Ben 10: Alien Force

Ben 10: Alien Force is the second iteration of the Ben 10 franchise and the sequel of the original Ben 10 series. It was created by the studio Man of Action and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It ran from April 18, 2008 to March 26, 2010.

## Summary

Five years after the original series, 15-year old Ben Tennyson has returned to a normal, everyday life. His adventures all done, Ben has taken off the Omnitrix and has grown from a young boy into a confident teenager; however, the mysterious disappearance of Grandpa Max makes Ben put the Omnitrix back on, as well as forcing him, his cousin Gwen, and his old enemy Kevin to search and locate Grandpa Max. At the same time, they must enlist the help of the Plumbers' kids (children or grandchildren of retired Plumbers which are commonly half human and half alien) and repel attacks from a new enemy, the Highbreed.

## Why it Rocks

1. It completely recaptures the quality and effort used from the original show.
2. The plot of the first two season (barring its filler episodes) is truly amazing and easy to follow.
3. Astonishing theme song, which many fans pointed out as actually being a slower, orchestral, "Marvelformers"-style rearrangement of the original series' theme.
4. Tons of new aliens in the Omnitrix.
5. Tons of likable characters. Especially Ben, Gwen, and Kevin.
6. Many interesting new villains are introduced such as Albedo, Michael Morningstar/Darkstar, and The Highbreed.
7. Really good animation that further captures the quality from the original.
8. Incredible voice acting, especially Yuri Lowenthal as Ben, Ashley Johnson as Gwen, and Greg Cipes as Kevin.
9. Tons and tons of hilarious moments such as "No juice for you!" and "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING!".
10. Great character development, especially from Ben as he is a lot more mature and humble than he was from the original show, and he and Gwen don't argue much anymore.
11. Worldbuilding and sound design are a step up from the original series.
12. The darker, more serious tone greatly respects the intelligence of children (its main target audience) and also blends in the aforementioned humor as well.
13. Starting with the second season, it brings back fan-favorite aliens like Diamondhead, Cannonbolt, and Way Big.

## Bad Qualities

1. Season 3 was a huge step backwards in the quality of its writing compare to the first two seasons.
2. The art style is pretty bland compare to the original series.
3. Some flaws are repeated from the original series, like unintelligible alien voices for example.
4. This entry introduced many changes to its predecessor's lore that were not well-received by some fans of the original series and has a caused a division in the fanbase that remains to this day (e.g retconning Gwen's magical powers to being of alien origin, a darker tone with much more complex episodes and villains compare to the original series, and Kevin Levin not only joining Ben's team but also being a Plumber's kid, despite the original series *never* hinting Kevin of having any connection to the Plumbers). Some of these controversial changes were mended in *Ultimate Alien* and even flat-out reversed in *Omniverse*.

## Reception

It was nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Sound Mixing – Live Action and Animation.