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| “ | If I wanted to take it easy, I'd go live with my grandma. I'm not about to let anyone down. | ” |
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson is an Anodite Plumber, the paternal cousin of Ben Tennyson and was a main member of his team during the first 3 shows.
Contents
Appearance
Regular Appearances
Human Form
In the original series, Gwen had short red hair held by a blue hair clip and green eyes and wore an elbow-length blue raglan shirt with a cat logo on her chest, white capris trousers, and a pair of white shoes with dark blue stripes.
In the first and second seasons of Alien Force, she wore a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt, and black high heels. Her hair had also grown longer and was down to her waist.
In the third season of Alien Force, as well as The Transmogrification of Eunice, she wore a red shirt paired with a black vest, gray jeans, and black flats. Her hair was worn in a high ponytail.
In Ultimate Alien, Gwen's outfit was similar to her outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force, but with a red sweater instead of a blue one.
In Ultimate Alien, she wore a standard Plumber suit during a few of her off-world excursions.
In the first episode/season of Omniverse, Gwen still had her ponytail, but it was much shorter. She wore clothes similar to her Alien Force Seasons 1-2 outfit, except she now wore long white socks that went up to her knees with black mary janes. She also had freckles.
For the rest of the series, she has shorter hair with a blue hairclip, a light blue T-shirt with her cat logo on it, a blue plaid miniskirt and blue-tinted glasses. She also wears long white socks and blue sneakers with light blue stripes.
11-year-old Gwen in Omniverse looks just like she did in the original series except that she has freckles and the cat logo on her shirt is now bigger.
Anodite Form
In Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, in her Anodite form she looked like a slightly smaller version of Verdona.
In Omniverse, her Anodite form's, or Lucky Girl alter ego, skin is purple. Her hair remains the same length as her human form, but is now made of mana and is pink and her eyes also turn pink. Her form now has clothes. Her glasses become a blue mask and she now wears blue gloves and her shirt is a darker blue with a light blue stripe. Her shirt cuts off and reveals her midriff and naval. She also wears blue boots, a dark blue miniskirt with a light blue stripe and a belt. The cat logo on her shirt also becomes black with pink eyes.[note 2]
Occasional Appearances
In the original series, her pajamas consisted of a long-sleeved purple T-shirt with a crescent moon on it, as well as long blue pants.
Her original Lucky Girl outfit is worn in Lucky Girl, Tough Luck, Time Heals, and Enemy of My Frenemy.
During water-based activities in the original series, she wore a purple one-piece swimsuit with a light blue diagonal stripe across her midriff in A Small Problem and a teal green one in Divided We Stand.
In Dr. Animo and the Mutant Ray, she wore an orange life jacket.
In Back with a Vengeance, she wore a yellow raincoat while touring Niagara Falls on a ship, and later wore a Plumber suit when she went to look for Ben in the Null Void.
In A Change of Face, she wore a pilgrim outfit.
In Merry Christmas, while cursed as an elf, she had pointy ears and her eyes were fully green. She later wore a typical elf outfit.
In Game Over, while inside Sumo Slammers Smackdown, she wore a light grey and blue outfit with a grey shoulder pad on her left shoulder and a grey headband. She later briefly became overweight after solving a riddle.
In Under Wraps, The Return and Be Afraid of the Dark, she wore a hazmat suit.
In Ben's dream in Perfect Day, she briefly became a humanoid rat wearing the same outfit as Ultra Ben.
In Divided We Stand, she briefly wore a life jacket over her second swimsuit.
In Big Fat Alien Wedding, during the wedding ceremony, she wore a light blue dress.
In Secret of the Omnitrix, while trying out clothes at the mall, she wore yellow-tinted glasses, a light blue collared shirt, a blue vest, black pants, and red and white shoes.
In Ben 10 Returns: Part 1 and It's Not Easy Being Gwen, she wore her karate uniform.
In What Are Little Girls Made Of?, she wore a white bikini.
In Save the Last Dance, she wore a white dress.
In Birds of a Feather, when on the Moon, she wore an orange spacesuit with four arms.
In In Charm's Way, she wore a black bikini.
In Time Heals, she briefly wore glasses and a long coat over her Lucky Girl outfit.
In Con of Rath, Gwen had a desire to go to the beach, and dressed in black sandals, a white sunhat, a yellow bag, black sunglasses and a pink coverup over what appeared to be a black one-piece swimsuit.
In Alien Swarm, she wore a pale blue coat over her regular outfit. She later wore a grey wooly jacket over a maroon shirt paired with a black vest and gray jeans.
In Escape from Aggregor, she wore a pale blue winter coat and blue pants.
In Basic Training, while at the barracks in the Plumbers' Academy, she wore an olive tank top and black shorts.
In It's Not Easy Being Gwen, she wore a grey T-shirt and black running shorts during her morning run and later wore a white T-shirt and red shorts during her gym class.
In The Perfect Girlfriend, she wore a short-sleeved light blue hospital gown that stopped at her thighs, along with a cast around her left foot.
In Inspector 13, Gwen wore a violet tank top with a white skirt and tennis shoes. She later wore the Ultimatrix symbol on her chest.
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Personality
In the original series, Gwen is portrayed as an intelligent, mature but usually stubborn and smart-mouthed when it came to talking with Ben. Her quick thinking and good instincts give her an edge in dealing with dangerous situations.
As she got older, she became even more mature, caring, and sympathetic. Her affection towards her cousin Ben, became more clear as well. Gwen is willing to forgive villains for their wrongdoings, the most notable being Kevin, if she believes they have changed for the better.
Despite being far more mature and reasonable than Ben and Kevin, Gwen is somewhat hotheaded and can lose control of her mana if angered enough.[5]
Gwen occasionally prioritizes things incorrectly,[6] seen when she put more importance on Ben arriving to Julie's tennis match on time than stopping the Forever Knights' armed robbery of a museum.
History
| Ben 10 | Alien Force | Ultimate Alien | Omniverse |
|---|---|---|---|
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Click on the images above to see the respective histories.
Powers and Abilities
Mana Manipulation and Energy Control
Gwen's magical powers are of alien descent from her grandmother Verdona, a member of a free-spirited alien race of pure energy beings known as Anodites, from the planet Anodyne. Gwen didn't inherit the powers, but shares a "knack" for mana manipulation, possibly because Verdona manipulated mana in her human form.[DM 3] Verdona herself has explained to Gwen that, like herself, she is an Anodite and has "the spark," and thus is able to freely manipulate and control mana or life energy, the substance of magic.[7] According to Charmcaster, Gwen is filled with mana, having been born made of magic while she had to "work her but off for her powers."[8]
Gwen can create energy blasts, streams, waves and bolts, as well as energy force-fields, shields and barriers. Her powers are mainly used like energy constructs, allowing her to make many different types of structures like, hammers, protective helmets, battering rams, beams to grab and throw enemies, stepping stones/platforms to carry her and others though air, safety nets, magic weapons: swords, blades and punches, though there is a limit to the types of constructs she can create.[DM 4] It also turns out Gwen can also synchronize her martial arts styles with her energy manipulation abilities.
Gwen has more mana-related powers: she can use mana to track down a living thing by following its energy trail,[9][10] find any person she wants by detecting the traces of mana that they left,[11] or by being at one with the cosmic mana.[12] She can distinguish Ben and Albedo by reading their auras.[DM 5] She can also draw in mana from everything around her. She also has a degree of enhanced strength and durability.
Gwen has the abilities of telekinesis, teleportation, heat vision, clairvoyance, telepathy and healing herself and other living beings.
Gwen can transform into an Anodite,[13] which greatly enhances her other powers and expands to include flight and size alteration.[14] In addition, her Anodite powers get stronger over time.
Because Anodites lack DNA,[DM 6] Gwen is immune to being reverted into human form by the Forever Knights' DNA Scanner, as well as the lethal effects the device has on hybrids.[DJW 4]
Magic and Spells
Gwen is seen using magic through casting magical, mystical spells, and reciting spoken incantations thus enabling her to use various magical powers and abilities. She can also fire magic blasts from her eyes.
On two occasions, Gwen used the five mystical Charms of Bezel to become a superheroine 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 in everything she did. While wearing the charm, any action she took would result in a chain reaction benefiting her original intent, but usually injuring Ben in the process.[15] Gwen later brought back her superhero identity after obtaining the legendary lost Keystone of Bezel, which greatly increased her natural abilities to superhuman levels rather than just affecting her luck.[16] Both times, Gwen was forced to retire when the five Charms and Keystone of Bezel were destroyed.
Gwen claims that being self-taught in magic is not so easy as it looks.[17] Trying to get into Yahwahtacsip she mistakes its name for "Wah Di Tah," saying that she knows how to read it but not pronounce it correctly.
Gwen can cast spells and recite spoken incantations.[18] Gwen is less knowledgeable than Charmcaster and Hex, having been self-taught. Despite that, she is more powerful than Charmcaster until she obtained the Alpha Rune, after which she was powerful enough to defeat Gwen with ease.
Gwen has learned to astral project through magic, like when she found Ben inside the Ultimatrix.[19]
Gwen's spells seem to react to Gwen's emotional desires.[pop-up 1][20]
Athletics and Martial Arts
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 combat fights against enemies who had normal strength levels. She was part of her school's Jujutsu team. By age fifteen, she has already received a black belt in Taekwondo.[21]
When preferring to use her athletics during fights or when she cannot rely on her magical and Anodite powers, she is shown to be highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Gwen does martial arts, horseback riding, softball, skiing and cross country.[DM 7]
Gwen has been shown creating a whip of mana energy and using it as a weapon along with her fighting skills. When Kevin asks her how she learned it, she states remembering it from an old movie.[22]
Knowledge and Intelligence
Gwen is very intelligent and knowledgeable. Before discovering her dormant Anodite powers, she would often use her superior intellect to help Ben solve problems. She is shown to be a bit of computer and tech wiz as well. She has her own laptop which she uses to research enemies she meets.[23]
Weaknesses
Although her intelligence and knowledge have only increased since her youth, Gwen is not completely free of her naivete. At times, she can become arrogant.
Gwen can occasionally be too trusting with people who want to exploit her good will, leading her or others into harm's way.
Unless she is wearing a protective metal helmet, Gwen is vulnerable to the mind-controlling abilities of Dagon and the Lucubra.[24][25][26]
Gwen cannot use her Mana to track Ectonurites, as they have no Mana themselves.[27][28] Likewise, her tracking does work well with non-biological life forms such as robots and Galvanic Mechamorphs.
Gwen's Anodite energy can have trouble with technology and vice versa.[29] For example, she can struggle to divine the location of someone in an area riddled with technology.[30][31]
Certain teleportation spells exhaust Gwen the point of having to rest and recover.[32] These spells can even make her faint if she is sick.[25] The distance between her and the location she is teleporting to is a factor to this weakness.[MW 2]
Most of Gwen's Anodite powers can be neutralized by wearing a bracelet used by a member of the Synthroid race, as demonstrated with Verdona.[33]
Gwen's raw mana attacks are useless and ineffective against certain species such as Geochelone Aerios[34][18] and Transylians.[35]
Gwen can be drained of their energy to the point of either being rendered powerless[36] or death, as nearly demonstrated with Verdona.[33]
Gwen has arachnophobia[37] and claustrophobia.[38]
Up until Omniverse, Gwen was seemingly unable to transform into her Anodite form at will without being sufficiently angered.
Overall, while Gwen is immensely powerful, she almost always holds back in battle in order to avoid severely damaging her opponents—as such, this can potentially lead to her opponents gaining the upper hand, thus injuring her instead.
Relationships
Appearances
Ben 10
- All episodes except Gwen 10 and Goodbye and Good Riddance.
- All shorts
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
- Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens
Alien Force
Ultimate Alien
Specials
Omniverse
16 years old
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
- Third Time's a Charm
- The Most Dangerous Game Show (cameo)
- A New Dawn (cameo)
11 years old
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 6
Season 8
Books
Cartoon Network Action Packs
Gwen has appeared in every action pack, except for Old Friends, Plumbers' Kids, It's a Set Up and TwoSome.
Chapter Books
- Ben's Knightmare
- War of the Worlds
- Triple Threat
- Double Negative
- The Dark of Knight
- Galaxy Wars
- Science Friction
Ben 10: Omniverse
- Ben 10 (Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4)
- Ghost Ship
- Joyrides
- Parallel Paradox
Others
Video Games
- Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Playable only on Nintendo DS version, with a code) (Skin)
- Ben 10: Alien Force (Playable only on the Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, and Sony PSP versions on levels 3 and 8) (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)
- Punch Time Explosion and XL (Assist Character)
Trivia
- Gwen's birthday is in December.[39][40]
- She shares her birthday with Ben.[41][42] Their childhood rivalry in the original series arose from this.[pop-up 2][43]
- Gwen's favorite flowers are yellow roses.[41][44]
- Gwen hates mushrooms, though this may have been a consequence of her ordeal with the Living Mushrooms.[42]
- When she was 10, Gwen had a 4.2 GPA, she was the president of the Computer Club, treasure of the Science Society, volunteer at several local charities, and a member of her school's Jujutsu team.[45]
- At age 16, she mentioned that she had taken three years of Cotillion and nine years of Judo.[46]
- Gwen isn't too fond of some of Ben's aliens, namely Stinkfly,[47] Goop,[24] and Upchuck.[48]
- Gwen is Verdona's favorite grandchild.[7][49]
- Gwen has much more control over her abilities and her Anodite form than we've seen.[MW 3]
- Derrick J. Wyatt compares Gwen, in terms of power level, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of Scarlet Witch.[DJW 5]
- Gwen lives on-campus in Omniverse.[MW 4] However, she does not yet know her major.[MW 5]
- Gwen dislikes being called an "energy being", and has felt out of place when she was in high school.[7]
- Dagon described Gwen as the most powerful being in the main dimension.[50]
- Matt Wayne later said that he doesn't think so,[MW 6] even though he wrote the episode.
- Gwen has the potential to live as long as she wants to, if she ever chooses to allow Verdona to train her.[DM 8]
- Gwen and Kevin are famous on Earth, just not nearly as famous as Ben.[DM 9] Dwayne McDuffie compared their level of fame to that of American television personality Gayle King.[DM 10]
- Gwen can go back in time to change events, but doesn't because she fears changing history for the worse, as she accidentally did once before.[DM 11]
- In Alien Force, Gwen was in her freshman year of high school.[DM 12]
- Gwen's DNA was sampled and randomized into the Unitrix to create Eunice.[51]
- Gwen's Lucky Girl costume in the original series and Alien Force ties into the cat design on her favorite shirt.[pop-up 3][15]
- By the time of mid-Season 1 of Ultimate Alien, Gwen had already written her college essays.[DM 13]
- When they were kids, disliking Max's cooking was one of the few things Ben and Gwen agreed on.[pop-up 4][47]
- Before the events of the original series:
- Ben and Gwen once did not speak to each other for two months over an argument about a stick of gum.[pop-up 5][52]
- At one point, the arguing between Ben and Gwen had gotten so bad that their parents refused to take vacations together anymore.[pop-up 6][53]
- Whenever Gwen transforms into her Anodite form in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien appearances, she gains the ability to fly. In Omniverse, although she has only been shown using mana constructs and later needing the Charm of Telekinesis to fly, she can still fly on her own while in Anodite form.[DJW 6][note 2]
- In the initial stages of the original series' development, Gwen was written as a classmate who happened to be friends with Ben, and had no familial relation to him.[pop-up 7]
- Gwen wasn't even supposed to come on a road trip. She was going to a summer study program instead.[pop-up 8][53]
- In the original series, Gwen had her own plans for a summer vacation.[54] It was Max who convinced her mother to push her to go on the road trip.[54][55]
- One of Gwen's concept designs in the original series had long hair and a red and yellow raglan shirt with a mushroom on it. However, Cartoon Network nixed the mushroom design due to drug connotations.[DJ 1]
- Gwen's design in Seasons 1 and 2 of Alien Force was created by Glen Murakami and finalized by Glenn Wong, with colors added by Chris Hooten.[GW 1]
- Gwen's second design in Omniverse bears some resemblance to Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo! franchise.
- Gwen made an appearance in the fifth episode of the sixth season of Robot Chicken, Hurtled from a Helicopter into a Speeding Train.
- At least one student at Friedkin University probably knows that Gwen is Lucky Girl.[DJW 7]
- If Gwen used the Omnitrix from the start, the Rooters would not consider her a threat.[DJW 8]
- The out-of-universe reason for Gwen's mana being recolored from blue to pink was because the crew decided that the color pallet needed a review. Regardless, changing the color of Gwen's mana was not Duncan Rouleau's favorite choice.[DR 1]
- Not all of Gwen's alternate counterparts are Anodites like their Prime Timeline counterpart.[DJW 9] Confirmed examples include Dimension 23's Gwen,[DJW 10] Gwen 10,[DJW 11] and No Watch Timeline's Gwen.[DJW 12]
- A counterpart of Gwen does not exist on Rex's home universe.[DR 2] This was proven true during Ben's visit there, as he hypothesized that Gwen may not exist on Rex's Earth.[56]
- Aside from not being an Anodite, Dimension 23's Gwen is cousins with Ben 23[57] and shy.[DJW 13]
- Gwen's counterpart in Benzarro's reality is an unpowered scientist constantly working on a cure for Benzarro from a secure secret bunker.[DJW 14]
- Gwen's counterpart in Nega Ben's timeline is a cheerleader[DJW 15] with strawberry-blonde hair[DJW 16] of average intelligence. However, she acts less smart than she really is.[DJW 17] Much like her Prime Timeline counterpart, Gwen is dating Nega Ben's version of Kevin.[DJW 18]
- It is unknown if a counterpart of Gwen exists on Mad Ben's dimension.[DJW 19]
- Of all the series she appeared in, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse were the only series where Gwen does not wear a swimsuit. However, her Omniverse design was given a blue bikini for Ben 10 (IDW).
Notes
- ↑ Manny Tennyson was mentioned in Gwen 10, a non-canon episode. It is unknown if he exists in the canon timeline.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 It is implied by Matt Wayne that Gwen changes into her Anodite form whenever she uses her Lucky Girl alter-ego,[MW 1] even though the form doesn't affect her personality or increase her power like in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. However, Derrick J. Wyatt states that her appearance as Lucky Girl is probably due to a glamor that changes her normal outfit into her Lucky Girl outfit, further explaining that the crew kept Gwen's powers more magic-based.[DJW 2][DJW 3]
References
- ↑ Rook Tales
- ↑ Under Wraps
- ↑ What Are Little Girls Made Of?
- ↑ It's Not Easy Being Gwen
- ↑ Double or Nothing
- ↑ Duped
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 What Are Little Girls Made Of?
- ↑ In Charm's Way
- ↑ Ben 10 Alien Force: The Complete Guide PG. 89
- ↑ Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: The Complete Guide PG. 111
- ↑ Kevin's Big Score
- ↑ Plumbers' Helpers
- ↑ War of the Worlds: Part 2
- ↑ Hit 'Em Where They Live
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lucky Girl
- ↑ Tough Luck
- ↑ Where the Magic Happens
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Map of Infinity
- ↑ The Ultimate Sacrifice
- ↑ Don't Drink the Water
- ↑ Ben 10 Returns: Part 1
- ↑ Ben 10,000 Returns
- ↑ Washington B.C.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 The Creature from Beyond
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 A Knight to Remember
- ↑ The Ultimate Enemy: Part 1
- ↑ Ghostfreak
- ↑ Mystery, Incorporeal
- ↑ Busy Box
- ↑ Good Copy, Bad Copy
- ↑ Perplexahedron
- ↑ Fused
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Moonstruck
- ↑ Ultimate Aggregor
- ↑ Viktor: The Spoils
- ↑ In Charm's Way
- ↑ Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2
- ↑ Inferno
- ↑ Rook Blonko
- ↑ The Ultimate Heist
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Ben Tennyson
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Camp Fear
- ↑ And Then There Were 10
- ↑ Save the Last Dance
- ↑ Ghostfreaked Out
- ↑ Mud Is Thicker Than Water
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Ultimate Weapon
- ↑ Inspector 13
- ↑ Girl Trouble
- ↑ The Ultimate Enemy: Part 1
- ↑ The Transmogrification of Eunice
- ↑ Ben 10 vs. the Negative 10: Part 1
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 And Then There Were 10
- ↑ Washington B.C.
- ↑ Ben 10-Generator Rex: Heroes United
- ↑ And Then There Was Ben
Crew Statements
Dwayne McDuffie
- ↑ File:Dwayne McDuffie Tue Sep 28, 2010 10 41 am - Q&A.png
- ↑ File:Unitrix Time Limit.png
- ↑ File:Eunice's Knowledge.PNG
- ↑ File:Gwen Mana Shapes.png
- ↑ File:Gwen Can Distinguish Ben and Albedo.PNG
- ↑ File:Dwayne McDuffie Sun March 29, 2009 11 37 am - Q&A.png
- ↑ link unavailable
- ↑ File:Dwayne Liked Paradox.PNG
- ↑ File:Gwen and Kevin Famous.PNG
- ↑ File:Gwen and Kevin Gayle King.PNG
- ↑ File:Gwen Can Go Back in Time.PNG
- ↑ File:Ben and Gwen Freshmen.PNG
- ↑ File:Ben and Gwen's Career Plans.PNG
Derrick J. Wyatt
- ↑ link unavailable
- ↑ File:No Anodite Gwen in OV.png
- ↑ File:Why Anodite Gwen Has Clothes.png
- ↑ File:DNA Scanner Would Not Affect Gwen.png
- ↑ File:Gwen vs. Scarlet Witch.png
- ↑ File:OV Gwen Can Still Fly as an Anodite.png
- ↑ File:At Least One Student Knows Gwen is Lucky Girl.png
- ↑ File:Rooters Do Not Consider Max or Gwen a Threat.png
- ↑ File:Not All Gwens Are Anodites.png
- ↑ File:Gwen 23 Not An Anodite.png
- ↑ File:Gwen 10 Not an Anodite.png
- ↑ File:No Watch Gwen.png
- ↑ File:Dimension 23 Gwen.png
- ↑ File:Benzarro Gwen Scientist.PNG
- ↑ File:Nega Ben Gwen.PNG
- ↑ File:Nega Gwen Hair Color.png
- ↑ File:Nega Gwen Intelligence.png
- ↑ File:Nega Ben Kevin.PNG
- ↑ File:Mad Dimension Gwen and Kevin.PNG
