10 Animated Superhero Shows That Went Off Air Too Soon

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It is great fun for kids to watch superheroes on TV and most of us have our fond memories of having our childhood favorites. However, there are many of the superhero shoes which didn’t run for long enough despite having ample comic book materials to source from. A lot of little-known superheroes missed out on being a part of the pop culture due to these animated television series that were terminated too early, despite having a great audience appeal. Here we look at some of the most promising such series:

10. Static Shock (4 seasons, 52 Episodes, September 2000- May 2004)

This series was based on a comic by Milestone Media which was created by Dwayne McDuffe, Deny Cowan, Derek Dingle and Michael Davis. It was based on the daily life of a teenager called Virgil Hawkins, who at 14 got some electric powers as a consequence of some chemical explosion which people called as ‘The Big Bang.’ The show featured Virgil tackle various social, economic and daily life issues alongside his duties as ‘Static.’ His problems were real, and in fact, he might have been the most realistic portrayal of a superhero ever. DC bought over ‘Static’ from Milestone Media, and after that, we didn’t get to see the show run for much longer though that would have been delightful.

9. The Avengers: United They Stand (1 Season, 13 Episodes, October 1999-February 2000)

There was a brief animated series featuring the Avengers before they entered the cinematic universe in 2012. This series was created by Fox Studios, and Stan Lee and its lineup included less popular Avengers such as Falcon, Hawkeye, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Tigra and Ant-Man who was the leader of the group.

While the show had a great opportunity to establish little-known characters, its failure was caused by the variations in creative designs, and it couldn’t be revived despite there being the opportunity for it.

8. Black Panther (1 Season, 6 Episodes, November 2011)

Black Panther had a brief animated series of his own which was first premiered in Australia on January 10, 2010, and subsequently debuted in the US. This was focused on the origin of the ruler of Wakanda. The six-episode series showed T’Challa’s battle with Klaw after his father T’Chaka was killed. It had a great voice cast and a fantastic potential to become a hit series. We do not doubt that if it had run for a longer duration then Black Panther would have made a great place for himself on the TV screen, just the way he has done on the silver screen.

7. Green Lantern Animated Series (1 Season, 26 Episodes, March 2012-March 2013)

Green Lantern is one of those superheroes who has been greatly misunderstood, and there is plenty of Green Lantern material existing. The animated series called “Green Lantern: The Animated” featured the exploits of Hal Jordon who was the first ever Green Lantern on Earth. He and his fellow Kilowog worked to ensure universal peace through their Green Lantern Corps. There was fabulous animation and it explored the Green Lantern Universe deeply. The drawback that the series had was the lack of connection between Hal Jordan and his importance in the Green Lantern comics compared to the kind of popularity that the Green Lantern John Stewart has enjoyed.

6. Wolverine and the X-Men (1 Season, 26 episodes, January 2009-November 2009)

There have been several animated versions of The X-Men and “Wolverine, and the X-Men” was one series that should have got its shot at popularity, but, it never really took off. The series featured Wolverine on a bid to bring the X-Men together to battle the enemy, and he is tasked to do it alone as Charles Xavier was missing. The series couldn’t run longer despite having a great story and ran for a 26 episode season before the financial mess at Marvel brought it to an abrupt halt.

5. The Spectacular Spider-Man (2 Seasons, 26 Episodes, March 2008-November 2009)

Spider-Man has seen several animated TV series based on it and “The Spectacular Spider-Man” was arguably the most accurate portrayal of the comic books by any animated series made by Marvel. This show was developed by Greg Weisman and Victor Cook and dealt with Peter Parker’s time as a high school student who also happened to be the New York city’s webbed superhero. It had to end due to an ugly legal battle between Sony Pictures and Disney who had bought Marvel over during the series’ production days. If the television rights had not brought it down, it would have been a great TV series.

4. X-Men: Evolution (4 Seasons, 52 Episodes, November 2000-October 2003)

Ironically, X-Men: Evolution stopped running just when the storylines had begun to evolve. This series featured a team of renowned characters such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rouge, Kitty Pryde, and Nightcrawler, led by Charles Xavier. They were all teenagers who had to tackle the public opinion about the mutants alongside figuring out how to control their powers. The appeal of the entire team being teenagers resonated well with the younger audiences and also built a foundation for X-Men, and unfortunately, it folded up just when it had begun to get going.

3. Justice League Unlimited (3 seasons, 39 episodes, July 2004-May 2006)

Justice League hardly needs any description as this is the marquee team of DC’s superheroes and also a show that has only expanded its connect to the comic as well as non-comic fans. “Justice League Unlimited” was the series that appealed to all across the age groups, and it was the sequel to the “Justice League” animation. Just like other series’ featuring on this list, this one also had a tremendous scope for a longer run, but, was curtailed after just three seasons.

2. Teen Titans (5 seasons, 65 episodes, July 2003-September 2006)

This is another series based on a DC Superhero team comprising Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy. Robin was the leader of this team that took on criminals and other threats from DC Universe characters. Its run on Cartoon Network was extremely popular, and fans loved the way the characters shaped up, and it had a great demographic appeal. In fact, “Teen Titans” had as much acceptance from the audiences as the “Justice League” and would have run much longer if Warner Bros. had not terminated it. There is a satirical adaptation titled “Teen Titans Go” of the 2003 series which featured the same characters and the same voice actors as in the original.

1. Young Justice (2 seasons, 46 episodes, November 2010-March 2013)

This list of superhero-based animated series that ended quite early had to be topped by “Young Justice.” It featured several trainee youngsters who were on their way to becoming superheroes such as Kid-Flash, Dick Grayson Aqualand, Artemis, Miss Martian and Superboy who struggled to control their powers and handling the pressure that comes as a part of being a superhero. This series garnered a lot of accolades despite its short run, and its demise was attributed to the lack of sales generated by its toys. There is often talk about Netflix taking up its third season and revamping it, but, nothing has so far materialized, and as fans, we hope that things work out so that we can once again see the young bunch of superheroes come back to the TV screen.

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