3) Young Justice (2010-13)
After making his landmark take on a Marvel hero with Spectacular Spider-Man, Greg Weisman crossed over to DC for perhaps an ever better series about the Justice League’s younger counterparts (don’t call them sidekicks).
The show sees a bunch of juvenile heroes, like Robin, Aqualad, Superboy and Miss Martian, enlisted into a covert organization called The Team, as per their wish to become their own fully-fledged heroes. The show has a more serious tone to it, but it also shares Spectacular’s healthy dollop of well-done teen drama and witty dialogue.
Young Justice simply fires on all cylinders, with a cinematic animation style and lots of sleek action plus a huge reverence to the comics; with nods and easter eggs galore.
2) X-Men: The Animated Series (1992-97)
Similar to how Bryan Singer’s X-Men kickstarted the modern trend for superhero movies that took the characters seriously, X-Men: The Animated Series was one of the first animated shows of the 90s to appeal to both cartoon-loving kids and grown-up X-Men fans.
There are many a reason as to why it’s so good. It had terrific team roster – with evergreen X-Men like Wolverine and Cyclops to fan-favourites like Gambit and Jubilee – as well as comic-faithful character designs, based on the work of artist Jim Lee.
In its five season run, it managed to adapt many of the major storylines from the comics, including ‘the Dark Phoenix Saga’ and ‘Days of Future Past.’ Its brilliant earworm of a theme tune didn’t hurt its popularity, either.
Sure, a dollop of nostalgia may be involved with it being remembered so highly, but it’s still a terrific show in its own right and the best animated show Marvel has ever produced.
