NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prepare yourself for an all-new alien invasion as Bandai America Inc., a leader in the boy's action figure category, premieres its lineup inspired by Cartoon Network's hit show Ben 10. Featuring a more powerful Omnitrix and never before seen aliens, fans now have more ways than ever to become their favorite hero Ben Tennyson.

Ben Tennyson finds himself facing new alien adventures in 2008 as Cartoon Network unveils the next generation of the television series this Spring with Ben 10: Alien Force, which begins the next chapter in the Ben 10 saga five years later. Fifteen-year-old Ben Tennyson chooses to once again put on the Omnitrix and discovers that it has reconfigured his DNA and can now transform him into 10 brand new aliens. Joined by his super-powered cousin Gwen Tennyson and his equally powerful former enemy Kevin Levin, Ben is on a mission to find his missing Grandpa Max. In order to save his Grandpa, Ben must defeat the evil DNALIENS, a powerful alien race intent on destroying the galaxy, starting with planet Earth. Ben will join forces with other young heroes to save the galaxy and his Grandpa Max, while passing along his knowledge to a whole new generation. The animated series will premiere with a special one-hour episode on Cartoon Network in Spring 2008.

"Inspired by the Ben 10: Alien Force series, our toy lineup reflects the excitement of an all new season with new characters and vehicles that engage fans through truly unique play patterns," said Colleen Sherfey, senior director of marketing, Bandai America Inc. "We have new 4 alien collections, an even more powerful Omnitrix toy, and the never before seen Alien Creation Chamber, which enables kids to mix and match alien parts and create all new characters.

"Since its inception, the success of the Ben 10 toy line has been driven by strong characters, collectability and an engaging play pattern," said Christina Miller, vice president of consumer products, CNE. "With its new characters and fresh story line, Ben 10: Alien Force will deliver all new opportunities for us to extend the line into additional categories.â

Launching in July, Bandai America's new Ben 10 collection captures the excitement of a redesigned series with key products including:

• 4” COLLECTIBLE ALIEN FIGURES – The alien figures come with a unique translucent mini-figure that projects the alien’s silhouette and unlocks new light and sound effects when used with the new Ultimate Omnitrix.
• DNA ALIEN HEROES – Each figure offers its own unique battle feature that can be used in the fight against evil. Kids can add planetary powder to Swampfire and watch as he oozes goo from his arm. Press a trigger to transform Humungosaur into fighting mode. Kids can even flip Chromastone upside down and watch as his ultraviolet fluid fades away in light.
• ALIEN ACTION HEROES – Two toys in one, kids can transform these large scale figures from aliens into completely new toys. The Humungosaur figure transforms into an orb launcher, while Jetray can be launched into the air as a glider.
• KEVIN’S ACTION CRUISER – Just like Kevin’s cool green muscle car in the show, the Action Cruiser is loaded with many unique features. It can transform into battle mode and fend off evil with the equipped weapons, or create planetary powder with the included capsules. The Cruiser can be played with other 4”figures, and even comes with an exclusive Kevin figure.
• OMNITRIX ILLUMINATOR – Just like Ben on the show, kids can project an alien’s image from the Omnitrix Illuminator. Place the animation disks on the face of the Omnitrix, and with the press of a button, kids will know what aliens are contained in the mysterious Omnitrix by projecting images of aliens and their home environments.
• ULTIMATE OMNITRIX – Kids can unleash new aliens and unlock light effects and alien voices using the included mini-figure. Collect additional translucent figures from the 4” figure sets and use them with the Ultimate Omnitrix to reveal even more special light and sound effects.
• ALIEN CREATION CHAMBER – This set allows kids to place five different alien parts inside the chamber, and with the twist of a knob, creates never-before-seen alien creations. Each set includes four 3” figures as well as alien recipe cards to create new alien combinations. Additional figure booster packs are sold separately in sets of two.

Ben 10 airs eight times a week, every day of the week on Cartoon Network, and remains the #1 in its time slot for boys ages 6-11. The action-packed fifth season of Ben 10 debuts on Cartoon Network in April (check http://CartoonNetwork.com for show listings).