History Characters / Ben10BenTennyson

->'''Portrayed by:''' Creator/GrahamPhillips ([[Film/Ben10RaceAgainstTime Race Against Time]]), [[Series/TeenWolf Ryan Kelley]] ([[Film/Ben10AlienSwarm Alien Swarm]])

** In "In Charm's Way," after Kevin spends the entire episode being a {{Jerkass}} to Gwen, believing that she hasn't even been trying to find a way to fix [[BalefulPolymorph his most recent mutation]], Ben chews him out over it, calling him a "giant rock-faced jerk" and not only informing him that Gwen has in fact been spending every spare moment since the accident occurred trying to find a cure for him, but also criticizing him for just automatically assuming that Gwen ''wasn't'' trying to help him in the first place.

* WouldHitAGirl: He has absolutely zero scruples over busting out Cannonbolt and then ''Gravattack'' on Attea and Eighteight in "Vilgax Must Croak".

** Amazingly, ''Omniverse'' placed this even further by flanderizing him ''again''. While he always was immature and obnoxious back in the original series, ''Omniverse'' flanderizes the younger, original series era Ben (who is presented as being 11 years old in the flashback sequences) through exaggerating his immature, bumbling, and obnoxious IdiotHero traits and taking them UpToEleven.

* TookALevelInJerkass: This happens to the younger, original series era Ben (who is 11 years old) in ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'', whose obnoxious BrattyHalfPint characterizations are taken UpToEleven compared to how he was back in the original series (when he was 10).

* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Taken UpToEleven in season 3 of ''Alien Force''. In ''Ultimate Alien'''s first season finale he cops to this. A special case in that there is no ResetButton.

* CharacterDevelopment: Not super emphasized, as he was still a bit of a butthead from beginning to end, but Ben at the start of the series is ''abhorrently'' selfish and focused entirely on inflating his own ego, even if he'll inevitably [[ChronicHeroSyndrome do the right thing to save others.]] Once he starts realizing the hard way that there can be some major consequences for some of his actions, he starts reining it in and learning that maybe he needed to think about more than just himself. By ''Alien Force'', however, he definitely developed into more of a mature hero.

-->'''[=XLR8=]:'''I wish I never found this stupid watch! ''(switches to Four Arms)'' I can't eat! ''(switches to Upgrade)'' I can't sleep. ''(switches to Stinkfly)'' I can't even be me anymore!"

'''Ben:''' "Well, when you've been in a game as long as I have..."\\

Villains premiering in: [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOriginalSeries The Original Series]] ([[Characters/Ben10Vilgax Vilgax]],[[Characters/Ben10Charmcaster Charmcaster]], [[Characters/Ben10ForeverKnights Forever Knights]]) | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsAlienForce Alien Force]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsUltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOmniverse Omniverse]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsSpecials The Specials]] | [[Characters/Ben10Villains2016Series The 2016 series]]\\

Villains premiering in: [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOriginalSeries The Original Series]] ([[Characters/Ben10Vilgax Vilgax]], [[Characters/Ben10ForeverKnights Forever Knights]]) | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsAlienForce Alien Force]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsUltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOmniverse Omniverse]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsSpecials The Specials]] | [[Characters/Ben10Villains2016Series The 2016 series]]\\

[[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ovben_6897.jpg]]

** He has a difficult learning curve when he ''just'' obtains a new alien, such as with Cannonbolt. It was downplayed for ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien'', with Ben figuring out how to use most of the aliens rather fast. ''Omniverse'' brings back the learning curve a bit, having problems with Bloxx and Gravattack at first (especially with the latter, due to the fact he had difficulties figuring out what Gravattack could do).

* AllYourPowersCombined: In the last episode of the first season, he uses Upgrade [[spoiler: on the Omnitrix, unlocking Master Control]] to fight Vilgax.
** Not quite "all", but in the last part of "Innervasion" he transforms into an amalgam of [[spoiler: Four Arms, [=XLR8=], Diamondhead and Heatblast ]].
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Despite meeting aliens, sorcerers, monsters and mutants every other day he can't take the idea of the Forgeti being real seriously.

* BosssUnfavoriteEmployee: Inverted. Ben subjects everyone to this during Roundabout. Because Forever Knight only really needed him and the other Squires were additional members he encountered while tracking Ben, he's the only one Forever Knight needs for the mission. Needless to say, Kevin, Billy and Charmcaster caught the GreenEyedMonster.

--> '''Ben:''' "Guys, guys. This guy clearly knows what he's doing, he made the right choice."
* CharacterDevelopment: In Season 2. After his meeting with [[KnightOfCerebus Vilgax]] in season 1, he starts acting more maturely with the Omnitrix, as well as doubting himself if he really deserves it.
* ConfusionFu: In "Omni-tricked: Part 4": at first it was due to a malfunction in the Omnitrix, causing him to switch randomly from alien to alien against his will. Later, [[spoiler: he used Upgrade on the Omnitrix to unlock Master Control.]] It was the only thing that gave him a fighting chance against Vilgax, who already easily defeated Ben in the previous episode.
-->'''Grey Matter:''' "Prepare yourself, brute, for even I do not know my next attack!"
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Downplayed: both the first two season's finales have him stopping some of the most feared creatures of the universe, but in both cases, he needed help from others and some kind of AllYourPowersCombined. Plus he didn't technically defeat them, more like stopped them from getting what they wanted.

--> '''Michael:''' "You have ''no'' idea who you're dealing with!"
--> '''Ben:''' "Top of my head? You're some kind of energy vampire that feeds off the worship of his fans. Aaand, a dork?"
--> '''Michael:''' ''(beat)'' "Wow, spot on."
--> '''Ben:''' "Well, when you've been in a game as long as I have..."
* IJustWantToBeNormal: He usually loves the Omnitrix, but in "Omni-Tricked" he lamented the fact that due to the device malfunctioning and making him jump from alien to alien, he couldn't eat, sleep and [[spoiler: was facing the real danger to never turn back to human]].
-->'''[=XLR8=]: '''I wish I never found this stupid watch! ''(switches to Four Arms)'' I can't eat! ''(switches to Upgrade)'' I can't sleep. ''(switches to Stinkfly)'' I can't even be me anymore!"

* SecretIdentity: Completely averted: he freely transforms in front of others and has never been recognized by bystanders. Nobody really makes a big deal of it.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: By unlocking Shock Rock and using him to power up his other aliens [[spoiler: he allowed the Fulmini Empire to start the invasion of Earth]].

[[folder:Alien Force & Ultimate Alien]]

[[folder:''Omniverse'']]

* AesopAmnesia: Around half of what he learnt over the course of the original series and the previous sequels have been completely forgotten in this iteration.

--> '''Ben:''' Three against one? I love those kinds of odds.

--> '''Ben (as Ditto):''' Three against one? No problem, when that one is Ben Tennyson.
* BelligerentSexualTension: He and Kai had this dynamic in "An American Benwolf in London."

* ChickMagnet: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "Rules of Engagement":
-->'''Julie:''' "Just how many girls are in your life?"
-->'''Ben:''' "At this point, I haven't got a clue!"

* CreateYourOwnVillain: "A New Dawn" has Ben's transformations [[spoiler: inspire a young Vilgax to develop an interest in obtaining the Omnitrix, meaning Ben was just as responsible for ''his'' ArchEnemy as he was for Ben.]]

* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:In "Showdown, Part 2", Ben is finally able to transform into Feedback again, five years after Malware destroyed the form.]]

* GenreSavvy: As Ben has had years of hero work by this point, he's very familiar with the tropes associated with his universe and adventures. It's to the point where he uses terms like "BigBad," and in "Rad Monster Party", he knows that his friends are being kidnapped and refers to it as a "horror movie trope". This trait is another one that contrasts him with [[SkilledButNaive Rook]], whose GenreBlindness gets them into trouble on more than a few occasions.
* HiddenDepths:

* InnocentlyInsensitive: Ben is honestly shocked when he learns that "Sludgepuppy" is a racial slur. This is because, despite having Lenopan family members, nobody said anything.
** Toes the line between this and NobleBigot when, despite Rook telling him how wrong it is, he constantly refers to the residence of Anur Transyl as "monsters."

* ItHasBeenAnHonor: [[spoiler:In "The Final Countdown", when it looked like they would die on the base via explosion, Rook tells this to Ben proudly. Ben just responds with a smile of his own.]]

* RedOniBlueOni: He’s the red to Rook's Blue.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: No matter how many times Rook points it out, he constantly refuses to acknowledge Ester has the hots for him and their relationship is more than JustFriends.

* UnwantedHarem: He gains one over the course of ''Omniverse'' to compensate for the fact that the writers decided to end the relationship between him and Julie in this series. At least four women develop feelings for Ben. Whether Julie is still part of the harem or not is yet to be seen, but they're still considered friends based on how her one ''Omniverse'' appearance went.
** Comes to a boil in “The Most Dangerous Game Show” when every girl Ben knows is summoned to compete for his love. Even when all his relatives are sent away, there's a crowd of women fighting for him even when some of them never expressed any interest in him and a few are already in committed relationships.

-->'''Kevin:''' [[JerkassRealization She... she never told me.]]\\

[[folder:''Alien Force'' & ''Ultimate Alien'']]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Even though he sometimes acts a bit egocentric and immature, Ben is still a nice, kind-hearted, and deeply altruistic guy. But push his BerserkButton, and you ''will'' regret it. Captain Nemesis, Aggregor and Discroll found out the hard way.
** This is especially visible in ''Ultimate Alien'', where it's shown at several points that Ben, when pushed too far, can become downright brutal. The whole point of the show seemed to have Ben struggling to not become a KnightTemplar.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: When his identity is outed by Jimmy in ''Ultimate Alien''. While it does mean he no longer has to live a double life nor hide things from people, it does also bring a large amount of pressure and unforeseen troubles. Near the end of the first season, Ben admits he wishes he had his anonymity back.
* CombatMedic: One of the Omnitrix's lesser known powers, revealed in ''Alien Force'', is its ability to repair the damaged DNA of other creatures near its owner. Ben used this to turn the [=DNAliens=] back into full human beings, and he also eventually used it on the Highbreed themselves to repair the damage they'd caused by centuries of inbreeding.

* JerkassHasAPoint: A case which verges on InformedWrongness. He's cited as being obnoxious since they ended the Highbreed invasion, which is a fairly understandable reason to feel cocky (which he even brings up); however, he doesn't claim sole credit for the victory, saying that ''they'' deserve to enjoy their success. Despite this, he's regarded by Gwen and Kevin as being naught but an arrogant douche.

* MidSeasonUpgrade: Ultimate Alien!Ben 10,000 gives Ben all of his locked aliens that he'd used up to that point along with some new ones in the middle of ''Ultimate Alien'''s second season. [[spoiler:He also brought back Swampfire and Waybig after the two were eroded into dust by Eon.]]

-->'''Ben''': I've had fun, but I always told myself that when the situation got serious, so would I.\\
'''Max''': I'm not going to argue with you, Ben. I just wanted to make sure you'd really thought about this.\\
'''Ben''': I have, Grandpa. I'm sorry about what's going to happen to Kevin. Really, I am. But this isn't kid stuff anymore. Playtime's over.
** Also, Ben has a habit of calling out his Alien names upon transformation. If he doesn't, Ben's done playing.
* {{Pride}}: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. By the first season finale of ''Ultimate Alien'', he outright states that he's grown tired of what comes along with his fame. In fact, the constant pestering due to his fame and the time it took up was revealed to be a major factor for his [[spoiler:relationship with Julie taking a big hit.]]

-->'''Kevin''': [[YouKeepTellingYourselfThat You go right on believing that, bud.]]
* WhatTheHellHero:

-->'''Kevin''': [[JerkassRealization She... she never told me.]]
-->'''Ben''': Should she have ''had'' to?

* BookDumb: Ben generally isn't portrayed as a very good student, though whether he actually is bad at it or just too lazy depends on the series.

* {{Flanderization}}: He underwent this when he appeared in an ''Ultimate Alien'' episode through the fact that he was somehow even less well behaved than he was back in the Original Series.

* HowDoIShotWeb: Ben initially had a hard time learning how to use the Omnitrix by his own, even causing his first transformation by accident. In the original series, he was able to activate the transformations, but would easily pick up the wrong alien and couldn't decide when he would turn back to normal, forcing him to wait for the time limit to be reached. By the time of ''Alien Force'', however, he has learned how to switch between aliens and turn back to normal of his own.

%%* TheMcCoy: His position in the team.
* MadnessMantra: He gets one in Secret of the Omnitrix [[spoiler: after Gwen "dies"]].

* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Played with & Zigzagged, the Feminine Boy to Gwen’ Masculine Girl.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Had a fear of clowns when he was younger. He got over it in [[MookHorrorShow one of the coolest ways imaginable]]. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, this fear relapsed in ''Omniverse'']].

* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: The reason for the BroughtDownToBadass entry below; starting with ''Alien Force'', Ben started learning some basic martial arts from Gwen, and apparently received basic Plumber training. As shown in "And Then There Were None", this is something all Bens (including No-Watch Ben) apparently have in common.
* BrilliantButLazy: It's hinted several times that Ben is smarter than his attitude would suggest; he has an almost photographic memory, shows resources to adapt when the Omnitrix gives him the wrong alien, and can get an extremely good grade when he is working seriously at school. Khyber even admitted at one point he was a "smart kid."
* BroughtDownToBadass: On occasions, Ben has been separated from the Omnitrix, unable to use it or merely staying in human form. His ten-year-old self was still shown to be quite good using high-tech weapons, and his teenage self has acceptable fighting skills, at one point displaying enough agility and reflexes to disarm Manny while still in human form.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "''Going Hero''" in the original series and "''It's Hero Time!''" ''Alien Force'' onwards. He also frequently says "''Aw Man!''" when a situation is bad or the Omnitrix gives him the wrong alien (usually Grey Matter).

* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler: In the finale of ''Ultimate Alien'', Azmuth finally admits Ben is worthy and gives him the final version of the Omnitrix.]]

* IdiotHero: DependingOnTheWriter; over the course of the franchise, he has been variably portrayed as truly stupid, only [[BrilliantButLazy perfectly capable of being smart but too immature to bother doing so most of the time]] or even sometimes as a borderline CloudCuckooLander. That being said, he has enough moments of cleverness to make his IdiotHero status an InformedAttribute.

* NewSuperPower: Gains new alien transformations on a fairly regular basis.

* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: He is a [[KidHero Kid]] SuperHero capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting into various [[AlienTropes Aliens]]. ''Alien Force'' also makes him a honorary member of the [[SpacePolice Plumbers]] and reveals he has some alien blood himself (though not enough to make him significantly different than a regular human).
* OneManArmy: Literally, as lampshaded in his dialogues with Alan:
-->'''Alan''': "I guess you're a monster too."
-->'''Ben''': "Technically, I'm a whole bunch of monsters."

* SuperpowerLottery: The Omnitrix provides Ben with the following abilities:
** VoluntaryShapeshifting[=/=]ComboPlatterPowers: His main ability provided by the Omnitrix is to turn into various alien creatures, each one with its own set of powers. He started out limited to ten forms (hence his surname), only to get more and more as the story goes on. By now, he is assumed to possess more than seventy forms.
*** [[spoiler:His future self has 10,000 alien forms unlocked, and according to Azmuth, the maximum unlockable alien forms in the ''Alien Force'' era was of more than one million.]]
** HealingHands: With the Omnitrix's genetic-repair function. Lost during the ''Ultimate Alien'' era due to the Ultimatrix lacking this function. It's unknown if the new Omnitrix got the function again.
** TranslatorMicrobes: According to WordOfGod, this is the reason he is able to communicate with most alien species he meets and be understandable even in alien forms that should logically not be able to talk human language. Some of them however, like Sixsix or Wildmutt, possess a language too complex or bizarre to be translated.
** MultiformBalance: With over 1,000,000 potential aliens with various powers, he could handle any imaginable situation. Theoretically, anyway, thanks to the Omnitrix's tendency to be uncooperative and his own reliance on the IndyPloy above planning.
*** Both Ben 10,000's have a variation of this. the original series/''Omniverse'' version have the Master Control and the Ultimate [=Ben10K=] is able to use the powers of all his aliens without changing his human form.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: As a teenager, he has a fondness for smoothies and to a minor extent chili fries. Ironically, ''Omniverse'' reveals he ''hated'' smoothies as a preteen before he gained a taste for them with age.

* TrueCompanions: Himself, Gwen and Grandpa Max in the original. Himself, Gwen and Kevin in ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien''. Himself and Rook in ''Omniverse''.
* TheUnchosenOne: He wasn't supposed to receive the Omnitrix (his grandpa was) and its creator initially considered him unworthy of such a powerful tool. He decided to be a hero anyway.

* WeaponOfChoice: Transformation, to be specific. Ben's go-to forms for most problems tend to be aliens that deal in [[TheBigGuy both superhuman size and strength]] like Fourarms, Humongousaur, and Rath. ''Omniverse'' introduces Feedback through [[FlashBack Flash Backs]] whom he uses almost exclusively [[spoiler:and ends up [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructing]] this reliance on specific aliens.]]

* YouAreNotAlone: In ''Alien Force'', Grandpa Max tells him that Ben cannot go about being a hero alone, and that he needs to put together a team.
** [[spoiler:This is eventually defied in the episode "Of Predators And Prey: Part 1", where Ben dumps Rook as a partner. To make matters worse, he gets captured by Khyber in the end. Then it's revealed that Ben and Rook planned this all along and only ''pretended'' to argue with one another (although Rook didn't catch that part when he went into his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech)]].

-->'''Gwen''': What about all those times you saved Grandpa? Or me? Or lots of other people when you weren't an alien? You're still a hero, even if you can't ''go'' hero!

* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Played with & Zigzagged, for him & Gwen.

Villains premiering in: [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOriginalSeries The Original Series]] ([[Characters/Ben10Vilgax Vilgax]]) | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsAlienForce Alien Force]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsUltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOmniverse Omniverse]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsSpecials The Specials]] | [[Characters/Ben10Villains2016Series The 2016 series]]\\

* GenreSavvy: Uses terms like BigBad, and in "Rad Monster Party", he knows that his friends are being kidnapped and refers to it as a "horror movie trope".

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Frequently, but "A New Dawn" has Ben's transformations [[spoiler: inspire a young Vilgax to develop an interest in obtaining the Omnitrix, making Ben indirectly responsible for everything Vilgax has done as an intergalactic warlord.]]

* ScreamsLikeaLittleGirl: He occasionally does this in ''Omniverse''.

->'''Portrayed by:''' [[Series/{{Riverdale}} Graham Phillips]] ([[Film/Ben10RaceAgainstTime Race Against Time]]), [[Series/TeenWolf Ryan Kelley]] ([[Film/Ben10AlienSwarm Alien Swarm]])

Villains premiering in: [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOriginalSeries The Original Series]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsAlienForce Alien Force]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsUltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsOmniverse Omniverse]] | [[Characters/Ben10VillainsSpecials The Specials]] | [[Characters/Ben10Villains2016Series The 2016 series]]\\

* TheMcCoy: His position in the team.

* TheKirk: To Kevin's McCoy and Gwen's Spock. Ben tends to temper his impulses with more rational thinking as he's gotten older.