Ben 10’s Original Aliens, Ranked Worst To Best (2024)

The Ben 10 original aliens stand among the best in animated television history. One of the most beloved cartoons of the 2000s, Ben 10 tells the story of a young boy who becomes wrapped up in countless alien adventures after he fuses with the Omnitrix, an impossibly powerful piece of technology that could transform him into a variety of extraterrestrial life-forms. Ben's well-balanced roster of the original ten aliens made the first series so strong.

Ben 10 spawned countless spin-offs and sequel series, even inspiring a live-action film, but the original run of episodes starting in 2005 remains the most iconic. Though Ben would go on to unlock many more forms over the years, these Ben 10 original aliens were varied enough to give the boy hero an answer to any situation while never seeming too outlandish or over-specialized. Every member of Ben's starting lineup was useful to some degree, but there are some clear winners in terms of the strongest powers, character designs, and overall memorability.

10 Ghostfreak

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 4 "Permanent Retirement"

Ghostface was one of the most powerful aliens Ben originally had access to. He was capable of flight, telekinesis, intangibility, invisibility, and possession. However, he was incredibly dangerous to use, with the consciousness of the alien warlord Zs'Skayr inhabiting the Omnitrix's sample of Ghostfreak's species. Zs'Sakyr would slowly influence Ben's actions while Ben was in the form of Ghostfreak, making the terrifying spectral alien a risky choice despite his power.

As powerful as Ghostfreak was, Ben ultimately couldn't control him, losing the form to Zs'Sakyr as he escaped the Omnitrix in one of Ben 10's best episodes. In addition to hurting Ben more than helping him, Ghostfreak also had some startling weaknesses, including being harmed by electricity and his vulnerability to Kraab's orange liquid. Luckily, Ben regained Ghostfreak, taking away the threat, and then refused to transform into him again because he knew the evil that the Ben 10 alien possessed.

9 Ripjaws

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 3 "The Krakken"

The most specialized of the Ben 10 original aliens, Ripjaws is an aquatic beast capable of tearing through steel with his powerful jaws. The alien shares traits with marine life, such as alligators, eels, and sharks. He can also morph his legs into a single, merman-like tail, allowing him to swim incredibly fast. Ripjaws showed up for the first time in "The Krakken," where he helped the Krakken retrieve her eggs.

Of course, the aquatic alien is a very specialized tool in Ben's arsenal. He excels underwater, but is near-useless in other environments, as prolonged time on dry land dehydrates him to dangerous levels. If he is out of the water for too long, it could kill him. Ice also immobilizes him, and he has a vulnerability to electricity. Ripjaws is good at his job but isn't versatile enough to compete with Ben's best alien options.

8 Stinkfly

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."

Perhaps the grossest of all the Ben 10 original aliens, Stinkfly is most notable for the putrid, sticky slime he can squirt from his snail-like eye stalks. The insectoid alien also has a suite of other bug-like powers, including a razor-sharp stinger, hover-capable wings, and a potent toxic gas secretion. However, his bad smell also makes it hard for Stinkfly to do anything discretely.

Not a pleasant alien to be around, Stinkfly's abilities are seldom more helpful to have than other aliens in the Omnitrix, being outperformed by fellow fliers like Heatblast and Ghostfreak in terms of raw power, making him one of the least-used aliens in the original Ben 10 run. He also has a weakness concerning his wings, as he can't fly if they are weighed down or too wet, and when grounded, there is little he can do in a fight.

7 Upgrade

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 4 "Permanent Retirement"

One of the most striking-looking aliens, Upgrade is actually a swarm of nanomachines forming a collective hive consciousness into a single alien entity. As such, he can wrap his amorphous body around machines, controlling and "Upgrading" them to suit Ben's needs. Upgrade is still helpful without using machines, allowing him to form crude weapons out of his body and even fire a laser from his eye. However, he thrives in the presence of machinery or against robotic opponents.

Outside such circ*mstances, Upgrade would unlikely be Ben's best choice for heroics. One problem, even when using his machine upgrading powers, is that his control is not absolute. This weakness plays out when he cannot do anything with sapient machines like Siix Vigma, who fights him off. He can also be forcibly removed from machines, hurt, and has a weakness in energy absorption.

6 Heatblast

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"

The first alien Ben ever transforms into, Heatblast, is a staple pick Ben would utilize many times throughout the original series. A fiery being with the effortlessly cool voice of VO legend Steven Blum, Heatblast's pyrokinesis is surprisingly versatile, able to use his staggeringly hot flames to fly, melt steel, and form massive tornadoes of fire. The rock-like formations on Heatblast's body also allude to his limited geokinesis, giving him control over more than one element.

Heatblast can also transport himself and others to safety in his fire vortexes without burning them with his powers. Sadly, his fire attacks don't work against anything diamond-related or fire-resistant. He also can't touch anything with his hands without burning it. Blasts of water can also put out his fire, although he will regain it when he dries. In the end, the alien's potential for unintentional destruction and his vulnerability to flame-retardant enemies sometimes made him difficult to work with.

5 Grey Matter

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."

Grey Matter might not seem much at first glance, as a diminutive alien with no apparent special powers. However, the Galvan race Grey Matter represents is known for their incredible intellect, granting Ben enhanced powers of deduction, technological abilities, and feats of engineering when assuming the form of Grey Matter. His ability to solve practical problems is unmatched by any other alien in the Omnitrix, and his small stature can help make daring escapes and subterfuge.

While Grey Matter can do things no other alien can, he isn't much use in a fight. While he is strong, can breathe underwater, and can climb walls, Grey Matter doesn't have much to help Ben fight. His diminutive size also makes him a target for cats and dogs. He also doesn't know everything, so while he is the smartest of the Big Ten original aliens, he can still make mistakes.

4 XLR8

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"

The resident speedster of the Omnitrix, XLR8, is an alien-life form that lives life in the fast lane, able to rush down Ben's foes with blazing speed. XLR8 doesn't simply run fast but he manipulates friction, allowing Ben to stop on a dime before instantly accelerating to blistering speeds. Ben's reaction times are similarly enhanced as XLR8, giving him an inherent advantage in dangerous situations with the ability to think quickly.

Complete with a natural visor that keeps the wind out of his eyes, XLR8 is an excellent choice for Ben to use in all but a few situations. However, XLR8 is at a disadvantage when magnets and charged pulses come into play, as they can cause him to lose control. He also can't run on all surfaces, as ice causes him to slide, and sticky surfaces can cause him to stick into place.

3 Four Arms

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 2 "Washington B.C."

One of Ben's most-used alien forms, Four Arms, proves that sometimes simplicity is best. A hulking red giant with two sets of mighty arms, Four Arms is Ben's physically strongest alien, able to come to blows with just about any enemy the series throws at him. He's also insanely durable, able to tank all manner of physical attacks as well as brave extreme temperatures and even radiation. With his iconic, simple design and universally applicable powers, it's no wonder Four Arms was one of Ben's most preferred options.

While easily the strongest of the Ben 10 original aliens, his bulk also causes some problems. His size makes him an easy target for attacking enemies. He also can't move through smaller areas, limiting where he can attack. More than that, electricity causes him intense pain, which is his most significant weakness.

2 Wildmutt

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"

Despite the canine species ' impressive strengths, Ben somewhat underutilizes the incredibly well-rounded alien Wildmutt in the original series. With strength rivaling Four-Arms and agility nearly as good as XLR8's, Wildmutt was a jack-of-all-trades whose most potent feature was his delicate senses of smell and hearing. Though he did not have eyes, Ben could use Wildmutt's senses to sniff out invisible enemies and perfectly map his environment.

Wildmutt is equally at home, leaping from tree to tree or burrowing through the Earth; there were a few situations that he couldn't adapt to. The only major drawback to him was that he was the only form Ben couldn't speak in. This deficiency makes him a great alien to fight with, but not one that would work when teamwork is necessary. He is also vulnerable to fire and high-frequency noises.

1 Diamondhead

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 1 "And Then There Were 10"

Ben's single most overpowered starting forms, Diamondhead is one of Ben 10's best aliens in general, let alone in the first series. Alongside Four Arms, Diamondhead is one of Ben's go-to transformations, and for good reason. Being made of literal diamonds made him incredibly durable, able to regenerate from most injuries that could hurt him by re-growing his crystalline structure on the fly. Offensively, Diamondhead can form his body into various useful shapes, expel sharp diamonds from his hands like a cannon, or entrap his enemies with massive crystals that grow from the ground.

Diamondhead is comfortable in many environments. He can breathe underwater, shrug off extreme heat, and survive in the vacuum of space itself. Ben's enemies always had difficulty contending with his powers as Diamondhead, as he can easily use his immense strength to go toe-to-toe with most aliens or trap them in solid crystal. It's no wonder that a being made of the most durable material on Earth was one of the most powerful and iconic aliens in the entirety of Ben 10.

Ben 10

Sci-Fi

Produced by Cartoon Network, the animated series Ben 10 centers around teenage boy Ben Tennyson's adventures with the Omnitrix, a device that allows him to transform into a variety of alien creatures. The original show, first aired on 2006, is the first one in a franchise composed of the series Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, and a 2016 reboot.

Release Date

January 1, 2005

Cast

Tara Strong

Seasons

4