With the advent of streaming, a new era of superhero cartoons has dawned. Where cartoons once had to be aimed almost entirely at kids, these days there can be cartoons for people of all ages. Harley Quinn and Young Justice are more for adults, while What If...? seems to be aimed at everyone. Meanwhile, kids have cartoons like Batwheels and Spidey And His Amazing Friends available to them. It's a great time to be a superhero fan.
But the '90s were also a great time to be a superhero fan. There were more superhero cartoons than ever thanks to the explosive growth of comics at the beginning of the decade. Not all of them were great, but there is a handful that stands the test of time.
10 Iron Man '96 Had A Second Season That Followed The '80s Comics Fairly Well
The first season of Iron Man very much does not hold up. But the second season is a different story—they even changed up animation teams for the second season. The story saw Tony Stark attempt to lead his own superhero team, Force Works, in a battle against the Mandarin. But when the second season began, most of this storyline was tossed out. Instead, the series started to adapt some ideas from classic comic stories. Even Stark’s look was changed to make Stark look like his comic book self from the '80s, and it’s safe to say they nailed it.
9 Spider-Man: The Animated Series Felt Closer To Bringing Spider-Man Off The Page Than Any Other Cartoon
Spider-Man: The Animated Series still maintains a certain charm. No, it’s not as good narratively as the 2008 series Spectacular Spider-Man, but it’s not trying to be. It’s trying to emulate classic Spider-Man, right down to giving viewers a glimpse into Peter’s mind as he constantly narrates his thoughts to the viewers. Combine that with the fact the characters' voice actors were going all out in every episode, and it’s hard not to appreciate this show as an adult.
8 Batman Beyond Gave Fans The Only Replacement Batman They Ever Wanted
Batman Beyond started in 1999, and the series instantly gave fans something they never thought they would accept: a proper successor to Bruce Wayne. Set in the 2030s, Bruce has long aged past being able to fight as Batman but Gotham still needs a protector. Enter: Terry McGinnis, who originally winds up with the Bat-suit to try and bring an evil businessman to justice, but is eventually able to become Batman under Wayne's direct tutelage. This show still manages to maintain the dark cyberpunk feel it cultivated in the late ’90s.
7 The Incredible Hulk '96 Captured The Lonely, Dark Nature Of The Hulk
Marvel decided to go with UPN for their Incredible Hulk series. The show perfectly adapted the feel of the Hulk, a loner constantly on the run from the United States military and finding himself in strange situations where he has to transform. It did it so perfectly, in fact, that UPN thought the first season was too dark.
To balance it out, the second season suddenly added in She-Hulk as a constant co-star to lighten things up. The series still didn’t hang on for very long though, with ratings too weak to get a third season greenlit.
6 The New Batman Adventures Introduced The Bat-Family To The World
The original Batman: The Animated Series focused almost entirely on Batman, with Robin making some appearances later in the series but the show still mostly being about the Dark Knight. The New Batman Adventures decides to explore the Bat-Family a bit more, featuring a Dick Grayson who has become Nightwing, a new Robin, and even adding Batgirl into the mix. Though the series doesn’t quite maintain the same artistic design of BTAS's first few seasons, the quality of the writing and acting remained extremely high.
5 X-Men Adapted Several Popular Elements From The Comics
X-Men has the most iconic television cartoon theme of all time. But that’s not the only reason it holds up. This original series represented the first time the X-Men got their own weekly cartoon, and it was an immediate hit. Relying on a roster of heroes similar to the Jim Lee comics being published at the time, the series brought the X-Men to an entirely new audience and catapulted them to even higher levels of popularity. The series wasn’t ashamed to use multiple episodes to tell its stories, and it adapted several plot lines from classic comics like the Dark Phoenix Saga. The series was so popular that it’s being brought back by Disney+.
4 SWAT Kats Were Jet Jockeys Turned Superheroes
The SWAT Kats weren’t DC or Marvel superheroes, but it’s hard to call the lead characters anything but superheroes. Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong are kicked off of Megakat City’s police department, The Enforcers, for not strictly following orders. But when they find a bunch of military parts at the salvage yard they’re reassigned to, they build their own custom jet known as the Turbokat. From there, the two create secret identities “T-Bone” and “Razor” so they can continue working to keep the city safe.
3 Freakazoid Was A Great Comedic Superhero Story About A Hero With The Power Of The Internet
This superhero comedy created by Bruce Timm was years ahead of its time. The main character is nerdy 16-year-old Dexter Douglas. Dexter gains superpowers when his cat walks over his PC and accidentally types in a secret key sequence that results in Dexter gaining all the intelligence of the internet.
The concept is definitively '90s, since these days he would be a villain if he was suddenly imbued with the modern internet’s “information.” Still, Freakazoid was a solid comedy series that ran for two seasons until it was canceled by executives who apparently didn’t understand the series at all.
2 Superman: The Animated Series Is Still The Only Modern Solo Superman Cartoon
Unsurprisingly, to this day there’s never been a Superman show on the level of Superman: TAS... mostly because there’s never been another Superman solo cartoon. The original Timm-verse cartoon managed to demonstrate Clark Kent's heart as Superman as well as capture the vibrant city of Metropolis in a way no other series before it ever managed. The only flaw in the series is Superman the predictability of the beatdowns Superman receives in every other episode. That said, those were different times and it was hard writing an entire series about someone who can lift entire mountains but who still has to be challenged in every story.
1 Batman: The Animated Series Is Still Some Fans Favorite Version Of The Character
Batman: The Animated Series is still remembered as the greatest Batman cartoon ever created. Inspired by the Tim Burton films, the series has a far more mature tone to it than most other cartoons of the era. It’s also has a timeless feel derived from its Art Deco designs and unusual use of technology throughout the series. The show develops multiple Batman villains and gives them added depths that fans could have only dreamed of before the series aired, and alongside a handful of other shows, it ushered in a new era of storytelling for cartoons going forward.