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We're currently in the midst of a television renaissance and there are a lot of shows based off comic books that play a huge part in that. Just like their cinematic counterparts, superhero TV shows have, for the most part, come a long way, but it wasn't always so. There are some superhero TV shows out there that are just really, really bad. A couple of them are so bad, they're good. But a lot of them are just genuinely awful, which is why we here at ComicBook.com are counting down the 10 Worst Superhero TV Shows Ever!
What do you think is the worst superhero TV show? Let us know in the comments, but not before you check out our video at the top of the page to see if it landed on the list!
10. Iron Fist
Kicking off at No. 10 is probably going to be the most controversial show on this list: Netflix’s Iron Fist. I respect that there are some people out there who enjoyed Iron Fist, but it’s hard to argue that it’s the weakest series out of the otherwise critically acclaimed Netflix Marvel shows. While there were some highlights, namely Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, there was a lot to be disappointed by too: Finn Jones as Danny Rand was mediocre, and the action scenes were incredibly tepid for a kung fu character, lacking the hard hitting grit of Daredevil or Punisher.
9. Blade: The Series
At No. 9 is Blade: The Series. It makes sense that Marvel might want to capitalize on the success of the Blade movies by making a television show, and they planned on making one for Showtime with Wesley Snipes reprising the role. But when that didn’t pan out, they went and cast a guy named “Sticky Fingaz.” That’s his name. Honestly, Sticky wasn’t even the problem, he was a decent Blade, and the show had a fair amount of gore, but it was also corny and had trouble finding the right tone.
8. Swamp Thing
In the 8th spot is Swamp Thing. Once again, another television show intended to piggyback off the success of the movies. Even Dick Durock reprised his role as Swamp Thing, but the problem was, the Swamp Thing movies weren’t all that great to begin with, so a much lower television budget wasn’t gonna do them any favors: The villains are laughable and the fight scenes are pretty bogged down thanks to the 80 pound costume.
7. Black Scorpion
No. 7 - Black Scorpion. This might be a TV show most of you have never even heard of, but it was based on a movie of the same name that came from the legendary Roger Corman. Like Batman in the 60s, it was intended to be campy, and man did they succeed. The whole thing feels like a Triple X parody and almost falls into "so bad it's good" territory, but more often than not, the jokes don't hit and it ends up being a chore to watch.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man
At No. 6 is The Amazing Spider-Man. It’s almost not fair to even consider “The Amazing Spider-Man” since it was a product of the 70s, but it just got so much wrong: For starters, Aunt May is literally played by a different actress in every episode she appeared in, and Spider-Man never makes any quips while he’s fighting, which was pretty much what Spider-Man was most famous for. Even Stan Lee has gone on record of saying how much he hated this show.
5. Marvel's Inhumans
No. 5 - Marvel’s Inhumans. Did you see it? Very few did, and from the trailers alone, any fan could see that Marvel dropped the ball big time here. A lot of the terrible shows on this list have the excuse of being products of their time, but there was no excuse in 2017 to have shoddy special effects like this, especially coming from the likes of Marvel.
4. Manimal
If you don’t know what it is, Manimal was about Dr. Jonathan Chase, a man who had the ability to turn himself into any animal on the planet, hence the name “Manimal.” The series only ran for about seven episodes before being cancelled, and it would definitely be the worst superhero show of all time if it wasn’t accidentally so awesome. The show was so ridiculous, that it’s been reported that a movie reboot with Will Ferrell attached to star is currently in development.
3. Mutant X
Coming in at No. 3 is Mutant X. The story of Mutant X is a complicated one: Marvel sold the X-Men rights to Fox, who then made a super successful movie. So Marvel wanted to ride that wave by creating a show about mutants, but since they didn’t own the X-Men property anymore, they essentially rip off their own idea by making this mutant rip-off show that features none of the traditional X-Men characters. So Fox sued Marvel and the show got cancelled on a cliff hanger.
2. Night Man
No. 2 is Night Man. Based off of the Malibu comics character, Night Man is Johnny Domino, a Jazz saxophone player who gets struck by lightning and gains the ability to see and hear evil, which is ironic considering some of the celebrity cameos who popped up on the show. This show was completely ridiculous and never even attempts to explain how a jazz musician can afford such a high tech suit, but at least fans got an amazing crossover episode with Manimal! Fun side note,Night Man’s arch nemesis was played by a pre-Sons of Anarchy Kim Coates!
1. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
But the worst superhero TV show is Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Thankfully, it only lasted for one season but that was one season too many. The Next Mutation was supposed to be set in the same universe as the cartoon, but mostly made call backs to the movies instead. Casey and April were nowhere to be found, the costumes were distractingly bad, the jokes were horrible, and they introduced a fifth, female turtle: Venus De Milo. How do you know she’s a girl? Well she’s got shell boobs and her bandanna is braided to look like a ponytail. Venus was such a terrible character that co-creator Peter Laird refuses to even talk about her.
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