Azmuth (Classic)

Azmuth is a character in the Ben 10 series.

History
Creator of the Omnitrix and Primus and the leader of the DNA Force Group. The DNA Force Group are guardians of the Omnitrix that work to prevent its powers from falling into the wrong hands(such as Vilgax's). Azmuth(voiced by Robert David Hall) is a Galvan, the same species as Grey Matter(who appears in Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix). Azmuth's scientific prowess and achievements have made him a respected scientist even to the other Galvan. Paradox has even called him the smartest being in the universe. Azmuth demures, and says he is the smartest being in three galaxies(arguably five galaxies). He is also a trusted advisor among The Plumbers.

Azmuth is very pessimistic, unwilling to shut down the Omnitrix's self-destruct at first, despite it meaning the destruction of the universe(including him), simply because he didn't believe the universe to be worth saving. This is because he invented the Omnitrix so the aliens of the universe would have a better understanding of each other, but people like Vilgax only wanted to use it as a weapon of war. In Alien Force, Azmuth has become less pesimistic and more serious, showing a no-nonsense personality in War of the Worlds.

He's also very paranoid, evidenced by his creation of the Omnitix's self-destruct system and the great pains he takes to hide his world from the rest of the universe. However, he lightens up and repairs the Omnitrix for Ben, unlocking a new alien form, Way Big in the process. He abandons Xenon after it is attacked, taking his assistant Myaxx with him. Azmuth seems to be quite old, as he has a beard and walks with a cane. He has a mustache too.

Azmuth returned in Ben 10: Alien Force in Good Copy, Bad Copy. He revealed that Albedo used to be another of his assistants and he came to retrieve the Omnitrix copy created by Albedo. Azmuth states that only one Omnitrix is allowed in the universe(though later on, Azmuth is revealed to have created a second one, the Ultimatrix, himself).

In the Season 3 premiere, The Vengeance of Vilgax, when Ben and Kevin try to hack the Omnitrix, Azmuth contacts him telling him not to tamper with it, stating that he will learn the Master Control when the time is right. When an accident unleashes Chromastone, Goop, Spidermonkey, and Way Big from the Omnitrix, Azmuth instructs Ben to reabsorb the alien forms into the Omnitrix. Dissatisfied at what happened, Azmuth also tells Ben that he won't help him again.

In Primus, Azmuth briefly wields the Omnitrix in order to protect planet Primus from Vilgax, but is defeated and Vilgax takes the Omnitrix from him. Azmuth himself contributes his defeat to his "skills being a little rusty". He is saved by Ben who mannages to trick Vilgax by showing him how to use the Omnitrix. Ben gets Vilgax to transform into Goop allowing Ben to get the upper hand & remove the Omnitrix from Vilgax. After Vilgax is defeated, Ben asks Azmuth if this makes up for damaging the Omnitrix to which Azmuth says "No", but he allows him to keep it anyway.

Azmuth reappears in both halves of The Final Battle: Part 1 Myaxx informs him that the only item stolen during a break in the previous night was his latest pet project the Ultimatrix Myaxx also shows security footage of Ben or someone who looks exactly like him stealing the Ultimatrix, Albedo, to which Azmuth replied "No! Not him! Anyone but him!". In the later half of the episode, Azmuth answers Ben's plead for help. He explains to Ben that the Omnitrix was originally meant for Max. When Ben says he let Azmuth down, he agrees. Azmuth tells Ben that "winning isn't so easy without the Omnitrix" making Ben realize that the only way to defeat Vilgax would be to destroy the Omnitrix. In the end, Ben gets the Ultimatrix as a replacement.

Abilities
Being a Galvan, Azmuth is super-intelligent, despite his small size. Along with his intelligence Azmuth is gifted with years of experience and knowlegde gained thanks to his age. Azmuth is a skilled inventor having created numerous inventions among them being his greatest inventions being the Omnitrix & its successor the Ultimatrix. He also created a high tech suit of armor(which he was seen using in his first appearence in Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix). He's considered in the Ben 10 Universe as the smartest being in the galaxy.

Because he created the Omnitrix he knows all about its functions & its secrets. In "Primus", Azmuth briefly uses the Omnitrix himself to fight Vilgax. Despite being its creator, Azmuth has been shown to the Omnitrix much less skillfully than Ben Tennyson. Azmuth attributes this to his "skills being a little rusty".

Inventions

 * Omnitrix - His greatest invention. Self-destructed in The Final Battle: Part 2
 * Ultimatrix - The successor of the Omnitrix. Azmuth was unable to complete it was completed by his former assistant Albedo completed it in The Final Battle: Part 1.
 * Codon Stream - The Omnitrix/Ultimatrix DNA database.
 * Voliticus Biopsis - They are mosquito-like creatures created by Azmuth to collect DNA from aliens for the Codon Stream. They live on Primus.
 * Primus - A planet created by Azmuth which contains the Codon Stream.

Trivia

 * Azmuth's name may be a nod to Isaac Asimov, an American author and professor of biochemistry best known for his works of science fiction. Aliens, space travel, robots, and various extraterrestrial themes are featured in his stories, though it's more likely a reference to the directional term "azimuth", which means towards a direction or object.
 * It was confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie that he was based on "Azimuth"
 * In Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, the loops on his shoulders were golden. However in Alien Force, they've changed from gold to silver loops. His moustache has also grown longer.
 * Though Azmuth is the creator of the Omnitrix and would know the most about it, he is actually not a good fighter with it. During the brief time he had it and was protecting it from Vilgax, he became Rath, one of Ben's stronger aliens, but was easily defeated. The fact that he was fighting Vilgax and that his older age and lack of battle experience most likely did not help him either. Azmuth even admits Ben has come up with ways to use the Omnitrix and its aliens in ways he would never imagine.
 * Azmuth has changed slightly in personality between Ben 10 and Alien Force. Originally, he was more selfish and kept to himself(not even letting Myaxx see the real him, as he continually wore a robotic suit of armor he controlled from inside), willing to let the galaxy be destroyed with the Omnitrix's destruction if it meant people like Vilgax would leave him alone once and for all. He only undid the countdown and repaired the Omnitrix, releasing Way Big's DNA to help Ben, when Ben was willing to fight Vilgax despite the desperate situation. In Alien Force, Azmuth became less reclusive and more of a mentor to Ben, though it was more to warn him about messing with the Omnitrix. He would still insult Ben at times, but he was willing to leave hints for Ben to figure out about the Omnitrix. Noticibly, the change of his voice actors also gave a change to his matter of speaking. Originally, Azmuth talked more like a very intelligent know it all that would talk down to everyone. His second voice actor gave him a more elderly and wise sage matter of speaking, albeit insulting at times.
 * Despite being a Galvan, it seems Azmuth perfers open spaces away from technology outside his lab and major cities. His original base was on an uninhabited wasteland planet surrounded by cloaked asteroids. In Alien Force, Azmuth shown a liking for Earth's forests, commenting on how much he liked the weather(noting it was raining and he was holding out his arms to it)
 * Azmuth seems to have a tendecy to make his students resent him and often act out against him. Myaxx wiped out his genetic signiture on the Omnitrix to replace it with her own out of sheer spite(though it would help her later escape from Incarceron when Ben, Gwen, and Tetrax followed it there, mistaking her for the creator). Albedo made his own Omnitrix simply outdo Azmuth, who he considered a liar and a know it all. However, while Myaxx eventually returned to Azmuth's assistance willingly, Albedo was punished for not only trying to make something that was too dangerous, but for attacking Ben and his friends. Azmuth removed Albedo's Omnitrix, trapping him in Ben's form, that had now become altered to look different from the original, and had him sent to a galatic prison(which he would later escape from)
 * Azmuth apparently knew Max back in his youth, though it was unknown if personally or by reputation. He planned to give Max the Omnitrix, considering him the only person who could be trusted with it, but it accidently ended up in Ben's hands. It strapped itself to Ben simply because their DNA was close enough to be accepted. Though he had intended to take the Omnitrix from Ben, Max convinced him to let Ben keep it. It would appear he has alot of respect for Max Tennyson(calling him the Greatest Plumber in the Milky Way Galaxy).
 * It is confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie that Azmuth did not use his DNA for Grey Matter.
 * It is confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie that Azmuth only found Ben in the woods in The Final Battle: Part 2 because he started looking for him when the Ultimatrix core was stolen.
 * Galvan's share an odd resemblance of a frog/toad.
 * Azmuth's voice went from being high pitched(like Grey Matter) to a normal voice.
 * Azmuth has some resemblance to Yoda from Star Wars, one example is Azmuth motivating Ben, as Yoda motivates Jedi.