Including both The Umbrella Academy are likewise inspiring popular shows.
The modern superhero genre is surprisingly diverse, embracing everything from science-fiction to supernatural fantasy, from dark and gritty violence to cheesy fun and humor. All of the best are character-driven, exploring what it is that makes their heroes tick, and setting them up against challenges that make even the greatest quail. Many have a strong social conscience, aware that their heroes are supposed to stand against injustice and thus using the superheroic adventures to explore real-world issues.
Related: The Most Popular Superhero Shows Of 2018
Given this is such a packed field, it's a challenge to choose the best superhero TV shows. Here, we've deliberately chosen shows that have stood the test of time; either series that have been running for several years, or shows that are still fondly ed years or even decades after they aired.
10. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
season 6 is due to air in May this year, while ABC has already signed off on season 7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. boasts an excellent cast, all of whom have grown into their roles over the last five seasons; Chloe Bennet's Quake, in particular, has evolved into a deep and complex character. But S.H.I.E.L.D.'s greatest strength is its seemingly limitless ability to reinvent itself; it can pivot from supernatural near-horror to dystopian science-fiction with effortless ease. While the first two seasons leaned strongly on their MCU connections, nowadays Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has built up a mythology all of its own, one it delights in building on.
9. Legion
Loosely inspired by a third-tier X-Men character, Noah Hawley's Harry Lloyd as Professor Charles Xavier, David's father.
8. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Starring Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, The New Adventures of Superman was a fascinating reinvention of the Man of Steel inspired by John Byrne's comics. This series is as much a superhero romance as anything else, focused primarily on the relationship between Lois and Clark, and exploring just what drives Clark Kent to be a hero. The show is unique in its portrayal of Clark Kent, who is more assertive than usual; notice that the typical hairstyles are inverted, with Superman featuring slicked-back hair and Clark having the more natural fringe. Lois & Clark ran from 1993 through to 1997, with a will-they-won't-they romance that was drawn out just a little too long; it says everything that the eventual wedding was in a season 4 episode entitled "Swear To God, This Time We're Not Kidding." The same week, DC Comics married the couple in the comics as well.
7. Teen Titans
Teen Titans is generally viewed as one of the best animated shows in the last 20 years, superhero or otherwise. Incredibly, according to third-party analytics provided to Screen Rant, it's still one of the most in-demand TV shows today, almost 13 years after it came to an end. Created by Glen Murakami, it's based on Marv Wolfman and George Perez's iconic Teen Titans run from the comics. It premiered in 2003, with Cartoon Network originally planning four seasons but commissioning a fifth due to its popularity; there was even a spin-off movie, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, that essentially served as a series finale. Teen Titans became one of Cartoon Network's most beloved and critically acclaimed series, earning a strong reputation for consistent character development and surprisingly mature themes.
Related: Original Animated Teen Titans Returning For Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans
6. Arrow
When Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg launched Arrow in 2012, they had no idea how big it would become. The series stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who has been missing for five years and returns to his city with a secret mission to serve as a vigilante. Arrow is still ongoing, and The CW has built an entire shared universe of superhero TV shows upon its foundation. Amell's performance is really what holds Arrow together, while the twisted tales are strong enough to make the series compelling viewing. It's rightly come under fire for lifting more Batman plots from the comics than Green Arrow stories, but in general that's worked well.
Page 2 of 2: The Top Five Superhero Shows Of All Time
5. The Flash
Starring Grant Gustin as the titular hero, Crisis on Infinite Earths" event since its pilot episode, an arc that will come to a head later this year.
4. Daredevil
The flagship series of the popular Marvel Netflix project, Daredevil was canceled after three seasons. That said, unlike the rest of the Marvel Netflix slate, the third season essentially served to wrap up most of the narrative threads, bringing the show to an effective close.
Related: Netflix Doesn't Need Marvel (& The Umbrella Academy Proves It)
3. X-Men: The Animated Series
X-Men: The Animated Series was the hit show that nobody originally wanted. TV executive Margaret Loesch had long fought for an X-Men adaptation, convinced that Marvel's merry mutants had the potential to be animated superstars, and she essentially bet her entire career on it. She was right; the series launched in 1992, featuring visuals inspired by Jim Lee's contemporary X-Men redesigns and adaptations of memorable Chris Claremont stories, and it ran for five seasons. The creative team opted for lesser-known voice actors in order to save money, but they made just the right choices. Sadly, the quality of the animation gradually declined as the series went on; season 5 is pretty shocking in places. Still, that last season can't possibly detract from the sheer quality of the storytelling or this show's influence in popular culture. And who can forget that theme tune?
Read More: X-Men: The Animated Series Showrunner Reveals Season 6 Idea
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
It may come as something of a surprise to see Joss Whedon's The Avengers.
1. Batman: The Animated Series
There's really no other contender for first place; it can only be Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.