|
| “ | I like the Kevin that Gwen sees when she looks at me. And I like that you gave me another chance, even after I messed up all those other ones. I guess I'm sayin' I owe you guys for changing my life. | „ |
| ~ Kevin opens up to Ben about his redemption. |
| “ | Servantis: You think this omnipotent monster is the good guy?! Kevin: I know it. Ben's the greatest friend I ever had. Argit: Hello?! Kevin: Though, ever since we became friends, I keep getting this residual urge to waste you. Ben: Sometimes I can tell. Kevin: But if I'd gone through with it, the universe would be gone a few times over, and then wouldn't I look like a jerk? Ben: No more than usual. Kevin: See, Ben's like a brother to me, even when I don't deserve it |
„ |
| ~ Kevin betraying Servantis. |
Kevin Ethan Levin is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Max Tennyson) of Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise.
He is an Osmosian with the ability to absorb energy and use it as his own powers. Originally, he was one of the main villains and Ben Tennyson's arch rival and one of his most dangerous and recurring enemies in the original series, but the events between Ben 10 and Alien Force result in Kevin becoming sane. After being free of his mutations, he becomes an important comrade to his former enemies as well as atoning for his previous acts. He also has a relationship with Gwen Tennyson.
Portrayals[]
- Preteen Kevin was voiced by Michael Reisz (who also played Matt Ishida in Digimon) while in his mutant form, he was voiced by Charlie Schlatter.
- Teenage Kevin was voiced by Greg Cipes, who also played his reboot counterpart, Chiro in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!, Ryan in The Wild, Iron Fist in Ultimate Spider-Man, Michelangelo in Nickelodeon's 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show, and Beast Boy in Teen Titans as well as his TTG counterpart in Teen Titans Go! and DCSHG counterpart in the DC Super Hero Girls web series.
- In the live-action film Alien Swarm, he was portrayed by Nathan Keyes.
Biography[]
Ben 10[]
A young Kevin Levin.
Kevin mutated into Kevin 11.
When Ben first meets him, Kevin lived alone and stole from people in order to get by. Ben saved him from bullies at an arcade and befriended him once he found out that Kevin, too, had special powers. Gwen tried to warn Ben that Kevin was trouble, But Ben ignored her and joined Kevin. The two caused trouble by stealing a sumo slammers video game and escaped from the police. Then, when Kevin tried to commit a crime out of spite by crashing a train and killing many people, Ben tried to stop him and persuade him to use his powers for good. Kevin grew resentful of Ben and later returned as an enemy. This is despite him being the one who tried to attack Ben even after the latter tried to reach out to him.
Kevin reappeared in several episodes. In one episode, Kevin absorbed the Omnitrix, granting him the power of shapeshifting into Ben's alien forms. Kevin tried to frame Ben's aliens for several crimes giving his aliens a bad name. But eventually Kevin mutated even further into a monster with all of Ben's alien forms wrapped into one hideous creature. He tries to kill Ben with his newfound powers after wrongfully blaming him before getting shot down by LT. Steel.
| “ | Diss me all you want. I'm still 10 times better than you! I've got all your powers, plus my own! I'm Kevin 11! | „ |
| ~ Kevin 11 to Ben as Diamondhead and his most famous quote. |
But in one episode, Kevin and Ben had to team up with each other after they were kidnapped by a robot named Slix Vigma. They were forced to fight other as entertainment for others. Because they were connected together. After Slix was destroyed Ben manage to escape while Kevin was trapped on the ship with a new friend of Ben Technorg. He ended up defeating Technorg before escaping; deciding to resort to the unthinkable to get his revenge.
| “ | Guess we have a lot in common. We both got a beef with a little snot rag named Ben Tennyson. And if you're as bad as they say you are, then you're just what I need to take him out for good. | „ |
| ~ Kevin 11 to Vilgax from Back With a Vengeance. |
Kevin also teamed up with Ben's nemesis Vilgax so he can defeat Ben for making a fool out of him and eventually managed to remove the Omnitrix with Vilgax's help thanks to him kidnaping Gwen. However, he betrayed him after his desire to kill Ben got to him. Since then Kevin has been trapped in the Null Void.
When Ben was in an illusion created by Enoch and the Forever Knights, a dream version of Kevin appeared as a hall monitor in Ben's school and attacked his family alongside Sixsix and ogre forms of Cash and JT. Ben was able to defeat them by taking control of the dream.
While held at a prison in the Null Void, Kevin meets a prisoner named Kwarell who teaches him how to control his rage and powers. With that, Kevin finally changed back to his human form in addition to learning he can also absorb matter without risking his sanity. Kwarell and Kevin try to escape through a tunnel Kwarell had been digging, but a prison warden named Morgg catches them and kills Kwarell, forcing Kevin to escape on his own.
Kevin is found by the Rooters, who did experiments with his Osmosian powers on Alan Albright, Helen Wheels, Manny Armstrong and Pierce Wheels, transforming them into the Amalgam Kids, making them do nasty things. After that, Kevin fled, only with Servantis controlling his memories, convincing him that he had "alien blood".
During the time that he was associated with the Rooters, Kevin first met Argit when he gave a caged Argit a leaf to eat. Kevin then says that he is going back to Earth and save it and intends to take down Ben.
Eventually on Earth, Kevin discovers Argit and threatens him to start running and he and the Amalgam Kids confronted Ben, Gwen, and Max and Kevin fired a blast at Ben. Ben manages to avoid the shot and transforms into Eye Guy. Eye Guy pins Kevin down, However, Kevin did this to get Ben to come closer and touches the Omnitrix causing Kevin to mutate again. Kevin, like Ben stated, starts to go insane again and even attacks his allies the Amalgam Kids. Kevin was eventually stopped by Argit who used his quills. Kevin and the Amalgam Kids were sent back to the Null Void but an enraged Servantis wiped out their memories and sent them away. Servantis then abandoned the plan to destroy Ben after Ben stopped wearing the Omnitrix.
In the Null Void, Kevin and Argit are moving some objects around and they both talk about how difficult it is to bring the objects together. Suddenly, a robot named Otto arrives and says that he is going to use the objects to help them get out of the Null Void. Otto tricks Kevin and Argit into turning on the device and escapes without them, leaving now-dismayed Kevin and Argit trapped in the Null Void.
At some point later, Kevin was brought out of the Null Void by Thaddeus J. Collins, who was being possessed by Zs'Skayr, and tied to the Null Void portal using Plumber technology. Collins asked Kevin to use his absorbing powers to mine Hedorium underground. Kevin was mining for Hedorium in a dark cave when he encounters Ben (who was accompanied by his cousins Gwen and Lucy Mann and his friends Cooper Daniels and Jonesy). After Cooper examines the technology as Kevin asks him to disconnect him from the portal, Ben disagrees with Kevin's request as he has done a lot of bad deeds to him. Kevin then tells Ben that the planet Earth would be in danger, Ben takes Lucy and Jonesy to find out about the problem as Gwen and Cooper deal with Kevin.
While Ben as Eye Guy, Lucy and Jonesy fight Grandpa Max holding a weapon, Kevin teases Cooper about being Gwen's boyfriend but both of them stated they were just friends. Kevin teases and thinks he is a better guy, leaving Gwen raged and walks away. As Eye Guy, Lucy, and Jonesy defeat Max, Cooper tried to pull the connection but failed. He then re-programmed Kevin's connection to let him pull the portal like a kite. Gwen blasts at the portal to separate the ionic bonds as they headed to join Ben, Lucy and Jonesy.
Ben laughs at Kevin because he is still connected to the portal, Kevin says it is better than being stuck to one spot. As the group walked further into the caves, they see a portal which things come out off. They head up only to see Thaddeus J.Collins, who is revealed to the children to be Zs'Skayr in disguise, and that the portal is for the Ectonurites to come in from their homeworld. Gwen is surprised that Kevin has been helping Zs'Skayr. The other Ectonurites are inside the bodies and controlling the grown ups. Due to the collective efforts of all the kids, everyone was saved when suddenly the Null Void portal starts to pull Kevin. Ben, Gwen, Lucy, Jonesy and Cooper help to pull Kevin in order to prevent him from being pulled into the Null Void portal, but they fail to do so when Ben loses his grip on Kevin's hand, leaving Kevin getting pulled back into the Null Void.
At some point later, Kevin and Argit managed to escape from the Null Void at the same time and two years after breaking away from Servantis, Kevin began work on his car, not satisfied with a simple standard model he began outfitting it with Alien Tech, and to this end traveled to Khoros to acquire a Tetramand engine block for it. Since the tech couldn't be given to an outsider, he wooed the then teenage Looma Red Wind and successfully defeated her in combat earning the right to marry her in three years thereby making him a part of the family and was given the engine as a gift.
Ben 10: Alien Force[]
In the first episode of Ben 10: Alien Force, Kevin joins Ben and Gwen to battle against evil. Even though Kevin became an ally to Ben Tennyson Kevin still did several things that made him an anti-hero. In the pilot episode he is shown selling weapons to the Forever Knights but ends up fighting Ben but loses. However, with the threat of the DNAliens, the Highbreed and the Forever Knights he joins Ben and Gwen eventually helping them stop the Highbreed invasion. He also has a rival in the form of Michael Morningstar, who he finds to be unworthy of being a plumber after seeing how Mike treated Gwen.
He has a green car but each time it was damaged or destroyed, Kevin gets angry.
In the 3rd season he was subjected to another feedback pulse after Ben fails to hack the Omitrix. He then helps Gwen Lure Waybig causing Ben to defeat Vilgax. After Vilgax and Psyphon leave earth, he becomes a full member of the team. Later on he meets Charmcaster and falls in love with her Carline form (which was shown to be a ruse). It is also shown that a man named Ragnarok was responsible for killing his father. Kevin hated him so much that he refused to save him from death. Later, he returns to normal during the final battle with Vilgax and his Bioids.
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien[]
It is later revealed in the episode of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Ultimate Aggregor, that when he absorbed raw energy, he became insane, which happens to be the one of the Osmosians. Later in the episode The Forge of Creation, he absorbs the Ultimatrix in order to stop Aggregor from absorbing a baby Celestialsapien, but it does more harm than good after he goes insane again. After Aggregor has been defeated, he flies off, leaving both 10 and 16 year old Ben and 16 year old Gwen behind.
In the next episode Nor Iron Bars A Cage, it's revealed how Kevin escaped from the Null Void and how he turned back to normal between the original series and Alien Force and how he had gotten his material absorbing powers. In the same episode, he voluntarily goes back to the Null Void to get revenge on his prison's warden, Morgg. He almost got his vendetta on Morgg, and leaves the prison, thinking that he did kill him. Gwen still thinks that Kevin could get his sense back and go back to normal, but Ben says that they now might have to "put him down", meaning that Kevin might have to be killed. However, as of the end of the season one finale episode, "Absolute Power: Part Two", Ben and the others restored Kevin to normal, and Kevin is redeemed, becoming a hero once again. Beyond getting berated by Ben, however, he suffers no punishment for his actions.
He later joins his team to stop Dagon and his Esoterica from ruling the world. With the help of Sir George's sword used by Ben they succeed in stopping Dagon and Vilgax.
Future[]
- Main article: Kevin 11,000
In an alternate future timeline, Kevin is still trapped in the Null Void. While he was there, Kevin's been absorbing all the other aliens that were in the Null Void. He somehow manage to produce a son named Devlin Levin, and told him to open the Null Void projector so he can "spend some time with his son", only to turn on Devlin and attempt to destroy Ben and live a life of crime once more. However, Devlin managed to defeat his father and trap him back in the Null Void.
Appearance[]
In the original series, Kevin is a thin and scrawny boy in his preteens with shoulder-length black hair, pale skin and dark brown eyes with black-discolored marks around them (a sign that an Osmosian has recently absorbed energy). He wore a torn black T-shirt, black studded arm bands, brown cargo pants, black knee-length shoes, and a padlock necklace which is a spoil from his first crime: stealing a bike and using it to run away to New York. After absorbing an Omnitrix feedback, Kevin was able to transform into exact copies of all of the unlocked aliens, missing an Omnitrix symbol. After the energy overwhelms Kevin, he mutated into Kevin 11, a random mixture of body parts from the 10 said aliens which completely destroyed his clothes, except for his cargo pants.
In Alien Force, Kevin grew into a tall and muscular young adult. His eyes now lack the black marks (as his body fully recovered from and stopped absorbing energy). His normal attire is a tight black T-shirt over a grey long sleeve shirt, blue pants, and black combat shoes. His hair, although still long, is styled into a choppy mullet. Occasionally, he is seen wearing a short sleeved light blue oil stained mechanic's jacket over a white muscular shirt, blue pants, and his black combat shoes.
After he goes through a second mutation, an unbalanced mixture of various matters, the transformation completely destroys his clothes, except his briefs. As a result, Kevin had to wear an ID Mask in public to appear human. In his second mutation he looked like a mixture of solid materials such as stone, wood, Taydenite, and metal. During Kevin's time as Ultimate Kevin, his appearance is again an unbalanced mixture of various aliens that were currently accessible to Ben through his Ultimatrix.
In Omniverse, Kevin wears the same black shirt but the sleeves and collar are roughly cut, the sleeves on his long sleeved grey shirt are slightly torn and he wears blue wholesters. His hair is longer and straighter. His pants have a small tear below the left knee. He also wears a padlock necklace similar to the one he wore when he was 11 but marked with an "11". He also sports black discolored marks around his eyes, making him appear tired; these marks bear similarity to when he was 11 and still absorbing energy.
Later in the series, Kevin grows a few chin whiskers and his grey shirt gains stripes. In Weapon XI: Part 2, Kevin gets the same cross-shaped scar to his chin that future Kevin has.
12 year old Kevin in Omniverse looks exactly the same as how he does in the original series, except for the fact that the color of his cargo pants are grey instead of brown and his padlock necklace is marked with an "11".
Personality[]
| “ | You'll never beat me, because you're one of the good guys. And good guys never have the guts to finish guys like me. | „ |
| ~ Kevin 11 to Ben as Four Arms. |
When Kevin was 11, originally he was a criminally insane sociopath, willing to hurt/kill anyone for his own personal gain and/or pleasure. This behavior and mentality stems not only from being seen and treated as a freak by his peers and family, but also because of the side effect of Kevin absorbing energy. His selfishness and sociopath-nature is made apparent when he was once willing to derail a money train to steal the money and kill countless passengers on another train. Kevin had an extremely negative outlook on life because of the countless hardships and struggles he had, feeling insecure about himself as well as having incredibly low self-esteem. He had a deep-rooted hatred for other people and society in general, even the innocent as he once said "Nobody's innocent! They just haven't had the chance to make fun of me yet!".
| “ | My name is Kevin Ethan Levin. You killed my father. Prepare to die. | „ |
| ~ Kevin Levin to Ragnarok (and a movie reference of The Princess Bride). |
After being sent to the Null Void and meeting a prisoner named Kwarrel who acted as his surrogate father-figure and mentor in learning how to control his powers, Kevin eventually began to develop a better outlook on life and allowed him to form an actual bond for the first time. This eventually leads to Kevin making amends with his former enemies, Ben Tennyson (His Best Friend) and Gwen Tennyson. As a result, Kevin and Ben no longer share their famous rivalry and instead have become true friends. Kevin acts as an older brother towards Ben. They care genuinely for each other. Kevin is much more open about his feelings, showing gratitude and tries to express it to both Ben and Gwen. He also seemed to have a better connection towards Max.
In addition to his new outlook on life, Kevin showed disgust at those who would take advantage of others such as with Argit when he was taking advantage of an alien's trust. Although Kevin may at times, do things unethically like selling weapons to make money or do things that involve getting money, his heart is always in the right place. He also showed distaste on how others care about only themselves will abandon others for their own selfishness such as when Kevin reprimanded an Alien Prisoner for being selfish in order to save itself while reminding him, about how Kevin himself was selfish before the latter's redemption.
He is fond over his car but gets angry when it is damaged, dented or destroyed.
Mutations[]
Kevin's mutations are caused by Kevin's ability to absorb DNA and energy. By absorbing alien samples or energy feedback from the Omnitrix/Ultimatrix, it will cause him to mutate and transform into an amalgamation of some or all of Ben's aliens. Some of Kevin's mutations are sometimes not amalgamations of aliens, but instead of different materials (concrete, metal, wood, stone enhanced by magic, etc.).
- Framed Mutation: One of the mutations Kevin underwent in the original series. It was his first mutation and a precursor form of Kevin 11. This allows him to fully transform from one alien form to another or transform parts of his body into those of a different alien form. He even had access to the abilities of the first 10 aliens Ben ever transformed into and could fully turn into one of Ben's aliens, or transform parts of his body into those of a different alien.
- Kevin 11: The second mutation that Kevin underwent in the original series. It was a monstrous and grotesque amalgam of the first ten Omnitrix aliens, resulting from absorbing Ben's initial DNA selection. It displayed a variety of powers from Ben's aliens such as Four Arms' superhuman strength, Heatblast's ability to generate and manipulate fire, Diamondhead's ability to generate and manipulate crystals, Stinkfly's ability to fly and generate adhesive slime and even XLR8's superhuman speed.
- Elemental Form: The third mutation that Kevin underwent in Alien Force. Unlike Kevin's other mutations, this form kept his original frame while incorporating elemental materials into his structure such as wood, stone, metal and Taydenite.
- Ultimate Kevin: The fourth mutation that Kevin underwent in Ultimate Alien. It occurred when Kevin absorbed energy from the Ultimatrix to defeat Aggregor, resulting in a more powerful, monstrous hybrid form composed of a larger pool of Ben's aliens than Kevin's other mutations, with multiple parts of his body now being combinations of multiple aliens. It also displayed a variety of powers from every normal and Ultimate alien Ben had in the Ultimatrix and would even gain new powers and add onto existing ones by absorbing those of the Plumbers' Helpers, Dr. Viktor, Gwen Tennyson and Rock Monsters. This mutation is widely considered to be the most powerful and more dangerous than Kevin's other mutations. This form was also a result of his loss of control and a display of the madness induced by absorbing too much power.
- Omniverse Mutation: The fifth mutation that Kevin underwent in Omniverse. It occurred in Weapon XI: Part 2 when Kevin absorbed DNA from the Omnitrix, resulting in a temporary, chaotic amalgam of several of Ben's Omniverse aliens, although it is shown that Kevin has control over this mutation than the previous ones. It displayed a variety of powers from Ben's Omniverse aliens such as Feedback's bio-electrokinesis, elastic tendrils and energy redirection, Ball Weevil's plasma ball creation, Gravattack's gravikinesis, Astrodactyl's internal star power and energy whips and Shocksquatch's electricity waves.
- Omniverse Flashback Mutation: The sixth mutation that Kevin underwent in a flashback portion of the Omniverse episode Weapon XI: Part 2. It occurred when 12-year-old Kevin absorbed DNA from the Omnitrix, resulting in a monstrous, horrifying amalgam form that included parts from numerous classic aliens. This mutation also had access to the powers of 10 of Ben's additional aliens from the original series such as Cannonbolt's rolling, Wildvine's plant control, Eye Guy's energy beams and Upchuck's matter ingestion.
Others[]
- Pyronite Hybrid: A mutated human/Pyronite hybrid that Kevin turned into when he absorbed Heatblast's DNA in the original series.
- Tetramand Hybrid: A mutated human/Tetramand hybrid that Kevin turned into when he absorbed Four Arms' DNA in the original series.
- Rock Monster Hybrid: A mutation undergone by Kevin in the Time Heals Timeline with the skin and details of Rock Monsters. This is the only mutation of Kevin that isn't a result of his powers.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Absorption: Kevin's primary ability as he is so experienced with this power that he can absorb anything from solid matter to pure energy.
- Electrokinesis: After absorbing electricity, Kevin is able to manipulate it with great prowess.
- Technology Manipulation: By controlling electrical currents, Kevin is able to control technology to the point where he was able to possess a forklift so that it would attack Ben.
- Omnitrix Absorption: Kevin is able to absorb some of the Omnitrix's energy to temporarily gain the abilities of Ben's aliens. Kevin can further utilize this ability to turn into eldritch abominations composed of all of Ben's aliens at the time and only needs to touch the Omnitrix for a few seconds to do so.
- Matter Manipulation: By absorbing matter, Kevin is able to manipulate the properties of said matter and use it to encase himself in a 'second skin' as full body armor. Kevin can even mix and match different types of matter (such as rock and steel) to augment his offensive and defensive capabilities.
- Superhuman Durability: While encased in metal, Kevin's durability increases to the point where he was able to tank uranium poop bombs with minor injuries.
- Transmutation: Should Kevin absorb so much matter, he can actually transmute himself so that he is made out of the material he absorbed as opposed to him using it as a second skin.
- Accelerated Healing Factor: While transmuted, Kevin displays a healing factor in which he can grow his hand back mere seconds after it was severed.
- Lock Picking: Kevin can also use this ability to pick locks.
- Shapeshifting: Kevin has demonstrated the ability to morph his limbs into all kinds of objects, such as swords, hammers, maces and scissors.
- Absorption Bestowal: Kevin is able to grant his absorption to others for protection.
- Electrokinesis: After absorbing electricity, Kevin is able to manipulate it with great prowess.
- Superhuman Strength: Kevin possesses enough strength to lift large metal containers with ease.
- Technological Prowess: Kevin possesses technological knowledge so advance that he easily outsmarts most of Earth in terms of mechanical engineering (though this is likely to his exposure to more advanced tech).
Trivia[]
- He is 6’3" and 235 lbs.
- Derrick J Wyatt stated Kevin mutating and going crazy is a recurring problem that the heroes try to minimize. In the Ken 10 future timeline, at 45 in Omniverse Kevin is sane again and out of the Null Void; however, he's a henpecked boyfriend to Gwen at this point as she's tired of him getting out of control.
- His role as the final antagonist of Ultimate Alien season 2 was foreshadowed by Aggregor due to the latter also being Osmosian and due to being established that absorbing power making Osmosians lose control.
- Kevin is the first villain in the Ben 10 franchise to be redeemed.
- Kevin was the first non-family member that Ben shared his secret with.
External Links[]
- Kevin Levin on the Villains Wiki
- Kevin Levin on the Ben 10 Wiki
- Kevin Levin on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Kevin Levin on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
