Saturday Morning Cartoon: Ben 10 Alien Force

Mac here. With an insane amount of animated shows currently flooding the TV landscape, I’ve decided to unofficially declare myself TV Verdict’s “cartoon guy” by looking at a different one each week.

Let’s kick this off with a good ‘toon, shall we? When he was a kid, Ben Tennyson found an alien device called the Omnitrix, which allowed him to turn into 10 different aliens, each with their own powers and abilities. He fought crime, saved the Earth, and punched a lot of other aliens. Now, it’s years later, and Ben is in high school. When his grandfather Max mysteriously disappears, Ben learns that another alien conspiracy is at work. He once again dons the Omnitrix, summoning forth 10 new aliens. His spell-casting cousin Gwen and former villain Kevin get in on the action, and that’s Ben 10 Alien Force for you.

New episodes kick off this weekend, starting with “Darkforce Rising,” in which Ben and pals get ambushed by an alien cop who orders them to cease and desist all their heroics. Facing early retirement doesn’t sit well for Kevin, who is bothered by this turn of events more than the others. Things get more complicated, of course, when a new bad guy shows up, one who’s powerful enough to wipe the floor with the sinister Highbreed.

The awesomeness that is Ben 10 continues. There’s just so much to enjoy about this episode: Some much-needed character development for Kevin, a villain who looks like something out of a Clive Barker flick, continuity references to the null void and the Galvans, smoothie jokes, eye-popping animation, and butt-kickin’ action. Oh, and Humongousaur. Always, always Humongousaur.

If you dig old-school, lighthearted superhero action, Ben 10 Alien Force is totally the way to go. Check it out. It airs on Cartoon Network Fridays at 9:30 p.m., and at other times throughout the week.