Ben/X5-493

Ben/X5-493

Portrayed by Jensen Ackles (Season 1)
Ben is a favorite unit-mate of Max's. He often makes up stories explaining things about which his unit mates have no answers, such as death and the "Nomalies" (anomalies) in the basement. He entertains them, making them feel special and loved. While at Manticore he creates a religious ideology for "the Blue Lady," after receiving an illustrated card of the Virgin Mary.

In the real world however, he feels lost, and that nothing makes sense anymore. His gifted imagination and tendency for story telling develop into full-blown psychosis, and he becomes a serial killer, hunting down priests after tattooing his bar-code on the back of their necks to make them more worthy sacrifices. He offers the teeth of his victims to the Virgin Mary; his "Blue Lady." Max tracks him down to stop him, and during combat, breaks his leg. Ben asks her to kill him rather than let him be taken by the Manticore retrieval team closing in. She tearfully obliges.

Ben has an identical twin, Alec/X5-494 (see above), who is a main character all of season 2.