Gwen Tennyson
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson,[1] also known as Lucky Girl, is a fictional character of the Ben 10 franchise. The paternal first cousin and best friend of title protagonist Ben Tennyson, she was created for Ben 10 (2005–2008), in which she was voiced as a 10-year-old by Meagan Smith, with Tara Strong as her future version. Smith was replaced by Ashley Johnson for the sequel series Ben 10: Alien Force (2008–2010), Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (2010–2012), and Ben 10: Omniverse (2012–2014), with Montserrat Hernandez voicing the character in the rebooted Ben 10 (2016–present).
| Gwen Tennyson | |
|---|---|
| Ben 10 character | |
 Gwen Tennyson as depicted in (from left to right, top to bottom) Ben 10 (2005), Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Ben 10: Omniverse, and Ben 10 (2016) | |
| First appearance | And Then There Were 10 (2005) |
| Created by | |
| Portrayed by | |
| Voiced by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Gwendolyn Tennyson |
| Alias | Lucky Girl |
| Nickname | Gwen |
| Species | Human (with Anodite heirtage) |
| Affiliation | |
| Family |
|
| Significant other | Kevin Levin |
| Children | Eunice / The Unimatrix (genetic copy) |
| Nationality | American |
| Abilities | Powers:
Abilities:
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Fictional character biography
Ben 10 (2005–2008)
In the series, Gwen Tennyson (Meagan Smith) is sent by her parents on a road trip with her Grandpa Max (Paul Eiding) and her cousin Ben (Tara Strong). She and Ben constantly argue, however they are both shown to deeply care for each other and their grandfather. Following Ben's acquisition of the Omnitrix, the trio embark in a series of adventures, encountering various extraterrestrial and supernatural entities, including master magician Hex (Khary Payton) and his niece Charmcaster (Kari Wahlgren) , the latter of whom detects a "magical aura" within Gwen, which she begins tapping into, acquiring magical powers of her own, after learning she would from a future version of herself (Tara Strong), after procuring a small book of spells from Charmcaster in the episode "A Change of Face". On two occasions, Gwen uses artifacts sought by the master magicians known as the Charms of Bezel to acquire incredible and unique powers and abilities to become a superhero by the name of "Lucky Girl". Besides magic, Gwen's biggest power is her intelligence: she is a computer expert and revealed to have a big aknowlegement about subjects as History (episode "Hunted") and Science (episodes "Tourist Trap" and "Monster Weather"). She is also a martial arts practice.
Ben 10: Alien Force (2008–2010)
Set five years after the end of the original series, Gwen Tennyson (Ashley Johnson) is now a black belt in karate, but tends to favor using her powers. She is capable of creating 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, which she uses to assist her cousin Ben (Yuri Lowenthal) after the disappearance of their grandfather forces him to put back on the Omnitrix. In the episode "Everybody Talks About the Weather", the pair's former enemy Kevin (Greg Cipes) tells Gwen her powers and abilities originate from her "alien bloodline", which she refuses to believe. In "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", Gwen discovers this to be true, that her paternal grandmother, Verdona (Barbara Bain and Juliet Landau), is an energy being known as an Anodite; a magic-wielding race made of mana, a substance of magic, from the distant planet Anodyne, and that Gwen seems to be the only human descendant of her to have inherited her powers. Verdona offers to take Gwen to her home planet and train her in the immense mystical and magical ways of the Anodites, but Gwen prefers to remain on Earth with Ben and Kevin, later coming into conflict with a returned Charmcast and Michael Morningstar (Wil Wheaton), who after initially seeking to absorb her powers, seeks revenge against her after her taking back her powers reduced him to a husk which he dubbed "Darkstar". Gwen later unleashes her true Anodite form for the first time in "War of the Worlds: Part 2", succeeding defending the world from the Highbreed. During the course of the series, she develops a romantic relationship with Kevin, and is revealed to suffer from both arachnophobia and claustrophobia. Galadriel Stineman portrays Gwen in the 2009 superhero television film Ben 10: Alien Swarm.[2][3]
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (2010–2012)
Set several weeks after the previous series, Gwen Tennyson, now sixteen years old, releases her dormant, inner Anodite for the second time against Zombozo (John DiMaggio) after he attempts to kill her aunt and Ben's mother Sandra (Beth Littleford), growing to a gigantic size and shouting at him to leave the Tennyson family, as well as Kevin's family, alone, terrifying him before letting him go to spread the word to all of their other enemies. Gwen also discovers her black-haired near-identical cousin Sunny (also voiced by Ashley Johnson) is also an Anodite and once again encounters Charmcaster and Darkstar, the pair now engaged in a romantic relationship after Charmcaster failed to use the Great One Dagon to resurrect her father, before helping Ben save the universe in destroying Dagon and his Esoterica. Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United, a one-hour crossover with fellow Man of Action series Generator Rex, aired on November 25, 2011 on Cartoon Network, in which Gwen is featured towards the beginning and in a flashback in a cameo appearance.[4]
Ben 10: Omniverse (2012–2014)
Unlike in previous series, Gwen is a recurring character in the modern day, only popping up occasionally to assist Ben due to now attending college. She is often depicted in flashback sequences to when she was 11-years-old, revealing she had developed a crush on Kevin at that time. Immediately after the previous series, Gwen is seen with Ben and Kevin chasing Zombozo through Bellwood; she is implied to have briefly killed him during their previous encounter when he is shown to then possess a more degraded physical form. Shortly after fighting and capturing Zombozo, Gwen says her goodbyes to Ben because she is heading to college since she took honor classes. She then tells Ben to stay out of trouble and gets into the car with Kevin (who also reveals that he will be staying with Gwen, but near campus), and the two drive off, leaving Ben to deal with Zombozo. Sometime later, she makes the decision to take up the mantle of Lucky Girl again, masked and using her Anodite abilities. She is later shown to attend a magic class taught by a redeemed Hex, after he finally overcomes his depression, him having become her favorite teacher, before he is trapped as a stone totem by his niece Charmcaster. Later, after being freed, he and Gwen keep Charmcaster as a stone totem herself under the hope that she can get better someday herself. At the end of "A New Dawn", after watching the new universe be created, Ben calls Gwen to get Kevin as he proposes that the trio and his partner Rook Blonko (Bumper Robinson) go on a road trip together to explore the universe that they watched being created.[5]
Ben 10 (2016–present)
Ben 10 introduces a re-imagined Gwen (in her 10-year-old form), her cousin Ben, and Grandpa Max, as they travel the country during summer vacation. When Ben finds the Omnitrix, a mysterious watch that transforms him into 10 different aliens, a world of extraterrestrial superpowers opens up to him; Gwen's form as Lucky Girl in the previous continuity exists as a popular pre-existing multimedia franchise of which she is a fan, while her enemy "Kevin 11" has a crush on Gwen, to which she is oblivious. From an in-universe perspective, the series is a television series based on the adventures of the Gwen and Ben Tennyson who serves as the focus of Ben 10 (2005), Alien Force, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse.[6]
Concept and creation
Ben 10 was created by Man of Action (consisting of comic book creators Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle) and was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The group worked on the concept of Ben 10 and its title character roughly three years before Cartoon Network picked up the series. Dave Johnson also helped in the design development.[7] Gwen was originally developed to be a classmate and potential romantic interest of Ben's accompanying on his road trip with his grandfather. Later in development, she was changed to be his cousin, the pair being exactly the same age.[8][9]
Gwen's original design, including a yellow t-shirt and ponytail, was inspired by the original design of Ben Tennyson, the red hair retained for all series, while the ponytail would be incorporated into her outfit redesign by Glen Murakami for the last season of Alien Force, the entirety of Ultimate Alien and the first season of Omniverse.[9] Her head and hair were reworked by Glenn Wong, who also gave the character her blue top in Alien Force, while colors were added by Chris Hooten.[10]
The original concept behind the characters was later cited as the primary inspiration for the characters of Patrice Blazing and Nate Timely in PopCap Games and Dark Horse Comics' Plants vs. Zombies comic series, with Patrice designed after Gwen and Nate after Ben.[11][12]
Portrayal
Voice actors
She is voiced by Meagan Smith in the 2005 original series as 10-year old Gwen to the show's finale in 2008. Smith reprises her role in 2012 in the film Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens.
In the 2008 sequel series, Ben 10: Alien Force; teenage Gwen (15 years old), is voiced by Ashley Johnson (replacing Smith) and continued to voice Gwen in both Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Ben 10: Omniverse respectively. In Omniverse, she voices both the kid and teenage of Gwen, as well as all her alternate timeline counterparts.
Tara Strong voices Gwen as an adult from an alternate timeline in the original series for two episodes ("Ben 10,000" and "Ken 10").
Gwen is voiced by Montserrat Hernandez in the 2016 reboot.
Live-action
Gwen is played by Haley Ramm in Ben 10: Race Against Time and by Galadriel Stineman in Ben 10: Alien Swarm.
See also
References
- "Gwen Tennyson (Classic)". Ben 10 Wikia. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- Carter, Kenneth (23 November 2009). "TV Review: "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" Surprisingly Entertaining And Fun". Alabama Local News. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- Weir, Melanie (4 June 2020). "Here's Why 'Ben 10 Alien Force' Was An Underrated Show". The Things. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- "Ben 10 & Generator Rex Team-Up!". Archived from the original on 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- Kirkpatrick, Noel (4 December 2012). "Animation Round-up: Gwen and Kevin Return to Ben 10, Droid Rage on The Clone Wars, and Adventure Time Takes Down 'Shippers?". TV.com. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- "Cartoon Network Australia October 2016 Highlights". RegularCapital. 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- Kur, Maciej (12 June 2015). "Interview: Dave Johnson". gothamwdeszczu.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Language and Style in Cartoons: A Case Study of Ben 10 (Salome Katumbi Kaula). University of Nairobi, 2015.
- The Complete Second Season: Commentary for "Ghostfreak Out" (DVD). Warner Bros Entertainment.
- Wong, Glenn (21 March 2019). "@wongdraws – Glenn Wong – Here's the turnaround I did for Gwen Tennyson from Ben 10: Alien Force". Instagram. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- Mosseri, Adam (19 July 2013). "Plants vs. Zombies Comics Now Available on the App Store". iClarified. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- The Art of Plants vs. Zombies. Dark Horse Comics, 2013.