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Ben 10: Alien Force review

Well, since a long time I was looking for a review of Ben 10 Alien Force. But to my surprise, I couldn't find it : most just stated that it rocks or it sucks because of one episode or one detail. Usually, they use not so good arguments to justify what they say. I didn't wanted to do this myself because I didn't feel like I was appropriate to do this, being a Ben 10 Alien Force fan, but eventually I take the risk.

So... let's have a look at the story. For those who don't know the saga, I'll start with a synopsis of the original show : it was about Benjamen "Ben" Tennyson, a typically immature yet altruist ten-years old boy, who, during his summer holidays, find a watch-like alien device called the Omnitrix. It stucked itself on his wrist, making him unable to take it off. He then soon discovers that, by pushing its dial, he can use it to alter his own DNA in order transform into 10 different aliens creatures, each one with specific super-powers. He quickly looses interest in taking it off, and starts using it to act as some kind of superhero. The serie then mostly involves him using his powers to fight against various villains, including ordinary criminals, alien, magicians and other treath.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the original Ben 10 too, but let's face it : this wasn't especially an original show. The only real uncommon thing was the heros' power : shapeshifting into various aliens is definitely something I never saw in any serie before. Maybe too the fact that Ben didn't have a girlfriend (easily explainable because of his age), though he had a crush on a girl in one episode. But safe for that, it was quite classic. Actually, it's quite like a parody/tribute to science-fiction and superhero comics : most villains were willingly stereotypical, such as Animo and Vilgax. Animo, especially, was an obvious parody of the mad scientist cliché. While it had good action, the show was mostly humorous and light-hearted, rather intended to be fun. There were few story arcs, but most episodes were just one short story. It introduced a lot of villains, but only few had several appearances. On the other hand, the serie had good design, especially for the alien creatures and monsters. And even though the humor was sometimes childish, I enjoyed it, especially the love/hate relationship between Ben and his cousin Gwen (I'm a big fan of love/hate relationship), though it sometimes bothered me Gwen almost always had the last laught.

So here it is for the original show. Now we can pass to the true subject : Ben 10 Alien Force.

So, here again I make a little synopsys : this is a sequel of the original show, who takes place 5 years later. Ben has grown up, and eventually found a way to take off the Omnitrix in order to have a normal life. But when his grandfather is mysteriously missing, he decides to wear it again. He then discovers Earth is actually threatened by new unknown aliens call the HightBreeds, who secretly planned to invade it. This lead him to team up with Gwen and one of his former Nemesis, Kevin, in order to stop the invasion.

One main change in this sequel is that, while as I said, Ben 10 was light-hearted and more like a parody, Alien Force takes a darker tone and tries to be more serious. It actually even has scenes with characters dying onscreen, including one in the prequel where a human being perishes in the explosion of his own disfuntionnal weapon. I can understand that this change surprises some of the fan, and that part of them dislike Alien Force because they think it's betraying the serie's spirit. I, however, just think it's a different approach of the serie. And it fits surprisingly well to my opinion. YES, you got me, I think a show created as a parody CAN be changed into a more serious serie, as long as it keeps a good balance between serious and humor. After all, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a parody to begin with, and the comic version was despite this very bloody and serious sometimes.

I notice a lot of people hates Alien Force because of what they call plot holes and continuity errors. Well I disagree : as the story progress, the so-called plot holes get more and more explained. As for the "continuity errors", well their are a lot of things who are called so, most of them quite ridiculous because easily explainable. I'll mention several of them later, but let's start with the one from "Primus".
In this episode, it was revealed that the Omnitrix doesn't truly contain DNA, but is actually a wireless device who communicate with an artificial planet, Primus, who serves as a container for all the DNA used in the transformation. At first, it puzzled me too, because several time in the show, the Omnitrix was seen absorbing DNA from new creatures, giving Ben new transformations. And the villain Dr Animo was able to get DNA from it twice. Then I thought about this : in this episode, the Omnitrix was able to teleport Ben from Earth to Primus. So if it can teleport a whole human being, why wouldn't it be able to teleport DNA to Primus ? That would explain. Maybe too that Animo didn't actually get DNA from the Omnitrix, but the database to copy it...

Now let's have a look to the characters and, for those who were already in the original show, their evolution.

Of course I start with Ben. Well he's actually one of the most confusing about his evolution. As I said before, his original incarnation was a childish, immature and goofy kid. In the first two season of Alien Force, however, he acts more mature and serious. In season 3, he tends to act more like his ten-years-old self. At first this disturbed me, but actually that's quite logical : in the first two season, Ben has to deal with both his Grandfather's disappearance and the HightBreed invasion, the latter threatening Earth and later the whole Universe. This definitely explain why Ben have to put his childishness aside. While in season 3, the war with the HightBreeds is over, and his Grandfather is back. Not to mention he saved the whole Universe, wich caused him to become too self-confident. Other than this part, I think his Alien Force incarnation was much like the original : he's still so willing to help the other and protect everyone around him. When discovering the HightBreed were actually trying to destroy the Universe because they were dying, he choosed to save them from extinction. In one episode, he even tried to stop a war in order to realize the wish of a little girl. To my opinion, this Ben is at least as likable as the original, if not better. Sure, he's still less childish than in the original show, but come on, he 15 years old now ! What's so weird with it ?

Then his cousin, Gwen Tennyson. Well the most notable change with her is that her love/hate relationship I mentionned earlier is gone : she no more argues with Ben, though she still occasionnally criticizes his attitude in season 3.Some disliked her for that and stated she had been turned into a stereotypical innocent/girly/angel girl. I disagree. Seriously, just because she no more argues with Ben doesn't mean she changes so much ! They have both grown up, especially Ben so it's logical they do not argue anymore. I mean, in reality, what's wrong with children constently arguing at 10 then getting along better at 15 ? Seriously don't see the problem. For the rest, she's pretty much like before, still brillant and practicing martial arts.
One debat concern her powers : in the middle of the original show, she discovered she had affinity with magic, and started practicing. In Alien Force, it's revealed her powers actually come from alien bloodline, as her grandmother was an Anodite, an alien able to manipulate energy called "mana". This leads some characters, including Gwen's father and Kevin, to say there's no such thing as magic. However, later in the show, Gwen's powers are once again called magic and it's shown she still uses spells. Some fans called this an error. I will reply this :
1) Anyone who played at least a few fantasy roleplay know that mana IS the energy magicians manipulate to cast their spell, and that magic is actually nothing but manipulation of natural energy, just like the Anodite powers;
2) Neither Kevin or Gwen's father were really experts in this area, and they could be wrong.
So here is my conclusion : Gwen still is a magician, her alien bloodline only gave her incredible affinities with magic. As a proof, I remember one of her magician ennemies, Charmcaster, mentionning she had to learn all her life to control magic, while Gwen was born with magic inside of her. Some people say the producers should have precised that. Seriously, is it really necessary ? It's so obvious to me that I don't understand why they need explanations...

Then come Max Tennyson, Ben's and Gwen's grandfather. In the original serie he was one of the main characters, but in Alien Force he disappears, and even after his return, he never has as much importance as in his earlier appearances. There are not much to say about him : he's mostly the same in both series, and nobody complains about changes with him, except maybe his disappearance.

Now came Kevin Levin, formely known as Kevin 11. In the original serie, Kevin was one of the few villains to be more serious, as well as one of the most popular characters. A 11 years old boy with the power to absorb energy, he had been rejected (from what he said) by his parents who considered him as a freak, and, becoming an outcast because of his powers, became a sociopath willing to kill hundreds of people to get money. He initially befriended Ben, but later came to hate him, blaming him for an accident with the Omnitrix who caused him to transform into a monster. He was eventually trapped in the Null Void, an alternate dimension who serves as a jail for all alien criminals.
In Alien Force, he's revealed to have escape from the Null Void and get back his human form, as well as developping a new form of his power, making him able to absorb matter. After a serie of events, he eventually team up with Ben and Gwen against the HightBreed invasion, and reforms, becoming Gwen's love interest. A lot of fans dislike this change, saying Kevin was too evil and hateful toward Ben to reform and that he had been turned from an awesome villain to a failed anti-hero. But why wouldn't he reform ? I mean, if it had been Dr Animo or Vilgax, I would have understood people were shocked, but Kevin... for me he was even the most likely to reform among Ben's ennemies. He obviously had a hard past, as shown in both of the serie, wich explain his attitude. So even though he was a sociopath, I think he deserved redemption. The scenarist just gave him a more human side, wich, in my opinion, is far better than if they had keep him into just a cruel villain who want to kill Ben. At least they try to improve him. Sure they didn't reveal yet everything about his past, but maybe this will come in Ultimate Alien (something I hope, otherwise the fan will be right to be angry at least on that). Besides for a totally reformed character, I think he still has some villainous tendencies. He occasionnally works in black market, and even once left his father's murderer to death. If that doesn't count as a sign he has been a villain in the past... And what's up with him hating Ben too much to make up with him ? Venom hates Spider-Man, and despite this they had truces occasionnally...

I have finished with the heroes, I guess I should now speak about the villains.

First come the HightBreeds, who act as the main antagonists in the two first seasons. A powerful and seemingly advanced alien specie, they believe themselves to be the first race in the universe. This cause them to become arrogant, racist and awfully xenophobic, believing they are a pure, superior specie and that every other beings are mongrels and vermins, to the point they rarely fight themselves and usually rely on drone-like soldiers called DNAlien (who are actually human and others turned into drone by being infected with parasits) to do the dirty job. In the end of the serie, it was revealed their specie was dying, their behavior causing them to inbreed and become sterile, thus leading them to try to destroy all the other species in order to not die alone. Ben resolves this by fusing them with DNA from various species, saving them from extinction. Despite the fact they took a lot of place in the first season, I rather like the HightBreeds : they were interesting villains, an obvious reference to nazi, and the way Ben ended the conflict was rather original and better than if he had just defeated and destroyed them.

Then the Forever Knight, who were already present in the original show. A secret organisation who exists since the Medieval Age and deal with alien tech, they were portrayed in the original show as wanting to conquer the world. In Alien Force, however, it's revealed that their true objective was to find a weapon powerful enough to destroy a dragon they found long time ago (actually an alien) who they believed dangerous. Though I like the fact the scenarists intend to give them a more original and less manichean purpose, I don't like very much their explanation for this change, as they said the group met in the original show was actually a splintered group. It doesn't sound convincing to my opinion. And I regret too that the Forever Knight were reduced to so minor villains : while they were the main antagonist of a whole season in the origina show, in Alien Force they had very few appareance comparing to the HightBreeds, and were often portrayed as a minor treath. This saddens me a little, because I feel like it would have been interesting to develop them even more. To my opinion, they have enough potential to be a true menace, and the fact they are human change a little from Ben always facing aliens.

Now we come to the big part : Ben's archennemy, Vilgax.
The most iconic of Ben's nemesis even since the serie started, Vilgax is a vicious, powerful alien conqueror known as the most dangerous being in the galaxy. His appearance was based on Chtullu from Lovecraft, giving him a hulky body, claws and a tentacles beard. Since his first appearance, he has always chased Ben in order to get the Omnitrix and use it to create an army of shapeshifting drones able to conquer any planet. While he was a rather stereotypical and undevelopped villain, Vilgax was pretty cool, with a impressive design and a creepy voice, as well as incredible physical prowess, able to outmacht Ben's alien forms easily most of the time.
I always considered Vilgax as a crucial character of the show, and I was really hoping to see him back in Alien Force. Due to the HightBreeds' place, he was at first absent in most of the serie, but was eventually brought back in season 3 as the main antagonist.
Now, I will have to be honest : they changed him a lot. In both good and bad senses.
Sadly, his design, voice and look aren't as impressive as they were in the original show : while he retains his squid-like aspect, he's slightly less hulky, his mouth is visible again while it was hid by a mask in most of the origina show, and his armor has less dark colours. His voice, too, lacks the creepy tone of the original incarnation.
On the other hand, there is some improvement concerning his abilities. In the original show, he had no really special powers, just incredible physical abilites and the power to increase his own strenghts. In Alien Force, he gained various new powers by defeating the champions from 10 planets and absorbing their powers. This include flight, laser vision, cyclone breath (probably why they had to make his mouth visible again), a giant sword... To my opinion, this make him more interesting to fight, as he no more use just pure strenght.
Now, I admit, one problem is that now, Ben was able to take him down twice in the season (though not easily), while in the original show, he was hardly even able to hurt him and usually only won thanks to external help. It's rather logical, considering Ben has improved too and is now able to match him, but it kinda ruins what make the original Vilgax creepy. On the other hand, in the season final, Vilgax become to my opinion better : he is seen in the dark when the episode starts, making him quite more creepy. He is able to take the Omnitrix from Ben for the first time, eventually creating his army until Ben stops him. And, at the very end, he reveals his "true" form, turning into a giant-squid like monster who almost swallowed Ben... wow. To my opinion, this give him back at least part of the awesomeness he had. I know it's quite classic to see a villain turn into a giant monster, but I didn't see it coming with him. Now, if he re-appear, I hope they will improve him again...
One point who was despicted by the fan about this Vilgax is that he seems less evil, wich I disagree. There are mainly two arguments to say this : first, in his comeback episode, Vilgax follow a "Galactic Code of Conduct" when he conquer planets. My opinion is that it's quite obvious he does this because it's in his advantage. According to Dwayne McDuffie, following it allowed him to conquer several worlds in a short amont of time with few effort. So it was pretty much logical he followed it. And after this, he never followed it again, proving that he did so just because it fitted him. He's just acting smarter than before, that's all.
The other argument is concerning one episode, "Ghost Town". In this episode, Vilgax breaks through the jail of Ghostfreak, one of Ben's former alien forms who escaped from the Omnitrix and became a villain. He offers him to free him, in exchange of a secret about the Omnitrix. Though Ghostfreak accepts, he quickly betrays Vilgax by enslaving his homeworld. After vainly trying to stop the invasion himself, Vilgax reluctantly asks for Ben's help. The point is that in one scene, Vilgax is seen saving a little girl of his species from Ghostfreak's slaves, and even showing kinda tenderness toward the child. Most fans criticized this, saying this turned Vilgax into a punk when he was supposed to be an evil, mercyless warlord. Well, I have a few thing to say about that.
Yes, I admit, this show Vilgax may have a softer side. But seriously, is that so bad, even for him ? I mean, to me it sounds kinda more realistic : the world isn't black and white. Sure Vilgax is cruel and vicious, but why wouldn't he have some concern about his own species ?
Second, for telling it turns him into a punk, I remember you IT HAPPEN ONLY ONCE ! If it had happened all the time, okay, it would have ruined the character. But this was the only time Vilgax shew a softer side. In his other appearances... he absorbed powers from ten powerful aliens, leaving them weakened and older. He cruelly smashed Chromastone in "The Secret of Chromastone" for a simple crystal, not caring if it would stop the resurrection of a world. He threw away Azmuth in Primus when the old alien refused to tell him how the Omnitrix worked. He double-crossed his own allie Albedo and attempted to cause his own ship to crash on Ben's hometown in order to destroy it. He even threatened his own loyal servant Psyphon when the lackey made an unintentionally irritating comment on his defeats against Ben. Seriously, if all of this doesn't proves Vilgax is still evil despite having concern for his people... then those who keep denying it are either stupid or stubborn.

Now that we saw the three main villains, let's talk a little about the other recurring villains who appears.
Unlike the original serie, Alien introduced very few new villains : for most of the first two season, Ben, Gwen and Kevin fought either the HightBreeds, the Forever Knights, or character who were at first thought to be evil and then became either neutral (the Alien Dragon, Verdonna) or allies (Helen, Manny and Alan). Only three other recurring villains were introduced in these seasons, though a few other were added in season 3. Some old villains were also brought back.

I will start with the old ones :

We have some minor villains from the original serie, such as aliens bounty hunters/criminal like Vulkanus and Kraab, who are for most not changed, though Vulkanus has become a little baby-like alien in a big mechanical suit when he was seemingly truly muscular in the original show. Guess he was reduced like that due to a disease or something like that.

Most notable, Doctor Animo, the third most recurring villain of the original show, was brought back in one episode. Originally, he was, as I already said, a parody of the typical mad scientist. He used various machines and genetical experiments to turn animals into giant monsters. He can additionnally control animals. In Alien Force, he has become a dictator in the Null Void, using his powers to control the Null Void animals guardians and use them as his minions. I don't have much to say about him : I kinda miss the more parodic version of him, but to my opinion, it was still good to have him back a little.

Also, we have Hex and Charmcaster, who were actually more Gwen's ennemies than Ben's. Hex is a master magician, and Charmcaster is his niece and seemingly apprentice. They both played a key role in Gwen's development of magic powers, as it was by using Hex's talismans and staff Gwen shew magic abilities for the first time, and by stealing Charmcaster's book she learns how to use magic. While Hex was the most powerful of the two, he only had few appearances so far in both series and didn't changed very much, so I'll center more on his niece.
In the original show, Charmcaster was using mainly a bag where she could pull various spells from, including throwing blades, bombs and small clay animals. She also used various spells. In Alien Force, her outfit and haircut changed, and she no longer uses her bag, relying instead on her spells and mana-based powers like Gwen. Her clay animals are still present, but are now tall rock golem-like creatures. She is also, to my opinion, more vicious and arrogant than before, though she already was mean in the original show.
Now, concerning her new look, it's a matter of opinion about liking it or not. I personally like both her original outfit and her new one: none of the two is really bad to my opinion. I miss her bag a little, but the use of mana isn't so bad. And she still uses spells and golem, so it's okay to me. What I'm really waiting for is her episode origin, which was confirmed to arrive in Ultimate Alien and will show more about her relationship with Hex. I hope it'll be interesting…

Now, let's talk about the new recurring villains.

First we have Michael "Mike" Morningstar, who was introduced at the beginning of season 1. Mike was originally a Plumber's kid with vampire-like powers, able to drain life force from people thanks to small leech-like mouth on his hands. He had preferences for schoolgirls, as he was good-looking and so could easily attract them, and then turned them into zombie slave who searched energy to feed him. In his first appearance, he attempted to drain Gwen's energy, but she eventually drained it back, and his zombie girls turned against him, leaving him weakened with a zombified face. His powers eventually came back, stronger even than before, and he came back, renaming himself "Darkstar". He wears a metallic mask to hide his now horrific face, very much like Doctor Doom. His plans resolve usually around getting revenge against Ben, Gwen and Kevin, feeding himself with energy or restoring his original face. He briefly helped Ben's team against the HightBreed invasion in season 2 final.
I personally like this villain: he's an interesting add to Ben 10's rogue gallery, and (I hope no one will mock me for that), honestly, the episode where he appeared really creeped me out. Few villains in Ben 10 are creepy to me like that.

Then here is one of my favorites, Albedo. Originally the brillant assistant of Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix, Albedo intended to create his own Omnitrix, as he didn't trust Ben with being in charge of the universe. However, his Omnitrix had defect, and cause him permanently to be transformed into a clone of Ben (later with reversed colors), with the same habits, including a craving for Chilly Fries, wich became a running gag in the show. He now wants to get Ben's Omnitrix for himself in order to turn back to his original form. He is also the one who completed the Ultimatrix, an improved version of the Omnitrix Ben gains at the end of the serie after the Omnitrix was destroyed.
Albedo was an amazing villain to my opinion: his origin as an evil twin of Ben is pretty original, and he's both a very competent villain and a funny character. The only thing I regret with him is that so far, we only saw him twice. Hope he'll come back more in Ultimate Alien.

Finally, the Vreedle Brothers. Introduced in season 3, the Vreedles are a duo of stupid alien bounty hunters (and I'm still gentle by saying they're just stupid) who was occasionally seen. They proved to be amongst Ben's most ridiculous and weakest enemies, even dumber than they already looks: Gwen was once able to distract them in the middle of a fight with a bubblewrap. As revealed later, their parents actually did them with clonage kits, but the kits were out of date, wich explains a lot of things. As a result, there are actually several duos of Vreedles, causing them to always come back despite being often killed. Tough they only appeared three times so far, it looks like they'll come back and be killed again as a running gag, much like Kenny in South Park or Waspinator in Beast Wars. Though I disliked them at first, this would make them really fun as a comic relief…

To conclude, this show was to my opinion very good, at least as much as the original. However, of course, I have a few criticisms.
First, I will admit there are some elements I wished they explain more about. This includes mainly Ghostfreak's return and Kevin's past, though I still hope that for the latter, we still have something to learn. But for Ghostfreak for exemple, I think they should have at least showed a flashback about how he escape from the Omnitrix between the two series, or something like that.
Second, as someone notice: Kevin and Gwen are usually to easily beat up. I know the serie is centered on Ben, but still I feel like his friends should have some fight where they aren't beat up. They deserve some episodes of their own too... I can undestand they cannot match Vilgax, who's after all one of Ben's most powerful ennemies, but for exemple Darkstar or the Techadons, I would like it better if they win more often...
Third, as much as I hate to admit it, most of character's design aren't as good at they were in the original show. It's still decent for most however, and I care more about good plots and characters development.

So, guess I should give this show a not... let's say 8/10

Description
Ben 10: Alien Force review

Well, since a long time I was looking for a review of Ben 10 Alien Force. But to my surprise, I couldn't find it : most just stated that it rocks or it sucks because of one episode or one detail. Usually, they use not so good arguments to justify what they say. I didn't wanted to do this myself because I didn't feel like I was appropriate to do this, being a Ben 10 Alien Force fan, but eventually I take the risk.

So... let's have a look at the story. For those who don't know the saga, I'll start with a synopsis of the original show : it was about Benjamen "Ben" Tennyson, a typically immature yet altruist ten-years old boy, who, during his summer holidays, find a watch-like alien device called the Omnitrix. It stucked itself on his wrist, making him unable to take it off. He then soon discovers that, by pushing its dial, he can use it to alter his own DNA in order transform into 10 different aliens creatures, each one with specific super-powers. He quickly looses interest in taking it off, and starts using it to act as some kind of superhero. The serie then mostly involves him using his powers to fight against various villains, including ordinary criminals, alien, magicians and other treath.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the original Ben 10 too, but let's face it : this wasn't especially an original show. The only real uncommon thing was the heros' power : shapeshifting into various aliens is definitely something I never saw in any serie before. Maybe too the fact that Ben didn't have a girlfriend (easily explainable because of his age), though he had a crush on a girl in one episode. But safe for that, it was quite classic. Actually, it's quite like a parody/tribute to science-fiction and superhero comics : most villains were willingly stereotypical, such as Animo and Vilgax. Animo, especially, was an obvious parody of the mad scientist cliché. While it had good action, the show was mostly humorous and light-hearted, rather intended to be fun. There were few story arcs, but most episodes were just one short story. It introduced a lot of villains, but only few had several appearances. On the other hand, the serie had good design, especially for the alien creatures and monsters. And even though the humor was sometimes childish, I enjoyed it, especially the love/hate relationship between Ben and his cousin Gwen (I'm a big fan of love/hate relationship), though it sometimes bothered me Gwen almost always had the last laught.

So here it is for the original show. Now we can pass to the true subject : Ben 10 Alien Force.

So, here again I make a little synopsys : this is a sequel of the original show, who takes place 5 years later. Ben has grown up, and eventually found a way to take off the Omnitrix in order to have a normal life. But when his grandfather is mysteriously missing, he decides to wear it again. He then discovers Earth is actually threatened by new unknown aliens call the HightBreeds, who secretly planned to invade it. This lead him to team up with Gwen and one of his former Nemesis, Kevin, in order to stop the invasion.

One main change in this sequel is that, while as I said, Ben 10 was light-hearted and more like a parody, Alien Force takes a darker tone and tries to be more serious. It actually even has scenes with characters dying onscreen, including one in the prequel where a human being perishes in the explosion of his own disfuntionnal weapon. I can understand that this change surprises some of the fan, and that part of them dislike Alien Force because they think it's betraying the serie's spirit. I, however, just think it's a different approach of the serie. And it fits surprisingly well to my opinion. YES, you got me, I think a show created as a parody CAN be changed into a more serious serie, as long as it keeps a good balance between serious and humor. After all, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a parody to begin with, and the comic version was despite this very bloody and serious sometimes.

I notice a lot of people hates Alien Force because of what they call plot holes and continuity errors. Well I disagree : as the story progress, the so-called plot holes get more and more explained. As for the "continuity errors", well their are a lot of things who are called so, most of them quite ridiculous because easily explainable. I'll mention several of them later, but let's start with the one from "Primus".
In this episode, it was revealed that the Omnitrix doesn't truly contain DNA, but is actually a wireless device who communicate with an artificial planet, Primus, who serves as a container for all the DNA used in the transformation. At first, it puzzled me too, because several time in the show, the Omnitrix was seen absorbing DNA from new creatures, giving Ben new transformations. And the villain Dr Animo was able to get DNA from it twice. Then I thought about this : in this episode, the Omnitrix was able to teleport Ben from Earth to Primus. So if it can teleport a whole human being, why wouldn't it be able to teleport DNA to Primus ? That would explain. Maybe too that Animo didn't actually get DNA from the Omnitrix, but the database to copy it...

Now let's have a look to the characters and, for those who were already in the original show, their evolution.

Of course I start with Ben. Well he's actually one of the most confusing about his evolution. As I said before, his original incarnation was a childish, immature and goofy kid. In the first two season of Alien Force, however, he acts more mature and serious. In season 3, he tends to act more like his ten-years-old self. At first this disturbed me, but actually that's quite logical : in the first two season, Ben has to deal with both his Grandfather's disappearance and the HightBreed invasion, the latter threatening Earth and later the whole Universe. This definitely explain why Ben have to put his childishness aside. While in season 3, the war with the HightBreeds is over, and his Grandfather is back. Not to mention he saved the whole Universe, wich caused him to become too self-confident. Other than this part, I think his Alien Force incarnation was much like the original : he's still so willing to help the other and protect everyone around him. When discovering the HightBreed were actually trying to destroy the Universe because they were dying, he choosed to save them from extinction. In one episode, he even tried to stop a war in order to realize the wish of a little girl. To my opinion, this Ben is at least as likable as the original, if not better. Sure, he's still less childish than in the original show, but come on, he 15 years old now ! What's so weird with it ?

Then his cousin, Gwen Tennyson. Well the most notable change with her is that her love/hate relationship I mentionned earlier is gone : she no more argues with Ben, though she still occasionnally criticizes his attitude in season 3.Some disliked her for that and stated she had been turned into a stereotypical innocent/girly/angel girl. I disagree. Seriously, just because she no more argues with Ben doesn't mean she changes so much ! They have both grown up, especially Ben so it's logical they do not argue anymore. I mean, in reality, what's wrong with children constently arguing at 10 then getting along better at 15 ? Seriously don't see the problem. For the rest, she's pretty much like before, still brillant and practicing martial arts.
One debat concern her powers : in the middle of the original show, she discovered she had affinity with magic, and started practicing. In Alien Force, it's revealed her powers actually come from alien bloodline, as her grandmother was an Anodite, an alien able to manipulate energy called "mana". This leads some characters, including Gwen's father and Kevin, to say there's no such thing as magic. However, later in the show, Gwen's powers are once again called magic and it's shown she still uses spells. Some fans called this an error. I will reply this :
1) Anyone who played at least a few fantasy roleplay know that mana IS the energy magicians manipulate to cast their spell, and that magic is actually nothing but manipulation of natural energy, just like the Anodite powers;
2) Neither Kevin or Gwen's father were really experts in this area, and they could be wrong.
So here is my conclusion : Gwen still is a magician, her alien bloodline only gave her incredible affinities with magic. As a proof, I remember one of her magician ennemies, Charmcaster, mentionning she had to learn all her life to control magic, while Gwen was born with magic inside of her. Some people say the producers should have precised that. Seriously, is it really necessary ? It's so obvious to me that I don't understand why they need explanations...

Then come Max Tennyson, Ben's and Gwen's grandfather. In the original serie he was one of the main characters, but in Alien Force he disappears, and even after his return, he never has as much importance as in his earlier appearances. There are not much to say about him : he's mostly the same in both series, and nobody complains about changes with him, except maybe his disappearance.

Now came Kevin Levin, formely known as Kevin 11. In the original serie, Kevin was one of the few villains to be more serious, as well as one of the most popular characters. A 11 years old boy with the power to absorb energy, he had been rejected (from what he said) by his parents who considered him as a freak, and, becoming an outcast because of his powers, became a sociopath willing to kill hundreds of people to get money. He initially befriended Ben, but later came to hate him, blaming him for an accident with the Omnitrix who caused him to transform into a monster. He was eventually trapped in the Null Void, an alternate dimension who serves as a jail for all alien criminals.
In Alien Force, he's revealed to have escape from the Null Void and get back his human form, as well as developping a new form of his power, making him able to absorb matter. After a serie of events, he eventually team up with Ben and Gwen against the HightBreed invasion, and reforms, becoming Gwen's love interest. A lot of fans dislike this change, saying Kevin was too evil and hateful toward Ben to reform and that he had been turned from an awesome villain to a failed anti-hero. But why wouldn't he reform ? I mean, if it had been Dr Animo or Vilgax, I would have understood people were shocked, but Kevin... for me he was even the most likely to reform among Ben's ennemies. He obviously had a hard past, as shown in both of the serie, wich explain his attitude. So even though he was a sociopath, I think he deserved redemption. The scenarist just gave him a more human side, wich, in my opinion, is far better than if they had keep him into just a cruel villain who want to kill Ben. At least they try to improve him. Sure they didn't reveal yet everything about his past, but maybe this will come in Ultimate Alien (something I hope, otherwise the fan will be right to be angry at least on that). Besides for a totally reformed character, I think he still has some villainous tendencies. He occasionnally works in black market, and even once left his father's murderer to death. If that doesn't count as a sign he has been a villain in the past... And what's up with him hating Ben too much to make up with him ? Venom hates Spider-Man, and despite this they had truces occasionnally...

I have finished with the heroes, I guess I should now speak about the villains.

First come the HightBreeds, who act as the main antagonists in the two first seasons. A powerful and seemingly advanced alien specie, they believe themselves to be the first race in the universe. This cause them to become arrogant, racist and awfully xenophobic, believing they are a pure, superior specie and that every other beings are mongrels and vermins, to the point they rarely fight themselves and usually rely on drone-like soldiers called DNAlien (who are actually human and others turned into drone by being infected with parasits) to do the dirty job. In the end of the serie, it was revealed their specie was dying, their behavior causing them to inbreed and become sterile, thus leading them to try to destroy all the other species in order to not die alone. Ben resolves this by fusing them with DNA from various species, saving them from extinction. Despite the fact they took a lot of place in the first season, I rather like the HightBreeds : they were interesting villains, an obvious reference to nazi, and the way Ben ended the conflict was rather original and better than if he had just defeated and destroyed them.

Then the Forever Knight, who were already present in the original show. A secret organisation who exists since the Medieval Age and deal with alien tech, they were portrayed in the original show as wanting to conquer the world. In Alien Force, however, it's revealed that their true objective was to find a weapon powerful enough to destroy a dragon they found long time ago (actually an alien) who they believed dangerous. Though I like the fact the scenarists intend to give them a more original and less manichean purpose, I don't like very much their explanation for this change, as they said the group met in the original show was actually a splintered group. It doesn't sound convincing to my opinion. And I regret too that the Forever Knight were reduced to so minor villains : while they were the main antagonist of a whole season in the origina show, in Alien Force they had very few appareance comparing to the HightBreeds, and were often portrayed as a minor treath. This saddens me a little, because I feel like it would have been interesting to develop them even more. To my opinion, they have enough potential to be a true menace, and the fact they are human change a little from Ben always facing aliens.

Now we come to the big part : Ben's archennemy, Vilgax.
The most iconic of Ben's nemesis even since the serie started, Vilgax is a vicious, powerful alien conqueror known as the most dangerous being in the galaxy. His appearance was based on Chtullu from Lovecraft, giving him a hulky body, claws and a tentacles beard. Since his first appearance, he has always chased Ben in order to get the Omnitrix and use it to create an army of shapeshifting drones able to conquer any planet. While he was a rather stereotypical and undevelopped villain, Vilgax was pretty cool, with a impressive design and a creepy voice, as well as incredible physical prowess, able to outmacht Ben's alien forms easily most of the time.
I always considered Vilgax as a crucial character of the show, and I was really hoping to see him back in Alien Force. Due to the HightBreeds' place, he was at first absent in most of the serie, but was eventually brought back in season 3 as the main antagonist.
Now, I will have to be honest : they changed him a lot. In both good and bad senses.
Sadly, his design, voice and look aren't as impressive as they were in the original show : while he retains his squid-like aspect, he's slightly less hulky, his mouth is visible again while it was hid by a mask in most of the origina show, and his armor has less dark colours. His voice, too, lacks the creepy tone of the original incarnation.
On the other hand, there is some improvement concerning his abilities. In the original show, he had no really special powers, just incredible physical abilites and the power to increase his own strenghts. In Alien Force, he gained various new powers by defeating the champions from 10 planets and absorbing their powers. This include flight, laser vision, cyclone breath (probably why they had to make his mouth visible again), a giant sword... To my opinion, this make him more interesting to fight, as he no more use just pure strenght.
Now, I admit, one problem is that now, Ben was able to take him down twice in the season (though not easily), while in the original show, he was hardly even able to hurt him and usually only won thanks to external help. It's rather logical, considering Ben has improved too and is now able to match him, but it kinda ruins what make the original Vilgax creepy. On the other hand, in the season final, Vilgax become to my opinion better : he is seen in the dark when the episode starts, making him quite more creepy. He is able to take the Omnitrix from Ben for the first time, eventually creating his army until Ben stops him. And, at the very end, he reveals his "true" form, turning into a giant-squid like monster who almost swallowed Ben... wow. To my opinion, this give him back at least part of the awesomeness he had. I know it's quite classic to see a villain turn into a giant monster, but I didn't see it coming with him. Now, if he re-appear, I hope they will improve him again...
One point who was despicted by the fan about this Vilgax is that he seems less evil, wich I disagree. There are mainly two arguments to say this : first, in his comeback episode, Vilgax follow a "Galactic Code of Conduct" when he conquer planets. My opinion is that it's quite obvious he does this because it's in his advantage. According to Dwayne McDuffie, following it allowed him to conquer several worlds in a short amont of time with few effort. So it was pretty much logical he followed it. And after this, he never followed it again, proving that he did so just because it fitted him. He's just acting smarter than before, that's all.
The other argument is concerning one episode, "Ghost Town". In this episode, Vilgax breaks through the jail of Ghostfreak, one of Ben's former alien forms who escaped from the Omnitrix and became a villain. He offers him to free him, in exchange of a secret about the Omnitrix. Though Ghostfreak accepts, he quickly betrays Vilgax by enslaving his homeworld. After vainly trying to stop the invasion himself, Vilgax reluctantly asks for Ben's help. The point is that in one scene, Vilgax is seen saving a little girl of his species from Ghostfreak's slaves, and even showing kinda tenderness toward the child. Most fans criticized this, saying this turned Vilgax into a punk when he was supposed to be an evil, mercyless warlord. Well, I have a few thing to say about that.
Yes, I admit, this show Vilgax may have a softer side. But seriously, is that so bad, even for him ? I mean, to me it sounds kinda more realistic : the world isn't black and white. Sure Vilgax is cruel and vicious, but why wouldn't he have some concern about his own species ?
Second, for telling it turns him into a punk, I remember you IT HAPPEN ONLY ONCE ! If it had happened all the time, okay, it would have ruined the character. But this was the only time Vilgax shew a softer side. In his other appearances... he absorbed powers from ten powerful aliens, leaving them weakened and older. He cruelly smashed Chromastone in "The Secret of Chromastone" for a simple crystal, not caring if it would stop the resurrection of a world. He threw away Azmuth in Primus when the old alien refused to tell him how the Omnitrix worked. He double-crossed his own allie Albedo and attempted to cause his own ship to crash on Ben's hometown in order to destroy it. He even threatened his own loyal servant Psyphon when the lackey made an unintentionally irritating comment on his defeats against Ben. Seriously, if all of this doesn't proves Vilgax is still evil despite having concern for his people... then those who keep denying it are either stupid or stubborn.

Now that we saw the three main villains, let's talk a little about the other recurring villains who appears.
Unlike the original serie, Alien introduced very few new villains : for most of the first two season, Ben, Gwen and Kevin fought either the HightBreeds, the Forever Knights, or character who were at first thought to be evil and then became either neutral (the Alien Dragon, Verdonna) or allies (Helen, Manny and Alan). Only three other recurring villains were introduced in these seasons, though a few other were added in season 3. Some old villains were also brought back.

I will start with the old ones :

We have some minor villains from the original serie, such as aliens bounty hunters/criminal like Vulkanus and Kraab, who are for most not changed, though Vulkanus has become a little baby-like alien in a big mechanical suit when he was seemingly truly muscular in the original show. Guess he was reduced like that due to a disease or something like that.

Most notable, Doctor Animo, the third most recurring villain of the original show, was brought back in one episode. Originally, he was, as I already said, a parody of the typical mad scientist. He used various machines and genetical experiments to turn animals into giant monsters. He can additionnally control animals. In Alien Force, he has become a dictator in the Null Void, using his powers to control the Null Void animals guardians and use them as his minions. I don't have much to say about him : I kinda miss the more parodic version of him, but to my opinion, it was still good to have him back a little.

Also, we have Hex and Charmcaster, who were actually more Gwen's ennemies than Ben's. Hex is a master magician, and Charmcaster is his niece and seemingly apprentice. They both played a key role in Gwen's development of magic powers, as it was by using Hex's talismans and staff Gwen shew magic abilities for the first time, and by stealing Charmcaster's book she learns how to use magic. While Hex was the most powerful of the two, he only had few appearances so far in both series and didn't changed very much, so I'll center more on his niece.
In the original show, Charmcaster was using mainly a bag where she could pull various spells from, including throwing blades, bombs and small clay animals. She also used various spells. In Alien Force, her outfit and haircut changed, and she no longer uses her bag, relying instead on her spells and mana-based powers like Gwen. Her clay animals are still present, but are now tall rock golem-like creatures. She is also, to my opinion, more vicious and arrogant than before, though she already was mean in the original show.
Now, concerning her new look, it's a matter of opinion about liking it or not. I personally like both her original outfit and her new one: none of the two is really bad to my opinion. I miss her bag a little, but the use of mana isn't so bad. And she still uses spells and golem, so it's okay to me. What I'm really waiting for is her episode origin, which was confirmed to arrive in Ultimate Alien and will show more about her relationship with Hex. I hope it'll be interesting…

Now, let's talk about the new recurring villains.

First we have Michael "Mike" Morningstar, who was introduced at the beginning of season 1. Mike was originally a Plumber's kid with vampire-like powers, able to drain life force from people thanks to small leech-like mouth on his hands. He had preferences for schoolgirls, as he was good-looking and so could easily attract them, and then turned them into zombie slave who searched energy to feed him. In his first appearance, he attempted to drain Gwen's energy, but she eventually drained it back, and his zombie girls turned against him, leaving him weakened with a zombified face. His powers eventually came back, stronger even than before, and he came back, renaming himself "Darkstar". He wears a metallic mask to hide his now horrific face, very much like Doctor Doom. His plans resolve usually around getting revenge against Ben, Gwen and Kevin, feeding himself with energy or restoring his original face. He briefly helped Ben's team against the HightBreed invasion in season 2 final.
I personally like this villain: he's an interesting add to Ben 10's rogue gallery, and (I hope no one will mock me for that), honestly, the episode where he appeared really creeped me out. Few villains in Ben 10 are creepy to me like that.

Then here is one of my favorites, Albedo. Originally the brillant assistant of Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix, Albedo intended to create his own Omnitrix, as he didn't trust Ben with being in charge of the universe. However, his Omnitrix had defect, and cause him permanently to be transformed into a clone of Ben (later with reversed colors), with the same habits, including a craving for Chilly Fries, wich became a running gag in the show. He now wants to get Ben's Omnitrix for himself in order to turn back to his original form. He is also the one who completed the Ultimatrix, an improved version of the Omnitrix Ben gains at the end of the serie after the Omnitrix was destroyed.
Albedo was an amazing villain to my opinion: his origin as an evil twin of Ben is pretty original, and he's both a very competent villain and a funny character. The only thing I regret with him is that so far, we only saw him twice. Hope he'll come back more in Ultimate Alien.

Finally, the Vreedle Brothers. Introduced in season 3, the Vreedles are a duo of stupid alien bounty hunters (and I'm still gentle by saying they're just stupid) who was occasionally seen. They proved to be amongst Ben's most ridiculous and weakest enemies, even dumber than they already looks: Gwen was once able to distract them in the middle of a fight with a bubblewrap. As revealed later, their parents actually did them with clonage kits, but the kits were out of date, wich explains a lot of things. As a result, there are actually several duos of Vreedles, causing them to always come back despite being often killed. Tough they only appeared three times so far, it looks like they'll come back and be killed again as a running gag, much like Kenny in South Park or Waspinator in Beast Wars. Though I disliked them at first, this would make them really fun as a comic relief…

To conclude, this show was to my opinion very good, at least as much as the original. However, of course, I have a few criticisms.
First, I will admit there are some elements I wished they explain more about. This includes mainly Ghostfreak's return and Kevin's past, though I still hope that for the latter, we still have something to learn. But for Ghostfreak for exemple, I think they should have at least showed a flashback about how he escape from the Omnitrix between the two series, or something like that.
Second, as someone notice: Kevin and Gwen are usually to easily beat up. I know the serie is centered on Ben, but still I feel like his friends should have some fight where they aren't beat up. They deserve some episodes of their own too... I can undestand they cannot match Vilgax, who's after all one of Ben's most powerful ennemies, but for exemple Darkstar or the Techadons, I would like it better if they win more often...
Third, as much as I hate to admit it, most of character's design aren't as good at they were in the original show. It's still decent for most however, and I care more about good plots and characters development.

So, guess I should give this show a not... let's say 8/10