13 Years Ago Today, Cartoon Network Ended an Underrated Superhero Series (And It’s Impossible to Stream Now)

13 years ago today, Cartoon Network ended a real hidden gem of a superhero action series and it never really got a fair shot as a few episodes never even made it to air. And if you wanted to stream it, it’s pretty much impossible at this point too. It can be tough to be a fan of Cartoon Network’s past library as while they have released some of the most notable original animated series of all time, that library isn’t always treated with the utmost care as much of it has been removed from streaming services over the years.

That’s unfortunately been the case for Generator Rex, which had already been fighting an uphill battle throughout its run with Cartoon Network. The superhero action series came to an end 13 years ago today, on January 3, 2013, and its final season didn’t really get a fair shot with the network. Much of it released with digital platforms long before they aired, and two episodes still remained unaired to this day. And you can’t really stream it on anything either without outright buying the digital copies.

Generator Rex Ended 13 Years Ago Today

Generator Rex came to an end with Cartoon Network 13 years ago today, after three seasons. With 60 episodes in its run before its finale, the series introduced fans to a cool superhero with some cool abilities to craft things at his will. Generator Rex takes place in a world set after a mysterious “nanite event” that causes nanites to enter the body of every living being on Earth. As a result, humanity is then facing the threat of Exponentially Variegated Organisms (or labeled as “E.V.O.”), whose bodies are ravaged by the nanites in their system.

The series then introduces fans to Rex Salazar, who is unlike the others as his ability allows him to control all of the nanites in his body to form whatever weapons or materials he chooses. He’s also able to control the nanites in others, and is thus tasked with taking out rampant E.V.O.s through the course of the animated series’ three seasons. It was created by Man of Action, the same collective team behind the Cartoon Network classic Ben 10, and was a part of an extended universe that brought some of Cartoon Network’s biggest action series together at the time.

Man of Action has revealed in the past that they were hoping to spark a wider animated universe between their shows like Ben 10 and Generator Rex, but Cartoon Network wasn’t interested at the time. Though it did result in to different crossover events between the two shows, Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United and Ben Gen 10, but those have to be found in digital platforms outside of the confines of Generator Rex itself. It’s just another way that the show has technically been forgotten even more by Cartoon Network over the years.

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What Happened to Generator Rex?

Looking back on Generator Rex, it’s underrated run with Cartoon Network unfortunately does come as a result of a few factors. It skewed a bit more older than Ben 10 did when it first premiered, and came during the Ultimate Alien era of that series. Ben 10 was able to get away with its time skip because of the younger audience it had built in with its prior efforts, and they followed along with the hero as he got older and had more intense situations to deal with.

Generator Rex didn’t have that same lead in, and thus didn’t really have that same spark when it came to capturing the imagination of kids at the time either. It was a great story that fell in line with X-Men or Static Shock’s kind of adventures in terms of an episode to episode basis, but it just didn’t really click. It had a strong run with three seasons, but that third season had some issues as it released with digital platforms before it aired with Cartoon Network.

Taking that even further, there are still two episodes from that final season that (for one reason or another) never actually aired with Cartoon Network in the United States. These episodes also helped to flesh out things leading into the final episodes, so fans watching eagerly each week were losing out on some of the context from the grand finale. All this kind of added together over the years to make Generator Rex just less memorable than many other Cartoon Network series fans have seen in the years since.

Now that it’s not even streaming anywhere without paying for each episode, it’s harder to revisit even if you’re interested in checking it out. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!