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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. Most of the productions are animated, but some have been live action. The franchise is about a boy who acquires a watch-like alien device attached to his wrist that allows him to turn into alien creatures.

The pilot episode of the original series, named Ben 10 aired on December 27, 2005, as part of a sneak peek 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. The theme song for the show was written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Moxy. In April 2008, Ben 10 was succeeded by Ben 10: Alien Force, which itself was succeeded in April 2010 by Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.

Plot

When ten year old Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Max are on their summer camping trip, Ben finds an alien pod on the ground. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device called the Omnitrix. The device attaches itself permanently to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms, each with its own unique powers. Although Ben soon realizes that he has a responsibility to help others with these new abilities at his disposal, he is not above a little super-powered mischief every now and then. Along with Gwen and Grandpa Max Ben embarks on a summer-long adventure to fight evil, both extraterrestrial and earthly.

Sequel series

Ben 10: Alien Force is the sequel to the show set five years after the original series. As an indirect result, this series is darker in tone compared to its predecessor. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 18, 2008 and ended on March 26, 2010. It has since been premiered in Canada, on Teletoon. A video game of the show is now out for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

Another sequel series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien premiered on April 23, 2010 and takes place 3–4 weeks after the finale of Alien Force.

Omnitrix

The Omnitrix is a mysterious watch-like alien device that allows the user to transform into various alien forms by combining the DNA of the selected alien with the user's own DNA, effectively turning them into the alien species the user has selected. The alien form is selected by unlocking the control dial, turning the control dial to the desired alien species which is displayed on the Omnitrix's display, then pressing the control dial back into place completing the transformation. The alien DNA also seems to contain some aspects of the original aliens' personality; when questioned how it felt to be an alien, Ben described it as follows: "It kinda freaked me out at first. It was like I was me...but it was also like I was somebody else."

The Omnitrix was originally created by Azmuth to allow the people of the universe a way to "walk in someone else's shoes". However, many beings saw the Omnitrix's abilities as something that could be used as a powerful weapon—,most prominently the villain Vilgax who claims it to be the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Fearing that people might misuse the Omnitrix for this very reason, Azmuth put several safeguards in place to ensure that whoever used the Omnitrix would not have full access to its powers. Several of these safeguards include transforming into an alien different from the one that is selected on the control dial, the ten minute auto time-out, the restriction of only ten accessible aliens, and a self-destruct mechanism. However, these safeguards are disabled once the Master Control for the Omnitrix is unlocked, which is apparently done by a random combination of selections on the control dial. Once the Master Control is unlocked, the user can stay in their alien form indefinitely and is also able to switch between alien forms at will just by thinking about it, speaking the name its user has given any alien, or turning the badge with the Omnitrix insignia on it.

In addition to the aliens that were pre-programmed into the Omnitrix's DNA sequencer by Azmuth, the Omnitrix also possess the ability to absorb DNA samples from other alien species by simply coming into contact with them, effectively downloading a DNA sample and allowing access to that alien form.

TV films

Three Ben 10 films have been released at different times during 2007 and 2008. The first is a regular animated feature called Secret of the Omnitrix, in which the Omnitrix is accidentally set to self-destruct and Ben must track down its creator to stop it. 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." A different version of Secrets 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 20, 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 which aired November 21, 2007. The plot presumably takes place before Goodbye and Good Riddance, 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. Winter stated at the 2007 upfront presentation that he wanted "this thing to look like X-Men," an epic adventure that will be "more cinematic than cartoony" and appeal to all ages. Production on the film finished in October and premiered November 21, 2007. "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" a sequel to Race Against Time premiered November 25, 2009.

Protector of Earth

This is the first Ben 10 video game, released in Autumn 2007.

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 books, action figures, card games such as Top Trumps, toys, video games - notably Ben 10: Protector of Earth, bedding, and footwear.

FusionFall

Ben 10 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 that can only be used with certain guides.

See also

• Ben 10: Race Against Time
• Ben 10: Protector of Earth
• Ben 10: Alien Force
• Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
• Ben 10 (toy line)
• Lego Ben 10

References

1. "Moxy Music". Retrieved 2007-05-20.
2. Ben 10: Alien Force at Cartoon Network
3. Ben 10: Alien Force Game at GameSpot
4. "Animation News from the 2009 Cartoon Network Upfront (UPDATED 12:57 PM with images)- Animation News Discussion Cartoon Community - toonzone news". News.toonzone.net. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
5. "And Then There Were 10"
6. ^ "CN Upfront: "Ben 10" Live Action and Animated Movies In Production-UPDATED". Retrieved 2007-10-25.
7. "TZ @ SDCC: 3 Versions of "Ben 10" Animated Movie, Plot of Live Action Movie (Updated)". Retrieved 2007-10-25.
8. "CN Upfront: 2007 Overview". Retrieved 2007-10-25.

• Ben 10
• 2000s American animated television series
• American science fiction television series
• Cartoon Network original programs
• Child superheroes
• English-language television series
• Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios series and characters
• Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios superheroes
• Shapeshifting in fiction
• Superhero television programs