8 Intriguing Superhero TV Shows That Were Never Made

As is often said, we are currently living through a hugely prosperous period for superhero TV shows, with Marvel and DC both owning the airwaves with the likes of Daredevil, Arrow, The Flash, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and many others. Whatever your particular taste for comic book capers is, there will most likely be a show for you out there. Yet, in years gone by, superheroes were not always the big-hitters that they are today, and so it was a lot more difficult to get a comic book adaptation to the screen. Over the decades, many suggested superhero TV shows got a certain way along the process – perhaps even with a pilot being made – before the plug was pulled. Some of these are hugely interesting, as shows concerning some of the biggest superheroes around have been mooted and then discarded in the past. Here are eight superhero TV shows that were once proposed but never found their way to success. 8) Dr. Strange We are finally about to see mystical superhero Doctor Strange have his time in the limelight, with the Benedict Cumberbatch starring movie coming out in November. However, if things had played out back in the day, he could have already been a more familiar character to the general audience. In 1978, The Incredible Hulk - still one of the most famous superhero shows ever – was a huge hit, and so other Marvel TV shows were considered to mirror the Hulk’s success. For instance, there was a little-remembered, and shortly-lived, Spider-Man series and a failed attempt at a Doctor Strange show. Titled Dr. Strange, a TV movie pilot was made, with actor Peter Hooten in the title role. It did take some liberties with the source material, but it certainly didn’t shy away from the mystical elements. Sadly, the public didn’t care and Stephen Strange had to wait nearly four decades for another shot at live-action. 7) Guillermo del Toro’s The Hulk Speaking of The Incredible Hulk, that series remains so definitive a take on the character that there has never been another live-action series starring him. That could have changed, though, if an early idea from the MCU’s television arm had gone to plan. When made head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb pressed ahead for a new TV series starring the Jade Giant. He even got acclaimed fantasy/horror director Guillermo del Toro in as showrunner. Not much is known about what del Toro’s take on the character would have been, but it was announced that Red Hulk was to be the main villain. Fans were raring to go with the series but, like a lot of projects del Toro gets attached to (seriously, the guy must be cursed or something), it never came to fruition. Loeb instead moved forward with another idea, one that would develop into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - and the rest is history. 6) Generation X Although its vast and hugely-populated world would be perfectly suited to TV, the X-Men franchise has never had a successful live-action television show. Fox are currently working on a few – like Legion and Hellfire – but things could have kickstarted a lot earlier if this series worked out. A TV movie produced back in 1996, Generation X was actually the very first live-action take on the X-Men universe. Though it wasn’t exactly faithful to the source material, it did include several characters from the comics – like Jubilee, Banshee and Emma Frost (the latter two being the team leaders in this incarnation). Unfortunately, the pilot was incredibly cheap and cheesy and the planned series never materialized. Thankfully, only four short years later, Bryan Singers’ X-Men restored the mutants to their proper place at the forefront of superhero adaptations. Shame an X-Men TV series couldn’t have happened as well, though. 5) Wonder Woman (2011) Adrianne Palicki is doing pretty well for herself on the superhero scene right now. She has played Bobbi Morse on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the show’s second season, and Marvel have just ordered a pilot for a potential spinoff called Most Wanted, which would pair her with Nick Blood’s Lance Hunter. The last time she starred in a superhero pilot, though, things didn’t go so well. In 2011, prolific TV writer David E. Kelley helmed a pilot for a new live-action Wonder Woman. It starred Palicki in the lead, with Cary Elwes in a supporting role and Elizabeth Hurley as the big bad. Unfortunately, NBC did not pick up the series and, when the pilot found its way online, people could see why. However, seeing as Gal Gadot is about to star in Wonder Woman’s first solo movie in 2017, we’re pretty sure fans have put this behind them now. 4) Aquaman Another DC character who is just about to have their first solo movie outing is Aquaman. Having long been seen as one of the most laughable of superheroes, Jason Momoa’s formidable-looking take on the character seems to be about to set things right. If this Aquaman pilot had made it to a series, however, it probably would have done more damage. Created by the minds behind Smallville, Miles Gough and Alfred Millar, it starred Justin Hartley (who later played Green Arrow on that show) as Arthur ‘A.C’ Curry, a Baywatch-friendly superhero whose aim was to clear up the oceans. Funnily enough, the pilot also starred Adrianne Palicki as the villain. The result was all kinds of awful, but it still managed to break the record for most downloaded TV show on ITunes at the time. Clearly people had a thirst for Aquaman (geddit?), which might finally be quenched with the upcoming movie. 3) Bruce Wayne On the subject of Smallville, it wasn’t always the plan to create a series revolving around the teenage years of Clark Kent. The project initially began as a prequel for Superman’s fellow Justice Leaguer, Batman. In 1999, The WB were very excited for Bruce Wayne, which would have followed the rich orphan as a teenager, as he began the journey to Batmanhood. The plan was for it to be a Buffy The Vampire Slayer-type show that could run for five or six seasons, and Shawn Ashmore (later Iceman in the X-Men films) was apparently considered to play Bruce. Regardless of whether it would have been any good or not, it certainly would have been the most in-depth exploration of the character’s origins we had seen on screen up to that point. However, Warner Bros.’ film arm eventually nixed the idea, as they were planning a similarly-themed Batman: Year One movie at the time. Ah, well. 2) Gotham High The idea of a Batman prequel never really went away though, as this bizarrely-conceived animated series from the 2000s proves. The USP of Gotham High is that it would have transformed the Batman mythos into a high school setting, featuring all the familiar characters re-engineered to fit into typical teenage roles. So Killer Croc is a football jock, the Riddler is the resident nerd and the Joker is – you’ve guessed it – the class clown. Comic book artist/author team Celeste Green and Jeffrey Thomas were heading the project, which DC were really impressed with. For unknown reasons, though, it never moved beyond the concept art stage. The idea filled fans with horror, so it's probably a good thing this never materialized. Besides, at long last, the world finally got its Batman prequel a few years later in the form of Fox’s Gotham TV series, which is currently on its second season. 1) The Justice League Of America Though Batman V Superman received a mixed response, fans are still hugely excited for the upcoming Justice League movies. What most people don't realize though is that a version of the JLA did previously star in a TV pilot at one stage, but it never came to become a series. With big guns like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman off the table, the pilot for Justice League of America featured The Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom and Fire and Ice. Plus, Martian Manhunter as played by David Ogden Stiers. Unfortunately, this first attempt to bring the team to live-action (this honour eventually went to Smallville which formed the Justice League in its sixth season) didn’t win over any fans. The writing and costumes in particular were atrocious and, well, it just isn’t the Justice League without the Big Three. Even if you're not a fan of the gritty, gloomy tone of the DC Extended Universe, we can all be thankful that they are nothing like this failed TV show.