This article belongs to the Prime Timeline's current future in the Classic Continuity |
Parts of this article's contents have been retconned from the main continuity. The retconned information can be found on a separate page here. |
This article is about Ben 10,000's son. You might have been looking for Gwen's brother from the Classic Continuity, or the character from the Reboot Continuity. |
“ | After you took away my Omnitrix, I wanted to prove to you that I was ready to be a hero. | ” |
– Ken, revealing his identity as Spanner to Ben 10,000.[2] |
Kenneth "Ken" Tennyson, also known as Chrono Spanner[1] or simply Spanner,[2] is Ben and Kai's son and Gwendolyn's brother.[note 1][note 2]
Appearance[]
Ken bears a striking resemblance to his father as a teenager. He wears a black and white shirt. The cuffs near his leg as well as his belt are green, and he has black pockets. The circle around his belt buckle is white. His eyes are a darker green. His skin tone is slightly tanned, and his hair is dark brown in color.
As Spanner, he wears a white armored jumpsuit, along with a green scarf and a white helmet. He appears to have some sort of equipment on his wrists.
Personality[]
Ken is generally much like his father was when he was younger, albeit slightly more intelligent and resourceful.
Though he cares for his parents, this love can reach extreme levels. For example, he made many attempts to ensure present-day Ben and Kai Green became a couple.[7]
History[]
Background[]
At some point, Ken received his father's Omnitrix. However, at a later point, Ken went on a mission he was not allowed to go on and got in over his head. As punishment for his disobedience, Ben and Kai took his Omnitrix from him.[DJW 16]
Despite this, Ken wanted to prove himself to be a true hero. When Professor Paradox gave him a device that would allow him to travel through time, Ken became a mysterious superhero named Spanner and traveled to the present day.
Omniverse[]
Ken first appeared in Something Zombozo This Way Comes as Spanner, where protected Ben from getting hit with a shoe from one of the Zombie Clowns. However, by the time Ben could turn around to see who was behind him, he vanished in a green light.
In And Then There Was Ben, Ken appeared briefly on a video call from his father telling him that he had to "run an errand".
In Cough It Up, Spanner appeared frequently to aid Ben and Rook while they defended Argit. Because he and Jimmy Jones never appeared at the same time, Ben and Rook believed that Spanner was a disguised Jimmy, though Jimmy stated he did not even know who Spanner is.
In Fight at the Museum, Spanner helped Ben and company save the first alien artifact that Kai and her grandfather found together. However, after trying to make sure Kai becomes Ben's significant other instead of Ester, Spanner admitted he comes from a future where the two are married. Knowing that it was for the greater good, Spanner stole the emptied artifact and returned to his future, where he saw that his parents are still married.
In Animo Crackers, Spanner attacked Dr. Animo and his future self before revealing his alias to Ben. The Animos split up, with Spanner immediately pursuing the future Animo. Both he and Ben were subdued by this Animo. Spanner then instructed Ben to contact Lt. Steel, which led Ben to discovering that the SECT was under attack. Ben, Rook, and Spanner arrived at the scene, Ben using Gutrot to defeat the Animos. Spanner then teleported away with the future Animo, and Ben wondered who he was.
In The End of an Era, Spanner returned the future Animo to his timeline after the events of Animo Crackers. He later assisted Ben 10,000 in battling Maltruant before revealing himself to be Ken. He was instructed to bring present day Ben, Rook, and Skurd to the future to help before being defeated by Maltruant.
After being returned to his family by present Ben in A New Dawn, Ken was grounded shortly after the battle by Ben for neglecting to tell him that he was Spanner.[DJW 17]
Powers and Abilities[]
Ken is highly acrobatic, as shown during his fight with Subdora.[7]
Ken has enhanced reflexes, as shown when he was able to dodge one of SixSix's attacks.[11]
Equipment[]
Ken possesses a technologically advanced, full-body suit provided by Professor Paradox, which he dons while assuming his Chrono Spanner identity.
The Chrono Spanner suit has blasters on the wrists, allowing Ken to fire lasers[11] and electricity.[1]
The Chrono Spanner suit comes with jet boots, granting Ken the ability to fly.[11]
Using his Chrono Spanner suit, Ken can travel through space[1] and time.[7]
Ken possesses a Dehydrated Techadon Army Cube which he can use to create Techadon Robots that can carry out orders for him.[2]
Ken formerly wielded the Omnitrix, which was confiscated by Ben and Kai.[2]
Appearances[]
Omniverse[]
Season 5[]
- Something Zombozo This Way Comes (first appearance)
- Animo Crackers
- And Then There Was Ben (cameo)
Season 6[]
Season 7[]
Season 8[]
- The End of an Era
- A New Dawn (cameo)
Trivia[]
- Ken is a fan of J. Jonah Jones.[11]
- Ken has met Big Chill's offspring.[DJW 18]
- After done being grounded, Ken will get his Omnitrix back.[DJW 19]
- Spanner is based on Ultra Ben and Power Rangers.[DJW 20]
- There were no plans for a version of Ken to appear in the reboot.[DR 1]
Notes[]
- ↑ The Omniverse crew brought back the Ben 10,000 from the Original Series instead of working on a new one like in Ultimate Alien.[DJW 2][DJW 3][DJW 4][DJW 5][DJW 6][DJW 7][DJW 8][DJW 9]
- He is from further in the future, after having learnt the lessons from his encounter with his 10 year old self[DJW 9] and lightened up.[DJW 10]
- This is due to:
- The executives' push for having everything more like the Original Series, which was the most successful of the franchise.[DJW 7]
- The crew's preference of the original Ben 10,000[DJW 6] over the Ultimate Alien portrayal.[DJW 8][DJW 11]
- Derrick J. Wyatt made several further statements to corroborate this, expanding on what was known from the Original Series, such as the backstories for the Biomnitrix and Kevin Levin invoking the plotlines of Ben 10,000[DJW 10] and Ken 10[DJW 12] respectively, the defining tragedy in Ben 10,000's life having now occurred at the age of 20,[DJW 13] "shifted" from the original age of 15,[pop-up 1][5] etc.
- The writing of the show also explicitly called this out, such as when Ben identified the future Dr. Animo in Animo Crackers as the same person who he encountered in Ben 10,000,[1] and other efforts were made throughout the last few seasons to align the story with the original future timeline, in terms of character designs, set designs and plot lines.
- ↑ Ben 10,000 is stated to be Ben Prime's true future self.[DJW 5][DJW 14]
- This is evidenced in-show in Omniverse by the fact that both the Ben 10,000[6][2] and the future Dr. Animo[1] recalled characters and events from the present day. Chrono-Spanner also frequently visits present day with effects of his actions manifest in his present.[7] This would not be possible if these characters belonged to an alternate timeline.
- It was pointed out by fans that this created a plot hole with the Original Series, as Ben 10,000 was from an alternate timeline[8][9][pop-up 2][10] in which he never travelled to the future when he was 10, and consequently did not give Max a cake on his 60th birthday, while Ben Prime did.[5] Thus, Ben 10,000 did not recall the events of the episode from his younger self's perspective.[9][DM 1][DM 2][DM 3]
- Derrick responded to the matter by saying: "Your 'plot holes' are irrelevant. Time isn't completely fixed, it's shifting. Events can be subtly altered. But Ben 10,000 is the future for the Ben Prime timeline."[DJW 5]
- He further explained that future is always in flux,[DJW 15] and is constantly affected by current events, especially by the meddling of the present by time-travellers.[DJW 14] This was also showcased in Ben 10,000. Thus, Ben 10,000, ie, Ben's current true future will always be changing, depending on the future writers of the show.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Animo Crackers
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 The End of an Era
- ↑ And Then There Was Ben
- ↑ Maltruant
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ben 10,000
- ↑ Let's Do the Time War Again
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Fight at the Museum
- ↑ Professor Paradox
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ben 10,000 Returns
- ↑ Ken 10
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Cough It Up
Crew Statements[]
Derrick J. Wyatt[]
- ↑ https://archive.is/UMcud
- ↑ http://www.formspring.me/DerrickJWyatt/q/417381300865888378 (no longer accessible)
- ↑ http://www.formspring.me/DerrickJWyatt/q/421752490921325024 (no longer accessible)
- ↑ http://www.formspring.me/DerrickJWyatt/q/425001921745540846 (no longer accessible)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 File:DJW OV Future Response.png
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:Derrick goal restore original Ben 10k.png
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 File:OV Ben 10K TPTB statement.png
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 File:Ultimate Ben Is Lame.png
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 File:Ben 10k learned lessons from OS episode.png
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 File:DJW came up with Biomnitrix.png
- ↑ File:OV crew didn't want to do Ultimate Ben.png
- ↑ File:Kevin 11K is Both a Hero and Villain.png
- ↑ File:Ben 10K Now Serious At 20.png
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 File:Future is always in motion.png
- ↑ File:Future in Flux.png
- ↑ File:Why Ken Lost His Omnitrix.png
- ↑ File:Kenny OV Grounded.PNG
- ↑ File:Kenny Has Met Big Chill's Offspring.PNG
- ↑ File:Ken will get his Omnitrix back.png
- ↑ File:Spanner Based On Ultra Ben.png