And it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the show had been a good part of many people’s childhoods. Well, it was in my case at least. I can still remember watching Ben’s adventures without even a thought of whether other animated characters could beat him in a fight. But those were simpler times. So for the sake of curiosity we’re going to cover some anime characters who can do what some villains in the show have never been able to do. P.S. No omnipotent characters are allowed, so no Alien X or Zeno. Fair is fair, right?
15. Light Yagami
Anime: Death Note Light might not be much of a fighter – but he’s one of the smartest characters in anime. He has outsmarted one of the best detectives in the world, and made the entire world’s police force look like a bunch of lost children in an amusement park. And he almost got away with it all in the end. Light is a genius, and a complete mastermind through and through. Then again, him defeating Ben is highly conditional. He could do it only when Ben isn’t transformed (the Death Note only works on humans) and he also has to know his name first. Unfortunately for Ben, Light won’t have much trouble with the name… Thanks a lot, Jimmy Jones.
14. Lelouch vi Britannia
Anime: Code Geass Lelouch is another anime character who relies on smarts just like Light. Although Lelouch’s power is markedly more convenient in a straight-up confrontation. He can control anyone’s thoughts or actions with his “Power of Absolute Obedience” and would only need one glance to do it. Ben has been mind-controlled before, so it’s highly likely that Code Geass will work against him. As I said, all it takes is one glance. So if Lelouch plays his cards right, he might either have a hell of a henchman fall right to his hands, or just simply make Ben do his work for him by commanding him to “lose”.
13. Hiro Shishigami
Anime: Inuyashiki Hiro’s story started when an alien device did what it did. Well, not really… It’s more like, “When aliens did what they did”. But still. Oh, and there wasn’t anything that stuck itself upon his wrist either. In fact, Hiro might have also gotten his powers from alien tech – but he’s nothing like Ben. Hiro is a selfish, nihilistic, and cruel psychopath who (at the very least) redeemed himself at the end of his story. But Hiro is also so damn strong that no one on Earth could stop him except Ichiro, who was also an android. That says a lot about his chances against Ben. He’s surely much more powerful than the majority of the villains that Ben has ever faced.
12. Meruem
Anime: Hunter X Hunter Meruem wasn’t the King of the Chimera Ants for no reason. He’s stronger, faster, smarter, and more durable than anyone else in the world, much less his species. One could even say that he’s the “perfect lifeform” that wouldn’t have been able to be conceived through any conventional means. After all, he was only born after the queen ate tons of regular humans (and several humans with Nen). It’s a bit of a grim backstory, I know. One technicality here is that Ben might be able to scan Meruem as an alien lifeform with his Omnitrix and beat him with it… but I doubt Meruem would even let him get the chance.
11. Monkey D. Luffy
Anime: One Piece With the power of friendship and the support of his Nakama, the sky’s the limit for this guy. I wouldn’t have put Luffy anywhere near this list in his earlier days as a pirate. But Luffy has evolved enough in character and strength over time. He learned all three types of Haki, developed Gear Fourth, and more importantly, acquired battle experience from fights that almost damn near killed him. Simply put, he’s no stranger to a challenge. Ben’s stronger transformations would give him a challenge I’m sure – but I do not doubt that Luffy could pull through against several of them.
10. All Might
Anime: My Hero Academia Like Ben, All Might is widely considered the best hero in his series. He has saved countless lives and defeated several powerful villains, including the most evil of them all. And he did it two times. With the help of his quirk “One for All”, his physical stats have reached levels that would be considered completely insane by any normal standards. With his immense strength and durability, I believe All Might would be able to take even Ben’s strongest alien transformations for a hell of a bout.
9. Meliodas
Anime: Seven Deadly Sins Meliodas might look like he’s about the same age as Ben in the original series. But he’s actually a three-thousand-year-old demon king who was submitted to a terrible fate. But putting his tragic backstory aside, he still has a lot going for him – since he now has Elizabeth and his friends. Oh, and he’s also hella strong. Meliodas was said to be powerful enough to contend with the former demon king himself — his father, and the literal embodiment of “The Devil”. A certain proud character from this series might have him beat in the “badassery” department, but Meliodas is a demon that nobody should try to mess with.
8. Shigeo Kageyama
Anime: Mob Psycho 100 When it comes to overpowered anime MCs, I believe Shigeo Kageyama should always be in the conversation. He’s one of the best espers in anime. And quite frankly, his telekinetic prowess is just outright broken. And this is even truer whenever he goes past his 100%. Aside from that, he’s mostly reserved. And he doesn’t let his special powers make him feel special. Good for him! But then again, if you can level entire cities…
7. Giorno Giovanna
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Just like his father, Giorno has loads of prime meme material. His poses, the way he acts, his special moves, and his theme song are just a few examples. However, what you may not know is that Giorno is also one of the most hax-tier characters anyone has ever seen. With his Golden Experience Requiem, he can set actions and willpower back to zero. Essentially this means he can undo anything and everything that has, that is, and that will be. To keep things simple: Giorno Giovanna has the power of “NOPE!” on his side.
6. Sakamaki Izayoi
Anime: Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They? Being a bit of a problem child himself, Ben could probably relate with Sakamaki in his younger years. I mean, both of them aren’t strangers to fighting extraterrestrial lifeforms. So hey — maybe they’d make great friends too. Who knows, right? The only difference between them is that Sakamaki was already bafflingly strong when his series began. In fact, he’s so damn broken that he defeated a god in the very first episode of the series. Against Ben though? I’d say he’s got more than just a chance to defeat him.
5. Yuki Nagato
Anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya The Omnitrix might just be the most advanced bleeding-edge alien tech in the Ben 10 omniverse – but in the end, it has one weakness we’ve seen exploited in the show. By that, I mean it’s actually hackable just like any other device. This was proven to be possible by Kevin’s Hacker Machine and Inspector 13. And Yuki Nagato, unfortunately for Ben, is one tech wiz that’s capable of hacking some elements of reality itself. If he’s not careful, he might just get his Omnitrix disabled, or even destroyed before the battle starts. And the fact that Yuki’s also no slouch in actual combat just makes her an even tougher opponent for Ben to deal with.
4. Ichigo Kurosaki
Anime: Bleach Hailing from one of the titular “Big 3” Shounen titles, Ichigo blitzes his way into the competition with both grit and style. Ichigo might have come from humble beginnings as an ordinary high school student. But over time, he’s become so strong that he can one-shot almost every character in fiction. After all, he’s responsible for the demise of Aizen — one of the most overpowered villains who could’ve had both the realm of the living and the dead under his heel. Not a bad feat to have, eh? Ben might have several fast alien transformations like Jet Ray or XLR8. But they just aren’t fast enough to catch Ichigo and deal damage to him. Ichigo takes this one 10/10.
3. Naruto Uzumaki
Anime: Naruto Naruto is the third the “Big 3” Shounen MCs on this list – and he’s arguably the strongest of them. Granted, Naruto might not be able to stretch his body like Luffy. Or conjure up a badass zanpakuto like Ichigo. But he can tap into the power of the Nine-tailed Fox living inside him. And let me tell you, that’s a whole lotta power. With that power, Naruto has managed to become one of the strongest shinobi in history. And he was even able to contend against a literal god — albeit a weakened one. He’s also one of the most stubborn characters who holds a truly powerful battle technique — his Talk-no-Jutsu. If that fails, well, I’m still confident enough to bet on this guy coming out with the W in any given scenario.
2. Goku
Anime: Dragon Ball It’s no surprise that Goku has technically become “the man to beat” with your typical character vs character matchups. “Yeah, but can they beat Goku?” has become the staple question in every power scaling thread. It feels like a meme by now. And to that question in this particular case… No, Ben cannot beat Goku without relying on Alien X’s omnipotence. I mean, that should be a given, considering the downright absurd feats this Saiyan is capable of. And while Ben might have his share of similarly crazy feats, they’re just not at the same level as Goku’s.
1. Saitama
Anime: One Punch Man When it comes to straight-up obliterating inhuman opponents with relative ease, you’ll never see me bet against Saitama. I know this Caped Baldy (his actual hero name) might not look like it at first glance. But he’s actually one of the few characters on this list that has never suffered a single defeat. Not one. Well, except for him sucking so bad at video games and rock paper scissors… but that’s beside the point. Unless Ben can transform into a mosquito (don’t ask why), I think Saitama might end the fight just like he always does — with one single punch. That’s me being Captain Obvious here.
