At TV Squad, blogger Jay Black runs down his list of “best comic book-to-TV adaptations” using some pretty narrow criteria: Namely, how much he enjoyed the shows as a kid, and how “comic-booky” they seemed.
Oh, well. It’s his list; he gets to make the rules. But looking at the shows, which hail from the 1950s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s, I wonder just how long his childhood lasted.
Black’s choices are interesting, though, and he explains his reasoning for each: 1. The Adventures of Superman; 2. The Flash; 3. Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends; 4. Justice League Unlimited; and 5. Tales From the Crypt.
I’m a little surprised that shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution or Wonder Woman didn’t make the list.
Of course, had I been making the list, The Shazam!/Isis Hour would’ve been No. 1. Or maybe 1 and 2, depending how you look at it.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:43 am
It really shouldn’t need to be pointed out, but…
Justice League Unlimited > The Flash
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Ah, Flash. Always my favorite superhero, and the TV series was just finding its footing when it was canceled for being too expensive. It would do much better if it premiered today (an probably be a lot cheaper too).
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:10 pm
While I agree the omission of Batman: TAS is odd, I still don’t and never will see the appeal of X-men Evolution.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
yupp, loved the Flash series. Even when Dawson’s Creek premiered and my sis was wrapped up in that, I’d always bug her by pointing out that Dawson’s dad was the Flash. I really need to order the boxset.
I can understand why the list spans so many decades. If the writers like me he probably caught Adventures of Superman on syndication as a kid. I was pretty much a baby when Spider Man and his Amazing Friends and Dungeons and Dragons first aired but I saw all the episodes on syndication and VHS tapes.
Its weird but the only superhero show I never saw as kid or now as an adult is Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman show.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
“I still don’t and never will see the appeal of X-men Evolution. ”
Same here. Its pretty much guaranteed I’ll give anything based on a comic property a chance, but outside of a few episodes, that show’s a difficult watch for me.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Lists in general are subjective, but yeah it’s odd. DC has a better track record for adaptations than Marvel.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I consider Batman:TAS, Superman:TAS, Batman Beyond, Static Shock! and JL:Unlimited to comprise the “DC Animated Universe”, with JLU being the cornerstone. Of course, the original first two seasons of Batman:TAS were higher quality than anything that came later, but they’re all considered parts of the whole. That’s why it should have a single entry.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. That had to be one of the worst adaptations ever. I’d probably have
1 - Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
2 - Batman Animated
3 - Superman Animated
4 - The Adventures of Lois and Clark
5 - Smallville
Flash got better toward the end of the season; Hulk was pretty enjoyable and was a pretty good adaptation; it took me over a year to get through the first season of Wonder Woman.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I have always maintained (to much derision) that the best adaptation of a comic to film was Supergirl. I think that movie caught the frenetic energy of the Infantino version of the book better than any other comic-book movie captured the essence of its inspiration.
Besides, Helen Slater was smokin’.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Oops. Bizarro-Walaka just realized that this was TV-only.
Delete me!
March 24th, 2007 at 2:00 am
its a grave injustice that there aren’t DVD sets for Spider Man and his Amazing Friends or the 80’s Superman cartoon