Carl Tennyson is the husband of Sandra Tennyson and the father of Ben Tennyson. Appearance Carl has fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. In the Original Series, he wore a green polo shirt, a brown belt with a gold buckle, khaki pants, and brown shoes. In Alien Force, he wears a white dress shirt, brown pants, and the same shoes. Personality Carl, as well as Sandra, is understanding towards Ben's life. He believes that his son is a good kid and that they did an excellent job raising him. According to Ben, they raised him to always do the right thing.[4] Carl has known about the Plumbers since he and Frank were kids and is seriously torn up by his father's association to them.[4] Carl and Sandra are much less conservative than Frank and Natalie.[DM 1] History Ben 10 Carl chronologically first appeared in Destroy All Aliens, where he and Sandra grounded Ben for not telling them where he went, for the mysterious footprints that were on the floor and a mishap in Ben's school where the Omnitrix accidentally teleported his homework. They forced Ben to stay home and complete a history report. Later on, Carl and Sandra informed Max and Gwen that Ben had escaped the house. Ben later returned home as Grey Matter and entered. After Sandra began attacking Grey Matter, he was thrown outside and transformed into Diamondhead. Sandra passed out and Max knocked Carl. Afterwards, the Omnitrix malfunctioned and transformed him into Wildmutt and Sandra into Heatblast. Eventually, Ben and Gwen used the Omnitrix to revert him and Sandra back into normal and they, having forgotten that they grounded Ben, allowed Ben to go on a fishing trip with Gwen and Max. Alien Force Carl first appeared in Grounded, where he and Sandra were caught in the middle of a Highbreed's nighttime rampage while driving into downtown Bellwood and discovered Ben's superhero activities at the same time when they caught him transforming into Swampfire to fend off the alien. Apparently unable to handle the thought of their son constantly risking his life, and upset with him for hiding his activities from them for five years, they grounded him, forbade him from using the Omnitrix, and tell Gwen's parents of her superheroism after Ben rats her out, resulting in her grounding as well and Kevin being forced to fight the Highbreed alone. When the mission proved to be too much for Kevin to handle, Ben openly defied his parents and used the Omnitrix to turn into Humungousaur and, (literally) broke out of the house and helped Kevin. Through this, they realized how important the things Ben did really were. They came to help Ben and Kevin fight, and admitted that they were proud of Ben, allowing him to resume his heroism. During this time, Carl admitted that he had known all along about Max's time in the Plumbers and resented him for it, but now realized that he was protecting them, just as Ben was. Ultimate Alien Carl reappeared in Hit 'Em Where They Live. He was ambushed by Charmcaster, Zombozo and Vulkanus. They flattened his car tire, making him unable to escape. They were about to strike when Ben, Gwen, and Kevin came along and saved him. He was completely oblivious to what was happening. Powers and Abilities Equipment Carl formerly owned a Plumber bazooka, stored in the attic of his house. The bazooka used to belong to Max,[4] who has since taken it back.[5] Relationships Family Sandra Tennyson Carl and Sandra love Ben unconditionally, they have always been liberal and taught him to help others. They are proud of what he has become. Ben Tennyson Ben has stated that he loves and cares about his mom and dad, and that they're good parents and raised him well enough to become the person he is today.[4] Max Tennyson Carl was skeptical of Max's Plumber life since childhood, but later grew to accept it after seeing how Ben risked his life to be a hero himself.[4] Appearances Ben 10 Movies Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens (first chronological appearance) Alien Force Season 1 Grounded (first appearance) Ultimate Alien Season 1 Hit 'Em Where They Live (first reappearance) Season 3 The Ultimate Enemy: Part 2 (flashback; cameo) Comics Cartoon Network Action Packs Alien Force Double Trouble Lazy Day Trivia Carl's design in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien was modeled after his voice actor, Don McManus, who had previously portrayed his Race Against Time Timeline counterpart. Like Frank, Carl knows about his father's secret[4] and his mother's identity as an Anodite. However, they only found out about the latter when they were adults.[DM 2] Carl and Sandra approve of Ben's friendship with Rook.[DJW 2] In the chapter books, Carl's name is misspelled "Karl". Carl is mostly out back doing yard work,[DJW 3] which explains his absence from Omniverse. There were no plans for Carl to appear in Omniverse,[DJW 4] as there was never a real reason to have him in.[DJW 5] Notes Carl is ½ human and ½ Anodite by heritage. However, since he did not inherit the spark, he is genetically fully human. Manny was mentioned in Gwen 10, a non-canon episode. It is unknown if he exists in the canon timeline.
