While superhero movies are all the craze right now, and television has gotten into the act in a big way, not everything is a success story. Looking at the big screen, Green Lantern bombed so badly that it forced the DCEU to reboot with Man of Steel and the 2015 Fantastic Four was bad enough that Fox wouldn’t make another in the franchise. On TV, things are tougher for fans.
Fans commit themselves to a full season of a superhero television show, and when the network cancels the series after one season, it leaves many viewers hanging, without getting the stories completed. The most recent example was Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy, which had much more story to tell that fans will now never see.
Jupiter’s Legacy – Available To Stream On Netflix
When Mark Millar signed his deal to produce his comics through Netflix, Jupiter’s Legacy was the first to make it to the streaming service. The story was a tale of two generations — the first generation heroes that are older and set in their ways and the new generation of their kids who can’t live up to what their parents expect. In the comics, Jupiter’s Legacy led to an enormous story between Utopian’s son and daughter, but the Netflix series ended after just one season and never came close to reaching the best part of the comic series.
The Flash – Not Available To Stream
The Flash on The CW is the longest-running Arrowverse show still on television. It also pulled off a great trick by bringing back the Flash from the short-lived ‘90s superhero series and putting him back on the small screen once again. Released in 1990, The Flash only ran for one 22-episode season before CBS canceled it. John Wesley Shipp starred as Flash in that series and played both Barry Allen’s dad in the new Flash series and a parallel Earth Flash in the multiverse.
Swamp Thing – Available To Stream On CW Seed
Swamp Thing joined Titans and Doom Patrol on the short-lived DC Universe. However, unlike those two series, Warner Bros. had no faith in Swamp Thing and canceled it right after its premiere. The show aired the entire season, but Warner cut the number of episodes to save money and wrapped up after 10. What resulted was a critically acclaimed show, with Swamp Thing sitting at 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and picking up a Saturn Award nomination.
Constantine – Available To Stream On DirecTV
Constantine had little chance of making it when NBC aired the series. The character appeared in a movie a decade earlier with a miscast Keanu Reeves in the lead role, but when NBC brought in Matt Ryan to play John Constantine, it was pitch-perfect casting.
However, the darkness that comes with Constantine was too much for NBC and the network canceled the show after just one season. There was good news. After a short animated web series, Ryan resurrected the character on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow in the Arrowverse.
Birds of Prey – Available To Buy On Prime Video
Almost two decades before a Harley Quinn movie brought the Birds of Prey to the big screen, the DC Comics all-female super team debuted on the small screen. Released in 2002 on The WB, Birds of Prey featured Huntress (Ashley Scott), Barbara Gordon (Dina Meyer), and Black Canary (Rachel Skarsten). The series also featured future Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore and even had Mia Sara play the first live-action Harley Quinn.
Powerless – Available To Stream On DirecTV
Based in the DC Universe, Powerless tried to create an office comedy based in the world of superheroes. High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens portrays the Director of Research & Development at Bruce Wayne’s Wayne Security. This company creates products for victims after the battles between superheroes and villains devastate parts of the city. However, it mostly plays out in an office environment and deals with the relationship between these co-workers. Powerless lasted 10 episodes before NBC canceled it.
Blade – Available To Stream On Tubi
After Blade: Trinity ended the movie franchise, Spike TV kept the character alive with Blade: The Series. This show took place after the events of Blade: Trinity and showed the vampire hunter continuing his mission. David S. Goyer scripted the pilot after working on the movies.
Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones starred as Blade in the television series. Blade: The Series only lasted one season with 13 episodes before Spike TV canceled it.
Inhumans – Available To Stream On Disney+
Not everything Marvel Studios touches is gold. After creating Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and enjoying critical acclaim with Marvel’s Agent Carter, they struck out with Inhumans. Marvel went big with the series, releasing the first two episodes in movie theaters on IMAX screens. However, critics panned the series, and after the first eight-episode season, Marvel canceled it and never brought the Royal Family back again, even thought it used Inhumans in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Helstrom – Available To Stream On Hulu
Helstrom was supposed to be the start of more adult-oriented Marvel television on Hulu. However, after Marvel began working on shows for Disney+, the studio canceled all the upcoming shows on Hulu, including a proposed Ghost Rider series. Helstrom lasted only one season and featured a story about Daimon working as an exorcist only to find a demon possessing him and his sister returning to save him.
The Cape – Available To Stream On NBC
The Cape might be a superhero show many people are unfamiliar with. This is not based on a comic book, but was an original series produced for NBC. The show starred David Lyons as a former cop who the public believes is dead, but returns as the superhero The Cape to fight crime and expose corruption. The cast is great, with Summer Glau (Firefly), Keith David (The Thing), and Vinny Jones (Snatch). NBC cut the show from 13 episodes to only 10 and showed the series finale on its website rather than on the network.
