How to Watch Ben 10 in Release or Chronological Order

Ben 10 is all about Ben Tennyson, a kid who finds an alien watch that lets him turn into different aliens. While the series started in 2005, it has had multiple sequels and movies that add to the story. Whether you want to watch them in release order or follow the canon timeline, we’ll walk you through each episode. Keep reading to learn when to watch each episode, movie, and even the shorts so you get the full story without any confusion!

Ben 10 Series & Movies in Order

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An illustration showing the release order for the Ben 10 series and movies.

The Ben 10 series is best watched in the order the TV shows and movies were released. Here’s a basic watch guide for Ben 10:

Ben 10
Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
Ben 10: Race Against Time
Ben 10: Alien Force seasons 1-2
Ben 10: Alien Swarm
Ben 10: Alien Force season 3
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien seasons 1-2
Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien season 3
Ben 10: Omniverse
Ben 10 Reboot seasons 1-4
Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie
Ben 10 Reboot season 5

Section 1 of 7:

How to Watch Ben 10 in Release Order

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Release order is the standard way to watch the series. Ben 10 is a pretty straightforward series and doesn’t have a lot of overlapping timelines. Even though some events in the movies take place earlier in the timeline, watching them later on doesn’t affect what happens in the series. If you want to watch the Ben 10 series and movies in the same order they came out, follow this:^{[1]
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- Ben 10 seasons 1-3 (2005-2007)
- Ben 10 season 4 episodes 1-4 (2007)
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix (2007)
- Ben 10 season 4 episodes 5-7 (2007)
- Ben 10: Race Against Time (2007)
- Ben 10 season 4 episodes 8-10 (2008)
- Ben 10: Alien Force seasons 1-2 (2008-2009)
- Ben 10: Alien Force season 3 episodes 1-10 (2009)
- Ben 10: Alien Swarm (2009)
- Ben 10: Alien Force season 3 episodes 11-20 (2009-2010)
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien seasons 1-2 (2010-2011)
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien season 3 episodes 1-18 (2011-2012)
- Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens (2012)
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien season 3 episodes 19-20 (2012)
- Ben 10: Omniverse arcs 1-8 (2012-2014)
- Ben 10 Reboot seasons 1-4 (2016-2020)
- Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie (2020)
- Ben 10 Reboot season 5 specials (2021)

Section 2 of 7:

How to Watch Ben 10 in Chronological Order

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The chronological order changes when you watch the movies. Secret of the Omnitrix was originally meant to be the series finale of the original Ben 10 show, so watch it after all the episodes. Destroy All Aliens follows the events of the original series even though it came out when Ultimate Alien was airing. If you want to follow the canon, chronological timeline, follow this order:
- Ben 10 (seasons 1-4)
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
- Ben 10: Race Against Time
- Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens
- Ben 10: Alien Force (seasons 1-2)
- Ben 10: Alien Swarm
- Ben 10: Alien Force (season 3)
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien (seasons 1-3)
- Ben 10: Omniverse (arcs 1-8)
- Ben 10 Reboot (seasons 1-4)
- Ben 10 vs. the Universe: The Movie
- Ben 10 Reboot (season 5)

Section 3 of 7:

When to Watch the Ben 10 Shorts

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Watch the Ben 10 short films during the fourth season of the original series. The Ben 10 short films were released in 2007 and 2008 while the final season of the original show was airing. Another 3D-animated short came out in 2012 with Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens. These shorts are just funny scenes, and they don’t add anything to the rest of the series, so they’re not required viewing. If you want to watch the shorts in release order, they are:^{[2]
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- Hijacked (July 14, 2007)
- Snack Break (February 18, 2008)
- Survival Skills (March 10, 2008)
- Radio Dazed (March 24, 2008)
- Sleepaway Camper (April 7, 2008)
- Dogged Pursuit (April 21, 2008)
- Let the Games Begin (July 1, 2008)
- Handle with Care (July 8, 2008)
- Road Trip Rumble (March 12, 2012)

Section 4 of 7:

Ben 10 Series Breakdown

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Ben 10 The original Ben 10 series focuses on the 10-year-old Ben Tennyson after he finds a mysterious watch from space that lets the person wearing it transform into aliens. Throughout the series, Ben, his cousin Gwen, and his grandpa Max road trip across the country, stopping evil threats, like his alien arch-enemy Vilgax, with the help of his new alien powers.
- Number of episodes: 49
In Secret of the Omnitrix, Ben accidentally triggers a self-destruct button on the Omnitrix. Ben ventures into space to find its original creator and learn how to deactivate the Omnitrix, all while being chased by the recently escaped Vilgax.
In the first live-action movie, Ben encounters Eon, an alien who can control time and wants to open a portal that unleashes evil from his home dimension. Ben, along with Gwen, Max, and a secret society known as the Plumbers, fight back and prevent Eon from taking over.^{[3]
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Destroy All Aliens is the first and only 3D-animated Ben 10 movie. When the Omnitrix starts malfunctioning and prevents Ben from turning back into a human, he has to figure out how to fix it all while being chased by a deadly alien.
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Ben 10: Alien Force Alien Force takes place 5 years after the events of Ben 10 when Ben is 15, and it has a more serious tone. On top of a brand new batch of aliens in the Omnitrix, Ben fights alongside his cousin Gwen, who now has enhanced magic powers, and Kevin Levin, a villain turned hero who can absorb material.^{[4]
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- Number of episodes: 46
In Alien Swarm, swarms of alien nanochips called The Hive are possessing people and interfering with the Omnitrix. Ben, Gwen, and Kevin go on the hunt to find out who has been upgrading and controlling the chips before they spread across the globe and take over the world.^{[5]
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Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ultimate Alien is a direct follow-up to Alien Force, and it introduces the Ultimatrix, a new version of the Omnitrix that has “ultimate” forms of the aliens. The world knows about Ben’s identity and powers, so he deals with becoming an overnight celebrity while fighting evil forces like Aggregor and the Forever Knights.^{[6]
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- Number of episodes: 52
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Ben 10: Omniverse Omniverse introduces another group of new aliens for the Omnitrix, and focuses primarily on when Ben is 11 & 16. After Gwen and Kevin leave, Ben partners with Rook Blonko, a new Plumber who, unlike Ben, follows the rules. Omniverse is split into 8 different story arcs that each have different threats.^{[7]
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- Number of episodes: 80
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Ben 10 Reboot The reboot series starts back when Ben is 10 years old and on a road trip with Gwen and Grandpa Max. This series focuses on the stops the trio makes while they’re traveling and the adventures they get into. The series features aliens from across the other series, so you’ll see familiar favorites and some new faces too!^{[8]
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- Number of episodes: 186
In Ben 10 vs. the Universe, Ben unlocks new powers in his Omnitrix, like armor that lets him travel in space. When Vilgax attacks Earth with a meteor strike, Ben gets teleported into space and has to prove himself worthy of using the Omnitrix again. After completing trials from the Omnitrix’s creator, Ben learns more about it and goes back to Earth to stop Vilgax once and for all.
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Ben 10 Reboot season 5 specials Season 5 of the Ben 10 reboot has special movie-length episodes to end the series. “Ben 10,010” has future Ben partnering with his younger self to take on an evil alien race. “Ben Gen 10” is a crossover where Ben meets Generator Rex. “Alien X-Tinction” brings versions of Ben from throughout the series all together to fight the evil Alien X.^{[9]
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- Number of episodes: 3

Section 5 of 7:

What Ben 10 episodes are canon?

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All but a few episodes are considered canon. The entire run of Ben 10, Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse takes place on the same timeline and is mostly canon to the story. Only a couple of episodes in the original series are “what-if” scenarios that don’t add to the plot. Since there are only a few, it’s more fun to include them in your watch rather than skipping over them. The episodes that are not canon:
- Ben 10 season 2 episode 6 “Gwen 10”
- Ben 10 season 4 episode 10 “Goodbye and Good Riddance”
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Race Against Time and the reboot series take place in alternate universes. The first live-action movie is considered part of a different timeline than the animated series, so it’s not required viewing for the overall story. The 2016 Ben 10 show is a reboot of the original series with a different tone and style, so many fans also consider it a different universe or timeline.
- Some fans also consider Alien Swarm as non-canon, but some events do connect to the series in the future.

Section 6 of 7:

Ben 10 Crossovers

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Ben 10 had crossover specials with Generator Rex, OK K.O., and Secret Saturdays. Generator Rex, OK K.O., and Secret Saturdays are all cartoons that aired around the same time as Ben 10. While Rex and the Secret Saturdays squad both appeared in episodes of Ben 10, Ben also appeared in episodes of their shows.
- Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United (2011)
- Ben 10: Omniverse season 3 episode 1 “T.G.I.S.” (2013)
- OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes season 2 episode 24 “Crossover Nexus” (2018)
- Ben 10 Reboot season 5 episode 2 “Ben Gen 10” (2021)

Section 7 of 7:

Where to Watch Ben 10

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Stream the original series on Tubi or YouTube. If you want to catch up on all of the classic episodes of Ben 10, all of the episodes are available for free on Tubi. If you don’t want to sign up for a new streaming service, a compilation video of all the classic episodes is available through the official Ben 10 YouTube channel.
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix is included on Tubi and YouTube.
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Buy or rent the other Ben 10 series and movies. Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, the reboot series, and all the movies are a little tougher to find streaming. While you may be able to stream them if you have a Spectrum account, your best bet is buying all of the seasons for each series through Amazon Prime. However, many of the movies are not available for streaming, so you may need to purchase the DVD or Blu-Ray instead.
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