Introduction
Guess what’s back? Back again? Ben 10 lists are back. Please tell your friends…. Terrible segue aside, after we ranked the best episodes of Ben 10: Alien Force last week, what better time to look back at the original Ben 10 series and its best episodes? Whilst Alien Force was definitely a better show from a writing perspective, and yes that’s just because it made Gwen less annoying, it’s hard to look past the sheer enjoyment 2000s kids with Cartoon Network got out of Ben 10 (the original series). So before we get into the list properly, here is some history about the show.
History
Ben 10 first debuted on Cartoon Network with a bunch of other cartoons as a sneak peak in 2005 before becoming a full fledged series later that year. It would run for another three years until 2008 and has a total of 52 episodes. Once again, the Ben 10 franchise, in this Classic Ben 10, is technically better than Better Call Saul as it won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation giving it a 50% success rate. The show also received huge praise for its very talented voice cast, featuring veterans from the voice acting world like Tara Strong and Dee Bradley Baker amongst others. Now with the history out of the way, here are our picks for the best episodes of Ben 10.
10. Ghostfreaked Out (S2, E11)
For an all powerful piece of alien technology, the Omnitrix sure isn’t cooperative most of the time. Case in point, Ghostfreaked Out. Here, one of the aliens in the Omnitrix leaves (no prizes for guessing it was called Ghostfreak) and tries to take over the world. Some holiday that…. Anyway, despite trying to take over the world Ghostfreak needs to reunite with Ben in order to be whole. SO it almost begs the question: was it worth it from Ghostfreak’s perspective if he still needed Ben to make it worth it? Anyway, this is a very solid episode as long as you ignore Gwen which is a motto for Classic Ben 10.
9. Be Afraid of the Dark (S3, E12)
Now this is not sound advice to be telling your children but then again that’s not stopped children’s cartoons being nightmare fuel before. Anyway, this is the better half of a two parter conclusion as the Tennysons have to keep outer space from falling into the wrong hands. In this case, it’s once again everyone’s favourite cooperative alien: Ghostfreak. Besides having some nightmare fuel for kids, this is a good episode albeit hampered by the fact the second part completely wastes the potential here.
8. Framed (S2, E3)
Ah yes, the obligatory episode where the main character has been framed for crimes they haven’t committed and have to find out who is doing it. Don’t believe me, just look at stuff like Mystery Incorporated or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Anyway, with federal agents closing in on Ben in San Francisco, he meets up with an old friend to try and work out what is going on so the rest of the series can still happen and not turn into a prison break story. Either way, a solid episode which plays into the overused story type perfectly to keep the audience investment as high as possible for the reveal.
7. Benwolf (S3, E5)
There’s a joke about Beowulf somewhere in here but maybe that’s just us…. Anyway, it’s always good to see some, if not incredibly limited, representation of Native Americans in film and tv. However, that does get thrown out of the window when Ben gets attacked by a werewolf in Navajo territory. And naturally, this starts Ben’s slow transformation into a werewolf which is kinda cool given the possibilities of a werewolf with the Omnitrix. Anyway, another very solid episode with at least some representation points in amongst the werewolf shenanigans.
6. Ben 10,000 (S3, E1)
Now this feels like a neo-noir series reboot in about 10 years if we’ve ever seen one but instead here it’s just the third series’s opener. Here, both Ben and Gwen are abducted into the future by their future selves (don’t ask about the timeline consequences) to help them with a problem. We’re sure this won’t become all timey wimey…. Anyway, just to give this episode and the remaining series some conflict, Dr Animo keeps the pair busy by reanimating series antagonist Vilgax. With added cybernetics this time (oooooh). Anyway, this is another solid episode.
5. Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, Part 2 (S4, E12)
As we will reveal later on, this very much breaks the established rule of movie/TV trilogy quality. This is normally great, the best and then a steaming heap of s**t. However, in this case the second part of Secret of the Omnitrix is the weakest. Anyway, this is still a good episode thanks to its ticking time bomb plot with the Omnitrix’s self-destruct mode set to go off. This leads Ben and co to a dangerous jungle planet to deactivate it only for Vilgax and his army to be in hot pursuit because we need more stakes. Either way, this is still a good episode even if it’s the weakest of Secret of the Omnitrix.
4. Secrets (S1, E13)
So it only took thirteen episodes but Vilgax finally decides that if a job is worth doing you should do it yourself. Honestly, what is it with all powerful aliens being too lazy to do their job properly, *cough* Thanos *cough*. Unfortunately for Ben, Vilgax proves to be far too much for him or any of the aliens in the Omnitrix to handle. Luckily for him, Ben’s uncle Max reveals an ex-machina hidden in a secret base under Mount Rushmore. Whilst a bit lazy in how it equalises the field for Ben, this is still a solid episode and a proper fun showdown between Ben and Vilgax.
3. Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, Part One (S4, E11)
And now we come to the first part of Secret of the Omnitrix which is definitely better than the second part but not quite as good as the third. Anyway, this episode does all the exposition heavy lifting for the second and third parts as Ben, Max and Gwen track down the assistant to the maker of the Omnitrix for answers. However, Vilgax and his army of literal drones arrive simultaneously. Despite being the episode with the most set up work, this episode is still very good thanks to it sticking to and nailing the standard Ben 10 formula to perfection.
2. Back with a Vengeance (S2, E13)
What’s better than fighting one villain? Fighting two villains simultaneously and we’ll stop there thanks. Anyway, with an impending showdown with Kevin 11 (do you get it) and Vilgax on the horizon, Ben desperately needs an equaliser. So here the screenwriters give him the ability to transform into all the Omnitrix aliens at will thanks to the unlocking of the Omnitrix master code. Whilst it’s more than a little bit of a get out of jail free card, the showdown between Ben, Kevin and Vilgax is more than good enough to justify the nonsense.
1. Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, Part Three (S4, E13)
And the best episode of Ben 10 is….. Secret of the Omnitrix, Part Three. Not only is this the Series 4 finale but it’s also just a great finale to Classic Ben 10. Now, as established the Omnitrix is being as helpful as usual so when the dial finally gets reattached and it resets, Ben gets a pretty insane size advantage. By this we mean he turns into a massive alien who he creatively calls Way Big. Anyway, this is another very fun episode which is a fitting conclusion to the Secret of the Omnitrix trilogy.
