Kevin Levin (Classic)

Kevin Ethan Levin, formerly known as Kevin 11, is a half human half osmosian with the ability to absorb any type of energy or matter and release it at will. He first appeared in the original series, and quickly became one of Ben's most notable nemesis. However, he reformed in Ben 10: Alien Force, and then became one of the main characters, as well as Gwen Tennyson's love interest.

Original series


Kevin is first encountered by Ben in an arcade, where, after befriending him, he was assaulted by bullies and saved by Ben as XLR8. The two attempt to steal video games from a warehouse and get caught by the police, forcing Ben to reveal his powers to him in order to escape. Eventually, Ben breaks off their partnership when Kevin rigs two trains (one carrying money) to collide, not caring that hundreds of innocent people would be killed. During the fight who followed, Kevin discovered that, when absorbing energy from the Omnitrix's aliens, he could become an incomplete, but effective, version of that alien. First he absorbed the abilities of Heatblast then in the second fight Fourarms, using the former form's powers to get revenge on those who had wronged him. He absorbed the latter form's powers during his second battle with Ben to even the odds. Ben was able to defeat him, and intended to help him, offering him to be partner again, for good this time. Though Kevin fainted accepting, he just lured Ben in order to get the Omnitrix. However, when he tried to take it from Ben, the device emitted a feedback pulse, seemingly neutralizing his power. Kevin, however, exhibits the ability to create flame at the end of the episode.

Kevin serves as the main antagonist of the second season. His ability to project heat at the end of Kevin 11 is a result of the Omnitrix's feedback pulse: the amount of energy it emitted allowed him to fully absorb its powers, giving him access to every alien form Ben had at the time. However, because Kevin's ability to regulate this power is poorer than that of the Omnitrix itself, the energy suppresses his human form and forces him to remain as an alien most of the time:

As revealed in Framed, Kevin blamed Ben for this, so he used the powers of the Omnitrix to start a crime spree in Los Angeles, both for his own benefit and to damage Ben's (or rather, his alien forms') reputation. Eventually, Kevin's ability to regulate the power fails altogether, causing him to permanently mutate into what Vilgax would describe as a "misshapen, chaotic amalgam of creatures from the Omnitrix." This form has: Fourarms' head, body, left eyes and legs, Grey Matter's right eye, Upgrades upper back, Heatblast's left arm, Diamondhead's right arm, Wildmutt's arms below them, XLR8's tail and feet, Stinkfly's wings, Ripjaws' antenna, gills, and teeth and Ghostfreak's black lines running along his chest. After his mutation, Kevin gloats that he has all of Ben's powers plus his own, making him Kevin 11" (the name' Kevin is credited under in the ending sequence of the show). He has Stinkfly's ability to fly and his slime spitting. Diamondhead's diamond ability with his right arm. Fourarm's strength. Wildmutt's sniffing ability. XLR8's speed. Heatblast's ability to shoot fire out of his left arm. Ripjaw's bitting and unhingeable jaw (possibly also his ability to breath under water because he has Ripjaw's gills), and Upgrade's laser vision. Although Kevin does not have all of the powers of the Omnitrix aliens he copied. He does not have Grey Matter's intelligence, Upgrade's ability to take control machines, and Ghostfreak's ability to turn invisible and his ability to walk through walls. Despite Kevin's claim, Ben notes that Kevin's powers are only one-tenth as strong, as seen when Diamondhead was able easily catch and crush with his bare hands, the Petrosapien projectiles Kevin fired at him (although 'this assessment may not be accurate) and Kevin never exhibits his original power in this form.

During his third appearance in Grudge Match, Kevin attacked Ben to get revenge, blaming his condition on him. As the two battled, they were abducted and forced to fight in Slix Vigma's gladiator games. During their battles, Ben helped Kevin to realize the advantages of his mutated form: because Kevin 11 was an amalgam of aliens, he could mix and match their powers to make up for their reduced potency. Although forced to work together, Kevin's only goal was killing Ben. After Ben and Kevin succeeded in escaping, Kevin attacked Ben and pinned him to the wall with Stinkfly goo before moving in with a Diamondhead spear, gloating that no matter what Ben transformed into, he knew even one. Little did he know that Ben had discoverd there were more aliens in the Omnitrix and had unlocked Cannonbolt, who he transformed into just as Kevin was about to skewer him before getting into an escape pod. Kevin nearly barged into the pod when he was stopped by Technorg, who Ben had spared and he declared a life debt to. After Technorg helped Ben escape, he turned his attention to Kevin (who had called him a lap dog just as he was about to kill Ben). The two were transported to a different galaxy at the end of the episode while locked in combat. According to advanced edition of the episode, after beating Kevin, Technorg left the ship to return to his homeworld while Kevin took the ship as his own.

Kevin returned in the episode Back With a Vengeance, where he teamed up with Vilgax to defeat Ben, and eventually managed to remove the Omnitrix. However, he betrayed Vilgax later in an attempt to leave both in the Null Void and use the Omnitrix to take over the world, only for Ben to escape and leave him and Vilgax trapped instead.

Alien Force
Kevin comes back in Ben 10: Alien Force, where he has eventually escaped from the Null Void returned to his human form, and reconcilied with his family. He has also become an alien weapon dealer, giving him several contacts with criminals (such as Argit, Vulkanus or Sunder) as well as a considerable knowledge in alien tech. He has also come back to his human form and gained the ability to absorb solid matter.

In his first Alien Force appareance, Kevin attempted to organize a deal between the Forever Knights and the DNAliens in order to sell them level 5 weapons. However, the deal was interrupted by Magister Labrid, Ben and Gwen. Trying to get revenge, Kevin fought Ben, but was easily defeated while the other villains escaped without paying him. Labru then asked Kevin to help them finding back the weapon, offering him to avoid problems with the Plumbers then. Though Kevin mainly accepted in order to get his pay, Magister Labrid later sacrified himself in order to save him from a defective weapon's explosion. This, plus Kevin's interest for Gwen and his desire to become a plumber like his father was, led him to agree in teaming up with Ben and Gwen against the HighBreed invasion.

Though he initially still felt a little rancorous toward Ben, Kevin slowly reconcilied with him, and he proved to be a valuable ally as well as a good friend.

In Darkstar Rising, he reveals that his father was also a Plumber. He never met his father, but his mother told Kevin stories about what his father did. This is a big gap in the original series because in Ben 10, he said that his parents both left him because of his strange electrical powers but it may have only been an exaggeration on his part, since it is slightly hinted that Kevin's mother remarried, due to him saying, "My father... my real father." It's is also possible that after the death of his father, his mother couldn't cope and Kevin then somehow ended up in foster care, and that it was these parents that left him.

At the end of the same episode, Kevin, along with Gwen and Ben become official Plumbers, after which, Kevin leaves to tell his mother about his membership, this suggests that he has now reconciled and rejoined with his family. In Darkstar Rising, when explaining that he wanted to be a Plumber for the sake of being just like his father, it "mostly" served as the reason that he joined the Tennysons in the first place. (His promise to Magister Labrid and Gwen could be the other reasons); It was clearly implied his mother remarried after his real father's death, which could explain why he was kicked from his house when he was 11.

In the season 3 premiere, Vengeance of Vilgax, Kevin changes clothes and Kevin is subjected to a feedback pulse from the Omnitrix after Ben tampers with it. Because of this, he is unable to revert back to his normal human form, instead becoming a mixture of different elements.

Throughout the series he is shown to hate what he was become, to the extent of breaking things off with Gwen, wearing an I.D. Mask in public to appear human, and considering himself a monster. He also discovers that his father, an Osmosian Plumber, was murdered by an alien criminal named Ragnarok, and becomes bent on vengeance, so much that he eventually left Ragnarok to his death when he had the chance to save him. This episode confirms that he has reconciled with his mother at least, and that he has few moments of his father.

In the series finale The Final Battle, where Vilgax attempts to separate Ben from his friends, Kevin is kidnapped by Albedo in an attempt to split them up. He is also asked by Ben to back him up when taking on Vilgax, which he does. After Ben's Omnitrix is destroyed, he reverts back to human form, revealing that it was the Omnitrix's power that kept him that way, and he and Gwen share their first kiss on-screen, much to Ben's disgust.

Alien Swarm
In Ben 10: Alien Swarm, the live-action movie, Kevin is seen driving around with his car. The car is a green 2009 Dodge Challenger.

Also he is seen in his human form, with his Season 1-2 clothes and regular absorbing powers.

Ultimate Alien
Kevin returns in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, going back to his original Alien Force appearance, clothes and powers. According to Dwayne McDuffie, part of the series might feature more about his past. Kevin still has the ability to change his hands into different weapons even after he returned to normal in Alien Force. In Too Hot to Handle, Kevin is able to repair object in the current subject he absorbed at the moment.

Alternate Future
See Kevin 11,000.

Personality
Kevin is a cynical, aggessive rebel with few scruples. In the original series, this went so far that he has shown anti-social tendencies near to sociopathism, even willing to kill millions of people just to get rich. While he's not so psychotic in Alien Force, he still shows few scruples, even going back to weapon trade and stealing in some occasion. He also keeps contact with criminals such as Argit, and it was once hinted the Forever Knights convinced him to organize a meeting between them and Ben in exchange for some alien tech. In Simple, when Ben tried to stop a war, Kevin cynically stated he would never succeed, and attempted to make profit on the war with Argit instead of helping him.

Kevin's main bad side seems to be his difficulty to forgive others: his villainous role in the original series was mostly due to his rancorous toward Ben, and even in Alien Force, it took some episodes before he really forgave him. He also attempted to kill Ragnarok, his father's murderer, and eventually left him to his death, even though according to the alien, his father would have saved him instead.

Despite all his defects, Kevin feels proud of his father's career, and aspires to become a Plumber like him. He also displays some sense of gratitude, as he agrees to help Ben after Magister Labrid sacrificed himself to save him. Through his friendship with the Tennysons, Kevin has shown himself to be a loyal, trustworthy, and capable of self-sacrifice for those he cares about.

Kevin's abilities
Kevin's abilities have somewhat changed through out the course of the series. Generally, his power revolves around absorption. In Ben 10, Kevin can absorb energy and manipulate machinery to a minor extent though the energy he uses is finite, so is required to steal more. By absorbing energy from the Omnitrix, Kevin can temporarily take on attributes of any alien form Ben has currently taken on.

In Framed, it is revealed that Kevin is able to assume any of Ben's alien hero forms at will, due to having absorbed enough sufficient energy from the Omnitrix. Despite this advantage over Ben, he is still defeated. The rage causes his absorption power to spiral out of control, mutating him into a hulking behemoth fusion compromised of the ten starter Omnitrix aliens with no way to revert back to human form. He remains in this form for the remainder of Ben 10. According to the enhanced version of Framed Kevin's human DNA restores through time. So, after 5 years he will become a human again.



In Ben 10: Alien Force (5 years after the original series), Kevin returns in human form with his absorption powers intact. However now, he is able to absorb the properties of material into his own being such as metal,wood or rock, transmuting himself a living form of whatever material he has absorbed and use it to increase his physical strength. Kevin learned to control his new absorbing powers in the Null Void (Confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie). It is revealed in the episode All That Glitters that the transmutation actually serves as a second skin/coating that eventually peels away as he takes damage. However, while fighting a Techadon, the war robot blasted a hole straight through Kevin in rock/concrete form, but he demonstrated minor regenerative abilities by absorbing metal to cover the hole. In the episode Plumbers' Helpers, Kevin can absorb multiple materials at once, as demonstrated by absorbing both nickel, copper and zinc(from loose change in his pocket). Dwayne McDuffie stated that Kevin can, in fact, still absorb energy, but is "afraid to", a plausible reason, considering his previous mutation. He requires a decent amount of material to completely encase himself. This ability has once been used productively when Kevin was forced to synthesize a coating of a living gem known as Taedinite, thus incapacitating him, Vulkanus mentioned that it's the rarest gem in the galaxy with the amount he chipped off from Kevin he was able to buy a perment to "renovate" the earth and Paradox mentioned that with the amount Vulkanus chipped off Kevin is the largest amount in the galaxy.

In the Alien Force season 3 premiere, Kevin loses the ability to revert to his human form after a feedback blast, caused when Ben tampers with the Omnitrix and Kevin tries to remove it to help Ben but instead got a blast of feedback, imprints various materials onto him, such as concrete, metal, wood, and what appears to be Diamondhead crystals or quite possibly Taedenite crystals from "Kevin's Big Score". In addition, Kevin gains enhanced strength and endurance and limited shape shifting abilities, seen when he shifts his hands into a variety of different tools, such as a mace and large clippers. He is also knowledgeable about alien technology. (e.g. In Primus, he states that Techadons are mass produced war robots.) In The Final Battle: Part 2, he was turned back to normal and got his old powers back after the Omnitrix self-destructed. In Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Kevin has shown to be able to still shapeshift his arms into weapons after his mutation is reversed. Dwayne McDuffie revealed the reason for this is due to now having knowledge of how. In Too Hot To Handle", Kevin's abilties have shown to develop more, allowing him to manipulate whatever substance he has absorbed, as shown when he repaired the rock ceiling of a mine, refused the seal of P'andor's suit, and when he morphed it around him and fused the arms together as makeshift handcuffs.

Alien Knowledge
In addition to his powers, Kevin, starting to Alien Force, has gained a considerable knowledge about alien tech thanks to his time in alien black market, making him the team expert in this area.

Trivia

 * In the Alien Force season 2 finale War of the Worlds: Part 1, it is revealed that Kevin's middle name is Ethan, making his full name Kevin E. Levin, officially connecting the pun to his old nickname "Kevin 11". Ben finds this extremely hilarious, saying that he has lost "all remaining pretense of cool".
 * He is part alien. Even though his parents supposedly abandoned him (this may be a lie Kevin invented to impress Ben, because he doesn't answer to anybody) Kevin still has a mother as shown at the end of Darkstar Rising, when he tells Ben and Gwen that he will tell his mother about his new plumber's badge.
 * Kevin has been unable to transform back to his human form twice now. Both times were from tampering with the Omnitrix.
 * Like Ben, Kevin is a big fan of Sumo Slammer, as he is thrilled when Ben tells him there is going to be a Sumo Slammer Movie (in the episode Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 1), though later he calls it boring and acts as if he had never seen it (however its possible that he isn't familiar with or is a fan of the TV Show, and is a fan of the video game). He also may have grown out of it (but is still fond of the idea of a Sumo Slammer Movie).
 * In Con of Rath, during a battle with Vulkanus he reveals he has dreams where he is confronted by his old enemies (or everyone he ever knew) and try to hurt him. He mistakenly assumes that everybody has dreams like that, only to discover he was mistaken when Gwen says, "I don't have dreams like that."
 * Strangely, Kevin's hometown is Bellwood also, same as Ben's even though in the episode Kevin 11 he lives in New York City.
 * Kevin was stuck in his mutation because of the Omnitrix. After the Omnitrix has self-destructed, he was turned back to normal. It is unknown why this did not happen to Albedo.
 * Kevin's powers are similar to the Marvel villain, the Absorbing Man. However, unlike him, Kevin only becomes a solid form of what he absorbs, coating him with a protective layer of said material. The Absorbing Man was actually able to become what he touched and manipulate his new form anyway he wished. Additionally, during the time Kevin had mutated, he was similar to the DC hero, Metamorpho. Both had the ability to reshape their bodies as they wished, being comprised of different elements that can be manipulated. However, Kevin was only solids, while Metamorpho was liquids and gases in addition to solids. Kevin could not also change his body to different elements while Metamorpho could. Interestingly, Kevin shared Metamorpho's insecurities and self-hatred of their mutated appearance.
 * Kevin has been forced to absorb an object twice once by Vulkanus (Kevin's Big Score) and once off screen by Charmcaster (Time Heals).
 * In the original series when Kevin was a mutant combo of Ben's 10 starters, he did not have the powers of Grey Matter (size and intelligence), Upgrade (melding with technology), and Ghost Freak (Invisibility and Intangibiltiy).
 * It appears that Kevin doesn't go to school like Ben and Gwen (however this may be due to him being older than Ben & Gwen).
 * Technically, Kevin was first Osmonsian villain (as well as the first Osmonsian to appear) in Ben 10 series (though he is only half-Osmonsian), with second being Aggregor (who happens to be full Osmonsian).