History YMMV / Ben10

* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: Ben and Gwen, which is an almost reverse case of the usual trope. The writers viewed them as just bickering, [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther if still loving]], cousins, and tried to write them as such. [[KissingCousins A few people took it differently.]] This actually created a PeripheryDemographic all by itself. Some older viewers initially hated the show, partially because of what they thought of as flat, immature, two-dimensional characters. [[IncestSubtext The instant they decided Ben and Gwen had crushes on each other]], the characters gained two or three levels of depth, skyrocketing it to the top of a lot of teen's lists.

** Naturally, some of Ben's aliens are more popular than others, but the one who takes the cake is [[MagmaMan Heatblast]], who is the most popular and iconic alien form in the entire franchise. He is so popular that an ''Ultimate Alien'' DVD was titled "The Return of Heatblast".

** [[OldMaster Grandpa Max]], as detailed in the JustHereForGodzilla entry, even moreso as of the sequels when he's not a main character anymore.

*** Ripjaws has only appeared 16 times in the entire ''Ben 10'' franchise, but he is popular with fans in addition to getting lots of Fan art and Website/YouTube videos.

*** Another unexpected pairing that has been making the rounds as of TheNewTwenties is pairing Gwen up with [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Violet Parr]] from ''The Incredibles'' with Violet usually serving as the third wheel in the ever so-popular Gwen-Raven pairing.

*** And if the Omnitrix is sentient, then why does it really keep randomly giving Ben the wrong transformations? The series implies various reasons, including that it might be some kind of safety protocol designed to save its wearer by giving them the right transformation when needed, while a big part of the fanbase thinks that the Omnitrix either just [[{{Troll}} likes screwing with Ben]], or wants him to get more creative and varied with his transformations instead of [[CripplingOverspecialization always relying on just one or two aliens all the time]]. Alternatively, maybe it's just the Omnitrix's way of punishing Ben whenever he acts like an idiot or a jerk? This might be supported by the fact that the malfunctions and wrong transformations tend to happen a lot during the more [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted and comedy-oriented parts]] of the franchise (like the Original Series or ''Omniverse''), where Ben is quite prone to acting reckless, stupid, impulsive or immature. Also, after that one time when Ben and Kevin tried to hack and modify the Omnitrix during their teenage years in the later seasons, the malfunctions and wrong transformations returned with a vengeance after being far less frequent for a long while, which can give the impression that the Omnitrix was ''really'' pissed off at Ben for trying to hack it and wanted to get some payback. Thus, the wrong transformations could either be The Omnitrix giving Ben the alien he needs instead of the one he wants in order to force him to get more creative and versatile instead of always relying on brute force, The Omnitrix trolling Ben and just wanting to have some fun with him, or The Omnitrix getting annoyed with Ben and wanting to punish him whenever he does something reckless or dumb.

** Just how sentient is the Omnitrix? Various series and episodes have raised the idea of it being anything from a simple machine whose errors, either from the user end or its own glitches, case Ben to mistransform, to having its own intelligence that makes choices for Ben in the form of mistransformations. While it is confirmed at the end of ''Omniverse'' that it does have some decision making capabilities, are they just to prevent Ben from dying or does it extend further. Also, it's worth noting that the idea of the Omnitrix gradually becoming sentient or Azmuth unintenionally creating sentient technology isn't implausible: After all, that's ''exactly'' how the Galvans accidentally created the Galvanic Mechamorphs (Upgrade's race). And that's not even getting into Eunice's case.

*** And if the Omnitrix is sentient, then why does it really keep randomly giving Ben the wrong transformations? The series implies various reasons, including that it might be some kind of safety protocol designed to save its wearer by giving them the right transformation when needed, while a big part of the fanbase thinks that the Omnitrix either just [[{{Troll}} likes screwing with Ben]], or wants him to get more creative and varied with his transformations instead of [[CripplingOverspecialization always relying on just one or two aliens all the time]]. Alternatively, maybe it's just the Omnitrix's way of punishing Ben whenever he acts like an idiot or a jerk? This might be supported by the fact that the malfunctions and wrong transformations tend to happen a lot during the more [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted and comedy-oriented parts]] of the franchise (like the Original Series or ''Omniverse''), where Ben is quite prone to acting reckless, stupid, impulsive or immature. Also, after that one time when Ben and Kevin tried to hack and modify the Omnitrix during their teenage years in the later seasons, the malfunctions and wrong transformations returned with a vengeance after being far less frequent for a long while, which can give the impression that the Omnitrix was ''really'' pissed off at Ben for trying to hack it and wanted to get some payback. Thus, the wrong transformations could either be The Omnitrix giving Ben the alien he needs instead of the one he wants, The Omnitrix trolling Ben and just wanting to have some fun with him, or The Omnitrix wanting to punish Ben whenever he does something reckless or dumb.

*** And if the Omnitrix is sentient, then why does it really keep randomly giving Ben the wrong transformations? The series implies various reasons, including that it might be some kind of safety protocol designed to save its wearer by giving them the right transformation when needed, while a big part of the fanbase thinks that the Omnitrix either just [[{{Troll}} likes screwing with Ben]], or wants him to get more creative and varied with his transformations instead of [[CripplingOverspecialization always relying on just one or two aliens all the time]].

** And if the Omnitrix is sentient, then why does it really keep randomly giving Ben the wrong transformations? The series implies various reasons, including that it might be some kind of safety protocol designed to save its wearer by giving them the right transformation when needed, while a big part of the fanbase thinks that the Omnitrix either just [[{{Troll}} likes screwing with Ben]], or wants him to get more creative and varied with his transformations instead of [[CripplingOverspecialization always relying on just one or two aliens all the time]].

** Just how sentient is the Omnitrix? Various series and episodes have raised the idea of it being anything from a simple machine whose errors, either from the user end or its own glitches, case Ben to mistransform, to having its own intelligence that makes choices for Ben in the form of mistransformations. While it is confirmed at the end of ''Omniverse'' that it does have some decision making capabilities, are they just to prevent Ben from dying or does it extend further. Also, it's worth noting that the idea of the Omnitrix grafually becoming sentient or Azmuth unintenionally creating sentient technology isn't implausible: After all, that's ''exactly'' how the Galvans accidentally created the Galvanic Mechamorphs (Upgrade's race). And that's not even getting into Eunice's case.

** Just how sentient is the Omnitrix? Various series and episodes have raised the idea of it being anything from a simple machine whose errors, either from the user end or its own glitches, case Ben to mistransform, to having its own intelligence that makes choices for Ben in the form of mistransformations. While it is confirmed at the end of ''Omniverse'' that it does have some decision making capabilities, are they just to prevent Ben from dying or does it extend further. Also, it's worth noting that the idea of Azmuth unintenionally creating sentient technology isn't implausible: After all, that's ''exactly'' how the Galvans accidentally created the Galvanic Mechamorphs (Upgrade's race). And that's not even getting into Eunice's case.

** Just how sentient is the Omnitrix? Various series and episodes have raised the idea of it being anything from a simple machine whose errors, either from the user end or its own glitches, case Ben to mistransform, to having its own intelligence that makes choices for Ben in the form of mistransformations. While it is confirmed at the end of ''Omniverse'' that it does have some decision making capabilities, are they just to prevent Ben from dying or does it extend further.

** One area that’s near unanimously agreed to apply to this trope however is the writing of [[BigBad Vilgax]]. While beloved in [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 the Original Series]], the sequel shows had Vilgax suffer from inconsistent characterization, BadassDecay, gave him more comedic traits, and overall [[VillainDecay lacked the menace he had in his first outing]]. However, Vilgax’s reimagining [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 in the reboot]] highlighted [[AdaptationalIntelligence Vilgax’s intellect without sacrificing his raw strength]], this allowed him to act as an EvilMentor and an effective KnightOfCerebus that avoided the pitfalls that the sequel shows fell into when writing him. Overall the reboot’s version of Vilgax is cited as a strong villan and his best portrayal since the original show, even by the reboot’s detractors.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series is very popular in India, more than what you would expect in America.