Professor Paradox (Ben 23: OV)

## Appearance

Professor Paradox has fair skin, grey eyes, and black hair.

In **Omniverse**, his outfit has been modified. Despite not being able to age, his hair is grey on the sides and he has wrinkles on his face. His white lab coat now has brown and black pouches and gold trim, and underneath, he wears a black turtleneck with a white scarf, and his brown vest has gold buttons and pouches. He has a new pair of goggles around his neck, the Chrononavigator disguised as a metal gauntlet on his right hand and a fingerless glove on his left. His black pants now have brown kneepads, and he wears a pair of brown boots with gold straps.

## Personality

Paradox is portrayed as a calm, easy-going man. He talks much like a stereotypical scientist, with dialogue requiring a greater command of the English language to fully understand. When he was displaced outside of time, he went insane; however, millennia later, he "got bored of that, too" and became sane. "Very sane."

In his first appearance, Swampfire tried to capture Paradox (not knowing whether he was friend or foe), but he always "teleported" away. When Swampfire asked how he did that, the calm Paradox replied "It's called walking". He also likes gumballs and is often seen offering them 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 is talking to) and those that have (from his perspective) mixed up, due to his travels through time.

Paradox can be cryptic at times, such as when he foreshadowed Dagon's scheme by warning Ben and his team to "beware Old George [and] the creature from beyond".

Paradox's calm personality also makes it difficult to tell when he is joking or not, such as telling Kevin that his replacement car (factory new from the past) would "explode like anti-matter" if it came in contact with anything else from the same year it was made.

## History

### Background

At some point, Professor Paradox was working for Area 51. It is unknown what his job was exactly, but it had something to do with the alien prisoners there. In the flashback portion of *Blukic and Driba Go to Area 51*, Paradox was called by Colonel Rozum to help with the investigation about Blukic and Driba's fall on Earth.

Having discovered special properties in quartz crystals during the 1950s, Paradox received government funding to break a hole in the space-time continuum. However, a slight miscalculation and an explosion accidentally caused by his panicked assistant Hugo threw Paradox into the event horizon, where he remained for a hundred thousand years.

### Ben 23: Omniverse

Professor Paradox makes his first appearance in Mission from the Unknown Dimension: Part 1, where he arrives to inform Ben 23 about a timeloop that had been unknowingly been created. He defeats Exo-Skull and Subdora with the help of SevenSeven and Tetrax, and explains to Ben 23 that someone from the future had set off something that seemed to have been taking place in the now, questioning about whoever would want to destroy the 23rd Dimension.

In Mission from the Unknown Dimension: Part 2, Paradox sends Ben 23 to the Ben Prime Timeline as he would notify Ben about the multiversal bomb that was supposed to destroy Ben 23's dimension. He soon chimes in when Ben 23 and Ben Prime were showcasing aliens, as they would later enter the Nega Timeline. Paradox would then fight Eon for a portion of the episode. Paradox soon tasks Ben Prime (who was Brainstorm) to activate a machine to send him, Rook Prime and Ben 23 to their timelines.

In Who is Alien 24?, Paradox drops off Ben Prime in the 23rd Dimension and leaves. He comes back at the end of the episode to pick up Ben Prime to send him back to his timeline.

In A Wild Goose Chase, Paradox arrives to the Ben Prime as he gives Ben Prime the mission to enter Ben 23's dimension as Exo-Skull and Subdora are entering through different timelines to reach Maltruant ready for a time war that was mentioned in the **Omniverse** episode: *Ben Again*. Once in Dimension 23, Paradox informs Ben 23 about Exo-Skull and Subdora trying to reach Maltruant. He helps Ben (as Walkatrout) and Ben 23 (as Speedyquick) enter through the Bad Timeline to catch Exo-Skull and Subdora in action. At the end of the episode, Paradox congratulates Ben 23 for defeating Maltruant as he is then met with Skurd 23, unaware of such events that transpired. He takes Ben 23 to Ben Prime as Paradox would then take them all back to their timelines.

## Powers and Abilities

Due to his time in entrapment for several millennia, Paradox has an in-depth understanding of the space-time continuum. This allows him to travel to any point in space and time, as well as slowing down or speeding up time as he pleases. However, he states that there are places he cannot go and things he cannot do, though what restricts remains unknown.

Paradox can manipulate his own personal time, allowing him to simulate super-speed. His abilities are not limited to one universe, having visited other universes and the space between them. He can also completely stop time.

Paradox is able to regress a person's age, but seems incapable of doing it on something mechanical, instead having to pull it physically out of the past.

Paradox is capable of teleporting people, objects and even places like the Forge of Creation to almost any destination instantaneously without any trouble. He might even be able to teleport buildings or entire planets. 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.

Paradox's time travel powers have left him biologically immortal, leaving him unaffected by accelerated aging fields, nor does he 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. Though it is possible Paradox can simply pull Ben back in time to before he transformed, while allowing him to return memories that would have existed.

Paradox possesses enhanced strength and agility, as he was able to fight on par with Eon.

Paradox can see the faces of Toepick's species clearly. It is not an unknowable horror to him, therefore he is able to overcome his initial fears.

## Weaknesses

There are places in existence Paradox cannot reach with his powers, such as before the beginning of time. However, with that said, Paradox is still able to travel to the first and final moments of time.

Paradox had admitted that he does not lie and Eon has confirmed this. Though he can circumvent this with clever wordplay to misdirect others.

Getting control of Paradox's Chrononavigator might give one an advantage over him, though this has proven to be a double-edged sword, as Eon almost destroyed all reality when he tried to use it.

If all of Paradox is in one point of space and time, he can be affected by a Nemuina's sleeping dust.

## Appearances

* Mission from the Unknown Dimension: Part 1 (first appearance)
* Mission from the Unknown Dimension: Part 2
* Who is Alien 24? (cameo)
* A Wild Goose Chase
* Super Awesome Mega Ben Fight: Part 1
* Super Awesome Mega Ben Fight: Part 2

## Trivia

* Due to the nature of Paradox's 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, Kevin, and even later events in the series. His first meeting with them (from his perspective) has never been shown.
* Paradox never discloses anything about Ben's future in order to prevent it from changing.
* Paradox is the creator of the Map of Infinity.
* Paradox isn't allowed to be within 500 light years of any Celestialsapien.
* Paradox was one of Dwayne McDuffie's favorite characters.
* When asked what he thought Paradox's real name is, Derrick J. Wyatt answered it was Percival Dachs. Matt Wayne said there were never plans to reveal Paradox's real name, but would have jokingly liked it to be Jamie Lee Curtis.
* Professor Paradox is a nod to, but not based on, The Doctor of the British television show **Doctor Who**.
	+ Some similarities between the two characters include their clothing, time travelling abilities, character traits (such as disliking guns and offering confectionery), use of the same phrases, neither being known by their real name, and being associated with a fobwatch.
	+ Paradox's tendency to offer his companions gumballs in high intensity situations, is similar to the Doctor's use of Jelly Babies, throughout Tom Baker's run as the character in the 1970s.
	+ Matt Wayne also likens Paradox to Uncle Arthur from **Bewitched**.
* Paradox has clashed with Eon many times in many different timelines and realities, each never being able to defeat the other.
* Chronosapiens do not approve of Paradox's methods; he does not adhere to Chronosapien law.
* Paradox's appearance in **Omniverse** was inspired by **Voyagers!**.