The Best Superhero Animated Programs of All Time: Honorable Mentions

I won't be going through nearly as many superhero book reviews because I've actually caught up on books I'd read but hadn't posted a review, so we'll turn to other topics.

For me, growing up I didn't read comic books. My exposure to superheroes was through animated programs and there were some good ones. The best were able to develop our heroes and allow us to see them in a variety of situations and can be a lot of fun for kids and adults. Of course, some are poorly conceived or poorly executed from the start or just don't hold up well with time.

So, I'll be saluting my favorites over the next few weeks, but first lets start with some honorable mentions that didn't quite make the list:

DC Shows:

Batman Beyond: While the show had problems in the latter half, the first part of the series was solid in its imagining of Batman passing on the mantle to Terry McGinnis plus their clever imagining of a dark technocratic future. The first two seasons were superb.

Batman: Brave and the Bold:: This is a show that really contrasted with the Batman of the current comic books and movies. The series has a cool '60s style Batman and a Batman that while very tough is a bit more approachable than the modern version. Each episode has a different guest hero, so the series serves as a portal to the DC Universe and to to introducing kids to some very cool characters. It's a very well done series.

Ruby Spears Superman: Not a great Superman series but a good one. This one season wonder from 1988 featured a variety of Superman adventures that were of mixed quality. Not quite Superman: The Animated Series but also a step above the 1960s stories. It also featured Superman Family Album which told the post-crisis story of Superman growing up very soon after that event. Don't know how that would have worked in the second season as they wrapped that mini-series in the finale.

Marvel

Marvel has had more awesome programs since its inception. Some of these can be broken down into categories.

Most Spider-man cartoons have been good. The '67 Spider-man series (at least its first season) gave us a look at some classic stories retold as Spidey battled classic villains. Subsequent seasons were not so good as Spidey faced increasingly dull and generic villains with lazy editings and lots of cut scene reuses.

The 1980 Spider-man series was very fairly well-written for a kids show with a variety of villains but included half a dozen battles with Doctor Doom, Marvel's greatest villain. Spider-man and His Amazing Friends wasn't as good, but still decent.

Spider-man Unlimited ended too soon as it came right on the heels of Spider-man: The Animated Series. Spider-man: The New Animated Series (2003) had some great episodes but was flawed for a number of reasons including being broadcast on MTV, character design issues, and it's downer ending.

The best show bearing the Spider-man name not to appear on the list is Spectacular Spider-man. When I first heard of the series, I was kind of turned off by its over-jubilant theme, and how young it made Peter Parker having grown up with a college-aged Spider-man.

That said, the show was fantastic. It was well written and not just "well written for a kids show," but very intelligent and fun. This was a series that used Shakespeare rehearsals to reflect character moods and motives. This was a program that had Spider-man battling Doctor Octopus and gangsters while an opera was playing. Its handling of the alien symbiote story line in Season 1 absolutely blew aways the 1990s Animated Series handling of the same storyline with such a wonderful emotional payoff in the season one finale.

The show had its annoying points like Peter having a curfew. The biggest problem with this show was that it was axed after only two seasons and not given a chance to develop. Instead, it was replaced by the nonsensical Ultimate Spider-man. (More on that another time though.)

Fantastic Four: There have not been near as many Fantastic Four shows, but those I've seen have been good. The 1990s shows had their cheesy moments, but they managed to stay faithful to many plots by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, only updating them to the 1990s. The 2006 program Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes from 2006 actually worked just as well while varying the stories a bit while mostly staying true to the original. The only thing I fault them on is making Johnny Storm too stupid, but other than that, it was a solid program.

Marvel Superheroes: Not as much a true cartoon as sixty-five motion comics. Captain America, Iron Man, Sub-mariner, Thor, and Incredible Hulk each had thirteen episodes made. Each series had an incredibly catchy and unforgettable theme song that may not be as cool as some later themes, they certainly stick in your head, and they also tell some of best silver age stories in Marvel History.

The Silver Surfer: I have a warm place in my heart for this one. It was a thoughtful show about a hero who struggled with what he'd done, but also featuring some awe-inspiring animation and sci fi moments. This was another series cut off way too soon.

Well, that finishes all the heroes who didn't make my top 10. Next time, I'll start on the top 10 list.