Highlights
- Marvel’s cosmic character Silver Surfer offers a unique take on Galactus and features beautiful animation but leaves fans on a cliffhanger.
- Ultimate Spider-Man stands out with familiar storylines, talent behind the scenes, and even appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy.
- What If…? is a mind-bending anthology series that reimagines iconic MCU moments with surprising character relationships and alternate realities.
Marvel has adapted their most famous franchises into animated series for almost as long as they’ve been publishing them as comic books. The first-ever Marvel Comics cartoon series, The Marvel Super Heroes, debuted on TV in 1966, featuring iconic characters like Captain America, Thor, and The Hulk. Since then, animated series have been made for numerous Marvel heroes.
More recently, Marvel Studios has begun expanding their Marvel Cinematic Universe properties into the television space, resulting in series exclusive to Disney+ or Hulu. Among these new shows are some of the best Marvel fans have gotten to see, and with series like Marvel Zombies on the horizon, it’d be worthwhile to look at which Marvel animated shows are the best.
10 Silver Surfer
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
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Release Date |
February 7, 1998 – May 29, 1998 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
13 (1 season) |
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Network |
Fox Kids |
Although it only aired for one season on Fox Kids before getting canceled, Silver Surfer remains one of the most unique Marvel animated shows. Released in 1998, the show centers on Norrin Radd, who saves his planet from destruction at the hands of Galactus by offering himself as the destroyer’s herald, traveling the cosmos in search of planets for the cosmic being to consume.
Silver Surfer is an excellent display of Marvel’s cosmic characters, featuring early adaptations of Thanos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Adam Warlock. Perhaps the greatest slight against this show, which is written and animated beautifully, is that it ends with a huge cliffhanger that sadly seems like it’ll never be resolved unless Marvel Studios decides to revive it.
9 Ultimate Spider-Man
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
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Release Date |
April 1, 2012 – January 7, 2017 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
104 (4 seasons) |
|
Network |
Disney XD |
Ultimate Spider-Man is far from the first, nor the last, animated series based on Marvel’s friendly neighborhood web-slinger. However, what sets Ultimate Spider-Man apart from the rest is the talent behind the screen, including original comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis, as well as Man of Action, the group behind projects like Ben 10, Big Hero 6, and Generator Rex.
Premiering in 2012, Ultimate Spider-Man‘s adventures feature some familiar storylines, from Peter’s battle with the Venom symbiote to Norman Osborn’s transformation into the Green Goblin. There are even appearances in later seasons by the Guardians of the Galaxy and characters from the Spider-Verse. Even J.K. Simmons reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson in animated form.
8 What If…?
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
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Release Date |
August 11, 2021 – present |
|---|---|
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Episodes |
18 (2 seasons) |
|
Network |
Disney+ |
What If…? was the first animated series to be produced by Marvel Studios Animation during the expansion of the MCU into television. Premiering in 2021, the anthology series features stars from the live-action Marvel films reprising their roles to observe how stories would differ from how they happened in the MCU, including Hayley Atwell, Josh Brolin, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
What elevates What If…? is how the stories surprisingly weave together, such as when The Watcher forms a team out of alternate heroes in the Season 1 finale. One of them, notably, is Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as T’Challa in a reality where he’s Star-Lord, while Season 2 introduces an original character in Kahhori, a Mohawk woman powered by the Tesseract.
7 Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
|
Release Date |
February 10, 2023 – present |
|---|---|
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Episodes |
30 (2 seasons) |
|
Network |
Disney Channel |
Based on a more obscure side of Marvel Comics, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premiered on Disney Channel in 2023, following the adventures of Lunella Lafayette, a 13-year-old genius living in New York City who befriends a T-Rex that emerges from a portal she’s created. For a children’s show, it’s a strong showcase of lesser-known Marvel characters, with a lot of charm to boot.
For fans of the Ms. Marvel series on Disney+, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur has a similar vibe, and even features Cobie Smulders reprising her role as Maria Hill as a guest voice. While the show might be catered to younger viewers, there are still lots of Marvel easter eggs and action to entertain the most hardcore of superhero fanatics looking for a new show to watch.
6 Wolverine And The X-Men
IMDb Rating: 8/10
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Release Date |
January 23, 2009 – November 29, 2009 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
26 (1 season) |
|
Network |
Nicktoons |
By the time Wolverine and the X-Men premiered on Nicktoons in 2009, there had already been plenty of adaptations of the mutants to animated TV. However, this series has what might be the most interesting take on Wolverine in animation, as Logan attempts to reassemble the X-Men when they disband after a disaster resulting in Professor X and Jean Grey disappearing.
Wolverine and the X-Men only aired for one season consisting of 26 episodes, but it was one of the highest-rated Marvel shows on Nicktoons. Though its revolving cast is a lot smaller than other Marvel shows, that gives it extra time to delve deep into the characters and their backstories and even features some pretty adult themes that many viewers will resonate with.
5 The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
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Release Date |
September 22, 2010 – November 11, 20212 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
52 (2 seasons) |
|
Network |
Disney XD |
In 2010, Marvel’s greatest characters collided in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on Disney XD, which ran for two full seasons and an additional season of 20 mini-episodes. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe was picking up steam, this was an alternate take on the universe, debuting characters like Ant-Man, Carol Danvers, and Black Panther years before the MCU.
What makes Earth’s Mightiest Heroes one of the best Marvel cartoons out there is its faithfulness to the source material of the comics. Plus, the series doesn’t lose the character dynamics and conflict that make the Avengers of the MCU so memorable. With talented voice actors like Phil LaMarr and Jennifer Hale among the cast, it’s a strong adaptation of Marvel’s most popular team.
4 The Spectacular Spider-Man
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
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Release Date |
March 8, 2008 – November 18, 2009 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
26 (2 seasons) |
|
Network |
The CW (season 1), Disney XD (season 2) |
The Spectacular Spider-Man is one of the most beloved adaptations of the Marvel Comics hero, as its premiere in 2008 meant a lot of future comic fans grew up with the series. Throughout two seasons, the show featured one of the most relatable takes on Peter Parker balancing his regular teen life with superhero antics. Along the way, he encounters his best comic adversaries.
The Spectacular Spider-Man‘s greatest strength out of all the Spider-Man animated series is its portrayal of Peter Parker’s supporting cast, from love interest Gwen Stacy to villains like Lizard and Black Cat. For fans of any iteration of Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man is easily one of the most enjoyable interpretations of the character and his quippy charm.
3 X-Men: The Animated Series
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
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Release Date |
October 31, 1992 – September 20, 1997 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
76 (5 seasons) |
|
Network |
Fox Kids |
There’s a good reason why comic book fans around the world were excited when Marvel decided to reboot X-Men: The Animated Series on Disney+. The show, which originally aired on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1997, is one of the most faithful adaptations of the X-Men characters. It’s even lived on in meme history thanks to one iconic scene of Wolverine staring at a picture frame.
As a foundation for many fans’ interpretation of the X-Men, it’s the definitive Saturday morning cartoon in the Marvel universe. Given its recent revival as X-Men ’97, it’s clear that Marvel understands how much the show still means to fans. But nostalgia aside, there’s just no beating the original show, with its impeccable action sequences and high emotional stakes.
2 Spider-Man: The Animated Series
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
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Release Date |
November 19, 1994 – January 31, 1998 |
|---|---|
|
Episodes |
65 (5 seasons) |
|
Network |
Fox Kids |
There are plenty of good Spider-Man adaptations on TV, but none are as influential to the character’s modern portrayal as Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The show premiered in 1994 and ran for five seasons, with characters spanning the highs and lows of the comic book origins. Notably, Spider-Man: The Animated Series was the originator of the Spider-Verse storyline.
In the final two episodes of the show, Peter Parker teams up with Spider-People from other multiverses, with the help of Madame Web in her first screen appearance, though the series was canceled before it could continue on the idea. Fortunately, The Animated Series remains one of the most memorable portrayals of the Spider-Man character outside the comic books.
1 X-Men ’97
IMDb Rating: 9.0/10
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Release Date |
March 20, 2024 – present |
|---|---|
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Episodes |
10 (1 season) |
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Network |
Disney+ |
Since the ’90s run of X-Men: The Animated Series is often seen by comic book fans as the definitive adaptation of the mutant heroes, Marvel Studios revived it in 2024 on Disney+ as X-Men ’97. Many of the original show’s voice actors return to pick up where they left off, as the X-Men scramble to survive following the loss of Professor Charles Xavier and their takeover by Magneto.
Even for those who didn’t watch the original animated series, X-Men ’97 is stunning with its incredible art design and throwback nostalgia. It may be slightly held back by its ties to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, but at the core of the show is strong character dynamics between some of its principal cast, including Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers.
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