In this review of Ben 10 #1, the famed Cartoon Network hero makes his debut to the comic book world from Dynamite Entertainment.
Ben 10 #1
Story: Joe Casey, Duncan Rouleau
Writer: Joe Casey
Art and Main Cover: Robert Carey
Variant Covers: Duncan Rouleau, Dustin Nguyen, Eric Canete, Cormac Hughes, Sebastián Píriz
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: May 6, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Ben 10 #1 opens aboard an unknown starship, where a bipedal alien stands on a raised platform, monologuing in standard big-bad-evil-guy fashion. He is only shown from the back, gazing out at the vast expanse of stars and planets and slyly implies that there is only one weapon that could stand against him, and that it will soon be revealed.
Unknown lightyears away on Earth, cousins Ben and Gwen Tennyson and their Grandpa Max are beginning a summer of camping and traveling around the U.S. in an attempt to keep Ben and Gwen off their devices. For those familiar with the franchise, the irony is palpable.
Gwen and Ben are poking fun at each other-Ben blatantly refers to it as “rage-baiting”-but it ends badly when Gwen hits a nerve, referring to Ben’s difficult relationship with his parents. Ben storms off into the woods, quickly getting lost.
At the same time, a strange object makes planetfall, catching the attention of a government agency. Unfortunately for them, it lands literally at the feet of Ben, and before anyone else can arrive to examine the glowing crater, before Ben can even get a good look at what’s down there, a mass of glowing cables slithers like a snake up out of the pit. It catches Ben off guard, securing itself around his wrist and refusing to be removed.
Disconcerted, Ben sneaks back into the forest as a cadre of tanks and armored trucks flood the scene. His luck doesn’t seem to improve, as before he can find his way back to his family, Ben encounters a monstrous bear with large portions of fur and skin torn away, exposing grotesque cybernetic musculature and skeleton. Perhaps reacting to his panic, the device on his wrist activates, transforming him into a muscular red alien creature with four arms and four eyes.
Although Ben doesn’t understand what’s happening, his new form allows him to defend himself from the bear. Unfortunately, just as he begins to feel confident in his “Four Arms” persona, the device reverts him to his normal state. Still needing to find a way to scare off the bear, Ben struggles to reactivate the device, hitting it and shouting at it as he dodges through the trees.
It finally transforms him again, this time to a living flame, with black metal faceplate, claws, and chest. This does manage to scare off the bear, although Ben is alarmed at his inability to instinctively control the flames.
However, although Ben manages not to cause a forest-fire, the next scene is a few agents in army fatigues carrying rifles, coming across the scene to see scorch marks and smoldering embers, but no bear, and no Ben. The small detachment radios their findings back into base, with confirmation that Ben, or at least one of the forms he’s taken, is now a target of their search. Gwen is shown, waiting alone in the RV, and Grampa Max, still searching the woods for Ben, mutters to himself that he hadn’t expected “something like this” to happen “this soon.”
Ben 10 #1 closes back aboard the starship, with an alert that a signal matching “omni-energy” signatures has been found, and the first close-up look at the megalomaniac, monologuing villain from the opening page, now speeding toward Earth: Vilgax.
When the new series was announced back in October of 2025, with all four members of the Man of Action Entertainment collective on board, Joe Casey described it as the “Ultimate” or “Absolute” version of Ben 10, declaring: “We guarantee, this is the best that Ben 10 has ever been.” Considering the way the Ultimate Comics served as a gateway for many younger readers in the early 2000s, I feel that Casey made good at least on his comparison.
The reboot gives the writers a chance to explore different aspects of the story, create new characters, put the old ones in new scenarios, which while high-risk, is very high-reward with the original fanbase. The other benefit is, there is low-to-no barrier to entry for a new reader. As someone who did not watch a lot of Ben 10 in its first incarnation, I was still able to identify the familiar elements and easily engage with the characters.
I didn’t go back and watch the first episode of the cartoon, but I did watch the clip of Ben finding the Omnitrix (which is not named in Ben 10 #1, just like it is not named for the first few episodes of the cartoon). It was very interesting to me that the reboot gives the scene a more supernatural atmosphere, while also removing some of Ben’s agency in obtaining the device in the first place. It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, this has on the characters and story as we go on.
I also appreciate that, while there is a little bit of what I’d call Animorphs-level body horror, this series is still intended for young readers. While I love Scooby Apocalypse and its ilk, I’ve had just about enough gritty reboots to last me a lifetime.
Robert Carey’s artwork is excellent, specifically his interpretations of Ben’s alien forms and the Omnitrix, as well as Vilgax and the bridge of his ship. He manages to pull away from the original clean, polished look of the cartoon and into a slightly more realistic, yet more textured, expressive style that still stays true to the spirit of the original.
Final Thoughts
I hope that everyone who’s been looking forward to this series for the last six months are satisfied and looking forward to the next issue, because I honestly am! The rest of the MOA are set to rotate in as writers, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got planned.
