THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN 2013 ON MY OLD SITE. IT’S REPRINTED HERE BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT COULD CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF GLOBAL WARMING AND COSMIC DESTINY.
Super heroes were made for cartoons, and just about every boy (and many girls) used to grow up watching them. Now all those kids are old enough to write crap on the internet. They all loved Batman: The Animated Series. Most loved that great 1990s X-Men cartoon as well. And unless you’re an idiot, you rank Teen Titans Go! as one of the greatest works of American animated art of all time.
Then there are the mainstays: Justice League, the 1960s Spider-Man ‘toon, The Super Friends, Superman: TAS…You know the drill. You’ve seen them on dozens of internet lists.
But there are other ‘toons that, for whatever reason, tend to be forgotten when people make “top 10s.”
These are the stories of those series. The ones that should have gotten more play. Or, at least, my favorites…After the page break.
To be clear: This is a list of episodic animated TV shows based on comic books—not the greatest cartoons featuring super heroes (i.e., who didn’t start out in comic books, like Battle of the Planets). And it’s a list of underrated or underreported ones…That’s why so many of my “real” top 10 favorites aren’t here (i.e., Teen Titans Go!, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, etc.).
5. X-MEN. I’m talking about the 2011 anime series from Marvel Entertainment and Madhouse. The other three shows that came out of this collaboration (Wolveirne, Blade and Iron Man) never rose above mediocre, but this series did a good job at telling the story of the X-Men right after Jean Grey’s death. It’s not canon—not even close (it takes place in Japan)—but it wove in elements from Grant Morrison’s New X-Men (the U-Men) and Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men (the character Armor) to great effect. A sweet little gem that most people never even knew existed.
4. FANTASTIC FOUR: THE WORLD’S GREATEST HEROES. This sorta-anime series lasted just 8 episodes, and I have no idea why. It’s worth trying to find on bootlegs or DVDs if they exist…
3. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. LSH was a hugely popular comic in the 1980s, but since then…Not so much. So why did DC run with a cartoon about the Legion in the 2000s? Because it was great, that’s why. It’s so nice when a truly “safe” all-ages show isn’t either dull or insipid. Lots and lots of fun. Damn shame they cancelled it so quickly.
2. THE TICK. A rare example of an adaptation that was not only better than the source material, but which actually enriched it. (And okay, this does make some bloggers’ top twenty lists–but I’ve never seen it on a top 10…)
- BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. This show ran for three years (2008-11) and has the honor of being Grant Morrison’s favorite cartoon. And it’s easy to see why. The show combined an encyclopediac, nerdlike joy of Bat-esoteria with strongly defined characters, terrific voice acting, a kid-friendly delivery, and truly gut-busting humor. And the last episode, a breaking-the-fourth-wall story discussing how shows like this one can’t exist in a cynical superhero environment, was absolutely brilliant. This isn’t just one of my favorite underrated shows, it’s one of my favorites, period