * Ectonurite Prisoner – An Ectonurite, a ghost-like alien from perpetually the dark planet Anur Phaetos.
- * Opticoid Prisoner – An Opticoid, a bat-like humanoid with multiple eyes on his upper torso from the gelatinous planet Sightra.
- * Piscciss Volann Prisoner – A Null Void inmate from the same species as Ripjaws.
- * Vulpimancer Prisoner – A Vulpimancer, an orange sightless dog-like alien from the pitch-black planet Vulpin.
- * Loboan Prisoner – A Loboan, a werewolf-like alien from the moon Luna Lobo.
Antitrix aliens
Unlike the Omnitrix aliens they are modeled after, the Antitrix aliens are all voiced by Greg Cipes and sound just like their user Kevin. Meanwhile, Alien V and Anti-Vilgax are voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and sound just like their user Vilgax.- Quad Smack – Kevin's version of Four Arms, who is colored purple and has spiked red and black armor.
- Hot Shot – Kevin's version of Heatblast, who is significantly larger and has an olive green chest.
- Rush – Kevin's version of XLR8, who is colored green and has grayish-green armor.
- Crystalfist – Kevin's version of Diamondhead, who is made of purple crystal rather than teal.
- Wreckingbolt – Kevin's version of Cannonbolt, who has spiked armor plating.
- Bootleg – Kevin's version of Upgrade, who is colored blue and has a red eye and spiked armor.
- Dark Matter – Kevin's version of Grey Matter, who is significantly larger and can create fire with crystallizing properties.
- Undertow – Kevin's version of Overflow, who is bulkier and can generate green slime instead of water.
- Thornblade – Kevin's version of Wildvine, who has two thorny vines on his back instead of seeds.
- Skunkmoth – Kevin's version of Stinkfly, who is significantly larger and colored red with golden armor.
- Bashmouth – A wolf-like alien that seems to be Kevin's version of Rath, being able to generate metal.
- Alien V – A stronger version of Vilgax fused with Celestialsapien DNA, whose body is black with red outlines.
- Anti-Vilgax- A fusion of all of Kevin's aliens in Vilgax's body.
- Humungoraptor – Kevin's version of Humungousaur, who is red and Tyrannosaurus-like with golden armor on his arms. This alien is exclusive to Future Kevin.
Voice cast
Main
- Tara Strong as Ben / Glitch / Original Series Ben / Buzzshock / Charmcaster / Sally / Mrs. Billions / Upgrade / Amalgam Ben / Starshine / I.J. Crowling / Esther / Molecular Chef / Mary Jo Fourfeathers
- Yuri Lowenthal as Vilgax / Ben Prime / Alien Force Ben / Ultimate Alien Ben / Omniverse Ben / Elderly Ben / Gax / Michael Morningstar / Ectonurite Prisoner
- Montserrat Hernandez as Gwen / President Gwen / Ripjaws
- David Kaye as Grandpa Max / Shock Rock / Humungousaur / Azmuth / Alternate Max / Bloxx / Shock-O / Lagrange / Steve Lester / Mr. Billions / Melvin / Lord Decibel / Karl / Piscciss Volann Prisoner / A.I. Max
- John DiMaggio as Four Arms / Zombozo / Maurice / Thumbskull / Phil / Magg-O-Net Monster / Glamour Man / Harry / Loboan Prisoner / Secretary Zombozo / Future Maurice / Bobo Haha
- Daryl Sabara as Heatblast / Vulpimancer Prisoner / Rex Salazar
- Josh Keaton as XLR8 / Acid Breath / Sixsix / Shady Looking Dude / Ryan
- Roger Craig Smith as Diamondhead / Way Big / Forever Knight / Steam Smythe / Iron Kyle / Penny / Kyle / Bill / Napoleon / Cash / Dirty Dobs / Gill / Rocky / Sergeant Smythe
- Travis Willingham as Cannonbolt / Sydney / Tim Buktu / Kraab
- Greg Cipes as Stinkfly / Kevin / Quad Smack / Hot Shot / Bashmouth / Wreckingbolt / Thornblade / Undertow / Dark Matter / Crystalfist / Bootleg / Rush / Skunkmoth / Humungoraptor / Goatadactyl / Robot Mannequin / Samurai Chef
- Dee Bradley Baker as Rath / Jetray / Goop / Spidermonkey / Chromastone / Big Chill / AmpFibian / Oliver / Napoleon / Nugget / Slurpstack / Cadobbit / King Koil / Opticoid Prisoner
- Todd Haberkorn as Grey Matter / Slapback / Tetrax / Grey Arms
- Max Mittelman as Overflow / Todd / J.T.
- David Hornsby as Wildvine / Sewer Chef
- David Sobolov as Upgrade / Vin Ethanol
Additional voices
- Carlos Alazraqui as Chinzilla and Minitaur
- Ogie Banks as Ryan, Simon
- Eric Bauza as Gust-O
- Drake Bell as Michael Morningstar
- Jeff Bennett as Hail-O, Shock-O, Gust-O Madcow, Wolfen Sheep
- Keith David as Yawk
- Debi Derryberry as Simon
- Jessica DiCicco as Frightwig
- Robin Atkin Downes as Hex, General Hex
- Tom Kenny as Xingo
- Vanessa Marshall as Queen Bee, Woman
- Rob Paulsen as Bruce, Coach Keene
- Dwight Schultz as Dr. Animo, Admiral Animo
- Gunnar Sizemore as Billy Billions
- Cree Summer as Hippie Vendor/Shasta Fay, Captain Betts McCabe
- Fred Tatasciore as the High Override, Hydromanders, Bob, Boblins, Ben 10,000, Four Arms, Heatblast, Xerge, Surge
- Anna Vocino as Nanny Nightmare
- Audrey Wasilewski as Maxine
- Kath Soucie as the Malachi Sisters
- Kari Wahlgren as Quinn, the Malachi Sisters, and Lucky Girl
Production
Cartoon Network announced on June 8, 2015, that Ben 10 was to be relaunched with a new revival television series. In June 2016, the network began to release information about the show. Its sneak peek was released at the 2016 SDCC on July 21, 2016. The series had its world premiere on October 1, 2016, in Australia. In March 2017 at the Cartoon Network's 2017 Upfront, it was announced that the series would premiere in the United States on April 10, 2017, and that it would be possible to watch episodes of the series on the Cartoon Network app ahead of its television premiere.Building on the franchise about the kid hero Ben Tennyson, Ben 10 introduces a re-imagined Ben, his cousin Gwen, and Grandpa Max, as they travel the country during summer vacation. When Ben finds the Omnitrix, a mysterious watch that transforms him into 10 different aliens, a world of extraterrestrial superpowers opens up to him. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, the series is created and executively produced by Man of Action, with John Fang on board as supervising producer but also as executive producer. It is animated by Sunmin Image Pictures and Mua Film.
On May 22, 2017, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on February 19, 2018. On March 8, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on February 23, 2019. On January 10, 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on January 19, 2020.
On February 17, 2021, it was announced there would be three 44-minute specials.
Ratings
Despite receiving generally negative reviews from critics, in the United States, the series has been viewed by 41 million viewers across multiple platforms.In the EMEA, the series has reached more than 27 million viewers. It reached 1.2 million viewers and 9% of boys on CITV in the UK. It was watched by half of the boys in South Africa, Romania, Spain and Portugal, more than 30% of boys in Hungary, Poland, and Sweden, and has also received high ratings in France and Italy.
Other media
Printed media
In October 2017, Panini UK partnered with Cartoon Network and launched a magazine for the series with an original 8-page comic strip every month written by Jason Quinn with art by Russ Leach.Toys and merchandise
In June 2015, a toy line for the series was announced to be released in the fall of 2017 by Playmates Toys. It was released in the United States at Toys R Us in June 2017 and in all other retailers in August.In July 2017, toys were released by Playmates Toys, with Flair distributing them in the UK and Giochi Preziosi Group releasing them everywhere else in the EMEA. Cartoon Network has partnered with various licensing partners across the EMEA to release merchandise ranging from apparel to accessories to publishing.