AllMovie

The hero of this half-hour animated series was Ben Tennyson, a typically mischievous ten-year-old boy. Things became anything but typical when Ben came into possession of a strange device called the Omnitrix, which enabled him to transform into ten different alien superheroes, each endowed with special powers. Ben's alter egos included Fourarms, a 12-foot-tall warrior with armored skin; Stinkfly, a winged insectoid equipped with weaponlike pincers and tail; the aquatic Ripjaw, who in addition to his powerful jaws was endowed with legs that morphed into fins when the necessity arose; XLRB, a dinosaur-like creature which could travel at the rate of 300 mph, and also climb up walls and walk across water; the sun creature Heatblast, capable of absorbing flames and projecting fireballs; Wildmutt, a beastly fellow with heightened senses and a talent for firing quills from his back; the crystalline Diamondhead, which could cut and slash his way through obstacles, and also reflect light beams and lasers; Ghostfreak, who boasted such spectral powers as invisibility and the capability of passing through solid; the 5-inch-tall Grey Matter, which not only was able to enter and repair complicated computers and machinery, but also made Ben several times smarter; and Upgrade, a "living machine" with the ability of merging with and upgrading any mechanical device. Being a mere kid, Ben did not always have the emotional maturity to properly "handle" his various other selves, so he needed the input of his sensible cousin Gwen and his army-vet Grandpa Max to keep him in line. The villain of the piece was Vilgax, who of course would stop at nothing to get his slimy mitts on the precious Omnitrix. Ben 10 debuted January 14, 2006 on Cartoon Network.