MORGAN LOFTING DEAD AT 84

 

You can read the full story here.

She played Aunt May and Black Cat in Spider-Man (1981); Vera and Lexa in episodes of Jem; and Fistina, Yett and additional voices in Ben 10: Omniverse. She also provided voices for Meatballs & Spaghetti.

DAVID McCALLUM DEAD AT 90

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS, he also played Professor Paradox in the original Ben 10 franchise timeline. 

WILLIAM RUZIKA DEAD AT 45

 

You can read the full story here.

He directed 12 episodes of Bunnicula and storyboarded for Transformers: Rescue Bots, Ben 10: Omniverse, Justice League Action, DuckTales (2017), and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: DWAYNE McDUFFIE

 

DWAYNE McDUFFIE

(February 20, 1962-February 21, 2011)

 

Notable Roles: Producer, writer, editor

  

A Michigan native, McDuffie graduated the Roeper School and the University of Michigan before moving to New York to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After working as a copy editor at Investment Dealer’s Digest, McDuffie went on to work for Marvel Comics as assistant to editor Bob Budiansky. There, he helped develop the company’s first superhero trading cards set before getting his first major writing work published in the pages of Damage Control. After becoming an editor, he submitted a spoof proposal for a series called Teenage Negro Ninja Thrashers after becoming dissatisfied with the number and treatment of Marvel’s Black characters. Going freelance in 1990, McDuffie continued to write for Marvel alongside DC Comics, Archie Comics and Harvey Comics, where he wrote the comic spin-off of the Back to the Future cartoon. Along with Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle and Christopher Priest (who left in the early planning stages for personal reasons), he founded Milestone Media to bring the multicultural sensibility they felt missing from comic books. They debuted Milestone Comics in 1993, published through DC Comics, that introduced the interconnected “Dakotaverse”, named for the fictional city of Dakota where most of their stories were set. Populating it were the African-American Static, Icon and Hardware; the Asian-American Xombi; and the group Blood Syndicate comprised of various ethnicities. A victim of both the comic bust and near-sighted retailer perception, Milestone ceased operations in 1997 and became primarily a licensing company. Static was adapted into the animated series Static Shock, on which McDuffie served as story editor and wrote 11 episodes. He also wrote for Teen Titans and What’s New, Scooby-Doo? while serving as a staff writer on Justice League; where he was later promoted to story editor and producer when the series became Justice League Unlimited. Additionally, he wrote the story for the video game Justice League Heroes and several direct-to-DVD DC animated movies. Along with returning to comic work with Beyond!, Fantastic Four vol. 1, and Justice League of America vol. 2, McDuffie was hired to revamp and story edit the Ben 10 franchise for Cartoon Network, resulting in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. During his career, he was nominated for several Eisner Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, and won a Golden Apple Award, The Humanitas Prize, an Inkpot Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award, as well as voted Favorite Breakout Talent in Wizard Magazine’s Fan Awards. In 2011, McDuffie died of complications from emergency heart surgery. Several tributes came after his death: Justice League: Doom, Ultimate Alien’s final episode and the spin-off video game were dedicated to his memory; a diner named “McDuffie’s” appeared in Green Lantern: The Animated Series; Ultimate Spider-Man introduced the new CEO of Damage Control named “Mac” with a dedication in the same episode; the 2011 Static Shock comic reboot had the titular character attending a high school named for McDuffie; new DC Comics character and brief TV star Naomi was given the last name “McDuffie”; and the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity and Comics and The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids’ Comics were started in his honor.

 

 

Saturday Credits:
Back to the Future (comic)
Back to the Future: Forward to the Future (comic)
Static Shock
What’s New, Scooby-Doo?
Ben 10: Omniverse

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: TARA STRONG

 

TARA STRONG

(February 12, 1973- )

 

Notable Roles: Hello Kitty, Patty Putty, Carly Cuts, Still Jill, Young Celeste, Hip Koopa, Hop Koopa, Yumi Francois, Agent Heather, Paige Guthrie, Skids, Illyana Rasputin, Kyle Griffin, Spot, Two-Tone, Vendela, Batgril/Barbara Gordon, Dil Pickles, Timmy McNulty, Teddy McNulty, Shareena, Tara Byron, Tutu, Nice Cindy, Ingrid Third, Traplev, Ariella Third, Bubbles, Bebe Proud, Cece Proud, Puff, Blink/Clarice Ferguson, Vicky Vale, Raven/Rachel Roth, Omi, Mercy Graves, Supergirl/Kara Danvers, Timmy Turner, Ben Tennyson, Toot Braunstein, Princess Clara, Maguro, Marrow/Sarah, X-23/Laura Kinney, Sierra McCool, Sky Blossoms, Sari Sumdac, Slipstream, Strika, Invisible Woman/Susan Richards, Daizy, Billy Batson, Mary Marvel/Mary Batson, Huntress/Helena Bertinelli, Ilana, Rogue, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, American Dream/Shannon Carter, H.E.R.B.I.E., Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel, Iolande, Cheetah/Barbara Ann Minerva, Princess Selfrespectra, Stella’s Guardian of Sirenix, Twilight Sparkle, Penny Gadget, Black Cat/Felicia Hardy, Jessica Jones, Spider-Woman/Mary Jane Watson, Thundra, Lois Lane, Rocket J. Squirrel, Typhoid Mary/Mary Walker, Nova Prime, Terra/Tara Markov, Unikitty, Tiggy Sullivan, Miss Minutes

 

 

Born and credited as Tara Charendoff until her marriage, Strong became interested in acting at age 4 when she volunteered to perform in a school production. She worked with the Yiddish Theater and Toronto Jewish Theater and was featured in a recording of “Lay Down Your Arms” with the Habonim Youth Choir, singing the song in both English and Hebrew. Her professional debut was at the age of 13 when she starred as Gracie in Limelight Theater’s production of The Music Man. Along with a guest-spot on the show T. and T., she landed her first animated lead role in Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater. By the time she moved to Los Angeles, she had already amassed an impressive resume; a trend that would continue well into her career. Largely, her work has been in animation, but Strong has made frequent on-camera appearances, most recently in 2021 as Tiggy Sullivan on Pretty Hard Cases, as well as done video games, such as playing the protagonist of Lollipop Chainsaw, Juliette. Often, Strong gets called on to play young boy characters like 10-year-old Ben Tennyson in the Ben 10 franchise, Dil Pickles in the Rugrats franchise (excluding the Paramount+ reboot) or Timmy Turner in The Fairly Oddparents.  She inherited the role as the regular voice of DC Comics’ Harley Quinn from Arleen Sorkin (in addition to already playing Batgirl), and became part of the phenomenon that was My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as lead character Twilight Sparkle. She often uses her fame and social media presence to promote animal rescue groups, raise money for charities, decry bullying and promote Veganism. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for numerous awards including Action on Film International Film Festival, Annie Awards, Behind the Voice Actors Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, NAVGTR Awards, Online Film & Television Association, Spike Video Game Awards, a Hollywood Gold Award, and an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Award; winning several of them.

 

 

Saturday Credits:
Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater
Care Bears
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Piggsburg Pigs!
The Raccoons
Beetlejuice
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures
Little Shop
Wish Kid
Super Mario World
X-Men: The Animated Series
Tales from the Cryptkeeper
Gadget Boy and Heather
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat
Gadget Boy’s Adventures in History
101 Dalmatians: The Series
The New Batman Adventures
Recess
Detention
Pepper Ann
Teacher’s Pet
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
The Zeta Project
The Weekenders
Ozzy & Drix
Lloyd in Space
Fillmore!
What’s New, Scooby-Doo?
Duck Dodgers
Xiaolin Showdown
Lilo & Stitch: The Series
Ben 10
Legion of Super Heroes
The Penguins of Madagascar
Sushi Pack
All Grown Up!
Transformers: Animated
Wolverine and the X-Men
Pound Puppies (2010)
Green Lantern: The Animated Series
DC Nation: Super Best Friends Forever
DC Nation: New Teen Titans
DC Nation: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
Winx Club
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Young Justice
Ben 10: Omniverse
Beware the Batman
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Teen Titans Go!
DC Nation: Shazam!
Xiaolin Chronicles
Bunsen is a Beast
Justice League Action
Ben 10 (2016)
DC Super Hero Girls (2019)
My Little Pony: Pony Life

10TH ANNIVERSARIES

Continuing our 8th anniversary celebration with the Saturday morning shows that are currently celebrating

BEN 10: OMNIVERSE

 

BEN 10: OMNIVERSE

(Cartoon Network, August 1, 2012-November 14, 2014)

 

Cartoon Network Studios

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Yuri Lowenthal – Ben Tennyson (teen), Feedback, XLR8, Albedo (teen human form), AmpFibian, Kickin Hawk, Walkatrout, The Worst, Mole-Stache, Pesky Dust (all 3 the 1^st time), Hervé, Upgrade, Lt. Steel, N-8, Alien X, Bad Ben, No Watch Ben, Benzarro, Nega Ben, Mad Ben, Speedyquick, various
Bumper Robinson – Rook Blonko, Bloxx, Terraspin, Juryrigg, Corvo, Ball Weevil, Doc Saturday,  Crüjo, Alan Albright, Parallelogram Vreedle, Mad Rook, N-D, Uprigg, various
Paul Eiding – Max Tennyson, Liam, Eye Guy, Blukic, Zed, Hoodlum (1 episode), Negative Ultimate Spidermonkey, various
Dee Bradley Baker – Lodestar, Spidermonkey, Water Hazard, NRG, Clockwork, Nanomech, Swampfire, Big Chill, Crashhopper, Astrodactyl, Psyphon, Echo Echo/Ultimate Echo Echo, Wildvine, Caitliff, Inspector 13, The Worst, Wildmutt, Stinkfly, Acid Breath, Kraab, Slix Vigma, Mr. Monkey, Crashocker, Freezeghost, Big Bug, various
Eric Bauza – Diamondhead, Eatle, Grey Matter, Upchuck, Driba, Dr. Psychbos, Fistrick, Articguana/Ultimate Arctiguana, Way Big, Albedo (Galvan & Ultimate form), Chromastone, Bellicus, Pax, Solid Plugg, Ripjaws, Lackno, Toepick, Mechaneer, Rook Da, Thunderpig, Buzzshock, Brainfrog, Freezelizard, Vomit Man, Big Chuck, various
Corey Burton – Malware, Mr. Baumann, Brainstorm, Seebik, Fiskerton Saturday, V.V. Argost, Albedo Brainstorm, Kane North/Kangaroo Kommando, Starbeard
John DiMaggio – Armodrillo, Zombozo, Bubble Helmet, Four Arms, Rath, Humungousaur/ Ultimate Humungousaur, Octagon Vreedle, Bullfrag, Atomix, Whampire, Handy Man, Toolboxx, Dino-Mighty, Humogoopsaur, various
David Kaye – Khyber, Cannonbolt, Shocksquatch, Gravattack/Ultimate Gravattack, Heatblast, Sunder, Frankenstrike, Mole-Stache, Thumbskull, Deefus Veeblepister, Unitaur, Slapstrike,  Skurd, Rollaway, Electricyeti, Negative Ultimate Gravattack, Lightning Volt, various
Rob Paulsen – Magister Patelliday, Rhomboid Vreedle, Ditto, Tummyhead, Phil Billings, Gutrot, various
Kevin Michael Richardson – Snare-oh, Blitzwolfer, Emperor Milleous, various
Tara Strong – Ben Tennyson (young), Upgrade (young), Pakmar, Natalie Alvarez, Ben Tennyson of Dimension 23, Y-It, Molly Gunther, Attea, Lucy Mann, Pesky Dust, Albedo (11-year-old), ML-E (1^st time), Diamondhead Gwen, Nighty Knight, various
 
 
            Ben 10: Omniverse was the fourth series in the Ben 10 franchise created by the creative collective Man of Action, and the final installment in the original timeline (more on that later). While the original Ben 10 was coming to an end, Cartoon Network wasn’t about to lose its cash cow and immediately greenlit production on a follow-up series. Dwayne McDuffie was brought onboard as story editor and writer to help add a new element to the franchise; evolving it from its episodic nature to a serialized action show.

            Ben 10: Alien Force premiered just three days after the final episode and was set 5 years later. The series took on a more serious and action-oriented tone, although still maintained elements of the trademarked comedy.  The now-teenaged Ben (Yuri Lowenthal) had removed the Omnitrix—the wrist device that allowed him to assume various alien forms—and lived a normal life until his grandfather, Max (Paul Eiding), ended up abducted by an alien species called the Highbreed seeking to end all human life on Earth. Of course, he also had to contend with The Forever Knights, a group formed in the Middle Ages that stole and traded in alien technology; Vilgax (James Remar, replacing Steve Blum), an alien warlord who wanted the Omnitrix to aid in his conquest of the universe; and Albedo (Lowenthal), a Galvan and former assistant to Azmuth (Jeff Bennett), the Omnitrix’s creator, who created his own inferior Omnitrix that left him stuck as a clone of Ben. Ben put the Omnitrix back on, and his advanced age caused it to take on a new, sleeker shape and allowed him access to even more alien forms. Ben was joined by his magic-casting cousin, Gwen (Ashley Johnson), and former nemesis and eventual boyfriend of Gwen, Kevin Levin (Greg Cipes), who could absorb the properties of any solid matter he touched.

            After 3 seasons and a live-action telefilm, Alien Force gave way to 3 seasons of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien a month after its finale. Ben was in possession of the Ultimatrix he acquired from Albedo after destroying the Omnitrix to defeat Vilgax. The Ultimatrix allowed him to access more powerful “ultimate” forms of his various aliens. However, Ben’s secret life became public when a young internet conspiracy theorist, J. Jonah “Jimmy” Jones (Scott Menville), deduced his identity and revealed it online. He had new threats in the form of Aggregor (John DiMaggio), an Osmosian who stole alien abilities on his quest to acquire the abilities of a godlike being; his aliens’ ultimate forms gaining sentience and desiring their freedom; an extradimensional energy being known as Dagon (also DiMaggio) who sought to take over the minds of all humans; and the return of Vilgax, who managed to absorb Dagon and take his power for his own. At the end of his struggles, Ben was awarded a new Omnitrix from Azmuth.

Promo art featuring Ben, Rook and alien forms Feedback, Four Arms, Gravattack, Shocksquatch and Bloxx.

            Following the conclusion of that series came Omniverse. Set a few months after Ultimate Alien, The Plumbers, a secret government and intergalactic agency designed to deal with alien threats, were back in full operation with Max in charge and running it from the giant base under his plumbing store. Sometime before the series, Ben and his girlfriend, Julie Yamamoto (Vyvan Pham), had broken up (because some of the producers didn’t care for their relationship and wanted to do something different, despite some staff protests) and she was seeing a boy named Hervé (Lownethal). Gwen decided to go off to college and Kevin went with her (although they would return for guest spots, with Gwen deciding she wanted to be addressed by the more mature-sounding “Gwendolyn”). Ben was prepared to continue his Plumber duties solo, however Max had other plans as he assigned him a new partner: Rook Blonko (Bumper Robinson), a feline-like Revonnahgander from the planet Revonnah. Contrasting Ben’s brash personality, Rook was more stoic and by-the-book; preferring to think before acting. Despite his lack of experience at first as a Plumber, Rook was highly-trained in combat and strategy. He utilized a Proto-Tool, a weapon capable of adapting into various other types of weapons, and a Proto-TRUK, a spaceship that could transform into a small truck and served as their primary mode of transport. The pair also discover an alien underground city under Bellwood called Undertown, which becomes a part of their regular patrol.

11-year-old Ben and some of his aliens.

            McDuffie and executive producer Glen Murakami began conceiving of the idea for Omniverse while planning out the end of Ultimate Alien. Despite making some substantial progress neither would be able to follow through with their intended vision as McDuffie would pass away early in 2011 and Murakami would go off to work on Beware the Batman. Cartoon Network sent down a mandate to make the look and tone of the show closer to the original Ben 10 as that continued to perform best in airings around the world. They hoped to attract a new audience of younger viewer that would be interested in the toys, which were essential for subsidizing the costs of production. As a result, art director Derrick J. Wyatt’s initial character designs were an “homage” to the original series (and drew fan backlash from those that enjoyed the look of the last two shows). For example, Ben’s hair was made messier like his original look and he traded his jacket for a new t-shirt, while Gwen, despite first appearing as she did in the last two shows, returned with her hair shorter and sporting a t-shirt with a cat face. Ben’s (somewhat) maturity he had displayed in the previous two shows was removed entirely to bring him closer to his original, brasher personality (this was attempted to an extent beginning with the 3^rd season of Alien Force). Also, there were frequent flashbacks (occasionally entire episodes) to an 11-year-old Ben (with Tara Strong reprising the role) during weekend trips with Gwen and Max set the year after the end of the original series (a promotional trailer initially stated Ben was still going to still be 10). With Wyatt on board, the production adopted a methodology similar to what was used on Transformers: Animated by having the art crew be a part of the story meetings. Additionally, Wyatt pushed for the show to take an anime influence, encouraging the art team to do as much as they could within the time they had available.

            Along with a number of previous alien forms, several new alien forms made their debut in the series. They included Astrodactyl (Dee Bradley Baker), a Pterodactyl-like being who could fly with a jetpack, created energy weapons, shoot out stars and an energy beam from his mouth, had super strength and could survive in space; Atomix (DiMaggio), a robotic being that had a righteous personality and spoke to others using proper titles, and could create and manipulate atomic energy as well as fly; Ball Weevil (Robinson), an insect-like being with the ability to create balls of sticky plasma that could absorb matter and explode; Bloxx (Robinson),a shapeshifter made up of colorful blocks that allow him to transform or turn into various-sized constructs (think a giant LEGO man); Bullfrag (DiMaggio), a humanoid frog with frog-like abilities, enhanced strength and durability, expertise in hand-to-hand combat, and could stay underwater for an extended period of time; Chamalien (Baker), a purple lizard-like creature that could blend into his surroundings, was agile and flexible, had a slipper body and a retractable barb in his tail; Crashhopper (Baker), a humanoid cross between a grasshopper and praying mantis with powerful legs good for jumping great distances or kicking with a powerful force; Feedback (Lowenthal), a one-eyed humanoid with plugs at the ends of his tail, antennae and fingers that allow him to absorb and redirect various forms of energy; Gravattack (David Kaye), essentially a living planet that can control gravity; Gutrot (Rob Paulsen using a Brooklyn accent), a mechanical humanoid that holds various chemicals inside his body with the ability to mix and match compounds and expel the resulting gas; Kickin Hawk (Lowenthal), a humanoid combination of a rooster and a hawk with retractable claws and elbow blades; Mole-Stache (Lowenthal at first, then Kaye), a small rodent with a mustache that can grow to any size and perform a number of functions like an additional limb; Pesky Dust (Lowenthal at first, then Strong), a fairy-like being capable of flying at great speed and releasing a dust that causes foes to fall asleep, thus allowing him to enter their dreams; Walkatrout (Lowenthal), a fish-like being with legs with a slippery body, enhanced durability and tail strength, agility and able to breathe and swim underwater; Whampire (DiMaggio using a Romanian accent),  a vampire-like being in a bat-like costume (modeled after Marvel Comics’ Baron Blood) that could control beings via eye hypnosis or the Corrupturas he fires, fly, suck life energy and use enhanced vision; and The Worst (Lowenthal at first, then Baker), a fat round alien with a malleable skin that made him indestructible and claws. The crew wanted to debut a lot of aliens—including alternate and future versions—and had several more in the pipeline, but the network put a stop to that, feeling there were far too many in the show between Ben and his evil and future counterparts that would appear (each with some unique aliens of their own). They also put a restriction on the number of transformations per episode. An alien’s use in an episode was determined by desire, situation or simply on what cast members were scheduled to do a particular episode. Pesky Dust, Mole-Stache and The Worst were all originally given Ben’s voice, explained by an “Omnitrix malfunction”, as the crew initially felt they wouldn’t be useful in future episodes and didn’t cast for them; but they won them over in the end and got more appearances with their own unique voices.

Maltruant, the show's ultimate big bad.

            A number of villains made their return, such as Vilgax (Blum again) and his loyal minion Psyphon (Baker), Albedo, Ben’s evil alternate dimension doppelganger Eon (Judd Nelson), self-proclaimed “master magician” Hex (Khary Payton) and his former apprentice Charmcaster (Kari Wahlgren), mad geneticist Dr. Animo (Dwight Schultz) and his mutated animals, Omnitrix escapee Zs’Skayr (Blum) and his minions, criminal clown mastermind Zombozo (DiMaggio) and his Circus Freaks, the criminal Vreedle family, the toad-like conquering Incurseans and The Forever Knights, to name a few. Joining them were a new selection of foes. The major antagonists consisted first of The Faction; a group whose goal was to get the Omnitrix to kill Azmuth (now voiced by René Auberjonois). It was comprised of incomplete mutated Galvanic Mechamorph Malware (Burton), evil Cerebrocrustacean scientist Dr. Psychobos (Bauza), intergalactic huntsman Khyber (Kaye) and his hunting dog-like alien Zed (Eiding). Zed was equipped with the Nemetrix, a version of the Omnitrix invented by Psychobos that allowed her to become the predatory species of the Omnitrix’s aliens. Then there were The Rooters: a former black ops section of The Plumbers that defected and currently viewed Ben and the Omnitrix as a universal threat. The biggest threat, however, came from Maltruant (Mark Hamill). He was a Chronosapien, a race of biomechanical beings, that was obsessed with ruling time itself and could control and manipulate it. His ultimate goal was to journey to the beginning of time and recreate reality in his image.

The future Tennysens face off against Maltruant.

            Additional characters included Skurd (Kaye), a Slimebiote that fed on DNA and became attached to the Nemetrix, which he later traded for the Omnitrix; Kai Green (Bettina Bush), one of Ben’s first crushes and granddaughter of Max’s old partner who ends up married to Ben’s future self, Ben 10,000 (Nelson); their son Ken (Menville), who helped out from time to time in the past in disguise as Spanner; Professor Paradox (David McCallum), a time-travelling professor who often aided the Bens from various timelines; Rad Dudesman (Carlos Alazraqui), a duck-like alien who was a trigger-happy mercenary-for-hire and smuggler; Blukic (Eiding) and Driba (Bauza), the Galvan tech support for the plumbers that often got into their own misadventures with Ben; and Magister Patelliay (Paulsen), a fish-like alien from Piscciss Volann who served as the Plumbers’ second-in-command.

Ben and Rook with the Saturdays.

            Even with the ever-growing stable of original Ben 10 characters, Omniverse became the second entry in the franchise to feature a crossover with outside characters. Ultimate Alien had previously crossed-over with fellow Man of Action-created Cartoon Network program Generator Rex in an hour-long special episode. Omniverse’s crossover came in the form of The Secret Saturdays. Created by cartoonist Jay Stephens, the series followed the adventures of the titular Saturdays, a family of cryptozoologists that worked hard to protect cryptids and ensure their existence was never made general knowledge. The Saturdays were comprised of Solomon “Doc” Saturday (Robinson), a super genius that spent his life studying cryptids and whose belief was firmly grounded in science; Drew Saturday (Vanessa Marshall), Doc’s more open-minded wife who was raised by monks, a skilled linguist and utilized a flame sword; their son Zak Saturday (Ogie Banks), an adventure-seeking boy with the ability to psychic ability to connect with cryptids, enhanced by the staff/grappling hook-like Claw weapon he carried; and Fiskerton (Burton), a tall and somewhat cowardly Lemurian adopted by the Saturdays who generally communicated in grunts and mumbles that the Saturdays could understand. They teamed-up with Ben in the episode “T.G.I.S.” after Dr. Animo resurrected their arch nemesis V.V. Argost (Burton), a yeti posing as a human that attacked real humans for fun and sought immense power. Animo had revived him from his final fate using a combination of cryptid and alien DNA, as well as machinery. Zak knew of Ben and the original series was referenced in their own show, and Ben had a crush on Drew which irritated Zak immensely. Only Burton reprised his role of Argost from The Secret Saturdays. Drew would return for one more silent cameo in the episode “The Most Dangerous Game Show”.

Ben with Azmuth, Kevin and Gwendolyn.

            Ben 10: Omniverse aired a sneak peek episode on August 1, 2012 before making its official debut on Cartoon Network on September 22. Earlier in March, as part of a “Ben 10 Week” which included the premiere of the CGI movie Destroy All Aliens, a sneak peek for the series also aired. Unlike the other series which had traditional television season structures, this one was broken up into 8 story arcs of 10 episodes considered as seasons. The series was written by McDuffie, Charlotte Fullerton, Matt Wayne, Eugene Son, Geoffrey Thorne, Len Wein, David McDermott, Len Uhley, Stan Berkowitz, Kevin Rubio, Marty Isenberg, Jonathan Callan, Tom Minton, Richard Pursel, Amy Wolfram, Thomas Pugsley, Joelle Sellner, Dean Stefan, Michael Ryan, Robert Hoegee, Dani Michaeli, Amy Keating Rogers, Eric Wallace and Matt Youngberg, with Fullerton and Wayne serving as story editors. Lowenthal himself also contributed a script for the first time in the franchise. Character designs were handled by Wyatt, Steven Choi, Chap Yaep, Dou Hong, Thomas Perkins, Shakeh Haghnazarian, Brianne Drouhard, Mike Collins, Dave Sherburne, Danny Kimanyen, Jon Suzuki, Chris Battle, T.J. Collins, Michael Collins and Jae Hong Kim. The theme was performed by Parry Gripp while the rest of the series’ music was composed by Sebastian Evans II. Animation duties were handled by Rough Draft Korea, Co., Ltd. and Sunmin Image Pictures Co. The series was nominated for an Annie Award for character design; several Behind the Voice Actor Awards, winning two; and two Daytime Emmy Awards, winning one for sound mixing.

Initially only 4 seasons were ordered, but Cartoon Network upped it by 2 before the series premiered. In 2013 they upped the order again for an additional 2. As each episode took about 6 months to produce, different directors would work on a block of them simultaneously in order to have them ready for a weekly broadcast schedule. The intro was changed for Arcs 4 and 5, and a special intro was done for the episode “Clyde Five” focusing on Ben’s cousin Clyde Fife (Jon Heder). While the final episode served as both a conclusion and as a starting point for another story arc, no further season orders came. Ultimately, it ended up being the series finale as despite it still performing exceptionally well despite the lackluster fan reception to the new show, the toy sales were immensely disappointing. Without the toys to help with the funding, Cartoon Network was ready to cut their losses and move on to another attempt with the franchise. However, they were obligated to air the remainder of the series and quickly burned off the last three seasons on a daily schedule in the 6 A.M. timeslot. It should also be noted that several episodes were aired out of their intended order, creating continuity issues with events being references before they ever happened and aliens being used before their official debuts. Further, several episodes produced as part of a particular story arc ended up being used in a completely different one. Warner Home Video released the entire first three arcs onto DVD, along with 5 episodes from both Arcs 4 and 5. The entire series was made available to purchase digitally in arcs or individual episodes, and for streaming on HBO Max.

            As with the other entries in the franchise, Bandai produced a line of toys including different sized action figures and playsets, several vinyl figures, mix and match figure two-packs, role play equipment and costumes, plush toys and other types of figures. McDonald’s released a line of toys in their Happy Meals as a promotional tie-in. There have been several comic publications based on the series. The first was published in 2012 by DC Comics as a giveaway for San Diego Comic Con. It was written by Charles Skaggs with art by Min Sung Ku and Carrie Strachan, letters by Dezi Sienty, and a cover by Mike Cavallaro. In 2013, IDW Publishing published a 4-issue mini-series titled simply Ben 10 written by Jason Henderson, art by Gordon Purcell, Scott McRae and Jason Lewis, and letters by Neil Uyetake. The following year, Ben appeared in the Cartoon Network crossover mini-series Super Secret Crisis War! Written by Louise Simonson, drawn by Derek Charm and lettered by Tom B. Long. Viz Media also published their own series at the same time, consisting of three graphic novels: Ghost Ship by Cory Levine & Alan Brown, Joyrides by B. Clay Moore, Joel Enos, Albert Carreres & Brown, and Parallel Paradox by Enos & Brown.  A Halloween Special one-shot giveaway was released under the Halloween Comicfest banner with two stories and a preview of Joyrides.

            Two video games were published based on the series. Omniverse was released in 2012 by D3 Publisher and Bandai Namco Games, developed by Monkey Bar Games and 1^st Playable Productions. It’s a 3D beat-em-up where Ben and Rook (either computer or player controlled) try to foil the plans of Malware. Ben could transform into up to 16 different aliens for a limited time. Omniverse 2 was released the following year, with High Voltage Software replacing Monkey Bar Games on development. This one was another beat-em-up, but also put players on a timer to try and use strategic transformations to get through levels quickly while trying to stop the Incursean invasion.

            With Omniverse wrapped, Cartoon Network looked to the future. They decided that Ben 10 as it was had run its course and it was time for a fresh beginning after classic Ben made one final non-speaking cameo in “The Grampies” episode of Uncle Grandpa. They commissioned the development of a Ben 10 reboot that would bring the entire franchise back to square one: Ben (Strong) and Gwen (Montserrat Hernandez) on a summer road trip with Max (Kaye). However, the classic universe isn’t completely dead yet. There have been several attempts at giving Gwen a solo series; McDuffie reportedly had plans to do so during Ultimate Alien and Omniverse episodes focusing on her in college could have been viewed as backdoor pilots. In 2021, Man of Action confirmed in an interview that they were working with an anime company to bring Gwen to her own series without Ben, largely due to the fact she’s more popular in Asia than Ben is.

 
EPISODE GUIDE:
Arc 1: The More Things Change
“The More Things Change, Part 1” (9/22/12) – Ben gets a new partner when Gwen and Kevin go off to college.
 
“The More Things Change, Part 2” (9/22/12) – Ben and Rook discover an underground alien city and learn Psyphon is behind a protection racket.
 
“A Jolt from the Past” (9/29/12) – The Megawhatts return and ask Ben for help with liberation from being Fistrick’s power source.
 
“So Long, and Thanks for All the Smoothies!” (10/27/12) – When Argit and the Vreedle Brothers accidentally destroy the universe, Ben uses Alien X to recreate it.
 
“It Was Them” (10/20/12) – Ben and Rook must track down and escaped Dr. Animo before he turns the world into a mutant ant farm.
 
“Trouble Helix” (10/6/12) – Khyber breaks into the Plumbers’ base and steals footage of young Ben battling Malware.
 
“Hot Stretch” (11/3/12) – Ben finds himself falling for an alien girl while two other aliens plan to ignite a volcano with a nuclear bomb engine.
 
“Have I Got a Deal for You” (10/13/12) – An alien activist asks Ben to help free a Screegit from an alien con artist, however the Earth’s atmosphere ends up turning the Screegit into a monster.
 
“Of Predators and Prey, Part 1” (11/10/12) – An argument sees Ben and Rook splitting up, allowing Khyber his chance to capture Ben.
 
“Of Predators and Prey, Part 2” (11/17/12) – Rook comes to rescue Ben and they find themselves facing The Faction.
 
Arc 2: Malware’s Revenge (* = aired during Arc 3.)
“Many Happy Returns” (12/1/12) – Gwen and Kevin return for a visit just as Tetramand warships threaten the planet.
 
“Gone Fishing” (12/8/12) – Ben, Rook and Max head off to save Magister Patelliday from pirates.
 
“Outbreak” (11/24/12) – Psychobos infiltrates the Plumber’s base to steal a part from the Omnitrix to fix the Nemetrix, causing its powers to leak into other beings.
 
“Blukic & Driba go to Mr. Smoothy’s” (12/15/12) – Blukic and Driba search for a Mr. Smoothy’s to try their new grasshopper smoothie while Ben and Rook try to stop Trumbipulor’s quest for absolute power.
 
“Malefactor” (12/22/12) – Khyber attacks Ben and Rook at a festival while Malware’s origin continues in flashback.
 
“Bros in Space” (1/12/13) – Ben and Rook visit Rook’s family during the Amber Olga harvest, which Fistrick plans to steal using the planet’s rodent population.
 
“Arrested Development” (1/5/13) – Billy Billons turns Ben and Rook into kids and unleashes an army of Dimension 12 robots.
 
“Rules of Engagement” (3/23/13)* – Ben meets Julie’s new boyfriend when they join him, Rook and Fistina in rescuing Ester’s village from Princess Looma.
 
“Showdown, Part 1” (2/9/13)* - Ben reveals Malware killed his Feedback form when The Faction attempts to take Azmuth, but upon their defeat Malware settles on destroying Galvan Prime’s moon.
 
“Showdown, Part 2” (2/16/13)* - A gigantic Malware appears on Galvan and Ben is absorbed into him, bringing him into a confrontation with his 11-year-old self.
 
Arc 3: Incursean Invasion (^ = aired during Arc 2.)
“T.G.I.S.” (10/5/13)* - The Secret Saturdays team-up with Ben and Rook when Dr. Animo resurrects their arch-nemesis, V.V. Argost.
*Aired during Arc 4.
 
“Tummy Trouble” (2/23/13) – Ben and Rook must rally the feuding Gourmands in order to save their queen from the Incurseans.
 
“Store 23” (1/26/13)^ – Ben takes Blukic and Driba to a Mr. Smoothy’s that travels dimensions, bringing him in contact with his wealthy and selfish counterpart, Ben 23.
 
“Vilgax Must Croak” (3/2/13) – The Incurseans interrupt Vilgax’s transfer to a maximum-security prison by Ben and Rook.
 
“Ben Again” (1/19/13)^ – Eon returns and switches Ben’s mind with that of his younger self as part of a plot to conquer the timelines.
 
“Special Delivery” (2/2/13)^ – Ben is forced to make deliveries for Mr. Baumann after accidentally destroying his car, and one of them ends up being a power source Psyphon plans to auction.
 
“Rad” (3/30/13) – To rescue Plumbers trapped in Incursean territory, Ben and Rook must employ the toughest smuggler in the galaxy: Rad Dudesman.
 
“While You Were Away” (3/9/13) – Princess Attea frees Dr. Psychobos to get his help in invading Rook’s home planet.
 
“The Frogs of War, Part 1” (3/16/13) – The Incurseans take control of Earth and the Plumbers must figure out how to stop them without Ben.
 
“The Frogs of War, Part 2” (3/16/13) – With Ben exiled, it’s up to the remaining Plumbers to mount a resistance against the Incurseans.
 
Arc 4: Duel of the Duplicates
“Food Around the Corner” (10/12/13) – Rook must shrink down to eliminate some “fleas” from Ben’s Gravattack body before it ruins his chances at getting a peace treaty in place.
 
“The Ultimate Heist” (11/16/13) – Albedo—disguised as Ben—seeks a device that will finally change him back while Ben—disguised by Khyber as Albedo—is in a Plumber prison cell.
 
“O Mother, Where Art Thou?” (10/19/13) – Octagon and Rhomboid Vreedle take Pretty Boy along on their attempt to prove themselves to their Ma, but she threatens to blow up the sun until Pretty Boy is returned.
 
“Max’s Monster” (12/7/13) – Phil returns as a human-Terroranchula hybrid and begins sucking up all the power in Bellwood before turning to the Megawatts in Undertown’s power-plant.
 
“Evil’s Encore” (4/6/13)* – Feeling nostalgic for trying to conquer the Plumbers HQ in Mt. Rushmore to mutate the planet, Dr. Animo attempts it again.
*Aired during Arc 3.
 
“Return to Forever” (10/26/13) – The Forever Knights recruit Will Harangue in their plot to eliminate all alien DNA on Earth.
 
“Mud is Thicker Than Water” (11/2/13) – Ben, Gwen and their cousin Lucy investigate how Psyphon is getting Plumber tech but Gwen suspects Lucy based on her love of tricks.
 
“OTTO Motives” (11/9/13) – While enjoying an intergalactic auto show, Khoros, Kevin, Rook and Agit run into Kevin’s old enemy OTTO who plans to make off with some expensive cars.
 
“A Fistful of Brains” (11/23/13) – Albedo leads Ben into a trap that puts him on Kyber’s hidden hunter preserve against his new Nemetrix-wearing pet.
 
“For a Few Brains More” (11/30/13) – Albedo takes Azmuth’s brain and plans to absorb it in order to conquer the galaxy.
 
Arc 5: Galactic Monsters (* = aired during Arc 6)
“Something Zombozo This Way Comes” (2/15/14) – Ben must overcome his fear of clowns to save Bellwood from being turned into a clown army.
 
“Mystery, Incorporated” (2/22/14) – Ben and Rook visit Gwen and Kevin at college just as Darkstar returns to use Gwen to open a portal to absorb mana and become all-powerful.
 
“Bengeance is Mine” (3/1/14) – A human plumber that resembles Vilgax accidentally sets off one of Vilgax’s weapons and gets Psyphon to pledge his loyalty in destroying Bellwood.
 
“An American Benwolf in London” (3/8/14) – Ben’s childhood crush asks him for help when her grandfather is kidnapped by the Forever Knights in their quest to find Excalibur.
 
“Animo Crackers” (3/15/14) – Ben and Rook get some future help when Animo’s future self returns to the present to free Animo from prison and complete their dream of mass mutation.
 
“Rad Monster Party” (3/22/14) – Ben, Rook, Rad and Hobble crash on Anur Transyl while on a delivery run and learn what they were delivering was Zs’Skayr and Dr. Viktor’s revenge.
 
“Charmed, I’m Sure” (3/29/14) – Using the Omnitrix on Anur Transyl gives Ben terrible acne, and Charmcaster proposes an alliance to defeat Zs’Skayr to retrieve her Alpha Rune.
 
“The Vampire Strikes Back” (4/5/14) – Zs’Skayr awakens Lord Transyl to form an alliance and they end up hypnotizing everyone on Anur Transyl—including Ben’s team.
 
“And Then There Were None” (10/6/14)* – Vilgax and Eon join forces to wipe out every Ben across every dimension.
 
“And Then There Was Ben” (10/7/14)* – Professor Paradox unites various good Bens to take on their evil counterparts, Eon and Vilgax.
 
Arc 6: The Evil Rooters (* = aired during Arc 5)
“Catfight” (4/12/14)* – Ben and Rook’s double date is interrupted when Nyancy Chan places Ben in a trance and uses him to commit crimes.
 
“Collect This!” (4/19/14)* – While Ben is jealous an actor portraying him is more famous than he is, Simian hires an alien collector who can turn things into trading cards.
 
“The Vengers” (10/8/14) – Billy Billions assembles a team of villains to take down Ben and humiliate him in front of the whole town.
 
“Cough It Up” (10/9/14) – Argit swallows a weapon that could generate Techadons with water to keep it out of the hands of Psyphon.
 
“The Rooters of All Evil” (10/10/14) – The Rooters return to Plumbers HQ to find Kevin and make use of his abilities.
 
“Blukic and Driba go to Area 51” (10/13/14) – Ben and his team head to Area 51 to locate a powerful weapon before a strange threat can.
 
“No Honor Among Bros” (10/14/14) – Fistrick’s “bro” essence affects Rook, turning him into a bro when he and Ben need to infiltrate an alien fight club.
 
“Universe vs. Tennyson” (10/15/14) – Ben is put on trial in intergalactic court for his hand in recreating the universe.
 
“Weapon XI, Part 1” (10/16/14) – Kevin and Argit attempt to warn the amalgam kids about The Rooters while Ben, Rook and Gwen end up stuck in the Null Void looking for Kevin.
 
“Weapon XI, Part 2” (10/17/14) – The Rooters manage to turn Kevin and the amalgam kids against Ben.
 
Arc 7: The Mad Nightmare
“Clyde Five” (10/20/14) – Ben’s country cousin wants to be a hero too and gets his chance when he finds a mysterious device that he dubs the “Cincotrix”.
 
“Rook Tales” (10/12/14) – Rook’s former teacher is preventing his sister from joining the Plumber Academy in order to preserve their home planet’s traditions.
 
“Charm School” (10/22/14) – Charmcaster goes after Gwen for Hex’s mystical staff while Rook and Kevin work on making Kevin’s car indestructible.
 
“The Ballad of Mr. Baumann” (10/23/14) – Realizing his grumpiness stems from loneliness, Mr. Baumann goes soul-searching and stumbles upon a big secret.
 
“Fight at the Museum” (10/24/14) – Ben already ruins his hangout with Ester by bringing Rook along, but things end up more complicated when they run into his former crush and have to team-up.
 
“Breakpoint” (10/27/14) – Ben goes undercover at Fistrick’s gym to find out what he’s up to when he’s committing robberies disguised as Ben.
 
“The Color of Monkey” (10/28/14) – Argit starts a secure transport firm with Techadons as workers, which Ben becomes suspicious of.
 
“Vreedlemania” (10/29/14) – Pa and Ma Vreedle reunite for some mayhem while Rhomboid and Octagon continue to try and impress their parents.
 
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Ben World, Part 1” (10/30/04) – Ben 23 is sent by his Azmuth to Ben’s dimension to be mentored in order to stop Maltruant’s plans to conquer the space-time continuum.
 
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Ben World, Part 2” (10/31/04) – Psychobos helps Ben and Ben 23 escape Mad Ben’s labor camp and stage a revolution.
 
Arc 8: The Time War
“From Hedorium to Eternity” (11/3/14) – In the past, Zs’Skayr returned to Earth with a plan to block out the sun so that his fellow Ectonurites could colonize the planet.
 
“Stuck on You” (11/4/14) – Khyber attempts to team-up with a Slimebiote named Skurd so he can safely use the Nemetrix, but Skurd finds he prefers the DNA he can consume from the Omnitrix.
 
“Let’s Do the Time War Again” (11/5/14) – Ben 10,000 and Professor Paradox team-up with Ben and Rook to stop a Time Beast awoken by the theft of its eggs by Eon.
 
“Secret of Dos Santos” (11/6/14) – Ben, Skurd and Rook accompany Kai as she searches for the Temple of the Sky and find an old Galvan guarding a dangerous component of Maltruant.
 
“Third Time’s a Charm” (11/7/14) – Charmcaster enacts her revenge against Gwen by transforming her into a totem.
 
“The Final Countdown” (11/10/14) – The graveyard shift turns deadly when Rook’s sensei arrives with a desire to purge the galaxy of all technology.
 
“Malgax Attacks” (11/11/14) – Ben finally gets rid of Skurd just as Vilgax uses Malware’s calcified husk to make powerful armor for himself.
 
“Most Dangerous Game Show” (11/12/14) – Ben is forced into an alien reality show where all the girls he’s met are made to compete for the chance to become his bride.
 
“The End of an Era” (11/13/14) – In the future, Maltruant attacks Plumbers’ HQ to get the Annihilaarg and Dwarf Star.
 
“A New Dawn” (11/14/14) – Ben and Rook chase Maltruant to the beginning of time where he attempts to recreate all of reality in his own image.