If Marvel Is Cancelling Their Live-Action Shows, I Need These 3 Superheroes to Get Animated Right Now

At Marvel’s panel during the D23 Expo, they revealed an exciting trailer for VisionQuest, an upcoming live-action series that spins off of WandaVision. As good as that series looks, it was also noted that Marvel is scaling back on the production of live-action shows going forward. The cancellation of the acclaimed Wonder Man and the lack of announcements for the format in the future outside of a new season of Daredevil: Born Again are also hints that this is happening. Meanwhile, Marvel has found a lot of success with its animated shows like X-Men ’97, Marvel Zombies, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Marvel Animation is on a roll, so it would be great to see the TV side of things focus on animation in the future. Nothing against live-action shows, but if Marvel is truly canceling plans for them, there are some great options for new animated projects featuring heroes and villains from the comics.

So many Marvel characters would be ideal for an animated format, but the franchise should avoid repetition. For example, a Young Avengers animated show would be great, but they’ve been set up over the years for something live-action. She-Hulk could work there too, yet she’s already had a live-action series. Thankfully, Marvel has such an impressive roster that the possibilities are nearly endless.

3) Venom

Venom is one of the few characters who is known as a villain, yet can work as a protagonist for a series, as seen in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Since Spider-Man: Brand New Day didn’t pick up on the symbiote cliffhanger from Spider-Man: No Way Home, it looks like Venom won’t be joining those live-action movies. Instead, Marvel should pivot and give the character his own animated series, especially since Venom has worked well in animation in the past.

A show would give Eddie Brock, or whoever they choose for the Venom host, plenty of time to develop as a complex character who the audience can root for. It’ll be easy to forget his villainous past if handled properly. Venom is also one of the most visually stunning Marvel characters. Animation is perfect for him because they can craft anything they imagine without worrying about things like a CGI budget.

2) Gwenpool

After spending decades as Peter Parker’s girlfriend who died, Gwen Stacy was brought back to life in comics and has become one of Marvel’s most popular heroes. Her most famous heroic character is Spider-Woman, which we’ve seen in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise. That big screen version, voiced brilliantly by Hailee Steinfeld, would be hard to top, so Marvel shouldn’t try to recreate it for a TV series. Instead, they should go with Gwenpool, another version of Gwen.

Gwendolyn Poole is an amalgamation of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool. She’s a comic fan girl who, like Deadpool, knows she’s in a comic and can alter her reality by controlling the medium. A Gwenpool series would keep the fourth-wall-breaking humor that made Deadpool popular, while giving it a unique twist. Each episode could be a totally different, off-the-wall story. A lot of what she does would be hard to bring to a live-action format, so animation works for her. Her over-the-top antics are perfect for the medium and she’d join the growing list of characters who have fun satirizing Marvel as a whole.

1) Blade

There’s no denying just how much people want to see Blade brought into the MCU. When Mahershala Ali was announced as the character years ago, fans everywhere were hyped. Alas, the Blade film has had a troublesome history and doesn’t look like it’ll ever get off the ground. As disappointing as that is, it opens the door for an animated Blade series. The character deserves to be showcased outside of Marvel Zombies and his cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Given the supernatural nature of Blade’s adventures, it’s an ideal fit for animation. It could focus on that side of Marvel, bringing in the likes of vampires and werewolves, while also introducing the Midnight Sons or the Nightstalkers. That could also mean cameos by Doctor Strange, Morbius, and Ghost Rider. If handled properly, a Blade series could even open up a whole world of shared animated shows set in this darker corner of Marvel.

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