Ben is the only person to personally know Clark from before everything went to hell. As one of the scientists working on the temporal displacement experiment, he knew full well what happened to Clark when the machine malfunctioned and his friend was nowhere to be found. After more than two decades, his faith was rewarded- Clark popped back into existence right where his calculations told him, twenty-three years in the future. 

The two of them had a somewhat antagonistic friendship, often with Ben as the more abused of the two, but they were friends nonetheless. Knowing that the people needed some kind of hope to hold onto, he told them all of a great hero that would come one day to liberate them, a remnant of humanity's former glory. With that tale, he managed to unify a significant portion of the population into a fighting force that called themselves the Remnants. As the de facto leader of the rebellion, Ben has earned great respect from everyone who works under him. 

Most days, he tries to be an optimist, but he gets more and more tired with every passing day. Nevertheless, he refuses to stop fighting until the wrongs of the past have been righted. He has somewhat of a gruff demeanor, but usually keeps a level head.