Ben 10 Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ben 10 Wiki
34497a3fe0ef52949a1ba8e99894ed69 This article belongs to the Classic Continuity
Rebootomnitrixsymbol Click here to see the Reboot Continuity version of this article

Grey Matter is the Omnitrix's DNA sample of a Galvan from the planet Galvan Prime.

Appearance

Ben as Grey Matter

Grey Matter is a grey-skinned, frog-like, bipedal alien that is only four inches tall with large green eyes, which have rectangular pupils and horizontal eyelids. He wears a white jumpsuit with a thin vertical black stripe down the front (a larger version of the same stripe exists on his head, in-between his eyes).

In the original series, Grey Matter wore the Omnitrix symbol on his back and his eyes were yellowish-green. He spoke with a high-pitched voice.

In Ultimate Alien, Grey Matter looked exactly the same as before, except his eyes were green and he wore the Ultimatrix symbol on his chest.

In Omniverse, Grey Matter now has a green jumpsuit with a black belt. His suit collar is now black, and the stripe on his head and jumpsuit are no longer present. He wears black, fingerless gloves with a green rectangle on the back. His neck is slightly longer, his Omnitrix symbol has returned to his back, and his voice is slightly deeper.

11-year-old Grey Matter in Omniverse looks exactly the same as he did in the original series, but his collar is now black. His skin tone is also slightly different.

Gwen as Grey Matter

Gwen as Grey Matter had Gwen's hair and more oval-shaped eyes, with much smaller pupils. She wore a light blue jumpsuit with dark blue sleeves. She wore the Omnitrix symbol on her back. She also lacked the stripes Ben's version has.

Powers and Abilities

File:Grey Matter's intelligence.png

Grey Matter using his technical intelligence

Grey Matter's small size belies his great calculative and technical intellect. He can create complicated machines from spare parts, understand the function of any device at a glance, and make sophisticated repairs to complex machines (such as a warp-drive engine[1]). Grey Matter's intellect serves as a problem solver and analytical help in difficult situations. This allows Grey Matter to think more strategically when brute force is inefficient. 

Grey Matter's brain capacity makes Ben smarter about things he's never even seen before, like Kraab's alien circuitry.[pop-up 1][2]

Grey Matter can sometimes manipulate living things by stimulating certain parts of their nervous system if such beings can be controlled by external stimuli.

Grey Matter's size allows him to squeeze into small spaces and can climb walls due to microscopic pads on his skin.[pop-up 2][3] He also has sharp teeth and his slimy skin makes him difficult to grab.

Grey Matter appears to be stronger than he looks, as he was strong enough to move a cleaner's bucket with mops in it[4] and break a coolant pipe to freeze the Vreedle Brothers.[5]

Grey Matter is amphibious and has gills.[DJW 1]

Grey Matter has a long prehensile tongue, owing to his insectivore nature. As a Galvan, he also possesses a 'pre-brain' which deals with all basic bodily functions.[6]

Grey Matter was able to understand Pyxi's speech.[1]

Weaknesses

Grey Matter's small size makes him unsuitable for physical battle, so he must outsmart his enemies in a fight. Animals like dogs and cats can be a problem, as they may see Grey Matter as a chew toy or food to them.[4]

Despite possessing immense intelligence, Grey Matter can still make miscalculations, as his attempt to upgrade the Rust Bucket's air conditioner caused it to overheat instead, incapacitating the vehicle.[7]

History

Ben
Gwen 10
  • In Gwen 10, Grey Matter was chased by a raccoon.
Ken
  • In Ken 10, Grey Matter escaped his room and later unlocked his Omnitrix's Master Control.

Ben
  • In Snack Break, Grey Matter failed to retrieve his snack in a vending machine.

  • In Ben 10,000 Returns, Grey Matter was unlocked by Ben 10,000.

  • Ben
    No Watch Ben

    Appearances

    Ben
    Season 1
    Season 2
    Season 3
    Season 4
    Shorts
    Gwen 10
    Season 2
    Ken
    Season 4

    Ben
    Season 1
    Season 3
    Season 7
    Season 8
    No Watch Ben
    Season 5

  • Battle Ready
  • Ben 10: Slammers
  • Ben to the Rescue
  • The Mystery of the Mayan Sword

  • Video Games

    Ben 10

    Grey Matter is a playable alien in the game.

    Naming and Translations

    Language Name Origin
    Albanian Materia Gri From materia gri, materia (matter) and gri (grey)
    Arabic جراي ماتر From ماتر, matter, and جراي grey
    Bulgarian Сиво Вещество (Civo Veshtestvo) From сиво (civo), grey and вещество (veshtestvo), matter
    Chinese 小奇兵 From (Xiǎo), little, and 奇兵 (Qí Bīng), soldier
    Croatian Siva Tvar From siva, grey, and tvar, matter
    Danish Grå Substans From Grå, grey, and Substans, matter
    Dutch Grijze Massa From grijze, grey, and massa, matter
    Finnish Harmaa Haitta From harmaa, grey, and haitta, disadvantage
    French Le Tétard Gris From gris, grey, and tétard, tadpole
    Greek Γκρίζα Ύλη From Γκρί, gray, and ύλη, matter
    Hebrew תא אפור From תא, cell, and אפור, grey
    Hungarian Ragacska From ragacs, putty
    Italian Materia Grigia From materia, matter, and grigia, grey
    Japanese グレイマター From グレイ (gurei), grey, and マター (matā), matter
    Korean 미니그레이 From 미니, mini, and 그레이, grey
    Norwegian Gråbarken From grå, grey, and barken, bark
    Polish Szara Materia From szara, grey, and materia, matter
    Portuguese (Br) Massa Cinzenta From massa, mass, and cinzenta, grey
    Romanian Cerebel
    Materie cenusie
    From cerebel, cerebellum
    From materie, matter, and cenusie, grey
    Russian Инопланетянин
    Гуманоид (Gumanoyd)
    From Инопланетянин, alien
    From Гуманойд (gumanoyd), humanoid
    Serbian Сива Материја (Siva Materija) From сива (siva), grey, and материја (materija), matter
    Spanish (HA) Materia Gris From materia, matter, and gris, grey
    Spanish (Spain) Materia Gris From materia, matter, and gris, grey
    Swedish Grå Dvärgen From grå, grey, and dvärgen, dwarf
    Turkish Gri Madde From gri, grey, and madde, matter

    Etymology

    Grey Matter is named after grey matter, one of the components of the central nervous system.

    Trivia

    • Grey Matter is Ben's smartest alien.[DJW 2]
    • Grey Matter is the second smallest alien in Ben's arsenal; the overall smallest being Nanomech.[8]
    • Grey Matter is smart enough to unlock the original Omnitrix's Master Control, but Ben never considered doing this.[9]
    • Grey Matter's DNA was the first to be added to the original Omnitrix, though neither Azmuth nor Albedo was the source of the DNA sample.[DJW 3]
    • A running gag in the original series was that when Ben sometimes selects a big and powerful alien, he gets Grey Matter instead.
    • Grey Matter and Feedback are the only aliens with their own theme song.


    References

    Crew Statements

    Derrick J. Wyatt

    Pop-ups

    See Also

    Transformations
    Introduced in Ben 10 ArctiguanaBlitzwolferBuzzshockCannonboltDiamondheadDittoEvil Way Big (Destroy All Aliens)Eye GuyFour ArmsFrankenstrikeGhostfreakGrey MatterHeatblastRipjawsSnare-ohSpitterStinkflyUpchuckUpgradeWay BigWildmuttWildvineXLR8
    Introduced in Alien Force Alien XBig ChillBrainstormChromastoneEcho EchoGoopHumungousaurJetrayLodestarNanomechRathSpidermonkeySwampfire
    Introduced in Ultimate Alien AmpfibianArmodrilloChamalienClockworkEatleFasttrackJuryriggNRGShocksquatchTerraspinWater Hazard
    Introduced in Omniverse AstrodactylAtomixBall WeevilBloxxBullfragCrashhopperFeedbackGravattackGutrotKickin HawkMole-StachePesky DustThe WorstToepickWalkatroutWhampire
    Future Aliens SandboxShellheadSnakepit
    Ultimate Aliens AlbedoArctiguanaBenBig ChillCannonboltEcho EchoGravattackHumungousaurRathSpidermonkeySwampfireWay BigWildmutt
    Fusion Aliens Atomic-XBig ChuckCrashockerDiamond MatterFourmungousaurHeat JawsHumungoopsaurStink ArmsUprigg
    Concept Fusion Aliens GravadactylXLRG
    Non-Canon
    Competition Winners Alien Maker Contest WinnerMoyoInvinciblePortalerShadowmanStretcheleo
    MAD ChromastoneFour ArmsHumungousaurJetrayNRGSwampfire
    Total Access AntigraviteslaBob the BlobPlantapocalypse
    Ben 10: Science Hero CaetSektoid TransformationShafarnianSteeler
    Tim 10 BloxxFour ArmsHeatblastSkateasaurusUpchuckXLR8
    Other Bird AlienCartoon Network AlienEon (retconned)Evil Way Big (Cosmic Destruction)Fuel Run AlienGrendene's AlienRobot AlienRocksSquidstrictor
    Advertisement