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1!![=YMMVs=] for the franchise as a whole:
2* AccidentalAesop:
3** No race is purely good or evil. Aliens of the same race as Ben's "heroes" can also show up in the series as an antagonist with little to no morals. Races that show up as villains can also have some who are aligned with goodness. They should be judged as an individual and not as their race.
4** Additionally, even in a predominantly evil race of Aliens, some can break the stereotype and choose to be good. The same is true in reverse too.
5* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
6** Was Z'Skayr/Ghostfreak always a psychopathic monster with Vilgax-level dreams of galactic conquest, or was he driven over the deep end by [[GoMadFromTheIsolation being trapped in the Omnitrix]] for an indefinite amount of time, and stranded on a planet with a sun that could burn him to ash? He makes it clear he ''hated'' being trapped("NO! I won't Go Back!" "Now, let's see how ''you'' like being trapped in someone else!") and his irrational grudge against Ben could be interpreted as him lashing out against the child who unwittingly held him prisoner and violated his autonomy whenever he went Ghostfreak.
7** 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 unintentionally 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.
8*** 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.
9* BrokenBase: Every sequel following the original series only divided the fanbase further and further. By the end of ''Omniverse'', the division could rival the one for ''Franchise/StarWars''.
10** The different tones of each series naturally caused a huge divide on which was better. There are those who liked the original series and ''Omniverse'' for their charm and felt that the more serious tone of ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien'' was unfitting for the franchise. Those for the more mature series feel that the mature tone was natural since the audience was growing up with the franchise, gave more opportunity for CharacterDevelopment, and that the later attempts to change the tone back to the original series hampered the franchise and was ultimately what caused the reboot.
11** The series being rebooted. Some fans were happy, saying the show was best when the main characters were 10-year-old Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max, that the franchise had suffered so many {{Retcon}}s that a reboot was needed, and that the reboot would likely bring over things people liked about the sequels in a more organic way. Others accused the reboot of being an attempt to draw more cash out of what was already a large CashCowFranchise (merchandise has sold over ''$4 billion'' at least), and hated the art-style, saying Ben looked a lot younger than 10 and more cartoonish. There's also many who wanted a sequel to ''Omniverse'' instead of a reboot, especially with the former ending's SequelHook that sounded really promising.
12* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/Ben10 here]].
13* CrossoverShip: Both Ben and Gwen, especially as the sequel went on, became popular characters for pairing with others not from the Ben 10 franchise.
14** Ben:
15*** Ben was heavily shipped with Stella from ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' long before Alien Force had even aired. [[https://youtu.be/P_b8VEq3yKw These]] [[https://youtu.be/VBk5VwYBUiE videos]] are the most popular representation of the ship.
16*** ''WesternAnimation/Ben10GeneratorRexHeroesUnited'' made Ben/Rex shippers instantly, with the jacket scene being the most notable evidence.
17*** In later years, Ben had started getting paired with Ami Mizuno, [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Mercury]], in a sort of OppositesAttract manner. It's also meant to be humorous on a meta level, as [[Creator/YuriLowenthal Ben's teenage actor]] and [[Creator/KateHiggins Ami's English voice actor in the 2010's]] have also voiced [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} Sasuke and Sakura]] respectively.
18** Gwen:
19*** Gwen had been paired with [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 Raven]] since the original series, despite it being how weird it is with them having a different age, they never had crossover but this appeared on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENU4GBISu34 old Cartoon Network promo]] featuring the two. Although this is not considered official and doesn't appear with the other promos.
20*** [[WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom Danny Fenton]] became a popular choice of boyfriend for her, especially after she becomes a teenager in ''Alien Force''.
21*** 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, despite the fact that both characters are from rival companies.
22*** Similarly to the Violet ship above, even [[WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania Mavis Dracula]] has been shipped with Gwen.
23* EscapistCharacter: Ben starts out as an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary]] [[KidHero kid]] who by coincidence ends up stuck wearing an insanely powerful device giving him the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift]] into a large variety of cool-looking aliens with a large variety of super-powers. Using those powers, he starts accomplishing heroic deeds and [[WeirdnessMagnet gets involved in all sorts of strange adventures involving everything from aliens to mutants, to magic]]. He eventually [[TookALevelInBadass gets good at using his abilities]], becomes [[FamedInStory famous and beloved as a hero]], turns into a LivingLegend and saves the Universe several times. It's pretty easy to see how everyone would love to be in his shoes.
24* FandomRivalry:
25** With the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fanbase, presumably mainly thanks to ''WebComic/FiveYearsLater'' and a notorious video by its creator in which he makes the fairly logic-backed argument that [[PhysicalGod Alien X]] could hypothetically [[FandomHeresy defeat Goku]].
26** Has gained a fierce one with ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' following the controversial results of a ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' episode pitting Ben Tennyson against Hal Jordan.
27* FanficFuel:
28** Each alien in the Omnitrix belongs to an alien species with its own planet and culture, leaving ''huge'' possibilities to create various {{Original Character}}s. The Omnitrix is also stated to have at the very least 10,000 aliens (more than 1,000,000,000 after ''Alien Force''), meaning fans have a large gap available to imagine and create their own aliens.
29** The various {{Alternate Universe}}s that are shown off in the franchise tend not to get expanded upon, leaving fans to fill in the blanks on what they're like.
30* FanNickname: Eye-Guy’s species and homeworld name - Opticoid and Sightra - originally had ''zero'' canonical foundation whatsoever. The names were created by an anonymous user on the Ben 10 wiki in 2009, before another user created a page for it. It was given unofficial canon status in the ''Omniverse'' series bible in 2012 (which was then recovered in 2020). The names were simply made up as a joke and everybody just went along with it.
31* FanPreferredCouple: Go on any fan art site or shipping thread and you'll find that [[IncestYayShipping Ben/Gwen]] dominates those areas of the fandom.[[note]]The broader fanbase does not approve of this for very, very obvious reasons.[[/note]] Mainly due to their [[BelligerentSexualTension constant bickering]] and AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moments, along with the fact that Gwen was originally planned to be one of Ben's classmates. The decision to officially pair them up with other characters in later series did ''nothing'' to deter the shippers. It's a common suspicion/theory among shippers that Gwen/Kevin and Ben/Julie were deliberate efforts on the part of the writers to discourage "Bwen".
32* FriendlyFandoms: With the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fandom, both shows are action shows about a KidHero with superpowers that aired around the same time. Aided by the fan-made continuation ''WebComic/FiveYearsLater'' acting as a crossover between the two.
33* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series is very popular in both India and Latin America, more than what you would expect in America.
34* HarsherInHindsight:
35** "Ken 10" can come off as this post-Alien Force given how Kevin is depicted as an irredeemable murderous psychopath willing to kill even his own son ForTheEvulz. Given Kevin's genuine HeelFaceTurn in ''Alien Force'' and how he eventually becomes a good friend and brother figure to Ben, the idea of him relapsing back to evil in a distant future is just downright tragic.
36*** WordOfGod claims "Ken 10" is a parallel universe and not the main timeline's direct future. Still, it's disheartening seeing what Kevin could have turned into...and made worse in Omniverse where a BrainwashedAndCrazy Kevin ends up with the same chin scar as Kevin 11,000 in "Ken 10", seemingly implying that Kevin ultimately goes off the deep end in this continuity...
37** The premise of the show being about learning through the eyes of another being and to not make assumptions about others due to their race is soured significantly after Ben's primary voice actor (as a 10-year-old) Tara Strong made Islamophobic Tweets in light of the UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict.
38* IKnewIt:
39** In the first episode Max corrects Gwen that Ben had turned into an alien instead of a monster, leading fans to think he was involved with aliens sometime in his past, as it turns out he was part of a an intergalactic law-enforcement organization called the "Plumbers".
40** Some guessed that Ghostfreak would turn evil when they found out the MonsterOfTheWeek was an Ectonurite in "Ghostfreaked Out", despite some sources saying that it was a completely separate Ectonurite. When the episode aired, the truth became apparent after a nightmare detailing Ghostfreak telling Ben to ''let him out of the watch'', and then subsequently escaping the watch after dealing with Zombozo's unemployed henchmen.
41* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Ben so far has been paired with Julie, Kai, Ester, Attea, Looma, Charmcaster, [[HoYay Kevin, Rook]], and most infamously, [[IncestYayShipping Gwen.]]
42* MagnificentBastard: See [[MagnificentBastard/Ben10 here]].
43* MemeticTroll:
44** The Omnitrix is often seen by fans as this thanks to both the hints of it being sentient and the {{Flanderization}} of its tendency to give Ben the wrong alien.
45** Cousin Lucy, because of her constantly taking pleasure in [[TheGadfly playing Gwen like a violin with her shapeshifting powers.]]
46* MyRealDaddy: There are many ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]''[=/=]''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'' fans who credit Creator/DwayneMcDuffie and Glen Murakami for making the characters mature and, as a result, have a hostile reaction toward ''Omniverse'' and ''2016'' for being DenserAndWackier and taking potshots at that era of the franchise at times.
47* NarmCharm:
48** It's a franchise about a KidHero with a watch transforming him into Alien Super-Heroes, fighting a GalacticConqueror {{Cthulhumanoid}}, with the help of his MagicalGirl cousin and his Hawaiian-shirt wearing grandfather who used to be part of a secret organization called the "Plumbers". It doesn't prevent the franchise from making some genuinely good stories and nightmarish villains.
49** Dr. Animo is as cliche and over-the-top as a MadScientist can get, but still manages to be an entertaining villain. A ''huge'' part of this is his voice by Creator/DwightSchultz, who [[LargeHam does not hold anything back in the part.]]
50* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Creator/ManOfActionStudios, due to kickstarting the franchise, tended to be looked at rather fondly with their lack of involvement with the sequels being criticized. This view [[DownplayedTrope significantly lessened]] in TheNewTens after their Marvel cartoons that aired on Creator/DisneyXD (with a few fans even considering them to have called attention toward [[FranchiseOriginalSin existing problems]] with their writing that became more obvious with them), and the response toward their involvement in the [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 reboot]] was much more [[BrokenBase divisive]], particularly due to its [[DenserAndWackier goofier]] tone.
51** 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 villain and his best portrayal since the original show, even by the reboot’s detractors.
52* OneTrueThreesome:
53** Ben/Gwen/Kevin solves [[StrangledByTheRedString a few]] [[RomanticPlotTumor tangled problems]]. If people are sympathetic to [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Julie]], they might add her in as well.
54** Also more twisted ones like Gwen/Kevin/Charmcaster or Ben/Julie/[[Film/Ben10AlienSwarm Elena]]. ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'' adds Esther and Rook as possibilities.
55* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The various console games based on the series tend to be SoOkayItsAverage at best in terms of critical reception. Additionally, one of them was a pretty blatant rip-off of ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', and the first one was exclusive to the universally-hated Platform/HyperScan.
56* {{Sequelitis}}: ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' is generally seen as the worst entry of the franchise prior to its ContinuityReboot, although ''Alien Force'' and ''Ultimate Alien'' have [[ContestedSequel their fair share of detractors]] too.
57
58* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many fans find it jarring how chummy Ben and Gwen are in the reboot. Though [[BrokenBase there are some people that liked how friendlier they were in the previous series who see this as one of the few positive aspects of the reboot.]]
59* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The Original Series made heavy use of BizarreAlienBiology to create characters with [[NightmareFuel absolutely nightmarish designs]], the sequels involved themes such as [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] [[FinalSolution attempts at genocide]], [[FantasticDrug powers with drug undertones]] and implied {{Serial Killer}}s, and all four entries have at least one, if not multiple, cases of VileVillainSaccharineShow. By the time of ''Ultimate Alien'', things had become so dark the writers decided to go LighterAndSofter in [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse the next iteration in the franchise]] in order to avoid TooBleakStoppedCaring.
60
61!! [=YMMVs=] for the Original Series:
62* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A series specific example of the franchise-wide question of 'how sentient is the Omnitrix'. Did the Omnitrix unlock Cannonbolt just as the entity that destroyed Cannonbolt's homeworld was arriving to Earth, and Wildvine when Ben was confronted with an alien floral intelligence in the Mycelium, entirely by chance, possibly by a accidental code input, or did something cause the two to be unlocked? Was it the Omnitrix itself, or the species genes itself? As WordOfGod would later state that Vilgax's own sample in the Omnitrix let him communicate with the Omnitrix wearer via dreams, the Omnitrix or the genetic samples themselves making the decision instead of random choice isn't implausible in canon.
63* AngstWhatAngst: Camille from ''Big Fat Alien Wedding" seems to get over [[spoiler:her parents turning against her, trying to kill her fiance, and then promptly getting turned into a statue courtesy of Heatblast]] rather quickly.
64* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt:
65** The anime-comic book hybrid style of the series was one of its main selling points back in the day, and it still looks fantastic to this day. Arguably the best scenes are in the two episodes set in the future, "Ben 10,000" and "Ken 10", with the incredibly cool-looking future Earth city.
66** Andrew Robinson's more detailed, comic-book-cover-worthy artwork of the aliens, used in the iconic opening sequence. Ben, Gwen, Vilgax, and a few others have artwork in this same style as well.
67** In the show itself, Heatblast's continuously flowing flaming hands look really cool.
68* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
69** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97dwYLnbW4E It started when a alien device did what it did...]]
70** Pretty much all of the background music of the series kicks ass, which was part of the reason why it was constantly reused for the licensed games.
71%%
72%% If you want to add Complete Monster, pass by this thread first. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok&page=1
73%%
74* BizarroEpisode: "Gwen 10." Ben finds himself back at the beginning of summer vacation before he got the watch, only this time it attaches to ''Gwen'', and Vilgax, who isn't injured in his ship's destruction, goes after it immediately. How did Ben MentalTimeTravel? Why are things going differently than in the original timeline? If it's an alternate universe, why does Ben remember the main one? If it's a DreamSequence, why doesn't he wake up? Not a ''single one'' of these questions are ever answered, and the rest of the show acts like the whole thing never happened.
75* CryForTheDevil: With how malicious and sadistic he is, it's easy to forget that Kevin is an 11 year old boy who was shunned because of his powers, forced to live alone on the streets, and became an insane, savage monster before he could ever get real help. His grotesque, painful transformation in his second appearance is especially tragic, considering he ''already'' viewed himself as a freak, and that this is partially because he found out about the Omnitrix and tried to take its power for himself. Kevin wasn't a good person by any means when he first showed up, but he might not have become as physically monstrous as he did if Ben hadn't used the Omnitrix in his presence to help him and initially joined him in his crime spree.
76* DelusionConclusion: Because of the writers being savvy enough of this trope, in the episode that focuses on a LotusEaterMachine, we first see Ben trying to use the Omnitrix and failing with the villain then putting him in the Lotus-Eater Machine, only for it to quickly show that Ben had managed to work his Omnitrix in time because it was Ben who was successful and had put the other guy in the Lotus-Eater Machine. Let's face it, if they didn't do that fake-out, there would be a lot of people claiming it to this day despite all the depressing (and fridge logic inducing) implications.
77* DracoInLeatherPants: Kevin 11 and Charmcaster, in no small part due to their portrayals in the sequels. While they ''do'' have some AntiVillain traits in this iteration and WordOfGod says they were always intended to develop more AntiHero traits as well, they are still mostly [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk straight-up villains who like doing evil]] and [[RedemptionRejection reject any offers of redemption]] (Kevin was a even straight-up AxCrazy to a [[TheSociopath sociopathic degree]]).
78* EnsembleDarkhorse:
79** Lucky Girl, who is ironically one of the leads in disguise. Her nemesis Charmcaster qualifies on the villain side of things.
80** Naturally, some of Ben's aliens are more popular than others, but the one who takes the cake is [[MagmaMan Heatblast]], who not only is the first alien Ben ever turns into, but 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".
81*** [[SuperSpeed XLR8]] is very popular with the fans, which makes it extra baffling that they went and made [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Fasttrack]].
82*** [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghostfreak]] is very popular with the fans mainly because of his design, abilities, and [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn.]]
83*** Buzzshock and Arcticguana, two of Ben 10,000's alien forms, are surprisingly rather popular among the fanbase. They both showed up in ''Ultimate Alien'''s intro (but never in the series itself), before finally being formally unlocked in ''Omniverse''.
84*** Due to his [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman limited abilities]], Ripjaws has only appeared 16 times in the entire ''Ben 10'' franchise. Nonetheless he is popular with fans in addition to getting lots of fanart and Website/YouTube videos.
85*** [[PowerCrystal Diamondhead]], despite having a lesser amount of appearances (16 episodes) in the original series of all the ten original aliens, is popular amongst fans thanks to his unique design, voice, and cool powers. He was so popular that he made a return in the third season of ''Alien Force'', temporarily replacing Chromastone and being one of the few aliens to ''defeat'' Vilgax.
86** [[OldMaster Grandpa Max]], as detailed in the JustHereForGodzilla entry, even moreso as of the sequels when he's not a main character anymore. Being voiced by Creator/PaulEiding helps.
87** Sixsix, a minor villain that’s introduced early on in the series, quickly became beloved by fans due to essentially being the ''Ben 10''-verse's equivalent of Boba Fett. He was so popular that not only was he brought back later on in ''Omniverse'', which also introduced his family made up of his equally badass brother and two sisters and changed him from a one-off mook to a series mainstay.
88** Despite appearing quite infrequently compared to the other members of Ben's rogues gallery, Zombozo is quite a popular villain due to his LargeHam CreepyAwesome personality, and for being a legitimately terrifying villain that Ben has to face.
89** Technorg, a one-shot character from "Grudge Match". He is very well liked for being an honorable BruiserWithASoftCenter who sacrifices his freedom to save Ben. Quite a few were disappointed by his unclear fate fighting Kevin.
90* EvilIsCool: This show is a ''master'' at creating awesome bad guys. Vilgax, Dr. Animo, Kevin, Ghostfreak, Hex, Charmcaster, the Forever Knights (especially Forever King Driscoll), Sixsix and his family, and nearly all the other villains (with the exception of Sublimino, who's a NoRespectGuy even among his teammates) who made up the Negative 10 could count.
91* FirstInstallmentWins: While the the sequels have their fanbases, many of the fans are very loyal to the original series. The fact that it's [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight the only one the actual creators worked on]] (until the ContinuityReboot) helps matters.
92* FranchiseOriginalSin:
93** One complaint about the sequels is how redundant some of Ben's aliens can be. The original series has many aliens who have unique abilities, but some have similar advantages to one alien that leave another alien functionally redundant (particularly Benvicktor/Frankenstrike, who on top of having super strength, has ''lightning abilities''), indicating that there were ability and redundancy problems even before the sequels. However, back in the original series, the cases of redundancy in alien abilities were easier to let slide back then since there were just enough cases of aliens (especially amongst the original 10) each having their own fairly unique abilities to indicate that the creators and writers were genuinely putting in effort to allow each alien to stand out on their own. The same could not be said, however, for later installments as the new alien forms showed off cases of the writers resorting to ability recycling from past aliens an increasingly large number of times to the point that they now seemed to be running on fumes and no longer interested in being creative with the aliens' abilities.
94** A lesser example, but one of the major criticisms made towards ''Alien Force'' was (amongst other things) about the Plumbers being inexplicably active again despite it being stated to have disbanded in the original series. "Big Fat Alien Wedding", while not explicitly stating the Plumbers were still active, made mention of a war between them and the Sludgepuppies that was apparently still going on (the whole point of the episode was to end it), suggesting at least ''some'' of them kept fighting.
95* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
96** Gwen is apparently popular enough in Southeast Asia that Cartoon Network Asia gave her a [[http://www.gwen10.com/ website]] and a good amount of merchandise. A spin-off show about her was even considered at several different points in time in answer to her popularity, with her ''Omniverse'' episodes in particular serving as a PoorlyDisguisedPilot.
97** The franchise is also very popular in Denmark, where many stores hold entire sections of ''Ben 10'' merchandise.
98** The franchise has a strong following in Latin America as well, seeing as at one point nearly all of its schedule was devoted to showing ''Ben 10'' episodes.
99* HarsherInHindsight:
100** Tetrax's admonishment of Ben, telling him that he fails to consider the consequences of his actions until they blow up in his face, takes on a new light when it's revealed later on that Tetrax gave Vilgax a crystal that he used to destroy Petropia, which is an action he came to completely regret.
101** In "The Unnaturals" after Cash and JT win the go ahead run against a robot team, oblivious to the fact Ben was helping them, Cash goes "Hey, hey, hey.", referring to Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. This is a lot harder to listen to after Bill Cosby's conviction for rape, as Fat Albert was frequently used to mock him.
102* HeartwarmingInHindsight: "Ken 10" had Ben's future self Ben 10,000 name his son Ken. The sequel series ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' revealed that Ben's cousin Gwen had a brother also named Ken, which makes it rather sweet when you realize that Ben may have named his son Ken after his cousin Ken.
103* HilariousInHindsight:
104** Remember that ending in "Gwen 10" where the Omnitrix ultimately ended up on Grandpa Max? It is revealed several episodes later by some alien named Xylene, a person from Max's past, that the Omnitrix was originally for Max. But because Ben's DNA was close to his, Ben was the one who discovered the Omnitrix and it ended up on him.
105** In the end of "Kevin 11", Ben offers Kevin to join him and become allies. [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Sound]] [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien familiar?]]
106** Creator/SteveBlum (Ghostfreak) voicing another BigBad [[Manga/{{Naruto}} who wants to take over someone's body]] is funny enough, but it's funnier when that someone is voiced by Creator/YuriLowenthal, who voices teenage Ben in the sequels.
107** In "The Big Tick", while trying to figure out what Cannonbolt does, Ben lists powers of aliens he will receive in the future: breathing fire[[note]]Ultimate Big Chill in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' is capable of exhaling icy fire.[[/note]], firing freeze rays from his eyes[[note]]The episode aired long before Ben was confirmed to ever get access to an alien form with ice powers, such as Articguana or Big Chill[[/note]], and magnetic blasts[[note]]Lodestar, who debuted in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', has magnetic powers[[/note]].
108** Vilgax is an expy of Darkseid. In the original series and ''Omniverse'', he was voiced by Creator/SteveBlum. Guess who voiced the actual Darkseid in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar''.
109** Ben's dislike of the Super Alien Hero Buddies for being bastardizations of his own alien forms in "Super Alien Hero Buddy Adventures" is funnier to look back on in light of the polarization and controversy respectively caused by ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'' and [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 the reboot]] trying to be DenserAndWackier than ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]''.
110* HypeBacklash:
111** The huge success this series had and the fact many fans [[FirstInstallmentWins are only loyal to it]] has caused many people (both fans of the sequels and people who don't particularly like the franchise) to be more critical toward it and point out its flaws.
112** Creator/ManOfActionStudios used to be considered OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight for the franchise and the fact they only worked on the original series was used as a justification for not liking the sequels. Since then, their work on very unpopular Marvel cartoons have caused many people to notice flaws in their writing that already existed in the original series.
113* ItWasHisSled:
114** Tetrax being [[spoiler:a Petrosapiens (AKA the same species as Diamondhead)]] was a twist in his first episode. By now, it's nearly impossible to not be spoiled about it in discussions with the fandom, seeing how this became a major plot point in both the movie and a season three episode of ''Alien Force''. Also, the fact that [[spoiler:his home planet was destroyed by [[BigBad Vilgax]]]] is this trope to a lesser extent.
115** Kevin [[spoiler:loses control of the alien powers he absorbed from the Omnitrix and [[OneWingedAngel turns into a grotesque]] [[MixAndMatchCritter amalgam of Ben's first ten aliens]]]].
116** Ghostfreak [[spoiler:[[EnemyWithout escapes from the Omnitrix and becomes a villain]]]]. Also, [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan he is the main antagonist of season 3 and the one behind all the horror monster-like aliens.]]]]
117** Max is [[spoiler:a retired member of a secret organization named the Plumbers who dealt with paranormal and fought Vilgax long before Ben did.]]
118** The creator of the Omnitrix is [[spoiler:an old Galvan named Azmuth]], who becomes a major recurring character in every single sequel series that followed.
119* JerkassWoobie: Charmcaster and Kevin. Both are children who didn't have the luxury of a normal upbringing like their heroic counterparts and lash out from fear and anger. Kevin especially has it rough with his horrifying mutation into a monstrous alien mutant, but he does his damnedest to make you forget that with how much of a selfish asshole he is.
120* JustHereForGodzilla: While majority of the people just watched the show to see Ben transform into an alien form, there were some who just stuck around to see [[OldMaster Grandpa Max]] be ''completely awesome''. [[WordOfGod Two members of Man of Action themselves]], at a convention interview, jokingly stated that Grandpa Max is the obvious ''REAL'' star of the show.
121* MoralEventHorizon:
122** Vilgax destroying Tetrax's home planet, killing hundreds of innocent lives for no reason ''other than to test his brand new toy''.
123** When Ghostfreak wanted to plunge Earth into darkness, the result of which is shown to be [[NightmareFuel horrifying mutations]] of all living things. He also crossed the line in "Ghostfreaked Out" when he threatened to kill a possessed Gwen if Ben did not surrender, fully aware that Ben is only 10 years old.
124*** Also note, that was just a ''side effect'' of his plan that he didn't even care about.
125** Zombozo gets his by kidnapping a 10-year-old girl and draining her of her energy until she's nothing but a shriveled husk of her former self. The fact that he speaks of it so lightly implies it's not the first time he does it.
126** As if it wasn't clear that the Forever King is more evil than Enoch, he deliberately leaves Enoch [[AndIMustScream trapped forever in]] his LotusEaterMachine just to spite him for not getting the Omnitrix.
127* MyRealDaddy: For fans who prefer this series yet are disappointed by Man of Action's [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 later reboot]], the head writer duo of Thomas Pugsley and Greg Klein get the "Real Daddy" position over Man of Action.
128* NightmareRetardant: Grandpa Max being mutated into a hideous Stinkly-larva monstrosity in "Dr. Animo And The Mutant Ray" would be absolutely horrifying, and a major MoralEventHorizon for Animo...if not for the fact that he's completely fine mentally and physically when Ben uses the ray again.(aside from having a sugar craving) Not to mention you [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt already know he's going to be back to normal anyway.]]
129* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Ben 10: Protector of Earth'' is a pretty fun beat-em-up/adventure game which stays very very true to the show. Out of all the ''Ben 10'' games released, it's probably the most well-known and one of the best.
130* OlderThanTheyThink: There really was a secret organization called the Plumbers - Richard Nixon's private police who did the illegal surveillance of the Watergate hotel.
131* 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.
132* TheProducerThinksOfEverything: One of the first line readings for the role of Ghostfreak?
133-->Ghostfreak: [[EvilAllAlong Ben's not here anymore.]]
134* TheScrappy: Kai Green does have some fans, but mostly she has a very sizable hatedom due to her only episode portraying her as a rather unsympathetic character who Ben fell in love with for no real apparent reason before she rejected him rather callously (and unlike [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Julie]], no effort was made by the writers to [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescue her from being a Scrappy]]) and [[DieForOurShip an obstacle to]] [[KissingCousins Bwen]]. Her return in ''Omniverse'' made it worse as she [[DieForOurShip singlehandedly angered almost all the shippers]] by turning every other love interest up to that point into {{Romantic False Lead}}s, on top of her [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming more of a jerk]] and her romance with Ben suffering from StrangledByTheRedString.
135* SeasonalRot: The fourth season is generally considered the weakest due to having less impressive episodes and overall story arc than the other seasons have.
136* SelfFanservice: Gwen has a lot of fanart for a 10 year old. Some of it has her older than 10, while the bulk of it has her as a kid with [[BreastExpansion mature]] [[HartmanHips features]] and [[AgeInappropriateDress outfits that no child should be wearing]].
137* SpiritualSuccessor:
138** It's basically an animated adaptation of ''ComicBook/DialHForHero'', with even the trope page for ''Dial H'' lampshading the similarities between their premises and how the former is far more well-known and popular than ''Dial H''.
139** It could also be seen as a Western animated adaptation of ''Franchise/KamenRider,'' as it revolves around a male HenshinHero with a transformation/henshin device to transform into various forms, with other characters that assist him. It's also a sci-fi series that deals with aliens that challenge the hero to battle like a lot of the seasons of ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and some series of ''Kamen Rider''. This may be completely deliberate, as it's alluded to as early as the first series when Ben presents a sentai-esque superhero persona he made up for himself before he got the Omnitrix, complete with helmet and scarf.
140* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
141** Xylene. She is an alien ActionGirl who has cool powers and a unique design along with a big part in Ben's origin since she was the one who [[spoiler:brought the Omnitrix to Earth]] and had a past relationship with Max. She appeared for exactly ''one'' episode and never appeared again. Even in the sequels, all she got is a very brief mention in a dialogue.
142** The Galactic Enforcers only show up in one episode along with an appearance in the future episode despite having included Ben in their ranks as a honorary member.
143** At the end of the third season, Ben gets three new aliens, each based off a different monster. A werewolf, a mummy, and Frankenstein's monster. Despite all of them being pretty cool, they don't appear at all for the rest of the series and it isn't until an alternate timeline episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'' that any of them reappear. They aren't even properly named via being referred to as "Ben*monster name*" in the credits. It took until ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'' for them to even be given more appearances and proper names.
144** Of all the rogues introduced in this show, Sublimino easily feels the most wasted. Outside of one episode where he serves as the main villain, his only other appearance is in the Negative 10 crossover, wherein he doesn't even speak during its events. Even Derrick J. Wyatt regretted that he was unable to use Sublimino in ''Omniverse'', wanting to expand upon the character further.
145* ViewerGenderConfusion: Ripjaws (who is an alien in Ben’s Omnitrix) is part deep-sea creature and merMAID. While he might seem like a female, he's actually a male... though this could be a case of people calling something by a gender-specific title despite it not being that gender, similar to how female peacocks are often called "peacocks", by the general public, despite the appropriate name for a female of that species being "Peahen". Also, he also sports [[AnimalGenderBender a lure on his head characteristic of a female anglerfish]] (though justified being an alien and all.)
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