All 5 'Ben 10' TV Shows, Ranked

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Since he first put on the Omnitrix all the way back in 2005, the one and only Benjamin Tennyson has been one of the coolest superheroes in media, despite not nearly getting the amount of attention he deserves — at least today (everyone knows how extremely popular the young hero was back when he was initially on the air). Over the years, fans have gotten to see Tennyson in many different ages, alien forms, and even animation styles, spanning five television series over the course of 16 years.

As stated, the Ben 10 franchise has been around for quite a while and has seen a lot during its tenure. This also means it's seen quite a lot of variety in reviews, because not every show can be perfect (especially when you make a reboot that no one wanted). How do they all match up against each other, though? Some rankings definitely feel obvious, but when it comes to ranking the best of the best, it's tougher than one would think.

5 'Ben 10' (2016–2021)

Diamondhead from Ben 10 standing tall in the daytime.

Why did the team at Cartoon Network decide to fully reboot the series in 2016? Most fans have been asking that question quite a bit, and there's really been no answer. Yes, it's always good to attract a newer, younger audience and boost toy sales, but Ben has always appealed to young kids, and most fans will argue that a full-blown reboot was not necessary in the slightest. In fact, this new direction kind of did the opposite of what the studios wanted: it completely alienated an entire audience — just not the one they were worried about. A lot of people who were watching the series from the beginning now couldn't stand watching Ben 10 because of how much the show had been watered down. This makes the general opinion of 2016's Ben 10 to be a big mistake.

This doesn't mean that it's 100% terrible, though. In fact, there's a small group of viewers who would consider it overhated and call the show simply "mid". There are still some things — yes, a small amount — that work about Ben 10. They switched up the alien roster, which allowed for some new storytelling with the stories of the original 2005 show. Audiences specifically note liking the new alien, Shock Rock (David Kaye), and highlighting it as one of the best aspects of the show. The new power set introduced with him is pretty dang cool, and provides a whole new challenge for the likes of Vilgax (Yuri Lowenthal). At the end of the day, however, the overall consensus regarding the 2016 reboot is not great. It really struggles to aim itself at younger kids while providing things to keep old fans interested and not feeling estranged, which may have increased toy sales for them, but tanked ratings beyond what they probably expected.

4 'Ben 10: Ultimate Alien' (2010–2012)

After the massive success of the sequel series, Ben 10: Alien Force, the team behind that series returned to continue in that era of the show with Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. It wasn't received as well as the 2008 sequel show, but it isn't as isolating to a huge chunk of the audience or as rough in its storytelling. The biggest issue people had with Ben 10: Ultimate Alien is, ultimately (pun intended), what happened to Ben (Yuri Lowenthal) as a character. One of the major complaints people had with Ben 10: Alien Force was the character change Ben had, in which he became a total jerk and a reversal of his character from the first two seasons. Did this get fixed in the following show? Absolutely not. In fact, Ben is absolutely worse. When he's not acting as he did in Ben 10: Alien Force, they make him bland, and then revert to him being a jerk again by being completely out of character in plots like him pretty much cheating on his girlfriend Julie Yamamoto (Vyvan Pham). Not a great look.

This doesn't fully destroy the series, though. There are still plenty of great things in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien that make it a very enjoyable watch, regardless. The introduction of the new "Ultimate" alien forms gave a whole new dynamic to the action, it had far more mature storytelling and themes, and, at the very least, the character development of those outside of Ben was done pretty dang well. Not to mention, the amazing vocal performances from the legendary Yuri Lowenthal, Ashley Johnson, and Greg Cipes are good as ever. Ben 10: Ultimate Alien may be far from perfect, but, at the end of the day, it still does a decent job continuing from Ben 10: Alien Force and remains a show worth going back to watch for fans.

3 'Ben 10: Omniverse' (2012–2014)

At first, the reception to Ben 10: Omniverse was not amazing. The new art style was a big shift, so it jarred people quite a bit, and the newer direction for the show, having two storylines — one in the past and one in the present, Arrow-style — felt a bit too new. However, over the years, as people began to ruminate on it, the show is far more appreciated now than ever before. Maybe it partially has to do with how negatively the 2016 Ben 10 was received, allowing people to look back with a new eye, or maybe people genuinely were just willing to give it more of a chance. Regardless of which, people have most certainly grown more positively towards Ben 10: Omniverse, because there genuinely is a lot here that is so enjoyable, innovative, and all around enjoyable.

Ben 10: Omniverse's new storytelling style has grown from something new and weird to a breath of fresh air in comparison to the rest of the series. Not to forget, this new kind of plot opened the door for one of the best stories in the franchise: the story in the past following Young Ben's (Tara Strong) relationship with a never-before-seen alien, Feedback (Yuri Lowenthal). In fact, there are many new and unique aliens that are introduced in this series that people absolutely fell in love with. Finally, and most importantly, Ben's character arc here puts it far above Ben 10: Ultimate Alien in storytelling, as his growth is really well-written and makes him feel far more layered than he was in the prior installment.

2 'Ben 10' (2005–2008)

Ben Tennyson looking at the watch attached to his wrist in fright in Ben 10.

It started when an alien device did what it did in 2005's Ben 10, and honestly, how much better can it get than the original show that started it all and set the standards for the franchise? In all transparency, the first appearance of Ben Tennyson in media is a solid show, pretty much all-around. It set the bar for everything that would come after, and is truly one of the more innovative animated series of the early 2000s. The conflicts that the Omnitrix consistently brings Ben are always forcing the hero to evolve and think outside the box, which a ten-year-old like Ben needs desperately.

The growth he goes through in this first show is a bit slow-moving and sometimes retreads plot threads that can feel a little repetitive, but, at the end of the day, the lessons he does learn give him a character arc that is super well-done, especially for a show mainly meant for kids. He's not the only one, either. Both Gwen Tennyson (Meagan Smith) and Grandpa Max Tennyson (Paul Eiding) get arcs of their own — so does Kevin Levin (Michael Reisz), who's just a villain in this series — that expand the complexity of the surrounding cast and make for a full roster that feels fully fleshed out and compelling. There is so much to love about the classic Ben 10 series, and it's the proof in the pudding of why this franchise has grown to be as impactful as it is, and why it deserves to make a comeback outside of a reboot comic book written by the original writers.

1 'Ben 10: Alien Force' (2008–2010)

With how successful the franchise became during the airing of the first series, Cartoon Network and Man of Action decided it was time to go all-in on it, and boy, was that an incredible idea. While Ben 10 ended in 2008, fans got a whole new series, the exact same year, in the form of Ben 10: Alien Force. What a treat, right? What makes this even better is the fact that Ben 10: Alien Force took everything that was great about the first show, then expanded and improved on it.

For the first two seasons, Ben's character arc is phenomenal, and the series handles more mature storytelling in a way that still makes it very digestible for younger audiences, as they treat the older ones to more layered concepts and plots. Taking place a whopping five years post-Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force ushers in a whole new era with a whole new watch, villains, and, most memorably, aliens. Almost all the new things brought in through the 2008 series became fan favorites and made it the best-of-the-best when it comes to the Ben 10 franchise.

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