Superhero media has been popular with viewers for decades, but it has grown exponentially over the past few years. As franchises like the MCU and the DCU expand, superhero television series have also become more popular. Some have garnered huge fandoms and aired for many successful seasons. Others never reached their full potential.
Despite having unique and intriguing premises, many superhero shows failed to retain their audiences and slipped through the cracks. For some, missteps proved to be their downfall. In other cases, the show's concept had too many bizarre elements to appeal to mainstream audiences.
Updated on June 9th, 2023 by Casey Coates: This list has been updated to reflect CBR's current style and to include trailers.
10 Iron Fist
Marvel's Iron Fist isn't a terrible show, but it's easily the worst among Marvel's Defenders series. Actor Finn Jones took on the role of Danny Rand, a talented martial artist who can call upon the power of the "Iron Fist."
While Finn Jones' performance elicited mixed reactions, Iron Fist's unfavorable reviews highlighted a lack of momentum and originality in the writing. Overall, Iron Fist was in good company, but it's writing didn't stack up against beloved series like Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and Luke Cage.
9 Legion
FX's Marvel drama Legion premiered in 2017 and ran for three critically acclaimed seasons. The show starred Dan Stevens as Charles Xavier's powerful mutant son, Legion, who was committed to psychiatric hospitals from a young age after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Legion's innovative narrative earned it critical and audience praise, but viewership dramatically declined during the second and third seasons. Legion's obscurity in the Marvel on-screen universe and its lack of a direct link to other Marvel projects made it feel less weighty. As a result, viewership dropped and some Marvel fans forgot the story even existed.
8 Runaways
Marvel's Runaways was a Hulu original drama that ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2019. The show followed a group of teens, some with supernatural powers, as they united against their parents after discovering they were part of the criminal organization PRIDE.
Led by a talented ensemble of teenagers, Runaways should've been popular with a young demographic. Standing out from other Marvel projects, the show also featured positive LGBTQ+ representation, in the form of Nico and Karolina's relationship. Unfortunately, Runaways got derailed by its poor pacing.
7 Cloak & Dagger
Cloak & Dagger was a Freeform series set in the same universe as Runaways, allowing both shows to cross over in their second and third seasons, respectively. Cloak & Dagger followed Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, two very different teenagers who gained superpowers and teamed up to help people.
Both critics and audiences favorably reviewed Cloak & Dagger. The series even enjoyed the largest debut on Hulu at the time. However, going into the second season, viewership dropped to almost half, and the series got canceled after 20 episodes.
6 The Gifted
Debuting on Fox in 2017, The Gifted was a Marvel series set in the X-Men universe. Taking place in an alternate timeline where the X-Men have disappeared, the series followed a family who went on the run after discovering their children's mutant abilities.
Despite having an interesting premise, solid characters, and favorable reviews, The Gifted's separation from other Marvel projects proved to be its downfall. Fans had grown accustomed to crossovers between Marvel movies and shows, which kept The Gifted from taking off. Fox canceled The Gifted after two seasons, to loyal fans' dismay.
5 Agent Carter
British actress Hayley Atwell reprised her role from the MCU movies in the 2015 series Agent Carter. The show followed Peggy Carter after the war and Steve Rogers's supposed death. While working for the SSR, she struggled to help Howard Stark clear his name after he was accused of selling weapons to enemies of the USA.
Despite positive reviews, Agent Carter never found a stable viewership and was canceled after just two seasons. Additionally, Avengers: Endgame's events had many implications for AgentCarter's timeline. It the end, those changes rendered the television series obsolete.
4 The Tick
The Tick is a 2016 comedy/drama by Ben Edlund, based on his 1986 comic book character of the same name. The series was created for Amazon Prime Video and ran for two seasons. Following an almost indestructible hero in a giant blue suit, The Tick stood out from other superhero media because of its heartfelt comedy and separation from the Marvel vs DC debate.
However, despite favorable reviews, passionate fans, and an Emmy award nomination, Amazon canceled The Tick after two seasons. Edlund couldn't find another home for his beloved series, and The Tick faded into obscurity.
3 Inhumans
Marvel's Inhumans was an ABC series that debuted in 2017. The series followed the royal family of Inhumans, a species of superhumans originally in Marvel's more successful series, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Despite years of planning and getting a theatrical IMAX release before its television debut, Inhumans received unfavorable reviews from critics and viewers. Many felt it had poor writing, bad characters, and an unoriginal narrative. With bad press and terrible ratings, ABC had no choice but to cancel Inhumans after just eight episodes.
2 Krypton
Krypton ran from 2018 to 2019 on Syfy. The show, set hundreds of years before Superman's birth, followed Kal-El's grandfather Seg-El, and his life on the title planet Krypton. Krypton received mixed reviews because of its quirky plot and got canceled after just two seasons.
Despite Krypton following characters not previously explored on screen before, it felt too similar to the rest of the Superman media out there. With stiff competition on every side, Krypton faded into the background.
1 Powerless
Powerless was a DC comedy series that began airing on NBC in February 2017. The show had an interesting premise. Instead of focusing on people with powers, it focused on "normal" people living in a world dominated by superheroes.
Powerless highlighted workers at an insurance company that specialized in protecting civilians from the damage caused by superheroes. Despite initial interest, viewership rapidly declined. NBC pulled the final few episodes from their schedule and canceled the series after one season.