History WesternAnimation / Ben10

* BigBad: Vilgax in season 1, Kevin 11 in season 2, Ghostfreak in season 3, and the Forever King in season 4.
** Vilgax, being the ArchEnemy, ''also'' had the role of secondary BigBad in seasons 2 and 4.

* GrandFinale: "Secret of the Omnitrix", as WordOfGod confirms it takes place ''after'' "Ben 10 vs. the Negative 10" (canonically speaking), which means the movie is episodes 49-51 in official order of the show [[note]]Even though it aired in the middle of Season 4 (between "Big Fat Alien Wedding" and "Ben 4 Good Buddy") and in production order the movie is episodes 401-403 or the first three episodes of season 4[[/note]]. The actual last episode of the series is "Goodbye and Good Riddance", but that episode is a non-canon WhatIf story.

* HijackedByGanon: A Season 3 episode introduced a werewolf-like alien who was seemingly killed at the end of his episode, but was revealed to have built a machine as a SequelHook. A mummy-like alien is then introduced in a later episode. Both come back and are revealed to work for a new villain named Dr Vicktor in the first part of the season finale... and then it turns out Dr Vicktor himself was TheDragon to [[spoiler:Ghostfreak/Zs'Skayr, a villain who had been introduced in a previous season 2 episode]].

* ComicBookAdaptation: Stories based on this show were featured in the earlier issues of ''Cartoon Network Action Pack''. As the comic book continued publication, it stayed up to date by switching to adaptations of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''.

* TransformationConventions: Frequently, the Omnitrix overrides Ben's choice of Alien Hero to match plot or comedy requirements. In the first episode, after Ben has been introduced as a temperamental slacker, the first extraterrestrial the Omnitrix picks for him is Heatblast, a magma-based alien.

%%* TransformationConventions

* AnAesop:
** In any given episode, Ben almost invariably tries for one of the physically strong characters in the watch, only for the Omnitrix to shift him to a form that could actually handle the crisis better, or just required him to think outside the box. The Aesop being that 1) muscle isn't everything; 2) if you're not handed what you wanted, work with what you have.
** "You shouldn't be a hero for the thrill of it and the praise afterwards. You should be a hero because it's the right thing to do." An entire episode was dedicated to teaching Ben this, and it's something that can easily apply to other fields. You shouldn't do good things because of praise and[=/=]or because you find it exciting. You should do good things because it's the right thing to do.

* AnAesop: Remember, [[ComicBook/SpiderMan with great power comes great responsibility.]]

* SnapBack: Ben never seems to learn from the [[AnAesop Aesop]] in any episode and at the start of the next episode continues behaving like an idiot bent on doing things his way no matter what, despite his level of intelligence and understanding to the contrary. This is actually lampshaded at the end of the CGI "Destroy All Aliens" film.

%%* WretchedHiveOfScumAndVillainy: Incarcica in TheMovie is described as this, even though it's technically a prison.

[[caption-width-right:320:[[CharacterCatchphrase It's Hero Time!]][[note]]Clockwise from bottom: [[KidHero Ben Tennyson]], [[ShorterMeansSmarter Grey Matter]], [[AngryGuardDog Wildmutt]], [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Fourarms]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghostfreak]], [[BigCreepyCrawlies Stinkfly]], [[PlayingWithFire Heatblast]], [[GemstoneAssault Diamondhead]], [[SuperSpeed XLR8]], [[FiendishFish Ripjaws]], and [[MechanicalLifeforms Upgrade]].]][[/note]]

* PostAdventureAdventure: From the perspective of Grandpa Max, the events of the show are this for him. Max is a retired Plumber, an organization of humans and aliens sworn to defend Earth from alien attack. When Max was in his prime, he defeated [[EvilOverlord Vilgax]], [[spoiler: [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce romanced an Anodite named Verdona,]] among many, many other things over the course of his career before eventually retiring and settling down. When Ben retrieves the Omnitrix, Max's former skills are put to good use in supporting his grandson's efforts to battle the neverending supply of alien bad guys looking to take it from Ben. Max alludes to his adventures fondly in flashbacks, but the viewer never gets to see all of them.

** In one episode where Ben and Gwen get sucked into a video game, Grandpa Max (Creator/PaulEiding) tells them to [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 turn the game console off.]] One video on Youtube explicitly noted that, like his role as [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Colonel Roy Campbell]], Max carries many, many secrets and often acts as MissionControl.

** In the Ghostfreak two-parter, tries to do an Aesop about teamwork. Unfortunately, this fails when TheHero is armed with one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe; try as they might, Gwen and Max ''really'' [[WeAreTeamCannonFodder don't compare]]. It's like [[Anime/DragonBallZ Tien and Yamcha trying to teach teamwork to Super Saiyan Goku]]. Also, at the beginning of Part 2 ("Be Afraid of The Dark"), Gwen tells Ben "We don't need your help". Frankly, the story makes it seem like she's jealous of the Omnitrix, and having {{sidekick}} issues. Max has a lesser case, but, not being ten, he knows when to shut up and get on with things. At the end of the second episode, Ben ends up learning his aesop about teamwork after... he uses his Omnitrix to save Gwen and Max's asses as they plummet from space to Earth.

* TheMovie: Two of them -- ''Secret Of The Omnitrix'', and the live action movie ''Race Against Time''. A third all-CGI film, Destroy All Aliens, set during this timeframe was later released in 2012.

* IOweYouMyLife: In "Grudge Match", a gladiator named Technorg offers Ben to be "master" after Ben spared his life in battle. Naturally, Ben refuses the offer and forces Technorg to get off the Mega Cruiser while he still can

* BenevolentDictator: In the original continuity, Vilgax conquered his home planet and renamed it after himself. But he's actually kind to his own race and is a UniversallyBelovedLeader to them. Sadly, in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' he comes through {{Flanderization}}, losing sympathetic and cool traits and turns into a simple tyrant.

* TheMovie: Two of them -- ''Secret Of The Omnitrix'', and the live action movie ''Race Against Time''.
* MultiformBalance: Theoretically, each of Ben's alien forms have powers applicable to specific situations. In practice, due to [[KidHero Ben's]] lack of tactical thinking and the Omnitrix's tendency to be uncooperative, whether an alien will be used in the appropriate role is never certain.

* PostAdventureAdventure: From the perspective of Grandpa Max, the events of the show are this for him. Max is a retired Plumber, an organization of humans and aliens sworn to defend Earth from alien attack. When Max was in his prime, he defeated [[EvilOverlord Vilgax]], romanced an Anodite named Verdona, among many, many other things over the course of his career before eventually retiring and settling down. When Ben retrieves the Omnitrix, Max's former skills are put to good use in supporting his grandson's efforts to battle the neverending supply of alien bad guys looking to take it from Ben. Max alludes to his adventures fondly in flashbacks, but the viewer never gets to see all of them.
* PowerPerversionPotential: The Naljian Destructor copies everything it sees and mimics the intention behind it.

* RhymeThemeNaming: Ben has a cousin named Gwen, who has an older brother named Ken. Kevin finds this amusing.