Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson is a Human/Anodite hybrid Plumber, the paternal cousin of Ben Tennyson, and (along with Kevin Levin and Rook Blonko) a front line member of his team. Gwen was first introduced when her parents sent her on a summer-long road trip with her Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben. She has, as Verdona refers to it, "The Spark".
In Ben 10: Omniverse, like her boyfriend Kevin, sixteen-year old Gwen is a recurring character rather than a main one, as she went off to an Ivy League college, but visits occasionally.
Appearance
In the original series, Gwen had short orange hair held by a blue hair clip and green eyes and wore a blue shirt with a cat logo on her chest and white capris. She wears a blue hairclip in her bangs. Her lucky girl outfit is worn in Lucky Girl and Tough Luck.
In the first and second seasons of Alien Force, Gwen wore a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt, and black high heels. Her hair has also grown longer and is now down to her waist. In the third season, she wears a red shirt paired with a black vest, gray pants, and black flats. Her hair is worn in a high ponytail. In her Anodite form, she looks like a mini version of Verdona. At the beach, Gwen wore a black bikini. Later on, she wore a white one. In Ultimate Alien, Gwen's outfit is similar to her outfit from the first two seasons of Alien Force, but with a red sweater while her hair still is now slicked back in a ponytail.
In Inspector 13, Gwen is seen wearing a violet tank with a white skirt and tennis shoes.
In Omniverse, Gwen still has her ponytail, but it's much shorter. She now wears clothes similar to her Alien Force seasons 1-2 outfit, except she now wear long white socks that go up to her knees with black mary janes. She now also has freckles.
Later on, she has shorter hair, which is now orange again, with her blue hairclip, a light blue T-shirt with her cat logo on it, a blue plaid miniskirt and wears blue-tinted glasses. In her new Anodite form, her skin turns purple, but her hair remains the same length, but is now made of mana and is pink and her eyes also turn pink. Her glasses also 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.
11-year-old Gwen in Omniverse looks just like she did in the original series except that she has freckles and her cat logo is now bigger.
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. However, she's sometimes too trusting with people who want to exploit her goodwill, leading her (or others) into harm's way.
As she got older, she became even more mature, as well as becoming more caring and sympathetic. Her love for her cousin, Ben, became more clear in the future series as well.
Gwen is willing to forgive villains for their wrongdoings, the most notable being Kevin, if she believes they've changed for the better. Although her intelligence and knowledge have only increased since the original series, she's not completely free of her naivete, and can be arrogant at times as well.
History
Ben 10
In the original series, Gwen went on a road trip with Grandpa Max and her cousin Ben. She and Ben constantly argued (like about Ben misusing the watch or about Gwen's powers) however they were shown to deeply care for each other. Gwen also shows deep affection for her Grandpa.
Gwen also uses newspapers and her laptop to research any strange people and creatures they might come across. She is a capable gymnast and has had some training in martial arts.
In Ben 10,000, her future self says she got her black belt years ago and it's come in handy many times. She has also shown an almost innate skill in using various complicated devices or objects, such as in the "What If?" episode Gwen 10, when Gwen gained the Omnitrix instead of Ben and proved to be far more adept in its use than he initially was, even being able to write her name with fire while Ben took a month to be able to do it.
She is depicted as snobbish due to her young girl attitude. Overall, her most notable skill is her innate, if latent, ability at magic. Having within her what Charmcaster calls a "magical aura", Gwen is capable of using various magical artifacts, charms, talismans, and spells. When using the magical, luck-giving Charm of Bezel, she was able to activate it instinctively, whereas Hex did or could not. Later on, when she takes and uses his staff, she was able to make it fire a yellow-colored energy blast (according to Charmcaster), only someone of Hex's skill should have had that ability.
Gwen starts tapping into magical powers when she procures a small book of spells from Charmcaster in the episode A Change of Face. On two occasions, Gwen uses the Charms of Bezel's incredible and unique powers and abilities to become a superhero by the name of "Lucky Girl". At first, her ability drew from the luck-granting, Charms of Bezel, which innately gave her perfect luck and the abilities and powers of probability manipulation. While wearing the charm, any action she took would result in a Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction benefiting her original intent, but usually injuring Ben in the process. She later brought back her superhero identity after obtaining the legendary Keystone of Bezel, which greatly strengthened and increased her natural abilities to super human levels rather than just affecting her luck. Both times, Gwen was forced to retire when the Charms of Bezel were destroyed. Gwen has also appeared to have two swimsuits; one which appeared in Divided We Stand and the other appeared in A Small Problem.
In Perfect Day, a superhero form was given to her by Ben as a form of petty torment while they were inside Ben's dream battling his imaginary bullies. In this form, she only exhibited the power of enhanced biting. Ben called her Ultra Rat.
Gwen forms a rivalry with Charmcaster during the series.
Five years prior to Omniverse
In Ben Again, Gwen is intrigued by the sudden increase in maturity of the 11 year old Ben whose mind has been switched with 16 year old Ben. Eventually she helps to defeat Eon and her memory is erased about the events of the episode except for a thing that 16 year old Ben in 11 year old Ben's body told her in a vague memory. In Evil's Encore and From Hedorium to Eternity she helps to defeat Dr. Animo and Zs'Skayr respectively. She appears in flashbacks in other episodes of Ben 10: Omniverse.
Alien Force
Ultimate Alien
Omniverse
Powers and Abilities
Love Interests
Appearances
Ben 10
- All episodes except Gwen 10 and Goodbye and Good Riddance.
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
- Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens
Ben 10 Shorts
- Hijacked
- Snack Break
- Survival Skills
- Radio Dazed
- Sleepaway Camper
- Dogged Pursuit
- Let the Games Begin
- Handle with Care
- Road Trip Rumble
Ben 10: Alien Force
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
Specials
Ben 10: Omniverse
- The More Things Change: Part 1 (16 years old)
- A Jolt from the Past (11 years old)
- Trouble Helix (11 years old)
- It Was Them (11 years old)
- Of Predators and Prey: Part 2 (11 years old)
- Many Happy Returns (16 years old)
- Malefactor (11 years old)
- Ben Again (11 and 16 years old)
- Showdown: Part 1 (11 years old)
- Showdown: Part 2 (11 and 16 years old)
- The Frogs of War: Part 2 (16 years old)
- Evil's Encore (11 years old)
- Mud Is Thicker Than Water (11 and 16 year old)
- For a Few Brains More (11 and 16 years old)
- Max's Monster (11 years old)
- Mystery, Incorporeal (16 years old)
- Weapon XI: Part 1 (16 years old)
- Weapon XI: Part 2 (11 and 16 years old)
- Charm School (16 years old)
- From Hedorium to Eternity (11 years old)
- Third Time's a Charm (16 years old)
- The Most Dangerous Game Show (16 years old; cameo)
Comics
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
- Doom Dimension
- Wanted: Kevin Levin
Video Games
- In Ben 10: Alien Force Gwen can shoot bolts, grab enemies and enable auto defense mode as well as float around for a small amount of time.
- 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 in Robot Chicken stop motion animation
- According to Ben, and proven by Gwen in Save the Last Dance, Gwen's favorite flowers are yellow roses.
- According to Rook in The Ultimate Heist, Gwen's birthday is in December.
- Also, according to Gwen and Ben in Camp Fear they were born on the same day.
- āAccording to Diagon, Gwen is the most powerful being in her world.
- Gwen is Verdona's favorite grandchild.
- In an early stage of the original series, Gwen was originally meant to be a classmate and friend of Ben rather than his cousin.
- Gwen isn't too fond of Upchuck's powers. It is also shown on several occasions that she isn't fond of Goop.
- Gwen's DNA was sampled and randomized into the Unitrix to create Eunice.
- Gwen's new look 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.
See Also
- Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin
- Gwen's Spellbook
- Lucky Girl Arc
- Relationships