A Look Back At Some Superhero Television Shows

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Usually television really shouldn't try and tackle superheroes. Here's proof why - as well as some rare examples of when it does work.

Shazam! (1974)

Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl (1976)

The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)

Legends Of The Superheroes (1978)

Those Terrible Captain America TV Movies (1979)

The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)


WHen I was a kid, I was insanely excited about this TV special, but even then it was hard to deny how out-of-place the story/characters were. (The Daredevil appearance in the next special, Trial of The Incredible Hulk, was by far the worst; especially because they seem to have gotten the character mixed up with a generic ninja who happened to be blind.)

Superboy (1988)

The Flash (1990)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)

Generation X (1996)

Justice League of America (1997)
Possibly the ultimate proof that TV and superheroes don't mix, this is another unsuccessful pilot that aired nonetheless, and features bad writing, bad acting, bad special effects, and some of the most literal - and most embarrassing - superhero costumes ever seen on screen. It's like a landmark of fail.

Mutant X (2001)

Birds of Prey (2002)
It had so much potential - Batman and Catwoman's daughter teaming up with the former Batgirl to fight crime? Hello, high concept - but the execution let it down badly with shoddy writing, lack of direction and the mistaken idea that camp was better than character development. When something makes Smallville look subtle and nuanced, you know you're in trouble.

However these ones ROCKED...

Batman (1966)
Almost everything about it is wrong, and yet it worked so well - The cheap jokes! The ill-fitting costumes! Replacing Julie Newmar with Eartha Kitt! - but it was all fabulous nonetheless; Batman's 1960s incarnation may not be the best translation from page to screen, but as a weird totem of the era, it remains a classic. And the movie was one of the funniest movies ever made in the history of the universe.

Wonder Woman (1975)
We love Wonder Woman as a character, and this show may be a lot to do with that. While the comic version was having identity issues at the time this series was being made, the TV show took her back to her heyday, added the "let me twirl into my costume" and fittingly made Lynda Carter the star she should've been all along.

The Incredible Hulk (1978)
The Hulk show worked despite its sometimes slow pacing and dreadfully low budgets - It was like 'The Fugitive' with an occasional need for a giant silent strongman, the show offered a different take on the character from the comics.