7 Superheroes Who Could Thrive On Television

We live in an era where television has become a prime medium for comic book adaptations. While shows like Smallville existed beforehand, it was the release of Arrow in 2012 that truly helped convince networks that these properties could be financially successful on the small screen. Since then, fans have seen all sorts of expansions take place, from the Arrowverse giving birth to The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Constantine, and Supergirl, to the Netflix side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe bringing us Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders, to even the X-Men series growing on television with Legion and The Gifted. With even more properties like The Punisher and Black Lightning set to hit our screens quite soon as well, we thought we'd compile a list of seven other superheroes that we believe not only deserve their own show, but could realistically be pulled off successfully. As always, if you'd like to chime in with your own picks, feel free to hit the comments section below. 1) The Question Steve Ditko’s objectivist turned Buddhist conspiracy nut was a hit back in the 60s and has continued to remain popular through his appearances on such cartoons as Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The Question began as a product of Charlton Comics, a division of Charlton Publications that focused on producing a number of unique characters for readers to digest. Unfortunately, poor business decisions resulted in the company having to sell off most of its heroes, including Question, to DC Comics. Though he's most recognized for being the inspiration for the character of Rorschach in Alan Moore's seminal masterpiece Watchmen, Question has managed to establish his own niche among fans due to his cool costume, strong philosophical views, and dark hometown of Hub City. Making the transition to live-action would be relatively easy, too, as not only do his stories deal with grounded events, but the urban crime genre that The Question inhabits in general remains consistently popular, as seen with the success of Arrow, Daredevil, and the latest entry in Law & Order. A pilot could be produced on a lower budget, while the production team focuses on telling good stories using the faceless vigilante. And considering the fact that Hub City has already been mentioned several times in the Arrowverse (alongside executive producer Marc Guggenheim's own enthusiasm), he could definitely be incorporated there quite easily. 2) Spawn Spawn seems like a strange choice to put on this list given his high reliance on VFX. Or so one would think. Born Al Simmons, his backstory entailed him working as a special forces soldier for both the Marine Corps and later the CIA. During his time with the latter, however, Simmons is betrayed and killed, sending his soul to hell where he sells it in exchange for returning to life and fighting criminals. Out of all the Image Comics properties, Spawn is by and large the most popular, having been solely written and drawn by creator Todd McFarlane since his debut in 1992. Due to his sudden surge in fame, the un-dead bidder of Hell managed to secure a live-action film in the late 90s that, while not very good, helped expose him to even more readers. However, it was the simultaneous release of a cartoon of the same name on HBO that not only did Spawn justice, but also provided a great idea as to how to do the character successfully in a live-action format: hide him within the shadows. It might appear like a cheap trick to save money, but it actually serves Spawn very well, as he works best when he's a nightmare to behold: glowing green eyes amongst a kinetic silhouette is one of the most terrifying images one can come upon in the darkness. Combined with a story focusing on his day-to-day fighting against metropolitan criminals, gangs, and corrupt politicians, and a television show on the right network could end up being a visceral episodic experience. That being said, we do know that a live-action film reboot is already in the works, and if that ends up getting off the ground, it'd likely kill any chance of us seeing Spawn get his own series on the small screen. 3) Icon And Rocket Milestone Media was launched in the 90s to help give minority comic writers a chance to push forward original creations into the marketplace. While Static Shock grew to be the most popular, thanks in large part to the DC Animated Universe cartoon, the team of Icon and Rocket sold almost as much despite not receiving anywhere near the same recognition. An unconventional crime fighting duo specializing in urban areas, the two were unique in that Icon was an alien stranded on Earth while Rocket was a troubled teenager. Joining together, they found solace in one another and forged a bond that made for some witty dialogue amongst the backdrop of their tales. Marvel is set to air Cloak & Dagger in 2018, which is based off of a slightly similar concept. In it, two runaway teens named Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen end up getting kidnapped by a radical scientist who experiments on them, resulting in them receiving superpowers, allowing Tyrone to access a dark dimension and Bowen to create light projectiles. What makes their team-up specifically intriguing is that they're reliant on one another: Tyrone's dark force has an insatiable hunger that can only be quelled through Bowen's light projectiles, which she has to disperse in order to avoid overcharging. A similar bond could be implemented in the DC world if Warner Bros. follows up Cloak & Dagger by introducing their own counterpart via Icon and Rocket. 4) Moon Knight Despite being a relatively obscure character, fans have been calling for Moon Knight to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years now. Their hopes were briefly raised when a reference to a "news anchor in Cairo" in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was interpreted as a potential nod to the character, but that doesn't seem to have led anywhere. That's probably for the best, as a dark, gritty hero like Moon Knight would be a poor match for the movies - but a natural bedfellow of the likes of Daredevil and the Punisher on Netflix. These shows have already pushed the boundaries of what sort of person can be classified as a hero - and Moon Knight would push that even further. After dying in Egypt, Marc Spector is resurrected by the moon god Khonshu as his avatar on Earth, giving him powers that intensify and weaken depending on the moon's cycle. Unfortunately, Spector is a highly unstable person, suffering from disassociative personality disorder and intense guilt over the lives he took in his former life as a mercenary. If anyone shouldn't have superpowers, it's Moon Knight, and that could make for a fascinating TV series. 5) Jonah Hex Westerns have continued to maintain a popular standing, despite their decline in quantity. There's something very appealing about a morally grey world full of gunslingers, outlaws and horseback riding, perhaps explaining why such critically acclaimed hits like The Hateful Eight, Hell or High Water, and Westworld continue to emerge every other year. The character of Jonah Hex fits that world perfectly. A former soldier turned bounty hunter suffering from demons, Hex served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, but eventually surrendered when he realized they were going to preserve the institution of slavery. Unfortunately, betrayal from the Union soldiers accepting the surrender resulted in Hex developing his own moral code that made him stand apart from both sides. While he had an awful live-action film starring Josh Brolin in 2010, his image has been partially restored thanks to a recurring role in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as a couple of appearances in the Arrowverse show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. However, none of these fully encompassed Hex without giving precedence to other characters. Thus, a full-fledged series focusing on his day-to-day activities could make for an entertaining miniseries, with Hex’s level of sardonic cynicism something that would surely attract viewers. 6) The Fantastic Four There's no denying the fact that Marvel’s First Family has had a bit of trouble when it comes to making it on the big screen. The fact of the matter is having to develop four main characters (Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing), alongside a major villain (i.e. Doctor Doom) takes a lot of time that a 2-2.5 hour movie simply cannot do easily compared to the television format. And yet, the attempts were painfully admirable to watch. First came Roger Corman's horrible production in 1994 that was so low budget it had to downgrade everything: the costumes looked worse than fan cosplays, reportedly everything was filmed on just three sets, and the acting was atrocious even by B-movie standards. As such, it went completely unreleased, leading to a seemingly proper adaptation with 2005's Fantastic Four. Unfortunately, despite resolving some issues of the Corman venture like having an actual talented cast, solid VFX (for the time), and multiple proper sets, it was still a failure due to a weak screenplay that emphasized goofiness and undermined the villain. Unfortunately, director Tim Story was unable to rectify himself with the sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which brought on board classic supporting characters like Silver Surfer and Galactus, resulting in the property being rebooted in 2015 with Chronicle director Josh Trank at the helm. Despite showing a lot of promise with the teaser trailer, the film was a disaster, with rumors coming out revealing just how stressful principal photography was for all parties involved. A television show can learn from these past mistakes and give us an enjoyable iteration instead. While it would require a significant investment for the visual effects, Disney’s recent announcement that they'll be launching their own streaming service could provide that platform for Marvel, assuming the rights to the characters fall back to them. 7) Werewolf By Night Monsters thrive in pop culture because of their appearance. Humans are vision-based animals, and seeing these deformed creatures manifest in front of us almost automatically grants them a stake in our memory. Many comic book companies have tried to capitalize on their iconicity through adapting them into the world of superheroes. One of the better examples of this was Roy Thomas' Werewolf by Night, which focused on Jack Russoff, an ordinary man who inherits a werewolf curse from his past family. Werewolf by Night has remained a decent, if under-appreciated figure in the Marvel canon, and a television show would certainly go a long way towards rejuvenating him. Though his lack of popularity may not put him at the top of the studio's list, we can certainly see there being a fanbase for this one.