Superhero shows are big business, but not everything hits the same.
Check out these series that went up, up, and away from the public memory.
So you think youre a pretty big nerd, huh?
You think youve seen all the deep cut superhero shows.
Youve seen every episode ofBirds of Prey,The Amazing Spider-Man, and evenLegion of Super-Heroes.
But those shows have their fandoms and have been acknowledged in someway or another.
The secrets of superhero television go much, much deeper.
The episodes followed a standard superhero pattern, marked by unremarkable designs and dull dialogue.
The series aired just 21 episodes, which re-ran in syndication before being completely forgotten.
Introduced as segments inThe Krofft Supershow,Electra Woman and Dyna Girlfeatured two reporters who fought crime as superheroes.
If that sounds a bit generic, well… it was.
Very little of the Kroffts unique aeshtetic made it into the show.
But instead of fighting, the characters just do lame stand-up routines.
When Benjy sees trouble, he calls upon his magic ring and says, Thing ring do your thing!
and transforms into the Thing.
Its an odd part of Marvels history, one that sometimes still gets referenced in the comics.
Then again, Plastic Man is an animation natural.
That cure never comes, as the show didnt last past a single season.
Instead,Automantried to cash in on the popularity ofTron, the Disney film from a year earlier.
As with the movie that it cribs from,Automanlooks cool, with its neon blues and slick equipment.
However, audiences couldnt follow the overdone rules of the series, and networkABCcouldnt justify the expensive effects budget.
The series was canceled after one season, only airing twelve of the thirteen episodes shot.
However, the basic spirit remained the same, with Lewis Van Bergen as the title character.
Lumbly starred as scientist Miles Hawkins, who was paralyzed by a policemans bullet.
Unsurprisingly,Mighty Ducks: The Animated Seriesfeatured a hockey team called the Ducks.
But this team consisted of actual ducks, who lived on a frozen planet called Puckworld.
Outside of a direct-to-video move starring Firearm, however, only Nightman made it off the page.
Nightmanstarred Matt McColm as Johnny Domino, jazz saxophonist by night and superhero by later night.
By leaning into the cheese,Nightmanearned two seasons, but quickly fell from memory.
As a result, the show ran for just twenty-two episodes.
Loonatics Unleashedfeatures superheroes based onLooney Tunescharacters, fighting crime in a post apocalyptic future.
The combination hit like toothpaste and orange juice, yet somehow lasted for two seasons.
Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
The last one standing gets to star in their own comic book, published byDark Horse Comics.
Outside of the promised comic and a SyFy original movie, neither hero has appeared since.
Despite its great leads,No Ordinary Familydidnt make it past its initial 20-episode season 1.
Justice League Actionfeatures all of the heroes one would expect, including Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy!
),Wonder Woman, and Superman, along with a host of great guest stars.
Warner Brothers borrowed that concept for the sitcomPowerless, about a security company in the DC Universe.
But the show never caught on and was pulled after eight of the twelve episodes aired.
Unlikely as that sounds,The Rocketeeris a delightful series for its intended audience.
Still, the show just got one season of 42 short segments.
