Ben 10: Alien Force
Ben 10: Alien Force is an American animated television series created by team Man of Action, and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It takes place five years after Ben 10 and takes a darker turn than its predecessor.
The series premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on April 18, 2008 and on Teletoon in Canada on September 6, 2008, and ended on March 26, 2010. The series was originally produced under the working title of Ben 10: Hero Generation. The series ran for a total of three seasons and forty-six episodes with its final episode being aired on March 26, 2010.
It was nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Sound Mixing – Live Action and Animation.
Plot
Set five years after the end of the original series, Ben Tennyson, now a teenager, once again dons the Omnitrix to protect the earth and other parts of the universe from villainous alien activity. The Omnitrix itself, a wristwatch-shaped device, allows Ben to transform into numerous alien forms, thereby inheriting the unique abilities of that alien race.Characters
Heroes
- Benjamin "Ben" Tennyson
- Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson
- Kevin Levin
- Julie Yamamoto
- Max Tennyson
Villains
- Highbreed
- DNAliens
- The Forever Knights
- Vilgax
- Albedo
Themes
The evolved Omnitrix
When the Omnitrix was recalibrated it gained a more watch-style shape, a green wristband, and became smaller and sleeker with the face plate becoming black and green. The inside of the hourglass shape on the face now glows in different colors at special moments; these colors signify the state that the Omnitrix is in. The display mode of alien-shaped black silhouettes printed on the face has been replaced by a dark green 3D hologram hovering above the watch, giving a more detailed look of the selected alien.The new Omnitrix also functions as a Plumber's badge which is used in the series as a communicator, a detector of other Plumber's badges, an alien-language translator, and as a key for accessing the Extranet, an intergalactic Internet.
In Ben 10, the reason Azmuth invented the Omnitrix was for all the beings of the universe to better understand each other. It was revealed in Ben 10: Alien Force that there was another reason for the creation of the Omnitrix. Azmuth tells Ben that the Omnitrix was invented to preserve the DNA of all living beings in the Milky Way Galaxy and restore them if they should ever become extinct.
Episodes
Media
DVD releases
DVD title | Season | Aspect ratio | Release date |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 1 | Season One | 4:3 | October 21, 2008 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 2 | Season One | 4:3 | January 13, 2009 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 3 | Season One | 4:3 | April 7, 2009 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 4 | Season Two | 16:9 | September 1, 2009 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 5 | Season Two | 16:9 | November 17, 2009 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 6 | Season Two | 16:9 | March 30, 2010 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 7 | Season Three | 16:9 | June 29, 2010 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 8 | Season Three | 16:9 | August 24, 2010 |
Ben 10: Alien Force Volume 9 | Season Three | 16:9 | October 5, 2010 |
DVD title | Aspect ratio | Release date |
Ben 10: Alien Force – Season 1 | 4:3 | June 1, 2011 |
Ben 10: Alien Force – Season 2 | 4:3 | June 1, 2011 |
Ben 10: Alien Force – Season 3 | 4:3 | June 1, 2011 |
Ben 10: Alien Swarm
Ben 10: Alien Swarm is a live-action film based on the series, announced by Cartoon Network at their 2008 upfront. It is a sequel to '. The first teaser trailer was shown on October 3, 2008 during the premiere of ', a full trailer was shown after the season 2 finale on March 27, 2009, and another full trailer, this time showing a preview of Humongousaur, was shown during the season 3 premiere on September 11, 2009. The film aired on November 25, 2009. According to the sweepstakes site, it was rated TV-PG.Again directed by Alex Winter, the film's cast included Ryan Kelley as Ben, Nathan Keyes as Kevin, and Galadriel Stineman as Gwen. Lee Majors was offered to reprise his role as Grandpa Max, but he turned it down; the role was recast with Barry Corbin. The film also featured Alyssa Diaz as a new character named Elena, who was a childhood friend of Ben. The aliens seen were Big Chill, Humongousaur, and a new alien named Nanomech. In the movie, Kevin's car was a green Dodge Challenger.
Video games
A total of three games based on Ben 10: Alien Force were produced: ', ', and . Characters from the Ben 10 series also made appearances in Cartoon Network's MMO, FusionFall.Comics
Ben 10: Alien Force has been featured in Cartoon Network Action Pack!, an anthology comic book series published by DC Comics, since issue #27. It normally alternates bi-monthly with The Secret Saturdays as the lead story.Ben 10: Alien Force stories have been published in Cartoon Network Action Pack! #27, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, and 43.
Ben 10: Alien Force: Doom Dimension is a two-part graphic novel series published by Del Rey Books, written by Peter David, and illustrated by Dan Hipp.