Malware

Malware was a mutated Galvanic Mechamorph, who was one of the three main antagonists for the first two arcs in Ben 10: Omniverse along with Khyber and Dr. Psychobos. Malware is psychotic and extremely dangerous, and was one of the creators of the Nemetrix. His original plan was to upgrade himself with the Omnitrix to become more powerful than ever. His second plan was to destroy Azmuth and the other Galvanic Mechamorphs.

Appearance
Malware was originally a black and yellow humanoid Galvanic Mechamorph. His body appeared emaciated and deformed due to an incomplete/broken life code, with markings resembling the bones of a human skeleton.

Malware's body changed drastically after Albedo sabotaged the Helix while he was using it to repair his life code, now resembling a negative Galvanic Mechamorph. He gained a glowing yellow symbol resembling a star on his neck, directly below his eye, and the circuit patterns on his body were red instead of green.

Unlike regular Galvanic Mechamorphs, Malware's eye does not glow when he speaks.

Malware's appearance changed again after he reconstructed himself by absorbing the Tachyon Cannon. He was much bulkier and more animalistic than before, with a slightly hunched posture and spikes on his back. His head resembled a dinosaur's, with the mark on his neck now acting as a fanged mouth. The Tachyon Cannon replaced his right arm, while his left hand was a sharp claw, although he could swap them around at will.

In Showdown: Part 2, Malware transformed again after corrupting parts of Galvan Prime. This form was an even more monstrous exaggeration of his third form, resembling an enormous dinosaur that easily dwarfed Way Big. His back spikes were larger and more scythe-like, and three star-shaped marks were present along his massive torso.

After being defeated by Feedback and the Galvanic Mechamorphs, Malware returned to his third form before his final demise. After being drained of his energy and petrified, his remains appeared as a chaotic fusion of his second and third forms, made entirely of gray stone.

Personality
Malware was an angry, psychotic, obsessed and hate-fuelled being, who had always felt that his creator and father Azmuth had seen him as nothing more than a failed experiment who would never impress him; thus, Malware was obsessed with taking Azmuth's most precious creation, from the Omnitrix to destroying the other Galvanic Mechamorphs. Vain and conceited, Malware deeply hated the rest of his kind for always being Azmuth's perfect creations and saw them as "flawed"/"inferior" compared to him. Malware also hated and resented Azmuth, although he still considered the latter his father.

Malware was willing to work with Dr. Psychobos to get revenge against Azmuth, though he got annoyed by his opinions and excuses occasionally. He had an intense dislike of Khyber because the hunter is obsessed with hunting down Ben as a trophy. He also enjoyed torturing his victims, as seen when he destroyed Feedback in front of Ben.

Malware didn't find Ben to be a threat (even though Ben defeated him many times in the past). He believed that his reputation is exaggerated, though one time he called Ben the "bane of my very existence", and he eventually developed a hatred for him. It is evident from Malware's tendencies to dismiss and cover up both his own defeats and unforeseen turns of events in his enemy's favour, with disdain and assurance that it would be of no hindrance to him in the long run; that he suffered from a superiority complex.

Background
Malware was born a mutated and incomplete Galvanic Mechamorph on the Mechamorph homeworld, Galvan B; his incomplete and corrupted life code was apparently the result of the Helix responsible for creating the Mechamorphs being deactivated midway through Malware's creation. Azmuth's flashbacks showed that Malware, in his crippled, incomplete state, had immediately proving psychotic and hostile towards others around him from the moment he was born.

Azmuth had promised to design an upgrade to cure his condition, but Malware soon grew impatient, tiring of Azmuth's numerous delays and thinking that his creator secretly saw him as a failed experiment.

Five years prior to Omniverse
Malware eventually traveled to the Galvan homeworld Galvan Prime and demanded his cure. When Azmuth refused, Malware kidnapped his assistant,Albedo, and stole Azmuth's unfinished cure, a secondary Helix. Retreating to Galvan B, Malware forced Albedo to connect the secondary Helix to the primary Helix, which he used in hopes of curing himself. Albedo sabotaged the Helix in an attempt to destroy the Mechamorph, but the attempt only enhanced Malware's body, transforming him into an even more ferocious creature.

Malware's next goal was to absorb the Omnitrix, believing that he would be even more powerful by taking the powers of Azmuth's greatest creation, but Ben used Diamondhead to protect it and defeat Malware. Malware would later chase Ben to Earth in another attempt to claim the Omnitrix, only for Ben to defeat him as Feedback. Prior to his defeat, however, Malware acquired a crude, incomplete blueprint of the Omnitrix, which he brought to Dr. Psychobos, a cyborg Cerebrocrustacean with a massive hatred of Galvans (particularly Azmuth).

Using the blueprint, Psychobos managed to construct a partial replica of the Omnitrix, which he dubbed the Nemetrix. However, the villains lacked the DNA samples that gave the device its power, so Psychobos contacted Khyber, a ruthless hunter specializing in dangerous game. Together, they plotted to fill the Nemetrix with the most savage and fearsome predatory species of Ben's Omnitrix aliens, making the wearer into the ultimate enemy of the young hero.

Over the next five years, Malware aided Khyber in his hunt for new DNA samples, serving as a distraction and a backup fighter when needed. One such outing brought Khyber to a base in Mt. Rushmore, which held the rare Psycholeopterran. Malware ran interference as usual, but was seemingly destroyed by a Tachyon Cannon. However, due to his unstable DNA, Malware reconstructed himself into a form resembling a humanoid dinosaur, complete with the newly absorbed Tachyon Cannon as a weapon. Transforming into Feedback, Ben was able to defeat Malware by absorbing the energy of the Tachyon Cannon into the base's power supply, though Malware still got away.

After collecting a number of DNA samples, Malware and Khyber reunited with Dr. Psychobos to begin final testing. They used Phil Billings as a test subject for the Nemetrix, discovering that the device had dangerous side effects on sapient beings. As such, the villains attached the device to Khyber's alien hunting dog, although it was still incomplete.

When Azmuth came to Earth to talk to Ben about how his constant use of Feedback was negatively affecting his ability to use his other aliens, Malware ambushed the group. Noting how much Ben loved using Feedback, he literally ripped Feedback out of the Omnitrix, destroying him completely. Enraged at the loss of his favorite alien, Ben overloaded the Omnitrix and jammed it into Malware, destroying him in turn - however, the rogue Galvanic Mechamorph eventually reformed himself and fled in secret.

Omniverse
After a long absence, Malware appeared with Dr. Psychobos on Earth, talking to Khyber about his recent failure. After Psychobos managed to steal a piece of the Omnitrix's core, Malware looked on as the Nemetrix was finally completed, allowing Khyber's pet to transform at will.

Returning to Earth, Malware had Khyber distract Ben while he absorbed a large portion of the Plumbers Database and several of the Proto-TRUK's auxiliary power sources. He then fought Ben for the first time in 5 years, being chased through town by the young hero. Malware escaped Ben's pursuit by throwing a fully loaded fuel truck at a school bus, forcing Ben to save the students while the villain fled.

A short time later, Malware, Khyber, and Dr. Psychobos infiltrated Galvan Mark II, using security codes from the data Malware absorbed from the Proto-TRUK. There, they take a DNA sample from the fossils of the Galvans' natural predator, Omnivoracious, and add it to the Nemetrix. When two Galvanic Mechamorph guards try to apprehend them, Malware absorbs them, reducing them to gray husks.

While Khyber, his pet, and Dr. Psychobos tried to destroy Azmuth and Ben, Malware infected Galvan B and forced it to self-destruct. He used its pieces to infect Galvan Mark II, transforming into an even greater and more monstrous form in the process. Azmuth tried to reason with Malware, telling him that they can work together to make him whole. Unfortunately, Galvan Mark II's defenses attacked Malware, causing him to believe that Azmuth was trying to conspire against him. With his remaining sanity evaporating, Malware engaged Way Big in a brutal fight, attempting to absorb him into his body. There, Ben reconciled with himself over the loss of Feedback and was able to restore the Conductoid's form, enabling him to fight Malware on equal terms.

Soon, Azmuth arrived with the restored Galvan Mechamorphs, who were able to wear down Malware back to his third form. With extra power from the Helix filling his body, Feedback was able to defeat Malware, reducing him to a withered husk of his former self which was a chaotic fusion of his first three forms.

Following his demise, Malware's remains were put in a museum.

In Malgax Attacks, Vilgax and Albedo stole Malware's remains from the museum. They modified his petrified structure and turned his body into a suit which Vilgax wore to defeat Ben Tennyson and obtain the Omnitrix. After their plan failed and Vilgax was mortally injured in the warp core meltdown of the Chimerian Hammer, Malware's remains start to ooze out of Vilgax's petrified body, leaving Malware's demise in question.

Powers and Abilities
Malware had the standard abilities of a Galvanic Mechamorph, including eye beams, elasticity, and the ability to merge with technology. The latter ability had a small twist; unlike most Galvanic Mechamorphs, he permanently absorbed the technology he merged with (as Malware himself put it, technology upgraded him instead of the other way around).

Unlike most of his kind, Malware had sharp claws that he could use in close quarters. His third and fourth forms added sharp spikes to his back and forearms that could be used in a similar fashion.

Malware was very intelligent, with a lot of knowledge about the Omnitrix. After a battle with Ben, Malware could create an incomplete blueprint of the Omnitrix, which was used to create the Nemetrix.

Malware was immune to flame attacks, as seen with his battle with Heatblast.

Equipment
After absorbing the Tachyon Cannon, Malware was able to fire blasts that disrupted every individual cell with matching DNA in a certain radius, taking the target (or targets) apart on a subcellular level.

If used on a human, the cannon could kill every human within a hundred miles at full power. Malware also absorbed Rook's Proto-Tool in Showdown: Part 2, gaining the ability to project a variety of devices and weapons. Malware had absorbed several Plumber weapons in addition to the Tachyon Cannon, allowing him to use their attacks at will.

Malware had also absorbed a Galvan Jetpack, which granted him the ability to travel between planets unassisted.

Weaknesses
Malware suffered from arrogance, having a habit of underestimating his enemies, which led to his downfall.

Malware could be trapped by Diamondhead's crystals.

Malware was extremely vulnerable to a Conductoid.

Ben 10: Omniverse

 * The More Things Change: Part 1 (first appearance; flashback debut)
 * Trouble Helix (flashback)
 * Of Predators and Prey: Part 1 (flashback)
 * Of Predators and Prey: Part 2 (present debut)
 * Outbreak
 * Malefactor
 * Showdown: Part 1
 * Showdown: Part 2 (death)
 * Max's Monster (flashback; cameo)
 * Malgax Attacks (remains modified into a suit)

Ben 10: Omniverse
Malware is the main antagonist in Ben 10: Omniverse. After an accident with the Omnitrix transports Rook Blonko five years into the past, Malware absorbs his Proto-Tool and in addition to boosting his abilities, he also gained the ability to shift technology into new forms allowing him to take over the future where he also recruits Khyber, his Pet, and Psyphon as minions.

He seeks holograph converters to boost his ability to manipulate the environment having Psyphon kidnap Blukic and Driba to make them. Ben and Rook devise a plan to bring the past and present Malware's together by luring them to the location of the first time jump using Dr. Animo's mutant ray and the Holograph converter in the Plumber VR training room and make them absorb each other thus nullifying the altered timeline.

After Malware is defeated and the timeline nullified the VR training room briefly turned Malware's signature black and red implying the alternate Malware survived.

Etymology
Malware's name comes from the real-world term for malicious software, which disrupts computer operations and gathers sensitive information.

Trivia

 * Malware is highly feared by Teen Ben, as shown when Ben was shocked that Malware was involved in the creation of the Nemetrix in Of Predators and Prey: Part 2, and for the second time when Ben confronts him, his voice trembles and he backs away in fear. The reason for this is Malware destroyed Feedback when he was just 11 years old right in front of him.
 * In the Omniverse video game (3DS version), Malware's colors changed to his original yellow and black after he absorbed the Proto-Tool.
 * Malware shares some similarities with the Daleks from Doctor Who:
 * Malware was a defective/mutated member of his original race, but was made more powerful than his counterparts by a scientist. Similarly, the Daleks were mutants of a race called 'Kaleds', and were made strong again by a scientist called Davros.
 * Malware hates his own kind for their 'inferiority' and wishes them to be destroyed, along with Azmuth, the being who, in part, improved him. And the Daleks destroyed their own kind, believing their new selves to be purest, and succeeded in killing their savior as well.
 * Despite his hatred toward Azmuth, Malware still considers him a father.
 * Malware resembles the ghosts from the anime Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.
 * Due to them not being natural, Malware is considered to be the only predator of the Galvanic Mechamorphs.