User blog:Sclera1/Ben 10 series

Ben 10 is an American animated series 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. The pilot episode 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. Currently, the latest installment of the Ben 10 series will be titled, Ben 10: Evolutions.

Plot
Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Maxwell start their summer camping trip. Ben goes stomping off into the woods after another fight with Gwen, whom he is not happy to have along on the trip, and finds an alien pod on the ground. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device, called the Omnitrix, stored inside. The device attaches permanently to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms, each with their own unique powers, quite similar to DC Comics' Dial H for Hero comic. Although Ben realizes that he has a responsibility to help others with these new abilities at his disposal, he is not above a little superpowered mischief now and then. Along with Gwen and Max, Ben embarks on an adventure to fight evil, both extraterrestrial and earthly.

Omnitrix
The Omnitrix is the 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... and like I was somebody else."

The Omnitrix was originally created by Azmuth (a Galvan like Greymatter) to allow the people of the universe a way to literally "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, and the restriction of only ten accessible aliens. Even the Omnitrix's self destruct was a safeguard set in place by Azmuth. 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 form.

In the episode "Don't Drink the Water", Ben gets splashed by a pool of water from the Fountain of Youth, which transforms him to being back to age 4 again. This, unfortunately, also affects his aliens, making Fourarms 5 feet tall, Stinkfly becoming Stinkyfly, Wildmutt into Wildpup, and Heatblast having a 'meltdown'. This proves, along with Ben 10,000, that the age of the Omnitrix wearer affects the alien they transform into.

To date, only Ben has unlocked the master control only once by complete accident. This occurred during the Season 2 finale episode while messing around with the control dial, though to make sure Vilgax wouldn't have access to the Master Control, Ben zeroed out the Master Control, putting back into place all of Azmuth's safeguards.

In the episodes "Ben 10,000" and "Ken 10", Ben's alternate future self has managed to not only unlock the Master Control, but has access to only 10,000 aliens, instead of the 1,000,903 stored in it (which is every sentient life-form in the galaxy). Also, his Omnitrix's look has been altered somewhat, though it appears to still function the same. It also appears to have grown and transformed until it reached the top of his forearm. His alien forms also appear to have changed as Ben got older.

Prior to the episode "Ken 10", Ben managed to create another Omnitrix using his aliens Grey Matter, Brainstorm and Benvicktor. He gave this to his son Ken for his birthday during the said episode. However, Ben installed a limiter into his son's Omnitrix which prevented Ken from accessing the other alien forms. In the end of the episode he ultimately deactivates the limiter and unlocks the master control.

At some point in the years between the original series and Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben managed to remove the Omnitrix by an unknown but difficult process. When Ben puts it back on, the Omnitrix reconfigures into a more watch-like shape, and recalibrates itself along with the aliens available, giving Ben access to a new set of more powerful alien forms and a holographic alien display, rather than merely presenting the silhouettes of the aliens. Also, Ben has lost his previous alien transformations, although it keeps the powers and adds new ones; this is noted in "Ben 10 Returns", when he first uses the new Omnitrix and states that he doesn't recognize anyone in his selection, in "Everybody Talks About the Weather", when he told Alan Albright that he used to turn into Heatblast, and in "Pier Pressure" when he saw a Galvanic Mechomorph and told Julie that he used to be able to turn into Upgrade. Ben himself also retains any injuries suffered by his alien forms, although this has not been shown to be any significant problem as of yet. After the recalibration, the Omnitrix seems to grant Ben more stable control over its powers as seen in the first and the following episodes where Ben successfully transforms to his desired alien, switch between alien forms, and revert to his human form by will without the intervention of the ten minute auto time-out; though eventually its power will deplete and Ben will revert to his original state and cannot transform until the watch has fully recharged. In addition to the new functions that have been said, the new Omnitrix has the ability to repair genetic damage, such as that caused by DNAlien mutation. It uses a previously unseen speech function to inform Ben of this feature with a synthesized voice matching that of Ben's. Also, it appears that the new Omnitrix deactivated the pulse that is send off when someone tries to remove the Omnitrix from the host. In the original series, it was triggered twice: once by Kevin trying to remove it when he had absorbed energy from Fourarms, and again by Kevin and Vilgax when they used a device to remove it. However, when Ben's parents find out about the Omnitrix, his father tries to remove it, but the pulse doesn't activate. Kevin mentioned in one episode that the Omnitrix is equipped with a translation program, which explains why Ben was able to communicate and converse with the different alien species he has encountered so far.The Omnitrix also acts as an plumbers badge with bulitin commonucation with other badges, also a plumbers map.

In the Ben 10: Alien Force episode "War of the Worlds", it is revealed that the Omnitrix contains the DNA of every sentient species in the galaxy, totaling 1,000,903 (the 1,000,900 being the original samples Azmuth put it and the remaining three being Benviktor, Benmummy, and Benwolf,which Ben accidentally acquired from Ghostfreak's minions). He also accired Eon in the Ben 10 Race Agaianst Time movie, although they never mention it in the cartoon series. Azmuth likens it to Noah's Ark, in that it could restore any of those 1,000,903 species, should they ever become extinct. In the episode Good Copy, Bad Copy, Azmuth explained the consequences that if a second Omnitrix is created, and if it comes into close proximity with the other one, it will result in a cataclysmic explosion that would destroy the entire universe. Also, if the Omnitrix is hacked, it may result in some of the species within it escaping, as seen in "The Vengeance of Vilgax", when Kevin and Ben try to hack it, causing Spidermonkey, Way Big, Goop, and Chromastone to escape, though unlike Ghostfreak, who managed to retain intellect and motive, the escaped aliens operated and moved with no stable conscience or fixed motive. In the end, Ben managed to capture them all and restore them back into the Omnitrix.

TV movies
Two Ben 10 movies 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 movie was released with the movie 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.

Cartoon Network announced at their 2008 upfront that they are currently developing a sequel to Ben 10: Race Against Time. A teaser shown during the premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars showed it will be based on the Alien Force series. The film will be coming in November 2009.

Sequel series
Ben 10: Alien Force is the sequel to the show set five years after the original series. As an indirect result of this, this series is darker in tone compared to its predecessor. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 18, 2008. 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: Evolutions, is confirmed by Cartoon Network Upfront 2009 which will take place a year after Alien Force.

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 movies, 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.

Fusion Fall
Ben 10 appears in Cartoon Network's online MMO Fusion Fall. The character design for Ben Tennyson was redesigned 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.