Five years after the Fantastic Four first showed up on the four-color page, Marvel's superheroes got their first animated series. The show, Marvel Super Heroes, aired 65 episodes and adapted 195 comics into the animated form. The show was a precursor to the more polished motion comics that became popular a few years ago, with panels were taken directly from the pages of the books that had minor bits of animation added to them. It was cheap, but it got the job done.

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Since then, there have been over 30 Marvel cartoon series, with more on the way. And with that many animated series out there, how can you know which ones are worth your time? To help you out, here are the 10 best Marvel animated series according to IMDb...

10 Marvel Knights: Black Panther - 7.2

black-panther-motion-comic

A six-episode motion comic that aired on BET, Marvel Knights: Black Panther was an adaptation of Reginald Hudlin John Romita Jr.'s Who is the Black Panther miniseries. The animated series starred Djimon Hounsou as T'Challa, and told the origin of the Black Panther as T'Challa takes on the mantle after his father is assassinated.

Marvel Knights: Black Panther was well received by critics and fans. Like the comic it was based on, the series helped raise the character's profile to new heights, opening the way for the live-action Black Panther movie.

9 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - 7.2

One of the best known Marvel animated series, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends lasted just 26 episodes, but those episodes made a mark on the Marvel universe. The series centered on Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar, who fought crime between classes at Empire State University.

Not unlike Harley Quinn and Batman: The Animated Series, Firestar was created for the cartoon and would later be brought into the comics. Along with a variety of great Marvel villains, the show also guest-starred other Marvel superheroes, including Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and the X-Men.

8 Guardians of the Galaxy - 7.4

Coming hot off the heels of a box office hit, Guardians of the Galaxy got their own animated series in 2015. The show, which was not actually connected to the movie but was based on the comic by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, ran for 77 episodes.

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Filled with a large list of Marvel comics characters including Korvac, Howard the Duck, and Adam Warlock, Guardians of the Galaxy waiting until the third and final season before having the spacefaring team meet up with the Avengers to take on the High Evolutionary.

7 Spider-Man (1967) - 7.4

Spider-Man swings and waves to the viewer in the 67 animated series

The first animated adventures of the world-famous wall-crawler, 1967's Spider-Man continues to be a fan favorite even to this day. While early episodes of the series saw Spider-Man face off against the likes of Electro, Dr. Octopus and Sandman, the famous rogues were replaced by generic thugs and aliens after the show's budget was cut.

This classic Spider-Man cartoon lives on today on the internet in an endless number of memes that bring the world joy. It even gets the last laugh in the Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

6 X-Men: Evolution - 7.9

Being the first mutant based Marvel cartoon to follow the immensely popular 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series meant that X-Men: Evolution would have a lot to live up to, and by most accounts, the show pulled it off. The series centered on the main X-Men of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Storm, Kitty Pryde, and Nightcrawler at first, but quickly grew to include more and more characters.

The fourth season ended on a disturbing note as Professor X sees a series of possible futures, including Jean Grey becoming Dark Phoenix, a fleet of Sentinels being led by Nimrod, and more. Sadly, the series did not get a fifth season, so fans will never know which future would have come to pass.

5 Wolverine and the X-Men - 8

When Professor X and Jean Grey vanish in a mysterious explosion at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, the rest of the X-Men choose to disband, with each member going off on their own. The team is brought back together under the leadership of Wolverine to try and stop a war between humans and mutants.

While it clearly has dedicated fanbase, Wolverine and the X-Men lasted only one season, which is a real bummer because the season ends with a hint that the Age of Apocalypse would be the inspiration for a second season.

4 The Spectacular Spider-Man - 8.1

Set during Peter Parker's junior year at Midtown Manhattan Magnet High School, Spectacular Spider-Man drew inspiration from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko/John Romita Jr years of The Amazing Spider-Man comics while mixing in newer elements that were introduced to the character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.

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The series was co-developed by Greg Weisman, who is best known for Disney's Gargoyles and DC's Young Justice cartoons. Like his other works, Weisman set up Spectacular Spider-Man to tell a long-form story through shorter tales. Each season of the series focuses on one semester of Peter's high school life, with equal attention given to his personal life and his life as Spider-Man.

3 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - 8.3

The Avengers from Earth's Mightiest Heroes standing together.

Starting off with Iron Man, Giant-Man, Hulk, Thor, and Wasp, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes sees its heroic roster grow as the series continues, adding the likes of Captain America, Black Panther, Vision, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel in the second season.

In the series, the Avengers come together after 75 of the most dangerous super-villains are mysteriously freed from their prisons.  The series ended with the Avengers, joined by dozens of other heroes, facing off against Galactus. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after its second season, but many of the themes would be picked up in Avengers Assemble.

2 Spider-Man: The Animated Series - 8.3

Spider-Man the animated series

Following the life of Peter Parker as he did his best to graduate from Empire State University while keeping New York safe as Spider-Man, Spider-Man: The Animated Series took a few tips from X-Men: The Animated Series and played out as a fast-paced series where almost every episode led into the next one. The show didn't just feature Spider-Man's supporting cast and enemies, but was a smorgasbord of Marvel characters. Everyone from Daredevil to the Fantastic Four appeared during the show's five-season run.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series also adapted some of the best known Spider-Man stories, including "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" from The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122. While these weren't direct adaptations - Gwen doesn't die on the show - they still served as an introduction to Spider-Man for many fans.

1 X-Men: The Animated Series - 8.4

X-Men Animated Series

Easily the most loved of the Marvel cartoons, X-Men: The Animated Series was the gateway for many X-Men fans of today. The show was 76 episodes of non-stop rollercoaster mutant mayhem rides with a cast of dozens, if not well over a hundred, characters.

Everyone from the Morlocks to the Shi'ar Imperial Guard shows up in the series. X-Men: The Animated Series was able to take the operatic action from the Chris Claremont years of the X-Men books and adapt them into intense animated action that has yet to be beat when it comes to Marvel cartoons.

NEXT: The Best Marvel Animated Original Movies, Ranked