Gwen Tennyson (Classic)

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson is a Human/Anodite hybrid Plumber, the paternal first-cousin of Ben Tennyson, and (along with Kevin Levin) a frontline member of his team. Gwen was first introduced when her parents send her on a summer-long road trip with her Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben. She has, as Verdona refers to it, "The Spark".

Appearance
In the original series, Gwen had short hair held by a blue hair clip  light green eyes. As she has grown older, her red hair has grown longer and her eyes seem to have darkened.

In the series Ben 10, Gwen wore a blue shirt with a cat logo on her chest and white pants. Her lucky girl outfit is worn in Tough Luck and Lucky Girl.

In the first and second seasons of Alien Force, Gwen wears a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt, and black high heels. In the third season, she wears a red shirt paired with a black vest, gray pants, and black flats. Her hair is worn in a high ponytail. In Ultimate Alien, Gwen's outfit is similar to her outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force, but with a red shirt while her hair still is now slicked back in a ponytail.

In Inspector 13, Gwen is seen wearing tennis clothes.

In Omniverse, Gwen still has her ponytail but with a different style. She now wears clothes similar to her Alien Force seasons 1-2 outfit minus the leggings. She also now has freckles. 11 year old Gwen in Omniverse looks just like she did in the original series except that she has freckles.

Later on she has shorter hair, a light blue shirt with her cat logo on her shirt, a blue skirt and wears glasses.

Ben 10
In the original series, Gwen uses newspapers and her laptop to research any strange people and creatures they might come across. She is a capable gymnast and has had some training in martial arts.

In Ben 10,000, her alternate future self says she got her black belt years ago (probably referring to Alien Force) and it's come in handy many times. She has also shown an almost innate skill in using various complicated devices or objects, such as in the "What If?" episode Gwen 10, when Gwen gained the Omnitrix instead of Ben and proved to be far more adept in its use than he initially was, even being able to write her name with fire while Ben took a month to be able to do it (although she may be able to use it better because of her magical and Anodite powers because manipulating energy is natural for her).

She is depicted as snobbish due to her young girl attitude. Overall, her most notable skill is her innate, if latent, ability at magic. Having within her what Charmcaster calls a "magical aura", Gwen is capable of using various magical artifacts, charms, talismans and spells. When using the magical, luck-giving Charm of Bezel, she was able to activate it instinctively, whereas Hex did or could not. Later on, when she takes and uses his staff, she was able to make it fire a yellow-colored energy blast (according to Charmcaster), only someone of Hex's skill should have that ability.

Gwen starts tapping into magical powers when she procures a small book of spells from Charmcaster in the episode A Change of Face. On two occasions, Gwen uses the Charms of Bezel's incredible and unique powers and abilities to become a superhero by the name of "Lucky Girl". At first, her ability drew from the luck-granting, Charms of Bezel, which innately gave her perfect luck and the abilities and powers of probability manipulation. While wearing the charm, any action she took would result in a Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction benefiting her original intent, but usually injuring Ben in the process. She later brought back her superhero identity after obtaining the legendary Keystone of Bezel, which greatly strengthened and increased her natural abilities to super human levels rather than just affecting her luck. Both times, Gwen was forced to retire when the Charms of Bezel were destroyed. Gwen has also appeared to have two swimsuits; one which appeared in Divided We Stand and the other appeared in A Small Problem.

Ben 10: Alien Force
Gwen is now a black belt(taking classes in Karate), but tends to favor using her powers. She is capable of creating energy constructs for nearly any purpose, usually creating platforms to levitate herself (and others), beams to grab enemies, circular blasts to knock enemies back, projecting beams from her eyes that seem to simulate heat vision, and opening up interdimensional portals. In the episode Everybody Talks About the Weather, Kevin said she gets her powers and abilities from her alien bloodline, but she refused to believe him. Little did she know that she would realize he was right in What Are Little Girls Made Of.

Her powers and abilities are revealed to be of alien descent; her paternal grandmother, Verdona, is an energy being known as an Anodite; from the distant planet Anodyne, and surprisingly she seems to be the only human descendant who inherited Verdona's powers. Verdona tells Gwen that what she and others originally thought of as "magic" was actually the control of mana, a substance of magic-making Anodites; a magic-wielding race. Verdona offers to take Gwen to her home planet and train her in the immense mystical and magical ways of the Anodites, but Gwen prefers to remain on Earth with Ben and Kevin. She dislikes being called an "energy being", referring to her Anodite heritage as revealed in the episode Paradox. In the episode In Charm's Way, it's implied that highly gifted humans like Charmcaster can also be trained to utilize mana.

In Unearthed, an alien creature was able to see her as an Anodite, in which she looked exactly like her paternal grandmother's true form, but slightly shorter. In the two-part second season finale War of the Worlds when Kevin was threatened by a Highbreed Commander, she released her dormant innermost Anodite self for the first time, and easily defeated the commander with an exceedingly strong powerful burst of pure magenta-pink glowing energy. She was almost overwhelmed by her own power and wanted to defeat the Highbreed all on her own before Kevin snapped her out of it by saying " I can't lose you".

During the course of the series she has developed a romantic relationship with Kevin. They have also been shown to have arguments, usually starting with Gwen always trying to force Kevin to "ask her out" and him always answering "Don't push me" (which she once did).

In the episode Save the Last Dance, Gwen has a dance in her prep school and expects Kevin to ask her out. The episode ended with Gwen and Kevin dancing together in the moonlight. In the same episode, it was revealed that she liked yellow roses.

In the episode Fool's Gold, Kevin appeared to be avoiding her because he was ashamed of his recent mutation due to accidentally absorbing a massive feedback pulse as a result of trying to hack the Omnitrix. She was unaffected by the blast because she put an energy shield around herself. Kevin gave her a locket of the two of them when he was in his human form, asking her to remember him as he was. Gwen said she didn't care what he looks like, and he replied "Maybe not. But I do."

In the two-part third season premiere, Vengeance of Vilgax, Ben and Gwen seemed to have revived their infamous rivalry from the original series, in part due to Ben's cockiness and inflated ego. In the same episode, Gwen poured a smoothie over Ben's head, and he nearly returned the favor. Despite their rivalry, they both still have a strong bond, visible in the episode In Charm's Way, when Ben defended Gwen and informed Kevin that she had been spending all of her spare time trying to find a cure for Kevin's condition. It is shown in both Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2 and Inferno that Gwen suffers from both arachnophobia and claustrophobia.

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
In the sequel that takes place a few weeks later, Gwen is now sixteen years old. Her wardrobe has altered once again, wearing a combination of her outfits from Alien Force. She wears her old outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force, but instead of a plain dark blue shirt it is now dark red and she also keeps her high ponytail from the third season.

In Hit 'Em Where They Live, Zombozo and other villains teamed up to take revenge on the Tennysons and company, and kidnapped Ben's mom Sandra. Enraged, Gwen released her dormant, inner Anodite for the second time since, War of the Worlds:Part 2. Whilst Zombozo trembled with fear, Gwen began to grow to a huge height, promising that if one of his teammates (and other notable villains) even bumps into their families on the street, she would come for them. Petrified,Zombozo screamed off-screen and Gwen saved Sandra. When Kevin asked what happened to Zombozo she simply replied "We came to an understanding" whilst smiling.

In Video Games, she tries out for her driver's license, earning it in the end.

In the episode Hero Time, it is shown that Gwen gets very jealous when Jennifer Nocturne starts flirting with Kevin after he saved her life. Kevin also protected Jennifer a lot, over the course of the episode.

During her attempt to recover the first part of the Map of Infinity, she discovers it was hit by a poison dart and ends up fainting, causing Aggregor to catch the first fragment, but Kevin and Ben save her from near death.

In Reflected Glory, Gwen is comprehensive with JT and Cash. In the final part of the episode, Gwen is seen with her shirt torn and her hair disheveled, after she and Kevin face the RED's again. Gwen had the idea to use a mirror against RED's, and her powers apparently did not greatly affect the RED's.

In Deep, the group goes to the planet Piscciss to help Magister Pyke stop Aggregor. Gwen is caught by a squid-like creature, but Kevin revealed that he installed neuro-shock pulsers which can shoot lightning allowing Gwen to get free. When they reach the nucleus of the planet Piscciss an earthquake occurs, Gwen put an energy shield around them but failed to protect Magister Pyke, so she stays with him while Kevin and Ben go after the second part of the Map of Infinity. However, Aggregor arrived first and fled with the second part of the Map of Infinity after defeating Ben and Kevin. When the planet begins to crumble Ben as Goop saves the planet, re-constructing the lost water particles using Goop's artificial Gravity immobiliser. When Ben apparently dies, Gwen is devastated, but she sees that he survived, she feels immediate relief. At the end of the episode, Gwen consoles Kevin for having to leave the Little Fish in Piscciss.

In The Forge of Creation, Gwen travels with Ben and Kevin to stop Aggregor from absorbing a newborn Celestialsapien's powers. Young Ben comes along as Ben accidentally falls in the time barrier. Gwen, Kevin, and even Ben became annoyed with young Ben. However everyone eventually understands why Young Ben is so arrogant and cocky, when dealing with the pressure and the danger that could kill somebody, Gwen's first-cousin tends to joke around so he can be prepared to face anything. Unfortunately everyone was easily defeated by Aggregor, who seems to have won, but Kevin absorbed the immense energy of the Ultimatrix as a last resort, defeating him but becomes insane in the process.

In episode seventeen, ...Nor Iron Bars a Cage, Gwen and Ben travel to Incarcecon to warn the warden about Kevin. The warden would have been killed if it were not for Gwen, (who saved him from crash landing using a much stronger version of the "Turbo" spell.) Ben implies Kevin needs to be "put down", which shocks Gwen.

In The Enemy of My Enemy, Ben and Gwen are shown to be having difficulties. The two argue about Kevin while trying to locate a ship. On the way, they stumble upon Argit, who needed a place to hide from Kevin. They travel to the Plumber's Academy in the Rust Bucket 3 only to be attacked by Kevin. They barely succeeded in defeating him, and Gwen said she turned the air lock on to send Kevin falling because she understood he would kill them if he had the chance. After Argit preformed his orders, Kevin attacks the Plumber's Academy. Ben uses Ultimate Echo Echo to deal with the nuclear bomb while Kevin relentlessly attacked Argit. Gwen tells him to stop and to give himself up, but he knocks her down. Gwen remains there crying as Kevin spares her from his fatal blow, stating that she was only spared because of what she used to mean to him. Ben returns and the two have a conversation, Gwen says that they could still help Kevin, Ben replies that they cannot.

In Absolute Power, Gwen is more determined than ever to save Kevin. Ben disagrees with Gwen, opting to kill him now rather than a last resort. Gwen goes to Max hoping he will disagree about killing Kevin, but her grandfather confirms that killing Kevin is the right decision. Telling Gwen that if she disagrees, she should leave Ben to do it and not get in the way. Gwen leaves, disappointed and angry, ready to take desperate measures she confronts Michael Morningstar for help. Meanwhile, Ben goes off looking for Kevin, who's relentlessly going after anyone he thinks has betrayed him. Just as Kevin beats up Vulkanus, and begins to go after Ben, Gwen stops him, accompanied by Michael. Ben is infuriated by Gwen's alliance, but she makes a deal with Ben, and if her plan does not work, she would not bother him anymore in his decision. Gwen also admits that she promised Michael enough mana in return for his help that will keep him at full strength and power for one year, furthering Ben's anger toward her.

Michael explains he saved a part of the Dominus Librium which can be used to turn Kevin back to normal. But the machines and energy needed is only available at Los Soledad. In order to lead him there they need bait. Gwen suggests herself. Gwen goes to an abandoned arcade and confronts Kevin. He admits that he has been avoiding her so he will not absorb her energy, which he is desperately hungry for. They fight intensely, and Gwen tries talking some sense into Kevin. Unfortunately, this doesn't work and Kevin grabs a hold of Gwen and absorbs both her magical and Anodite powers, making her scream in pain. Gwen retaliates with a mega blast and escapes.

Michael and Ben travel with Gwen in the Rust Bucket 3 to Los Soledad, where Michael trapped Cooper to create a machine that could operate the Dominus Librium. Kevin goes to Gwen's house in search of more manna but finds Max. Another fight occurs, and just as Kevin is about to kill Max, Harvey, Kevin's step father, stops him. Ben appears after Kevin and Harvey's altercation and fights Kevin, yet again. They destroy the Rust Bucket at which point Gwen comes out. Kevin manages to disable Ben long enough so he can chase after Gwen. After a long chase, Ben returns and fights with Kevin once again.

Kevin defeats Ben, but little does he know that was all part of the plan. Gwen calls Cooper to tell him that Kevin will be there soon. Cooper tries to stall Kevin by using the weapons available at the military base, but Kevin dodges the missiles and approaches. Kevin and Ben fight with Ben no longer holding back. In anger he almost kills Kevin but Gwen stops him, as they could still bring him back. They finally set Kevin to the machine, and Kevin is healed from his third mutation.

Ben 10: Omniverse
After the events of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, sixteen-year old Gwen is seen with Ben and Kevin chasing Zombozo through Bellwood. Shortly after fighting and capturing Zombozo, Gwen says her goodbyes to Ben because she is heading to college since she took honor classes. She then tells Ben to stay out of trouble and gets into the car with Kevin (who also reveals that he will be staying with Gwen, but near campus), then the two drive off, leaving Ben to deal with Zombozo.

Gwen soon returns with a brand new look: Her redish-orange hair is cut short, she wears a light blue shirt with a dark blue cat's head on it and a light blue stripped miniskirt. She also wears blue sun glasses.

Ben 10, 000
In the third season premiere, Ben 10,000, thirty-year-old alternate future Gwen (who has been going by Gwendolyn since college) brought Gwen and Ben twenty years into the future during Grandpa Max's 80th birthday. Her hair is now short.

Ken 10
In the non-canon episode Ken 10, an astral projection of a 42 year old Gwen was seen during Ken's tenth birthday just to say happy birthday to him and gift him a stone monster. She also seems to have the five Charms of Bezel in her possession though for an unknown reason, she does not have the Lost Keystone of Bezel. Her hair is long and worn in a ponytail, much like Charmcaster. In both alternate futures Gwen has a close relationship with Ben and cares very much for him. In Ken 10, she is also seen behind him, saying he should let Ken have a chance.

Robot Chicken
Gwen Tennyson made an appearance in the fifth episode of the sixth season of Robot Chicken, "Hurtled from a Helicopter into a Speeding Train".

Possible Future
Future Gwen was mentioned by Ben 10,000 when he told the present Ben that he'd become president someday with Gwen taking his position and to eventually get a second term.

Powers and Abilities

 * See: Gwen Tennyson's Powers and Abilities

Personality
Her naive nature is toned down in Alien Force; she is now more analytical than before. Gwen is a quick thinker and an instinctive person. At times she trusts others too quickly, and that may disadvantage or even injure her, like in Too Hot To Handle. She can handle dangerous situations well despite their often unfavorable conditions. An example of this being when her magical powers were drained and Charmcaster hit her with a bolt of magical energy; she immediately reversed the spell and, though she had no power left, she was able to hold herself. Gwen is at times shown to be very concerned with the well-being of things around her, such as her surroundings, the people around her, and those she cares about. She is very strong (physically and mentally) and well mannered, despite her inflating sarcasm and ego at certain times. Gwen is a very caring, compassionate person, as shown by her acceptance of Kevin's past and recent action, as well as her statements she does not care about Kevin's appearance.

The episode It's Not Easy Being Gwen it shows that Gwen takes her education very seriously. She is shown to come home late at all hours of the night and wake up at 5:30 am in the morning. She is involved in many activities, such as jogging, practising French, and afterschool karate classes. It is presumed that Gwen goes to private school, since it's shown that her usual clothing is actually a uniform at her school.

Love Interests
See: Gwen Tennyson/Love Interests

Toys

 * 4" Lucky Girl (with Grey Matter)
 * 4" Gwen (Alien Force)
 * 4" Gwen (Anodite)
 * 4" Gwen (Ultimate Alien)
 * 4" Gwen (classic) (unreleased)

Video Games
Gwen appears in all three (store-bought) video games. In Ben 10: Alien Force The Video Game Gwen can shoot bolts, grab enemies and enable auto defense mode as well as float around for a small amount of time.
 * Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Playable only on Nintendo DS version, with a code) (Skin)
 * Ben 10: Alien Force The Video Game (Playable only on the Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, and Sony PSP versions on levels 3 and 8) (Regular Character)
 * Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks (Non-player character) (Regular Character)
 * Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex (only for Wii and Xbox 360) (Regular Character)
 * Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction (Non-player character) (Regular Character)
 * Punch Time Explosion and XL (Assist Character)

Trivia

 * In an early stage of the original series, Gwen was originally meant to be a classmate and friend of Ben rather than his cousin.
 * Her powers are similar to Raven, Starfire and Green Lantern's powers.
 * Gwen is the only Anodite shown to use magic.
 * In The Visitor and Inspector 13, it's shown that Gwen isn't too fond of Upchuck's power.
 * According to Ben, and proven by Gwen in Save the Last Dance, her favorite flowers are yellow roses.
 * In the original series episode Ghostfreaked Out, Gwen said she was a part of her school's Ju-Jitsu team, but in Alien Force, she says she does Tae Kwon Do. She has also mentioned competing in a karate tournament.
 * Gwen has a mini site on cartoonnetworkasia.com and cartoonnetwork.com.ph.
 * In Inferno, it is revealed that she is claustrophobic.
 * Gwen's DNA was sampled and randomized into the Unitrix creating Eunice.
 * In Prisoner Number 775 is Missing, Gwen yelled out Wildmutt's name for him since Ben can't talk as Wildmutt and seemed disappointed when she found out Ultimate Wildmutt could talk and therefore say his name himself.
 * According to Verdona in Girl Trouble, Gwen is Verdona's favorite grandchild.
 * In Omniverse, Gwen goes to college, and Kevin lives in the same area as her college.
 * Gwen's second new look in Omniverse is a resemblance to Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo! franchise.