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The Ben 10 original aliens stand among the best in animated television history. One of the most beloved cartoons of the 2000s, Ben 10 tells the story of a young boy who becomes wrapped up in countless alien adventures after he fuses with the Omnitrix, an impossibly powerful piece of technology that could transform him into a variety of extraterrestrial life-forms. Ben's well-balanced roster of the original ten aliens made the first series so strong.
Ben 10 spawned countless spin-offs and sequel series, even inspiring a live-action film, but the original run of episodes starting in 2005 remains the most iconic. Though Ben would go on to unlock many more forms over the years, these Ben 10 original aliens were varied enough to give the boy hero an answer to any situation while never seeming too outlandish or over-specialized. Every member of Ben's starting lineup was useful to some degree, but there are some clear winners in terms of the strongest powers, character designs, and overall memorability.
10 Ghostfreak
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 4 "Permanent Retirement"
Ghostface was one of the most powerful aliens Ben originally had access to. He was capable of flight, telekinesis, intangibility, invisibility, and possession. However, he was incredibly dangerous to use, with the consciousness of the alien warlord Zs'Skayr inhabiting the Omnitrix's sample of Ghostfreak's species. Zs'Sakyr would slowly influence Ben's actions while Ben was in the form of Ghostfreak, making the terrifying spectral alien a risky choice despite his power.
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As powerful as Ghostfreak was, Ben ultimately couldn't control him, losing the form to Zs'Sakyr as he escaped the Omnitrix in one of Ben 10's best episodes. In addition to hurting Ben more than helping him, Ghostfreak also had some startling weaknesses, including being harmed by electricity and his vulnerability to Kraab's orange liquid. Luckily, Ben regained Ghostfreak, taking away the threat, and then refused to transform into him again because he knew the evil that the Ben 10 alien possessed.
9 Ripjaws
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3 "The Krakken"
The most specialized of the Ben 10 original aliens, Ripjaws is an aquatic beast capable of tearing through steel with his powerful jaws. The alien shares traits with marine life, such as alligators, eels, and sharks. He can also morph his legs into a single, merman-like tail, allowing him to swim incredibly fast. Ripjaws showed up for the first time in "The Krakken," where he helped the Krakken retrieve her eggs.
Ripjaws is the only alien to appear in Ultimate Alien that does not have a speaking role.
Of course, the aquatic alien is a very specialized tool in Ben's arsenal. He excels underwater, but is near-useless in other environments, as prolonged time on dry land dehydrates him to dangerous levels. If he is out of the water for too long, it could kill him. Ice also immobilizes him, and he has a vulnerability to electricity. Ripjaws is good at his job but isn't versatile enough to compete with Ben's best alien options.
8 Stinkfly
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."
Perhaps the grossest of all the Ben 10 original aliens, Stinkfly is most notable for the putrid, sticky slime he can squirt from his snail-like eye stalks. The insectoid alien also has a suite of other bug-like powers, including a razor-sharp stinger, hover-capable wings, and a potent toxic gas secretion. However, his bad smell also makes it hard for Stinkfly to do anything discretely.
Stinkfly was the first alien Ben named on-screen.
Not a pleasant alien to be around, Stinkfly's abilities are seldom more helpful to have than other aliens in the Omnitrix, being outperformed by fellow fliers like Heatblast and Ghostfreak in terms of raw power, making him one of the least-used aliens in the original Ben 10 run. He also has a weakness concerning his wings, as he can't fly if they are weighed down or too wet, and when grounded, there is little he can do in a fight.
7 Upgrade
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 4 "Permanent Retirement"
One of the most striking-looking aliens, Upgrade is actually a swarm of nanomachines forming a collective hive consciousness into a single alien entity. As such, he can wrap his amorphous body around machines, controlling and "Upgrading" them to suit Ben's needs. Upgrade is still helpful without using machines, allowing him to form crude weapons out of his body and even fire a laser from his eye. However, he thrives in the presence of machinery or against robotic opponents.
Outside such circumstances, Upgrade would unlikely be Ben's best choice for heroics.
Outside such circumstances, Upgrade would unlikely be Ben's best choice for heroics. One problem, even when using his machine upgrading powers, is that his control is not absolute. This weakness plays out when he cannot do anything with sapient machines like Siix Vigma, who fights him off. He can also be forcibly removed from machines, hurt, and has a weakness in energy absorption.
6 Heatblast
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"
The first alien Ben ever transforms into, Heatblast, is a staple pick Ben would utilize many times throughout the original series. A fiery being with the effortlessly cool voice of VO legend Steven Blum, Heatblast's pyrokinesis is surprisingly versatile, able to use his staggeringly hot flames to fly, melt steel, and form massive tornadoes of fire. The rock-like formations on Heatblast's body also allude to his limited geokinesis, giving him control over more than one element.
Heatblast is the first alien Ben ever transformed into in the entire franchise.
Heatblast can also transport himself and others to safety in his fire vortexes without burning them with his powers. Sadly, his fire attacks don't work against anything diamond-related or fire-resistant. He also can't touch anything with his hands without burning it. Blasts of water can also put out his fire, although he will regain it when he dries. In the end, the alien's potential for unintentional destruction and his vulnerability to flame-retardant enemies sometimes made him difficult to work with.
5 Grey Matter
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."
Grey Matter might not seem much at first glance, as a diminutive alien with no apparent special powers. However, the Galvan race Grey Matter represents is known for their incredible intellect, granting Ben enhanced powers of deduction, technological abilities, and feats of engineering when assuming the form of Grey Matter. His ability to solve practical problems is unmatched by any other alien in the Omnitrix, and his small stature can help make daring escapes and subterfuge.
Grey Matter is about 6 inches tall.
While Grey Matter can do things no other alien can, he isn't much use in a fight. While he is strong, can breathe underwater, and can climb walls, Grey Matter doesn't have much to help Ben fight. His diminutive size also makes him a target for cats and dogs. He also doesn't know everything, so while he is the smartest of the Big Ten original aliens, he can still make mistakes.
4 XLR8
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"
The resident speedster of the Omnitrix, XLR8, is an alien-life form that lives life in the fast lane, able to rush down Ben's foes with blazing speed. XLR8 doesn't simply run fast but he manipulates friction, allowing Ben to stop on a dime before instantly accelerating to blistering speeds. Ben's reaction times are similarly enhanced as XLR8, giving him an inherent advantage in dangerous situations with the ability to think quickly.
XLR8 is pronounced "X-elerate."
Complete with a natural visor that keeps the wind out of his eyes, XLR8 is an excellent choice for Ben to use in all but a few situations. However, XLR8 is at a disadvantage when magnets and charged pulses come into play, as they can cause him to lose control. He also can't run on all surfaces, as ice causes him to slide, and sticky surfaces can cause him to stick into place.
3 Four Arms
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."
One of Ben's most-used alien forms, Four Arms, proves that sometimes simplicity is best. A hulking red giant with two sets of mighty arms, Four Arms is Ben's physically strongest alien, able to come to blows with just about any enemy the series throws at him. He's also insanely durable, able to tank all manner of physical attacks as well as brave extreme temperatures and even radiation.
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With his iconic, simple design and universally applicable powers, it's no wonder Four Arms was one of Ben's most preferred options. While easily the strongest of the Ben 10 original aliens, his bulk also causes some problems. His size makes him an easy target for attacking enemies. He also can't move through smaller areas, limiting where he can attack. More than that, electricity causes him intense pain, which is his most significant weakness.
2 Wildmutt
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"
Despite the canine species ' impressive strengths, Ben somewhat underutilizes the incredibly well-rounded alien Wildmutt in the original series. With strength rivaling Four-Arms and agility nearly as good as XLR8's, Wildmutt was a jack-of-all-trades whose most potent feature was his delicate senses of smell and hearing. Though he did not have eyes, Ben could use Wildmutt's senses to sniff out invisible enemies and perfectly map his environment.
Wildmutt is Ben's only alien incapable of verbal speech.
Wildmutt is equally at home, leaping from tree to tree or burrowing through the Earth; there were a few situations that he couldn't adapt to. The only major drawback to him was that he was the only form Ben couldn't speak in. This deficiency makes him a great alien to fight with, but not one that would work when teamwork is necessary. He is also vulnerable to fire and high-frequency noises.
1 Diamondhead
First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"
Ben's single most overpowered starting forms, Diamondhead is one of Ben 10's best aliens in general, let alone in the first series. Alongside Four Arms, Diamondhead is one of Ben's go-to transformations, and for good reason. Being made of literal diamonds made him incredibly durable, able to regenerate from most injuries that could hurt him by re-growing his crystalline structure on the fly. Offensively, Diamondhead can form his body into various useful shapes, expel sharp diamonds from his hands like a cannon, or entrap his enemies with massive crystals that grow from the ground.
It's no wonder that a being made of the most durable material on Earth was one of the most powerful and iconic aliens
Diamondhead is comfortable in many environments. He can breathe underwater, shrug off extreme heat, and survive in the vacuum of space itself. Ben's enemies always had difficulty contending with his powers as Diamondhead, as he can easily use his immense strength to go toe-to-toe with most aliens or trap them in solid crystal. It's no wonder that a being made of the most durable material on Earth was one of the most powerful and iconic aliens in the entirety of Ben 10.
Which Ben 10 Original Alien Is The Strongest?
Of all the aliens in the original Ben 10, it's undeniable that Four Arms is the strongest, and also the most useful unless the situation calls for a specific skill (such as small spaces or obstacles requiring an intellectual solution for Grey Matter). Not only was Four Arms the strongest of Ben's original alien forms, but he also appeared the most.
Four Arms showed up in a total of 78 episodes of Ben 10, and across every version of the show, it was second only to Ben 10 Alien Force's Humungosaur, which appeared 89 times. Four Arms was also one of the forms taken by Ben 10,000, the alternate-timeline version of Ben Tennyson from the future who took life as a superhero incredibly, incredibly seriously.
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IMDB's Highest Rated Episodes of Ben 10 (2005-2008) |
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Episode Number |
Title |
IMDB Score |
|
S4.E13 |
Secret of the Omnitrix, Part 3 |
9.4 |
|
S2.E12 |
Back with a Vengeance |
9.1 |
|
S1.E13 |
Secrets |
8.9 |
|
S4.E11 |
Secret of the Omnitrix, Part 1 |
8.9 |
|
S3.E1 |
Ben 10,000 |
8.8 |
While Ben 10,000 seemed to prefer XLR8, the fact that Four Arms was still one of his most regular forms even when he had access to 9,999 other speaks volumes for its strength. As far as weaknesses go, Four Arms isn't invulnerable, and like most of Ben's other forms, does have a few achilles heels. For example, Four Arms is especially weak to both electricity and sedatives. What's more, if Ben has a cold or some other sickness, Four Arms has significantly reduced strength.
These weaknesses don't make him any worse off than Ben's other forms though, as the rest all have specific flaws of a similar ilk. With all this in mind, it's clear that Four Arms is the strongest original Ben 10 alien, and while he may not be as durable as the likes of Diamondhead or as agile as Wildmutt, he's still proven himself over and over to be the best choice in almost any situation.
What About The Later Aliens?
The original Ben 10 aliens were the key reason that the show was such a hit for Cartoon Network when it first debuted in 2005. However, as fans know, Ben 10 is a franchise that evolved over the years and had many different iterations. Reboots and reinventions like 2008's Ben 10: Alien Force, 2010's Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and 2012's Ben 10: Omniverse each introduced many new aliens to the franchise, as well as giving classic aliens from the original run an appearance update. It's difficult to compare the aliens from the original Ben 10 to the new additions in the likes of Ultimate Alien and Omniverse, as the tones of later versions of the show were slightly different.
For example, aliens like Whampire from Omniverse and Ampfibian from Ultimate Alien were iconic in their own way, but would have felt a little out of place during the original run of Ben 10. Whampire's appearance and powers were heavily based on vampires like Dracula, whereas the jellyfish-like Ampfibian comes across as a monster straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft story. While they defeinitely worked in Omniverse and Ultimate Alien, they were a little too dark for the younger viewers Ben 10 was originally aimed at.
However, this isn't always the case, and there were several aliens introduced in later versions of Ben 10 that many longtime fans think of as just as iconic as those introduced in the original 2005-2012 run. Aliens like the tech-savvy Juryrigg from Ultimate Alien, the beast-like Rath from Alien Force, or the nuclear-powered Atomix from Omniverse are all just as beloved (if not more so) than many of the original Ben 10 aliens. Ultimately, which Ben 10 alien is the favorite of each fan is highly subjective, but it's also unfair to say that those introduced in the original run are the absolute best.
Produced by Cartoon Network, the animated series Ben 10 centers around teenage boy Ben Tennyson's adventures with the Omnitrix, a device that allows him to transform into a variety of alien creatures. The original show, first aired on 2006, is the first one in a franchise composed of the series Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, and a 2016 reboot.
Release Date January 1, 2005
Seasons 4
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English (US) ·