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Professor Paradox is a time traveling professor who can travel anywhere in space or time, within reason. While he forgot his true name from centuries being trapped in a separate reality, he now goes by the name "Professor Paradox," after taking a liking to being referred to as such.
Personality
Paradox is portrayed as a calm, free-going man. He talks much like a stereotypical scientist, with dialogue requiring higher knowledge to understand completely. When he was first sent into an alternate dimension he went crazy, but after millennial he got bored of that and became sane.
In his first appearance, Swampfire tried to capture Paradox (not knowing whether he was friend or foe), but he always "teleported" to a place a few meters away. When Swampfire asked how he did that, the calm Paradox replied: "It's called walking". He really likes gumballs and is often seen offering to anyone he meets.
Paradox has a habit of getting events that haven't happened yet (from the perspective of the viewer and those he's talking to) and those that have (from his perspective) mixed up, due to his travels through time.
Paradox's calm personality also makes it difficult to tell when he's joking or not, such as telling Kevin that if his replacement car (factory new from the past) came in contact with anything else from the same year it was made, it would "explode like anti-matter."
History
Background
Young Paradox in Omniverse
At some point he was working for Area 51. It's not known what his job exactly was but had something to do with the alien prisoners.
Paradox and his assistant Hugo before the accident
In the 1950's, a scientist (Paradox), having discovered special properties in quartz crystals, received government funding to break a hole in the space-time continuum. But a slight miscalculation (that caused Paradox to turn timeless) and an explosion accidentally caused by his panicked assistant Hugo (the reason for the experiment going wrong - turning Hugo into a extra-dimensional creature), threw Paradox into the event horizon, where he remained for a hundred thousand (100,000) years. He was displaced outside of time, where he didn't age, or have to sleep or eat, just exist. He went insane for a while but then got bored and regained his sanity. He soon had complete understanding of the space-time continuum, though he forgot his original name in the process.
Alien Force
Paradox used his understanding to travel across time, making different parts of history better for others. He said he would help Ben save the "whole entire universe".
Paradox soon learns that the accident sent an extra-dimensional creature fifty years from the time of the experiment. He traveled to the Alien Force time to stop it, meeting Ben's younger self. It was at this point that he gained his new moniker, with Gwen bringing it up as the name of his original time travel project. After a few fights with the creature, Ben told Paradox to take them all back to the accident, where it is discovered that Hugo was the creature. He was frightened and confused, but turning everything to dust. By preventing Hugo from being sucked into the event horizon, it negated his time-accelerating existence. After returning to Ben's present, Paradox was stoked that he didn't see it in the first place. He took an older Hugo to a behind-the-scenes look at eternity.
Paradox left the trio one last gift, Kevin's regressed car, factory new from 1976. But a note warns him that if the car comes in contact with anything from that era, it would explode like antimatter. Dwayne McDuffie has confirmed that the note that Paradox left Kevin was merely a joke.
Paradox in War of the Worlds
Paradox then later appears in the two part, season two finale, War of the Worlds meeting Azmuth to take him away from the Highbreed invasion and goes to assist Ben in fighting the Highbreed. In this he seems to be able to stop time, as his watch flashed and he just zapped past a bunch of DNAliens.
Paradox appears in Time Heals where he tells Gwen that time traveling is for immortals and fools. Later, he informs Gwen of the dire consequences her actions have caused.
Ultimate Alien
Paradox appears in the episode of Ultimate Aggregor by giving advice to Kevin. It is revealed he divided the Map of Infinity into four pieces in the past.
In Perplexahedron, it is revealed he also created planet Perplexahedron to hide the final piece of the map from those who would misuse its power.
Paradox and Ben inside Alien X
Paradox appeared in The Forge of Creation, having the key to stop Ultimate Aggregor from tapping into the power of Alien X by helping Ben and his team getting there and he also took 10 year old Ben home. Paradox also can't be within 500 light years near any Celestialsapien, although why he isn't allowed to go near them is currently unknown.
Paradox appeared in Ben 10,000 Returns to visit Ben 10,000 and helps Ben 10,000 and Ben's Team foil Eon's evil plan. At the end of the episode, he asked Ben 10,000 to restore Swampfire and Way Big. He also gives a warning to Ben's team about Old George and the Creature From Beyond before leaving with Ben 10,000.
Omniverse
Paradox has already been aware that the the universe had been destroyed in So Long, And Thanks For All The Smoothies, and replaced with a near identical one by Alien X.[1] On the flashback of Blukic and Driba Go to Area 51, he was called by Colonel Rozum to help on the investigation about Blukic and Driba's fall on Earth.
Sometime in his life, Paradox was busy fighting in a Time War, apparently losing his right hand and replacing it with a robotic prosthetic. He had disguise his Chrono-navigator (his pocket watch, noted as a GPS "to the multiverse") for safekeeping,
Paradox managed to trap Eon in the Main Timeline to prevent him from crossing into others to cause chaos.
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Paradox vs Eon
Paradox returns in Ben Again, where he's lost his professor look and now has, as Ben describes it, a Steampunk general look. Following Eon switching the minds of 11-year-old Ben and 16-year-old Ben, Paradox goes fives years into the past to talk with 16-year-old Ben following Max's warning him not to give spoilers about the future. He informs Ben of his involvement in the Time War are the reason for his missing hand and that he has gone to great lengths to prevent Eon from causing havoc.
Captured in an Alternate Dimension
However, Eon finds him and cuts off his right hand, which is actually his disguised pocket watch, and takes him to an alternate dimension to be interrogated. As he is not a liar, Eon knows he doesn't have the Chrono-Navigator with him and goes to take it from 11-year-old Ben. When Eon begins to use the Chrono-Navigator to bring his minions into the main timeline, time begins falling apart. He is freed from his shackles thanks to 11-year-old Gwen and 16-year-old Gwen. Instructing both Bens to use Clockwork to place Eon between both periods of time, the timeline is restored to normal and all memory of the event is erased.
Ben 10,000 later comes looking for Paradox in 16-year-old Ben's era, saying that the Chronosapiens have gone rogue and Maltruence's beasts are on an inter-dimensional rampage, said this time war is getting out of hand.
Powers and Abilities
Professor Paradox time traveling
Due to his time in entrapment, Paradox knows how the space-time continuum works, allowing him to teleport to any location, both in time and space, slow down or speed up time as he pleases, though he states there are places he cannot go and things he cannot do, though what restricts him is not yet explained. Paradox's abilities are not limited to this universe, having apparently been to other universes and the space in between.
Paradox is able to regress a person's age, but seems incapable of doing it on something mechanical. Instead he pulls a newer copy of it physically out of the past.
Professor Paradox learns about time, during his time spent outside the event horizon.
Paradox is capable of transporting people, objects and even places like the Forge of Creation to almost any point in space and time. However, he does have to follow certain rules, for example he cannot bring the past and future versions of an individual together unless absolutely necessary.
Additionally, Paradox's time travel powers have left him biologically immortal, with no need to eat or sleep.
Paradox is capable of reverting Ben from an alien back to his human form as he did to Alien X.
Weaknesses
Having a total understanding of the the space-time continuum and the power to travel down any aspect of it, gives Paradox abilities that theoretically make him omnipresent (at least within the confines of the Ben 10 multiverse).
If Paradox does have any weaknesses, it is his cryptic personality and his adherence to keep the timestream on a stable course. This in itself is a paradox as any of his failures to save a certain part of the continuum can be visited, undone and redone.
Paradox had admitted that he does not lie and Eon has confirmed this. However, this is more along the lines of a warning not to disturb the timestream unduly.
Getting control of Paradox's Chrono-navigator might give one an advantage over him, though this has proven to be a double-edged sword as Eon almost destroyed all reality.
Appearances
Ben 10: Alien Force
- Paradox (first appearance)
- War of the Worlds: Part 1
- War of the Worlds: Part 2
- Time Heals
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
- Ultimate Aggregor (first re-appearance)
- Map of Infinity (flashback)
- The Forge of Creation
- Absolute Power: Part 2 (ID card)
- Ben 10,000 Returns
Ben 10: Omniverse
- Ben Again (first re-appearance)
- And Then There Was Ben
- Blukic and Driba Go to Area 51 (flashback; cameo)
Video Games
Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks
Paradox in Vilgax Attacks
Paradox appears in the Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks video game. He first appears during the alien invasion telling Ben that it is not the time to use Alien X. After Azmuth's visit to Ben, Paradox returns and rewinds time to the point before the alien invasion. Paradox even helps Ben escape from Anur Phaetos. After Ben defeated Vilgax, Psyphon steals the energy core to power up the Null Void Projector, Paradox then appears and tells Ben that it is time to use Alien X.
Punch Time Explosion XL
During the first Ben 10 level in Bellwood, Paradox makes a cameo in the game
Trivia
Paradox wearing his goggles
- Because of the nature of his abilities, it is difficult to tell exactly what order the events of the series take place, from his perspective. During his introductory episode he was already familiar with Ben, Gwen and Kevin, and later events in the series. His first meeting with them (from his perspective) has yet to be seen. During most of his appearances, he alludes to, or gives cryptic warnings of, later events in the series, only to then show up at those events, and remind the team of his past allusion, and warnings.
- Dwayne McDuffie confirmed that Professor Paradox was inspired by The Doctor (especially the Tenth Doctor) of the British television show Doctor Who. Some of his similar traits are listed bellow:
- Both Paradox and the revived series incarnations of the Doctor dislike guns and other weapons.
- Both are aware of places in time that they can appear in; the Doctor cannot alter "fixed points" (which MUST happen), and Paradox avoids places where he or someone with similar powers has been (which stretches reality to the breaking point) out of risk of being thrown out of the universe.
- Both have knowledge of the course of history; however, how they make use of it differs. Paradox would often give hints/warnings about the future in order to change it while the Doctor tries to prevent too much change.
- In the flashbacks of his debut episode, Paradox was referred to as a "doctor". But in every other episode, he is referred to as a "professor". The Seventh Doctor was nicknamed Professor.
- In his debut episode, Paradox was carrying a bag of gumballs, and would often offer people one. This is similar to the bag of jelly babies (gummy candy) that the 4th Doctor carried.
- Both trick their enemies. One important difference, though, is Professor Paradox does not lie. The Doctor does.
- Paradox once said "I walk in eternity," a famous quotation of the Fourth Doctor.
- Neither use their real name; Paradox has long forgotten his original name, and was dubbed Paradox after the time travel project that gave him his powers. The Doctor's is kept secret rather than forgotten.
- He also says the line "Spoilers" when someone is asking for or about to give away information about the future that should not be dispensed; this is a catchphrase of River Song, a character of Doctor Who, and she uses it under similar circumstances.
- Additionally, Professor Paradox meets Ben out of chronological sequence, similar to how River Song did for The Doctor, with the Doctor's first time meeting River Song being the last time she met The Doctor.
- They both have also been a part of Time Wars. However, for Paradox, it is a still currently an on-going event, while the Doctor(s) brought an end to theirs a long time ago.
- Paradox had a timeline where he failed to save Earth, his homeworld. The War Doctor lost his memories at the end of the Time War and was led to believe he destroyed his own homeworld of Gallifrey. His future incarnations felt guilt over it until the Eleventh Doctor discovered the truth.
- Both had their right hand cut off during a fight soon after getting a "new look"; Paradox has a new look in Omniverse while the Tenth Doctor had his hand cut off after a few hours after regenerating from the Ninth Doctor. Unfortunately for Paradox, he lacks the Doctor's capacity to regenerate, and thus was forced to replace his lost hand with a mechanical one while the Doctor grew a new one.
- Both have walked with a cane; Paradox uses one in Omniverse while the First Doctor needed one to get around.
- Others have sought them out because of who they are and what they can do.
- Paradox's Chrono-navigator's former and current shape reference The Doctor's fob watch (a part of the chameleon arch) and Rassilon's gauntlet respectively, the later further referencing "The End of Time".
- Both have worn ties. Paradox wears one until his reappearance in Omniverse. The Doctor wore ties in his First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh incarnations.
- Paradox slightly resembles Peter Cushing, who played a parody of the Doctor called 'Dr. Who' in two classical films from the 1960's.
- Also, while the Doctor does not believe in magic, Paradox does (as seen in Time Heals).
- Paradox has a recurring joke of breaking the fourth wall. When he acknowledged that the commercials were about to begin by saying "We'll come back right over there." and pointing to the location in which they did, indeed, return from the commercials. Also, in The Forge of Creation, when Azmuth starts to say how Ben would be fortunate in his future, Paradox interrupted him, stating that it was a "spoiler."
- The pop-up trivia version of Ben 10: Race Against Time states that Paradox also stopped Eon prior to the events of the film.
- In Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, Paradox bears a strong resemblance to Devin Levin, Kevin's deceased father.
- Perplexahedron revealed that, at some point in his career, Paradox made the acquaintance of a young Max Tennyson, getting to know him well enough to pass on stories of his legendary exploits.
- Like Gwen said, Paradox only appears at very important "moments" (War of The Worlds, Ultimate Aggregor and The Forge of Creation), and in "time menaces" (Time Heals, Ben 10,000 Returns, Ben Again and And Then There Was Ben).
- It is hinted in Ben 10,000 Returns that Paradox may have an individual or group to respond to if he abuses his powers. In the same episode he also mentions that there are rules that he must follow, such as not bringing the past and future versions of the same person together unless there is a good reason to do so.
- Paradox often travels through time by opening a pocketwatch, though we know from his introduction that his abilities do not come from any device, but from his millennial in the time vortex. It is finally revealed in Ben Again that the watch is a Chrono-navigator, which he compares to a GPS, and its appearance can be changed (such as in Ben Again where he's shown to have transformed it into it a gauntlet).
Naming and Translations
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish (Latin America) | Profesor Paradoja (Paradox) | From Profesor Paradoja, Professor Paradox |
| Profesor Paradox | From Professor Paradox |