Gwen Tennyson (Classic)

Gwendolyn Tennyson, known simply as Gwen, is Ben's cousin and a main character in every series. Gwen was first introduced in the episode And Then There Were 10, when her parents send her on a summer-long trip with her Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben. Like Ben, she is a Human/Anodite hybrid, but unlike her father, uncle, brother or cousin, she has, as her Grandmother refers to it; "The Spark". Gwen has appeared in every single episode except for Above and Beyond.

Appearance
Gwen has red hair and green eyes (in Alien Force eyes and hair appear to be darker, although her skin tone looks lighter). In the original series she wears a blue long sleeved shirt with a cat on it, white pants, and white shoes. Lucky girl costume is worn twice and 2 swimsuits were worn.

In Seasons 1 and 2 of Alien Force she wears a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt, and black high heels. During Season 3, she wears a red shirt paired with a black vest, gray skinny jeans, and black flats. Her hair is worn in a ponytail. She also apears with 3 swimsuits and a karate gi. Her Lucky Girl outfit is also seen in Alien Force.

In Ultimate Alien, her outfit is similar to her outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force, but with a red sweater while her hair still is styled in a ponytail.

Ben 10
In the original series, Gwen uses 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 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 powers). She is depicted as snobbish and very mean 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 her 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 Charm 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 superhuman levels rather than just affecting her luck. Both times, Gwen was forced to retire when the Charms of Bezel were destroyed.

Gwen has shown 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 Ben 10,000, her future self is able to create time portals. She also has a wide range of other loosely defined supernatural abilities, such as dowsing, limited telepathy, and clairvoyance. In the episode Everybody Talks About the Weather, Kevin says she gets her powers and abilities from her alien bloodline, but she refuses to believe him. Little does 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 grandmother, Verdona, is an energy being known as an Anodite 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 manipulation 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 mystical and magical ways of the Anodites, but Gwen prefers to remain on Earth with Ben and Kevin. She hates being called an "energy being", referring to her Anodite heritage. In the episode, In Charm's Way, it's implied that highly gifted humans like Charmcaster can also be trained to utilize mana.

In episode eleven of the second season, Unearthed, an alien creature is able to see her as an Anodite, in which she looks exactly like her grandmother's true form, but slightly shorter. In the two-part season two finale War of the Worlds when Kevin was threatened by a Highbreed commander, she assumes her dormant Anodite form for the first time and easily defeats the commander with an exceedingly strong powerful burst of pure magenta-pink glowing energy. She was almost overwhelmed by her own power before Kevin snaps her out of it.

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 Fool's Gold, Kevin appears to be avoiding her because he is 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 gives her a locket of the two of them when he was in his human form, asking her to remember him as he was. Gwen says she doesn't care what he looks like, and he replies "But I do."

In the two-part season three premiere, Vengeance of Vilgax, Ben and Gwen seem 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 pours a smoothie over Ben's head, and he nearly returns the favor. Despite their rivalry, they both still have a strong bond, visible in the episode In Charm's Way, when Ben defends Gwen and informs Kevin that she has 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, respectively, that Gwen suffers from both arachnophobia and claustrophobia.

Unlike the original series, Gwen has worn other costumes besides her usual clothing. In the episode Time Heals, it was revealed that Gwen kept her Lucky Girl costume. In What Are Little Girls Made Of?, Gwen is shown to have a white bikini. In In Charm's Way, she has a black bikini. In The Con of Rath she is shown wearing another one piece black swimsuit, pink flipflops, a hat, sunglasses, and a pink towel skirt. She also has a karate suit. In Save the Last Dance, Gwen was seen wearing a white strapless prom dress. She has kept and worn her Lucky Girl costume (which is now bigger and has a utility belt in place of the sash in the original series), with Gwen being fifteen.

Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
In the sequel that takes place one year 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 Video Games, she tries out for her driver's license and earned it in the end. In the early episodes of the series Gwen and Kevin seems to be bickering constantly. Gwen's magenta-purple shields look less see through and have a different design than in Alien Force, perhaps the color intensifies as she grew stronger evident in latter episodes where she advanced her powers. In Andreas’ Fault, a little on going joke takes place when Kevin says he loves money more than anything in the world(apparently more than Gwen). Despite doing everything he can to make it up to her, she keeps saying it. Gwen's comment "Why don't you get your money to help you?" But they eventually made up. 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, and he seems to be enjoying it very much. Kevin also protected Jennifer alot, for example; When Overlord shot an energy blast at them Kevin put his arms around Jennifer to protect her from the blow, even though Gwen put up a magenta-pink shield around them. She eventually lost her temper and threatened Jennifer that she would "peel her like a grape" if she made another move on Kevin.

Ben 10,000


In the third season premiere, Ben 10,000, thirty-year-old 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 cut.

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. She also seems to have the five Charms of Bezel in her possession though for an unknown reason, she does not have the Keystone of Bezel.

Many people agree that the future would have changed from the ideas featured in the original series episodes Ben 10,000 and Ken 10 because of the changes in the new series' episodes.

Mana/Energy Control and Manipulation
Gwen is descended from a free-spirited alien race known as Anodites from the distant planet Anodyne. These aliens have the incredible incomprehensible power and ability to manipulate and control life energy more commonly known as Mana.

In the episode What Are Little Girls Made Of?, Gwen's magical powers and abilities are revealed to be of alien ancestry inherited from her paternal grandmother Verdona, a member of a free-spirited alien race of pure energy beings known as Anodites, from the distant planet Anodyne. Verdona tells Gwen that, like herself, Gwen is also an Anodite; she has "the spark" and thus is able to freely manipulate and control mana, the Force-like life energy that is present in all living beings throughout the universe. Verdona offered to take Gwen back with her to Anodyne and teach her how to fully control her powers and abilities (which would require seventy-five years), but Gwen prefers to remain on Earth with Ben and Kevin. Gwen is able to create magenta-purple platforms, portals, beams, blasts, telekinesis, telepathy, dowsing, and limited clairvoyance.

In the two-part season two finale War of the Worlds when Kevin's life was threatened by a Highbreed commander, an enraged Gwen unleashes her dormant inner Anodite self for the first time and easily defeats the commander in mere seconds with an exceedingly strong and powerful blast of pure magenta-pink glowing energy. Kevin begs her to try to shut it down but she refuses, saying that she thinks she can defeat the entire Highbreed fleet all by herself. Kevin reminds her that her paternal grandmother said that it would take at least seventy-five years for her to fully master her powers and abilities though Gwen argues that they do not have seventy-five years. Kevin further argues by saying that she will lose her humanity entirely, that she will not remember him or Ben, and tells her that Ben will find another way to win and wants her to come back to him because he cannot bear to lose her. Gwen then reverts back to her human form and embraces Kevin. In episode three of Ultimate Alien, Hit 'Em Where They Live, when Zombozo threatens to make Ben suffer by endangering his mother Sandra, a furious Gwen unleashes her inner Anodite self for the second time since the two-part episode "War of the Worlds" and shows that she can grow to huge heights. It is unknown if Gwen can use this power and ability in her human form.Though this time she appears to have gained some control over the transformation as she does not appear to be overwhelmed by all of that power like the first time.This could' 'mean that every time Gwen unleashes her inner Anodite self she will gain more and more control over the transformation until she is able to control it entirely, meaning that she will be able to switch between both her human and Anodite forms at will. Gwen seems to only unleash her inner Anodite self when she is under a great deal emotional anger or rage.

In the episode Fused it is shown that Gwen can trap enemies in unusually strong and powerful impenetrable electric spheres of magenta-purple glowing energy just like her grandmother Verdona can, meaning that Gwen's innate Anodite powers and abilities become stronger and even more powerful with the passing years.

Spells/Magic
Gwen is seen using magic through reciting spells, thus enabling her to use various magical powers and abilities.

In the original series all of Gwen's spells are said out loud to activate her powers, but in Ben 10: Alien Force, most of her spells are said mentally.

On two occasions, Gwen used the five Charms of Bezel to become a super heroine by the name of Lucky Girl. At first, her power and ability drew from the luck-granting Charm of Bezel, which innately gave her complete and perfect luck. While wearing the charm, any action she took would result in an Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction benefiting her original intent, but usually injuring Ben in the process (probably because this was part of her intent). She later brought back her superhero identity in the episode Tough Luck after obtaining the legendary lost Keystone of Bezel, which greatly increased and heightened her natural abilities to superhuman levels rather than just affecting her luck. Both times, Gwen was forced to retire when the Charms of Bezel were destroyed.

Five years later in Ben 10: Alien Force, despite fifteen-year-old Gwen's current preference for direct forms of mana-manipulation-and-control, she is still able to use magic in the more traditional sense. It was later revealed that what she and others all originally thought of as "magic," was actually her natural power and ability to control and manipulate a supernatural substance called life energy otherwise known as mana,charka or chi, meaning that Gwen has always had an innate affinity for magic. Gwen mentions to both Charmcaster and Kevin in the episode In Charm's Way that she still has Charmcaster's old spell book, and is currently looking through it constantly to find a cure for Kevin's mutation.

In the episode Time Heals, Gwen borrowed the spell book known as The Archamada Book of Spells (the only spell book mentioned, seen and used in the original series) in an attempt to use a time-traveling spell that will take her back to the time when Ben and Kevin tried to hack the Omnitrix, resulting in Kevin's present rock-like form, hoping to return him to his human form. However she returns home only to discover that her time-traveling resulted in both Hex and Charmcaster ruling the world. After finding and freeing Ben she recasts the time-traveling spell to return everything back to the way it was. Back in her room she puts The Archamada Book of Spells away on her shelf and is apparently not willing to use it for some time.

In the Ultimate Alien episode, Hit 'Em Where They Live, Gwen said to Charmcaster that she is much, much more proficient at magic than ever before, having have had more study, training and practice in the innumerable levels and ways of magic. In the episode Fused, Gwen uses an unusually strong and powerful unnamed teleportation spell which envelops her, Kevin, and Ben (using AmpFibian) in a swirl of magical mystical pink and magenta energy to escape from Aggregor. However the strength and energy required to cast this particular spell seems to exhaust her pretty quickly.

Athletics
Gwen is a capable gymnast and martial artist. Even in the original series, she was occasionally shown to be quite good in hand-to-hand fights against enemies who weren't too powerful. When she was possessed by Ghostfreak, she was used to her skills combined which pretty much says that she's good. At the age of fifteen it is revealed that she has already received a black belt in tae kwon do and has even started teaching Ben. When prefering to use her athletics during fights or when she can't rely on her powers like in In Charm's Way she is shown to be agile, precise and skilled which is shown through the course of the series.

Intelligence
Gwen is shown to be quite intelligent and knowledgeable. Before discovering her powers, she would often use her "brains" to help Ben. She is shown to be a bit of computer/tech wiz as well. She has her own laptop which she uses to research enemies she meets. She is straight foward and very brave despite the circumstances. Gwen has a strong commitment to herself resulting her to manifest her knowledge, magical and physical abilities. She also shares traits with Ben, she would stand up for what's right and fight for it and may act a little naive (trusting Charmcaster in the original series, resulting her being tricked). Her naive nature is toned down in Alien Force; she is now even more analytical. It is highly unlikely that she will get stupified; she is also a quick thinker and an instinctive person. But at times she trusts others too quickly, and that may disadvantage her or even injure her, like in Too Hot To Handle. She can handle things well despite the conditions (such as when her powers were drained and Charmcaster hit her with a bolt of magical energy and she immediately turned the spell though she had no power yet she could hold herself). Gwen is at times shown to be very concerned with things such as her surroundings, the people around her and the ones who 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 such as shown from her acceptance of Kevin's past and recent action, also saying she does not care about Kevin's appearance.

Kevin Levin
When they first met, he was a renegade 11-year old, who would later have a vengeance aimed at Ben. He also almost smashed her and burned her in the episode, Framed.

In Ben 10: Alien Force, there is instant chemistry. When Kevin gets mutated after he and Ben try to hack the Omnitrix, he cuts things off between them during his bouts of self-consciousness. In The Final Battle: Part 2, Gwen and Kevin share their first kiss on-screen. In Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, having returned to his normal form after the destruction of the Omnitrix and they resumed their relationship. Kevin is still Gwen's boyfriend and he has been her boyfriend for the longest. In the episode Hero Time, it is seen that Gwen does not approve of Kevin falling for other girls instead of her. For example, at the end of the episode, Gwen says threateningly to Jennifer Nocturne that she'll peel her like a grape after seeing Kevin appear quite happy of Jennifer thanking him for saving her life. In the episode Ultimate Aggregor, Kevin kissed Gwen on the cheek and said to keep an eye on him, because he can't always be trusted.

Toys

 * 4" Lucky Girl (with Grey Matter)
 * 4" Gwen (Alien Force)
 * 4" Gwen (Anodite)
 * 4" Gwen (Ultimate Alien) [Soon to be released]

Video games
Gwen appears in all 3 (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 in Nintendo DS version, with a code) (Regular Character)
 * Ben 10: Alien Force The Video Game (Playable only in the Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, and Sony PSP versions on two levels) (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)

Trivia

 * Gwen and Ben share the same birthday.
 * Though Ben and Gwen, almost in all episodes have arguements on silly matters, Gwen still believes Ben to be her favourite cousin. This is the same for Ben.
 * According to Ben, and proven by Gwen in the Save the Last Dance, her favorite flowers are yellow roses.
 * In the live-action movie Ben 10: Alien Swarm, Gwen says it's February, and Ben had told her birthday was two months before, revealing that their birthday is in December which may be possible as in the original series, in summer, Gwen was planning her birthday party six months in advance assuming it happened in June.
 * In Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Julie is Gwen's best friend and prefers her over Ben and always takes her side and it is also the same for Julie.
 * Gwen has a fear of spiders (as mentioned in the two-part season three premiere, Vengeance of Vilgax) and a fear of small spaces (as mentioned in Inferno).
 * Gwen's powers and abilities rapidly changed over time. In the beginning of Alien Force her pink glowing energy shields could not sustain a single laser pistol shot while later in the series she can deflect asteroids. Also her power sometimes varies in one episode, such as in Pet Project when she was crushed by two disruptors and later in the same episode she shielded Kevin from Ship's super powerful main beam turret. She was shown to be unable to withstand Vilgax's laser vision, but she withstood a direct crater-making energy blast from her grandmother, a full-fledged Anodite, and resumed fighting immediately, suggesting that perhaps her shields are based off of will power.
 * In the original series, Gwen's energy was blue instead of pink.
 * Both Ben and Kevin's middle names were revealed by Gwen (Ben's middle name was revealed by his parents first).
 * There is only one episode in the whole series in which Gwen has not appeared: Above and Beyond.
 * Gwen has had her powers and abilities absorbed three times so far.
 * In Video Games, it was shown that if an enemy (The Stalker) attacks her shield, the aura around her hands shatters as well, despite them not actually touching the shield.
 * Apparently, Gwen gets jealous of Jennifer Nocturne (like Julie, when Jennifer first flirted with Ben) when she flirted with Kevin.
 * Gwen is somewhat similar to Marvel's Jean Grey, because both have telepathy and telekinesis, they both have red hair, and can be overwhelmed by incredible power.
 * 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 cartoonnetwork asia.com called http://www.gwen10.com/.