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bahytarek · 5 years

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Ben Tennyson - Ben 10,000 - Ben 10K

Hero of Heroes - Wielder of the Omnitrix

Ben has been through a lot growing up. It all might seem glamorous, and sometimes it looks like fun but the truth is that this life isn't all perfect.

He's had many victories throughout his life. He defeated Vilgax, destroyed Zs'Skayr, made peace with the Highbreed, saved Galvan Mark II from a psychotic vengeful Galvanic Mechamorph, prevented the Incursean Empire from taking over the Earth, made other realities and dimensions a safer place, and created the entire Universe twice.

This man never stops doing what he does best, being a true hero. He spends most of his time saving the universe or stopping some crook. However big or small the problem, Ben risks his life and jumps ahead to save the day. We saw that sometimes, Ben does get hurt, even if he got hurt as an alien. Ben risks his physical health without even considering how bad things could get because he believes that if he doesn't step in, things could get worse, and can you blame him? People depend on Ben on a daily basis, and the job just gets harder and harder on him the older he gets, never really getting a chance to relax. Notice how I said job.

Ben started this life since he was 10, and took it as a game up until Vilgax threatened his family and showed him the risks of being a hero. Ben has spent most of his childhood as an outcast and as a target for bullying, the Omnitrix made him feel like he was worth something, like he was a hero. After defeating Vilgax for the first time, Ben still goofed off but knew deep down that there will come a time where he'll have to get serious.

Zs'Skayr is a complete psycho, instead of beating the snot out of Ben like Vilgax, he hit him where it really hurt, mentally. Zs'Skayr possessed Gwen and threatened Ben by making her stand on the ledge of a building, willing to commit suicide by jumping off. The next time Zs'Skayr attacked Ben's family, Ben was over protective of Gwen and Grandpa Max, he was scarred by his last encounter with Zs'Skayr. Gwen took it as him being cocky and selfish but the opposite is true, and for a 10 year old, Ben was completely brave.

In Secrets of the Omnitrix, Ben believed that Gwen was killed and completely blames himself, wishing it was him instead, a feeling that no 10 year old should feel.

Ben eventually unlocks Feedback, an alien he feels strongly attached to. During this time, he became enemies with a corrupted Galvanic Mechamorph named Malware. Malware eventually destroyed the Conductoid's DNA within the Omnitrix, making Feedback unaccessible. Ben loses for the first time, and in his rage he straight up murders Malware. I assume it was after that incident Ben removed the Omnitrix for 4 years.

Enter Alien Force. Ben wears the Omnitrix again because he fears for his Grandfather's life. This choice wasn't easy because it shows that he enjoyed being normal, but as soon as someone needed his help, he didn't hesitate to slam it on his wrist. He eventually becomes close friends with former enemy Kevin E.Levin.

Ben matured a lot during the first two season of Alien Force when he had to deal with the fact that his beloved Grandfather "died" and that he was in the middle of a Galactic War. After it ended and Max was revealed to be ok Ben managed to be happy again in season 3. Yet once again, Gwen mistakes this as him being cocky and wreckless, and even though he was a little cocky, Ben was just truly happy for once, and felt like a true hero again. At the end of Alien Force, Ben blew up the Omnitrix to stop Vilgax, proving that it's not the watch that makes him a hero. Ben doesn't feel this way though, and proceeds to take the Ultimatrix from Albedo.

In Ultimate Alien, Ben is now famous, not only across the stars, but on Earth as well. He has to deal with fame and criticism at the age of 16 while still trying to pass in his classes and save the Universe everyday. To a kid, this is a lot of pressure. In the beginning Ben seemed fine with it, but at some point it just seemed exhausting. Above all of this, his relationship with Julie, his girlfriend at the time, was rocky. She wished that he was there more but how could he? He's constantly trying to keep the Universe safe, he hardly even gets a good night's rest, and she expects him to be available? Again, the other characters make it look like it's all Ben's fault but the truth is, Ben can't do anything about it, despite the fact that he could turn into aliens, he's only human!

Ben eventually fails to save the 5 aliens that trusted him and then has to deal with the fact that his once best friend Kevin, is once again evil. It's up to Ben to stop him, it has to be him wheither he likes it or not, and this obviously hurt him, but he has no choice but to stop him, even if it meant to go to the extreme if the situation required. Because deep down, it's his fault, or so he thinks. He believes that maybe if he defeated Aggregor himself, if he was strong enough, Kevin would be ok. In the end it all worked out, but at what cost? Ben considered killing his friend, this will forever haunt him. He even willingly "sacrificed himself" to free all the Ultimate Aliens that blamed him for their imprisonment inside of the Ultimatrix, not because he had too, but because he wanted to. Freeing these creatures to him were far more important than his own life. At the end of Ultimate Alien, Ben gets the Ascalon and can now recreate the universe in anyway he wishes, destroy all evil, but he doesn't, he just fixes everything. Ben isn't arrogant or misuses his powers. Even though Ben can now control Alien X (or eventually) he wouldn't do anything extreme because he has limits, he knows right from wrong.

In Omniverse, Ben has gone through a lot. Gwen and Kevin left him behind, his only two real friends that could ever understand him in a way. He eventually gets close to his new plumber partner Rook Blonko. At some point, Ben recreated the Universe after it was destroyed and is the only one that remembers it's destruction. Even though he did something so heroic, he was forced to stand trial in front of the entire Universe for it. Not only that, but because of this one moment, another villain, Servantis, makes a hit squad to kill Ben just because he believes that Ben is too powerful to be trusted. Servantis also reveals Kevin as a sleeper agent. Ben again would blame himself for Kevin's turn but was more optimistic about saving him this time. Instead of trying to kill him, he just wanted to leave, regroup, and come up with a plan (he didn't know of course that Kevin was secretly good).

Ben was also forced to leave his friends and family behind on Earth thanks to the Incursean invasion. He was forced to deal with Malware, the alien that killed Feedback and mentally scarred Ben for years. He learns that in most realities he becomes evil. He temporarily died right before giving his Omnitrix to another Ben, but instead of being saddened by the fact that he's dying at such a young age, he gives advise to the other Ben to become a hero, to protect this Universe from monsters like Vilgax. Ben as a person has gone through so much growing up, and we got to watch him become a true hero, a hero of heroes. He mentored a younger alternate version of himself, he taught Rook how to be a hero instead of just being a plumber, he taught Kevin the importance of friendship, he inspired Gwen to become Lucky Girl and pursue magic, he motivated Grandpa Max to become a plumber once more. Literally everyone that gets close to Ben will have some kind of heroic trait because Ben shows them what it means to fight for others, to be selfless, to truly become a hero.

Ben knows about the man he'll become in the future, he's well aware that things will get harder and that he'll be a hero for ever. The pressure of knowing that he'll have to fill those shoes eventually must put some pressure on him sometimes.

We now know that at the age of 20, Ben becomes more serious and more of a loner. The reasons why are unknown, and the possibilities are endless. Maybe he blames himself for the loss of his Grandfather's arm or maybe he couldn't handle the fact that he was forced to throw Kevin into the Null Void again. Whatever the reason, Ben decides that it's for the best to do what he does on his own. Due to his history of almost losing his loved ones, it's easy to understand that at some point something happened that made him quit having a team. He'd rather die than see the ones close to him get hurt, but with this solitude and loneliness, he eventually became angrier and less sociable. We also learn that with the help of his master control, Ben used XLR8 to patrol the entire planet on a daily basis to stop any kind of crime from happening.

Ben no longer sees this as a game, it's his mission, it's the one thing he believes he's good for, being a hero. It's all anyone ever needed from him, it's all he thinks he needs to do. What's troubling how ever, is his loss of self. Ben got so comfortable with the idea of going hero all day 24/7, he no longer becomes Ben, because to him, Ben is just a weak human transformation. He no longer needs Ben, he's just the wielder of the Omnitrix, all that matters to him is being who people need him to be when he's needed, but not by being himself.

After the episode "Ben 10,000", Ben lightens up and begins to become the man he once was, one by one. In "Ken 10" he's happy, up untill he sees Kevin again, realising that he can't escape the mistakes of his past. This is when Ben reverts to his serious, more stubborn self, and pushes Ken, his son, aside to take Kevin down. Later when he sees Ken hurt, he loses his temper and demolishes Kevin as Waybig.

Four years later, we see that Kevin is better, angry, but better. Ben is still happily married with Kai (unlike Julie, Kai is also a hero, thus understanding the responsibilities and the pressure that Ben is under), Ken grew to be more of a hero, making his father proud, and Ben's life seems to be fine in a way.

Ben's life wasn't easy nor fun, but in the end, he has a group of loving family members and friends to support him when needed, and as long as they are by his side, he can learn to enjoy life and still be the hero the world needs him to be.

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