This article belongs to the Classic Continuity

“	Every time you mention Taydenite, Vulkanus shows up and tries to kill us.	”
– Gwen.[1]

Vulkanus is a Detrovite^{[note 1]} criminal who utilizes a large mechanical suit to make up for his small regenerative size.

Appearance

Vulkanus has orange skin, large jaws with his teeth fused to his lips, and two brown horns extending downward from his jaw. Vulkanus has also changed robotic suits throughout the franchise.

In the Original Series, Vulkanus wore a red suit with spikes that showed off some of his chest.

In Kevin's Big Score, Vulkanus wore a greyish blue suit that covered him from the neck down and lacked spikes. His true form resembles an infant wearing a white diaper while retaining his regular head.

From Season 2 of Alien Force until Ultimate Alien, Vulkanus' suit was similar to the one featured in Kevin's Big Score except it was recolored blue and sported flashlight-like headgear.

In Omniverse, Vulkanus' suit has a different pattern with cylinders on it and shovel-like attachments on the back of each hand. His horns are now grey and resemble, his lower jaw is larger, and his ears are also larger and pointed. His true form sports the same changes to his regular head while also wearing an ejector seat and his flashlight headgear.

In an Omniverse flashback, Vulkanus looks mostly the same as in the Original Series, except for the fact that he has a slightly darker skin tone, the horns are on his face are smaller and recolored black, and his ears are pointier.

In another Omniverse flashback, Vulkanus' suit looks mostly the same as in Season 2 of Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, except the flashlight on his head is absent.

Personality

Vulkanus is a teasing, short-tempered, and cunning criminal who does whatever it takes to make a profit, even if it means going against the will of others. For example, when he forcefully made Kevin absorb a piece of Taydenite to turn him into an unlimited living Taydenite supply, he planned to "sell him off piece by piece".^[6]

Vulkanus does whatever he can to make sure no one else gets his priceless gems, as he usually tries to kill Ben and the team whenever he encounters them, showing that he is cruel and violent.

Although he prefers to work alone, Vulkanus does not mind working with others, as he has teamed up with SixSix,^[7] Zombozo, and Charmcaster.^[8]

Vulkanus has a twisted sense of humor, as seen when he laughed in between cheering on a Techadon Robot battling Ben and the team.^[9]

Despite his violence, Vulkanus can still be cowardly, seen when he begged for mercy at the hands of Ultimate Big Chill.^[8]

Vulkanus is shown to be racist against Tetramands, as his opinion of their species was enough to lower his opinion of the planet Earth.^[7]

History

Ben 10

In The Galactic Enforcers, Vulkanus partnered with SixSix to build a weapon capable of destroying a solar system using Element X. He was stopped by Ben and the Galactic Enforcers.

In Perfect Day, Vulkanus appeared in Ben's dream, working alongside SixSix again. He was defeated when Gwen used a spell to trap him in a dumpster and shrink him down to a harmless size.

Five Years Prior to Omniverse

As shown in The Ballad of Mr. Baumann, Vulkanus attacked Mr. Baumann's store, with the purpose of stealing a vial of Element X that he had brought for Sheelane. He followed Baumann to the subway (which used to be a mine) where he fell into a pit after Baumann tricked him. Later, he found Baumann at Sheelane's lair. He took the crystal and Sheelane as a hostage.

However, Diamondhead freed Sheelane and replaced the old Element X which he attached to Vulkanus' back with the new one. Diamondhead used a crystal wall to protect himself, Sheelane, Max, and Baumann and to make Vulkanus hit the roof of the cavern. The iron ore of the cavern interacted with the Element X on his back, which caused an explosion.

While everyone thought he had died, Vulkanus survived the explosion, but his body was blown to bits. With the remainder of his body having a slug-like appearance, he crawled through the mine until he found his servants who put him into a regeneration suit.

At some later point, Vulkanus became a part of Earth's alien criminal underworld.^{[pop-up 2][10][pop-up 3][DVD 2]} During one such operation, he was betrayed by Kevin during a "counterfeit isotope" scam and was left holding the merchandise when the Plumbers arrived. Though Vulkanus managed to escape, the Plumbers destroyed his ship. Unable to leave Earth, he resorted to trading Level 3 alien technology to get by.

Alien Force

In Kevin's Big Score, when Kevin arrives looking to obtain an important item (a Holo-Viewer from Max), Vulkanus decided to get back at him for his betrayal by forcing him to absorb a small piece of Taydenite, the rarest living gem in the galaxy. This caused Kevin's body to mass-produce the gem, giving Vulkanus an endless supply. However, Vulkanus was foiled by Big Chill, who froze off his suit, revealing his true form. Rather than attempting to arrest him, Kevin left Vulkanus with the Taydenite he had managed to chip off beforehand, considering it payment for his past actions.

In Inferno, it was revealed that Vulkanus had used the Taydenite he gathered from Kevin to purchase the Earth and turn it into his home by pumping the magma out of the mantle in order to detonate a bomb, which would raise the Earth's surface temperature to 800 degrees. The bomb was stopped by Ben and Kevin was happy that Vulkanus wasted his money.

In Con of Rath, when Rath, Gwen, and Kevin discovered they needed Taydenite to power their ship, Gwen told Kevin that every time they come across Taydenite, they run into Vulkanus. Kevin said that she was imagining things, but they were confronted by Vulkanus. Kevin tried to negotiate with Vulkanus using a gold credit cube, but Vulkanus held firm, saying that the three of them were on his planet without any other transactor in the vicinity. He was defeated by Rath, who ruined most of his Taydenite. Beaten, Vulkanus was forced to hand over his remaining Taydenite.

Ultimate Alien

Vulkanus appeared as one of the villains after Ben in Hit 'Em Where They Live, teaming up with Zombozo and Charmcaster. Vulkanus was beaten at the end by Ultimate Big Chill.

In Absolute Power: Part 1, Vulkanus was beat up by Humungousaur because he wanted answers about where Ultimate Kevin was.

In Greetings From Techadon, Vulkanus bought a custom Techadon Factory to destroy Ben, only for Ben to discover how the Techadon Robots were tracking him and prevented them from doing so. This angered Vulkanus and he stated that he wasted "enough to buy a whole solar system" on the factory. Ben then used Kevin's old ID Mask to put a fake Ultimatrix symbol on his back, causing one of the Techadon Robots to begin chasing him instead of Ben. He flew away, screaming that he wished he could hate Ben to death.

Omniverse

Vulkanus returned in Special Delivery where he tried to be the first to gather the dwarf star that was unintentionally in Ben's possession. However, he was defeated, alongside Fistina, by Humungousaur.

He appeared in The Ballad of Mr. Baumann to take his revenge on Mr. Baumann and to steal Sheelane's Element X. He dove into Sheelane's lake where he ordered his Pickaxe Aliens to disassemble her ship. He later battled Ripjaws who destroyed his suit and defeated him by creating a whirlpool.

Powers and Abilities

Being a Detrovite, Vulkanus' body is naturally resistant to extreme elements and impacts of all kinds. He is particularly resistant to heat, as he can survive the 850+ degree temperature of his home planet,^[11][12] and easily bathe in lava.^[7] His body can also easily withstand crushing pressures, from being a mile underwater^[2] or in the vacuum of space.^[7] He even managed to survive a direct explosion from a small shard of Element X (though at the cost of being reduced to just a head).^[2]

Being a Detrovite, Vulkanus has superhuman strength, being able to fight on-par with Tetramands and crack the ground with one slam.^[7]

Vulkanus' punches are strong enough to generate shock waves.^[2]

Using his strong legs, Vulkanus can leap considerably high up.^[2]

Vulkanus doesn't need to breathe, as evidenced by him both having stood in outer space^[7] and talked underwater.^[2]

Vulkanus has sharp teeth, and sharp spikes on his chin.

Equipment

Vulkanus has worn various suits of armor throughout the years.

His original suit was durable enough to easily shrug off lasers^[7] and is heat resistant up to 2,000 degress Celsius.^{[pop-up 4][DVD 3]}

Because of his injuries, Vulkanus wore a regeneration suit^[2] that gave him enhanced strength. If he needed to, he could abandon the suit.^[12][13]

After his first suit was destroyed, Vulkanus wore a second suit, this time with a drill hand built into it, as well as shovels attached to the hands that allowed him to dig.^{[DJW 1]} It too was destroyed.

Before his injuries, Vulkanus had shoulder-mounted rocket launchers on his original outfit.^[2]

Vulkanus is usually equipped with a hand blaster that shoots energy, usually a fire-like beam. He also has his mining workers to fight with him and admits that he is "stinking rich".^[9]

Vulkanus has a pair of rocket boots that enable him to fly.^[9]

Weaknesses

Without his suit, Vulkanus is about the same size as a human baby and is relatively defenseless. His suit can be destroyed by cracking ice, which is generated from a Necrofriggian,^[6] the enhanced strength of a Vaxasaurian,^[13] or a Pissciss Volann^[2] and an explosion from Element X.^[2]

Vulkanus is vulnerable to lima beans, as no species can resist them.^[14][2]

Appearances

Etymology

Vulkanus comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of smithing and flame.

Trivia

• Whenever his suit gets either damaged or destroyed, the arms are the hardest to repair because "they're always on back order".^[13]
• Vulkanus owned the Earth.^[12] However, it was taken back at the refundation. Simian later sold Earth to Collectimus. However, after Collectimus agreed with Ben's offer to trade Earth with one of Ben's T-shirts, the possession of Earth now belongs to Ben.^[15]
• In the Original Series, Vulkanus' body was described as naturally being the way it appeared.^{[DJ 1]} This was retconned in Kevin's Big Score, with Vulkanus being revealed to have always been small.^{[DM 1]} It was been explained that he wore flesh-colored prosthesis in the Original Series.^{[DM 2]} In The Ballad of Mr. Baumann, it is revealed that he was originally large and muscular like the rest of his kind, until his fight with Ben lead him to being caught in an Element X-induced explosion. Vulkanus survived, but his body was destroyed, leading him to be put into a regeneration suit until he finally grows to full size.^{[BTP 1]}
• The reason why Vulkanus always has a small body whenever his suit gets destroyed is that the loss of said suit prevents his baby-sized body from developing into a proper one.^{[DJW 2]}
• In the PSP version of Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction, Vulkanus has his season 1 appearance from Alien Force.
• Vulkanus' Original Series design was made by Dave Johnson.^{[TNP 1]} He was originally supposed to be a one-off character.^{[DJ 1]}
• Vulkanus was originally supposed to appear in the dream in Night of the Living Nightmare.^{[script 1]}

Notes

References

Production Material

Scripts

Crew Statements

Dave Johnson

Dwayne McDuffie

Derrick J. Wyatt

Thomas N. Perkins IV

Pop-Up Trivia

Merchandise

DVDs

Bandai

Ben 10 Planet

Non-Human Villains
Prime Timeline
Faction	Khyber • Malware • Dr. Psychobos
Great One's Affiliations	Enforcer Alien • Great One • Interpreter Alien • Leader Alien
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Vilgax's Affiliations	Kraab • Maltruant • SixSix • Vilgax
Zs'Skayr's Affiliations	Crüjo • Kuphulu • Mummy • Lord Transyl • Dr. Viktor • Werewolf • Zs'Skayr
Magic	Addwaitya • Anur-Mirrored Ben • Anur-Mirrored Charmcaster • Anur-Mirrored Hobble • Anur-Mirrored Rook
Highbreed	DNAlien • Highbreed Commander • Highbreed Lord
Incursean Empire	Attea • Glorff • Milleous • Raff • Rana • Sangfroid
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Bounty Hunters	EightEight • SevenSeven • Sunder
Incarcecon Prisoners	Lepidopterran Prisoner • Nightmarish Alien Prisoner • Piscciss Volann Prisoner • Tetramand Prisoner
Other Aliens	Argit • Benevelon • Blue Leader • Charles Zenith • Collectimus • Decoy Queen • Gorvan • Hulex Colonel • Hulex Workers • Jarret • Kolar • Kork • Kundo • Mizaru • Morgg • Mycelium • Poltroon • Ragnarok • Red Leader • Seebik • Simian • Solid Plugg • Ssserpent • Subdora • Suemungousaur • Synthroid • Thirteen • Trombipulor • Vulkanus • Weaponmasters of Techadon • Will Harangue • Yetta
Other	Clancy • Dagon • Pterodactyl Leader • Trash Monster • Zombie Clowns
Alternate Dimensions/Timelines
Original Future Timeline	Mot Snikrep • Sploot • Vilgax • Vulkanus
Other Dimensions/Timelines	Carrot Monster • Eon's Minions (Race Against Time) • Mad Pakmar
Non-Canon
What-If? Episodes	Vilgax (Goodbye and Good Riddance) • Vilgax (Gwen 10)
Games	Fusion Ampfibian • Fusion Ben • Fusion Echo Echo • Fusion Gwen • Fusion Hex • Fusion Kevin • Fusion Max • Fusion Tetrax • Fusion Vilgax • Gorvan • Highbreed Commander
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Unofficial
Scrapped	Degredus
Other Media
Generator Rex	Alpha • Biowulf • I-Bol • Skalamander
The Secret Saturdays	V.V. Argost