# Best (and Worst) Superhero TV Shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540 "2003-08-20T22:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/1 "2003-08-20T22:19:19Z")
What do you think were the best TV shows featuring comic book heroes? What about the worst? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/2 "2003-08-20T22:37:02Z")
Worst–Captain America, the TV movies. Best–The Tick. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/3 "2003-08-20T22:41:44Z")
The best: the one, the only, the sui generis was the one that started it all – The Adventures of Superman. The worst: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (excluding Wilma Deering!) ---
**Author:** ![PeppermintPatty85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PeppermintPatty85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeppermintPatty85)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/4 "2003-08-20T22:46:26Z")
Best: WONDER WOMAN! Worst: not a huge fan of Darkwing Duck… Yeah that’s right i said it, HE SUCKS ---
**Author:** ![New\_Improved\_Scott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f17d59/32.png) [@New\_Improved\_Scott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Improved_Scott)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/5 "2003-08-20T22:53:38Z")
Some of the best All time:\*\* Spider-Man (60’s version) Batman (Adam West) Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (early 80’s) Flash (late 80’s live action) Batman: The Animated Series (Mark Hamill and the Joker early 90’s) X-men (early/mid 90’s) Justice League (00’s) \*\* Some of the worst all time:\*\* Super Friends (Wonder Twins!) The Amazing Spider-man (Pre-Amazing friends) Birds of Prey (00’s. He my old friend is in town tracking a killer, and it turns out he is the killer…Again!!!) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/6 "2003-08-20T23:05:07Z")
Best: Wonder Woman, season 1 (WW2 era) Worst: Wonder Woman, season 3. The show started out so great and plummeted so low… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/7 "2003-08-20T23:33:25Z")
Best: **Batman: The Animated Series**. The later stuff from WB is also good, but B:TAS reached a summit that the others still haven’t achieved. Worst: The live-action **Spider-Man** TV show on CBS. _External_ web shooters? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sv\_87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@sv\_87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sv_87)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/8 "2003-08-21T00:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PeppermintPatty85 \* > \*\*Worst: not a huge fan of Darkwing Duck… Yeah that’s right i said it, HE SUCKS \*\* Darkwing Duck RULED! Anyway best show: I have to say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now of course now I know there show was pretty bad and all, but they were cool when I was 10. The Spiderman cartoon, (the one shown in the mid 1990’s, not the one by Ralph Bakshi-something) was also pretty good. Worst: The old Hulk animated tv show, they show reruns of it on Teletoon, it doesn’t even look like animation more like a picturebook. Really sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/9 "2003-08-21T00:53:05Z")
Another best vote for _Batman: The Animated Series_. Great art style, good voice work, solid character development. Each half-hour episode is more entertaining than any of the recent movies. I’ve seen a few episodes of the 70s(?) TV series _The Incredible Hulk_ on Sci-Fi. Painfully bad, it gets my worst vote. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/10 "2003-08-21T02:02:46Z")
Comic book super heros only? If not, then _Buffy, the Vampire Slayer_. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/11 "2003-08-21T02:07:36Z")
Oops: I meant to add that, sticking to the OP’s request of comic book heros, I agree with **kunilou** about the original Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/12 "2003-08-21T02:13:03Z")
Another nod to _Batman: TAS_. I’ve getting them on DVD from Columbia House. The art-deco style prevents it from looking dated (as odd as that sounds). The stories were well-written injecting humor in just the right places. I still find it hard to believe that Mark Hamil is the voice of the Joker. Also: _X-Men Adventures_ _Spider-Man_ (Fox version) _The Tick_ ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/13 "2003-08-21T02:26:27Z")
I want to vote for Lois & Clark, but I honestly don’t know whether to vote for it for “Best” or “Worst”. It was _hilarious_. Superman calling his mom asking for laundry advice! Sonny Bono as the mayor of Metropolis! (Speaking solely in song quotes, natch!) The guy who played Balki in Perfect Strangers as a supervillain! Man… it was great. (And Darkwing Duck ruled.) ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/14 "2003-08-21T02:39:47Z")
I want to vote for Lois & Clark, but I honestly don’t know whether to vote for it for “Best” or “Worst”. It was _hilarious_. Superman calling his mom asking for laundry advice! Sonny Bono as the mayor of Metropolis! (Speaking solely in song quotes, natch!) The guy who played Balki in Perfect Strangers as a supervillain! Man… it was great. (And Darkwing Duck ruled.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/15 "2003-08-21T02:58:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RikWriter \* > \*\*Worst–Captain America, the TV movies. \*\* Did one of those feature some cheesy special effect which had to do with a rediculously huge bubble of gum? ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/16 "2003-08-21T05:14:02Z")
My vote for best is definitely Batman: TAS. It’s comic book perfection. Worst? The _Savage Dragon_ cartoon comes to mind, as does _Ultraforce_. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/17 "2003-08-21T05:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nightsky \* > \*\* Sonny Bono as the mayor of Metropolis! (Speaking solely in song quotes, natch!) \*\* [hijack] The 1960’s-era Batman, Adam West, is the mayor of Quahogg, RI in the show _Family Guy_. Adam West voices the character of Adam West. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/18 "2003-08-21T05:49:52Z")
> [@](#): > > It was hilarious. Superman calling his mom asking for laundry advice! Actually, I thought that sort of thing was one of the key strengths of the show. As the title implies, the focus of the show was on how he got along as a person, rather than as a superhero, and I found it touching to see him keeping in touch with Ma and Pa, about all the real things that people do talk to their parents about. But Lex Luthor was Balki? I never woulda guessed that one… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/19 "2003-08-21T05:57:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Murcielago \* > Another best vote for _Batman: The Animated Series_. Great art style, good voice work, solid character development. Each half-hour episode is more entertaining than any of the recent movies. Just to add a little more to the **B:TAS** love-fest, I’ll mention two _major_ accomplishments from that show alone: 1. Introduced a credible and emotional origin for Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries in the episode “Heart of Ice” (the origin was later bastardized in the wretched _Batman & Robin_ movie). Anyone stupid enough to say cartoons are solely for children should be hog-tied to a chair and forced to watch “Heart of Ice,” arguably the best 22 minutes of American animation ever produced. 2. Introduced Harley Quinzella/Harlequin, _a.k.a._ the Joker’s gal-pal, _a.k.a._ the better half of the Harley and Ivy duo. And as designed by Bruce Timm – _yowza!_ “Mistah J” is certifiably nuts if he’d rather go duke it out with Batman instead of spending more time with Harley… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540/20 "2003-08-21T07:02:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*Just to add a little more to the **B:TAS** love-fest, I’ll mention two _major_ accomplishments from that show alone: > > 1. Introduced a credible and emotional origin for Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries in the episode “Heart of Ice” (the origin was later bastardized in the wretched _Batman & Robin_ movie). Anyone stupid enough to say cartoons are solely for children should be hog-tied to a chair and forced to watch “Heart of Ice,” arguably the best 22 minutes of American animation ever produced. > > 2. Introduced Harley Quinzella/Harlequin, _a.k.a._ the Joker’s gal-pal, _a.k.a._ the better half of the Harley and Ivy duo. And as designed by Bruce Timm – _yowza!_ “Mistah J” is certifiably nuts if he’d rather go duke it out with Batman instead of spending more time with Harley… 😉 \*\* 1. “Somewhere where a warm hand waits for mine.” marvellous 2. Her name is Harleen Quinzell. She has since been introduced into official DC continuity and given her own series. Her relationship with her puddin’ has been addressed somewhat. RE-Darkwing Duck He is the terror that flaps in the night! He is the spelling error you never catch on preview. He is Darkwing Duck! It was a great show. Name another superhero cartoon that did a Twin Peaks parody episode!(Twin Beaks-it included the corpse of the supervillian Bushroot wrapped in plastic among other references) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-superhero-tv-shows/196540.md?page=2)