You know what was perhaps the biggest, most climactic crossover in history? Here’s a hint, it’s not the portal scene from Avengers: Endgame, and don’t even think about Deadpool & Wolverine. It was when Ben 10 joined forces with Rex in the one-hour-long special Generator Rex episode that aired on Cartoon Network.
The amalgamation of that animated duo was so apical that it is still held special in many a millennial’s heart (and perhaps some Gen Z with good taste). And rightly so.
Avengers: Endgame Has Nothing Over the Ben 10 x Rex Team-Up
Captain America’s fabled ‘Avengers, assemble!’ command alone evoked a sense of harmony and an influx of overwhelming emotion in a fandom comprising more than thousands of people from all around the world.
After all, the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Endgame – which saw Robert Downey Jr.‘s tearful end as Iron Man – marks perhaps the most megalithic superhero crossover in cinematic history. But, that’s second only to Cartoon Network‘s Generator Rex. More than a decade ago, one of the most iconic episodes of the science fiction animated series dropped and we are yet to witness anything more momentous.
An extended crossover special between Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and Generator Rex, Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United features an epic team-up between Ben Tennyson – who can morph into various alien forms to put down the bad guys – and Rex Salazar, a rebellious EVO (that’s short for Exponentially Variegated Organism, in case you’re not a Cartoon Network geek).
In the episode, the two teens with superpowers unite against a deadly foe, Alpha Nanite, that plummeted from the same mysterious vortex that opened up in the Manhattan skyline from which Ben fell. As a Threads user aptly remarked, it was indeed “peak animation” that unfortunately enough, this generation and the new ones won’t be able to experience.
Ben 10 & Generator Rex Are Not Meant For Kids
To be precise, they’re meant for “grown-ups that are kids at heart” and in the most wholesome way possible.
In a conversation with DC comics about their target audiences, Cartoon Network Action Packed #65 writers Eugene Son and Rob Hoegee revealed how the electrifying adventures of the likes of a teen who can sprout weapons and machines from his body and one who can transform into any alien at the mere click of a button are dedicated to everyone who would “enjoy” them.
Son, who also served as a writer on Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, said that he doesn’t consider his work to be strictly meant for children. “When writing stories for characters like Ben 10 and Generator Rex, I write adventures that everyone can enjoy – kids, tweens, teens, college students, parents, grandparents,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hoegee admitted that he has penned some of his “favorite” stories keeping kids as his target audience in mind. “I love writing all kinds of stories, but my favorite are definitely targeted to kids – and grown-ups that are kids at heart. Kids are way more accepting of new and strange ideas,” he said of characters like Ben 10 and Rex. And you know what, maybe he’s onto something with that one.
You can watch Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United on Apple TV+.
