It started when an alien device did what it did.
My new years resolution was to watch every episode of the original Ben 10 Continuity (Ben 10 Classic, Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, and Ben 10 Omniverse.) Why? Because Ben 10 has some of the most interesting lore and continuity I’ve seen in a cartoon made for Y10+. Each series builds on the last, dozens upon dozens of alien species and cultures are introduced and time travel is done surprisingly well. I’m getting ahead of myself though. I’d like to make it clear that I’ve already seen every episode of Ben 10 at some point in my life, and my feelings on episodes will reflect upon that. Without further ado… here’s how the episodes of season 1 of Ben 10 Classic stacked up:
The Good
Episode 1 comes in at number one because it is in fact a damn good first episode. It sets up the characters, the main plot line for the first half the Classic series, shows us the hero’s weapon and we even get to see Heatblast, Diamondhead, XLR8, and Wildmutt which are some of Ben’s most used aliens.
Episode 10 is amazing for setting up Gwen’s character completely. She doesn’t want to just be the girl on the side, she wants in on the hero action. She takes up the guise of Lucky Girl with the help of magic. How can she do magic so well without training? Alien Force will cover more on that… In the end Gwen hangs up the Lucky Girl outfit, but don’t worry she’s definitely not done being a hero.
Episode 13 was almost my top pick, but without Episode 1 it’d be kinda pointless. Up until this point Grandpa Max hasn’t done too much beyond being totally cool with all these alien shenanigans. Here it’s revealed that he’s so cool with all this because he used to be the Ben 10 equivalent to the MiB also known as the Plumbers. Also Vilgax shows up which is always cool.
Episode 7 introduces to Kevin E. Levin (I’m not kidding). Kevin in Ben 10 Classic acts as a foil to Ben and I might argue that he’s more of a main series villain than Vilgax is. Kevin pops up throughout the rest of the series and is a legitimate threat to Ben, but this episode gives him some room to breathe and grow into the villain he’s meant to be. (Until Alien Force. Again. Alien Force is… something. That’s for sure.)
Episode 5 is up on the top for two reasons. One: Sixsix is cool. Two: this is the first episode that introduces us and Ben to the existence of “good” aliens. Tetrax (the good alien) is also the first alien shown to be the same species as one of Ben’s flagship aliens, Diamondhead.
Episode 6 is the final “good” episode of Season 1 and it scraped by with the inclusion of one of Ben’s future aliens, Buzzshock (a Megawhatt), and some neat aesthetics within the town of Sparksville.
The Meh
Episode 2 oscillates between “Meh” and “Good” for me. Dr. Animo is a very cool villain with a very cool backstory and is a perfect adversary for Ben… but boy is this episode not the best introduction for him. Nothing is wrong with the episode but nothing really stands out either and I chalk this up to the show just starting to get on its feet.
Episode 10 is Meh because Rojo is a lame villain in my opinion and this episode should have been used to showcase Vilgax more directly, in my opinion. Also the setting is bland and Grand Max is in the hospital for most of the episode. Not even Omniverse can fix Rojo.
Episode 9 is “Meh” because I almost forgot it when compiling my list. Seriously. It’s an interesting episode and I love Ghostfreak, but it spends way too much focus on the villain Zombozo who is literally killed off for the rest of Ben 10 Classic.
Episode 4 feels like a bottle episode trapped inside a boring town where the old people are acting wackkky. The setting keeps me as bored as Ben, and the villain “Limax” never comes back.
Episode 11 is “Meh” and almost “Bad” due to my disliking of “the Omnitrix isn’t working!” plot structure. It comes up a lot, and in the classic series is somewhat forgivable, if not overused to force plots. At least when the Omnitrix acts up later there is usually a reason beyond “I guess you have to stay Greymatter for plot convince” What keeps this episode from being bad is that everyone is in character and the long running villains the Forever Knights make their first appearance.
The Bad
Episode 12 is what I’d call a gimmick episode. Ben is sick so his alien forms are sick and their powers act differently! …and this never comes up again. You know what else never comes up again? Clancy/The Bug Guy who is the villain in this episode. Clancy feels like a Dr. Animo rip-off that is all about bugs. Clancy does show up again in Ben vs. the Negative 10 but that’s a whole different series of complaints.
Episode 3 is boring and is a water episode for the sake of having Ripjaws be relevant. Ripjaws is never relevant. Also the big bad guy of this episode isn’t an alien but a cryptid. Which, I’ll concede that Ben 10 does take place in the same world as the less know Cartoon Network show “The Secret Saturdays” but this wasn’t planned continuity, this was just a pointless episode with unlikable characters.
Overall the first season of Ben 10 is actually pretty great! If you’re crunched on time like myself but want to check out Ben 10, it’s currently on Hulu. At some point I’ll put up my thoughts on Season 2.