Gwen Tennyson (Classic)

Gwendolyn Tennyson, known simply as Gwen, is Ben's cousin and a main character of the series. Gwen was first introduced in And Then There Were 10, when her parents send her on a summer-long trip with her Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben. In Alien Force, she is the love interest of Kevin Levin

Like Ben, she is a Human/Anodite hybrid, but unlike her father, uncle and cousin, she has "the spark".

Appearance
Gwen has red hair and green eyes (in Alien Force her eyes and hair appear to be darker). In the original series she wears a blue long sleeved shirt with a cat on it, white pants and white shoes. In season 1-2 of Alien Force she wears a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt and black high heels, in season 3 she wears a red shirt, black vest, gray trousers, black slippers and her hair in a ponytail and in Ultimate Alien she wears her outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force but with a red sweater and her hair still in a ponytail.

Original series
In the original series, Gwen uses her laptop to research any strange people and creatures they might come across, and 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 lot of time learning how to do it. 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.

Alien Force
In the sequel series Ben 10: Alien Force, fifteen-year-old Gwen has grown into a calm and collective teenager, and she and Ben get along much better and are no longer openly hostile towards one another. In this version, Gwen wears a plain, white shirt, loosely-buttoned blue sweater, a black skirt with black tights, her hair is much longer and darker and her eyes are much darker as well. Gwen is now a black belt (taking classes in Tae Kwon Do, according to dialogue in Simple), but tends to favor using her powers. She is able to create 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 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 are revealed to be alien in origin; her grandmother, Verdona, is an energy being known as an Anodite and surprisingly she is the only descendant of hers 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 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 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." 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 in order 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. In the episode Time Heals, it was revealed that Gwen kept her Lucky Girl costume.

Ultimate Alien
In the one-year sequel Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, 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 red and she also keeps her ponytail from the third season. In Video Games, she tries out for her driver's license and earned it in the end.

Alternate Future
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 later into the future during Grandpa Max's 80th birthday.

In the episode Ken 10, an astral projection of Gwen was seen on Ken's tenth birthday just to say happy birthday to him. In the future, she also have the five Charms of Bezel in her possession. For an unknown reason, she does not have the Keystone of Bezel in her possession.

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 grandmother Verdona, a member of a free-spirited alien race of 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 platforms, portals, beams, blasts, use telekinesis, dowsing, and limited clairvoyance and telepathy.

In the two-part season two finale War of the Worlds when Kevin's life was threatened by a Highbreed commander, Gwen assumes her dormant Anodite form for the first time and easily defeats the commander with an exceedingly strong and powerful blast of pure pink glowing energy. Kevin begs her to try to shut it down but she refuses, saying that she thinks she can defeat the Highbreed all by herself. Kevin reminds her that her grandmother said that it would take at least seventy-five years for her to fully master her powers and abilities. Gwen says that they don’t have seventy-five years. Kevin says that she’ll lose her humanity, that she won’t 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 can’t bear to lose her. Gwen then reverts back to her human form and she and Kevin embrace afterwards.

In the third episode of "Ben 10:Ultimate Alien", Hit 'Em Where They Live, when Zombozo threatens to make Ben suffer by endangering his mother, a furious Gwen assumes her dormant Anodite form for the second time since War of the Worlds and shows that she can grow to huge heights. It is unknown if Gwen can use this power and ability when she remains human.

Magic
In the original series, Gwen's powers first manifested in the form of what she originally believed to be "magic," thus enabling her to use various magical artifacts 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 an energy blast—according to Charmcaster, only someone of Hex's skill should have that power and ability. Gwen starts tapping into her dormant magical powers when she procures a book of spells from Charmcaster in the episode A Change of Face.

Spells
Gwen is seen using magic through reciting Spells, thus enabling her to use various powers.

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

On two occasions, Gwen used the Charms of Bezel to become a super heroine by the name of Lucky Girl. At first, her ability drew from the luck-granting Charm of Bezel, which innately gave her 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. 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.

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 ability to manipulate a supernatural substance called life energy otherwise known as mana, 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.

Althletics
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. 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.

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.

Kevin
There was not much interaction between Gwen and Kevin in the original series, Kevin dismissing her as Ben's "smart-mouthed cousin" and tried to burn her to death as Heatblast in episode three of the second season Framed.

The dynamics between them changed after their first encounter after five years at the beginning of the Alien Force series: there is instant chemistry between them and this is obvious from the beginning of Alien Force. Kevin also starts becoming very protective of Gwen, snapping back at Ben for having snapped at Gwen, and when Magister Labrid died in the two-part series premiere Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 Gwen immediately seeks comfort in Kevin's arms. In the episode, What Little Girls Are Made Of? Gwen kisses Kevin on the cheek. In the episode Save the Last Dance Gwen forces Kevin to ask her to her school's dance, then later share a personal dance next to Kevin's car. They are also about to kiss in Darkstar Rising, before the Highbreed appears.

In the two-part series finale, The Final Battle after Ben's Omnitrix is destroyed and Kevin is reverted back to human form, as it was the Omnitrix's power that kept him that way, he and Gwen shared their first kiss on-screen.

Michael Morningstar
She first meets him in the episode All That Glitters, where she instantly appears to be having a secret crush on Mike. She even goes with him on a dinner date and get close to kissing when Michael betrays her and absorbs her powers. After that, they were seen as utter enemies.

Cooper
She and Ben first meets Cooper in the episode Ben 10 vs, Negative 10, where Grandpa max introduces him as his good friend's son. He also helps their team against the Negative 10. He is then seen in Undercover, when Kevin mentions about him and Ben replies that he had a crush on Gwen. Although she doesn't actually like him, her actions always show a certain type of a caring attitude. Cooper was then seen in War of the Worlds: Part 1 and 2, as one of the allies of Ben's Team. He was also reluctant to remove Michael from the Null Void as he thought that he was not speaking properly to Gwen.

Trivia

 * Gwen and Ben share the same birthday. They also have the same eye color and their names rhyme.
 * In the episodes Ben 10,000 and Ken 10, Gwen is voiced by Tara Strong. Coincidentally, Strong also voiced the ten- year- old 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.
 * Dwayne McDuffie confirmed we'll see Gwen try to get her license.
 * Gwen has a fear of spiders, as mentioned in the two-part season three premiere Vengeance of Vilgax.
 * In the movie Ben 10: Race Against Time she was played by Haley Ramm. In Ben 10: Alien Swarm she is played by Galadriel Stineman.
 * When Charmcaster absorbed her powers she didn't get even near power boost as to the one Michael Morningstar got.
 * Gwen's powers and abilities rapidly changed over time. In the begining 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 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 did withstand 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 willpower.
 * At the beginning of the episodes, What Are Little Girls Made Of? and In Charm's Way, Gwen is wearing a bikini. The first being white and the second being black.
 * Both of Ben and Kevin's middle name were revealed by Gwen.
 * Gwen has her powers absorbed three times so far.
 * Gwen snores.
 * Gwen shares many similarities with the super heroine Jean Grey such as: red hair, green eyes, telekinesis, and a boyfriend with superpowers.