Best 90's Superhero Animated Show

[Franklin Richards]

Same for X-Men. For the most part they stuck to the Giant Sized X-Men era. And like Batman got stupid at the end.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

No, BTAS is not overrated by nostalgia. It's always up in the top 5 animated shows of all-time whenever some site does a list. They changed the character designs around '97 I believe. They were still good and the animation was better than anything on Marvel's shows.

I liked X-Men better. We had DC cartoons out the whazzoo back then and it was new for Marvel to be making the scene. I tuned in for new X-Men. I caught new Batmans.

What did DC have besides BTAS and STAS? Marvel had X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Avengers. Maybe it seems like DC had more b/c their 2 shows were very well received and were on the air for a long time while Marvel's sucked and were lucky to make it to 3 seasons.

 

[Incrediblejeff]

didn't Batman Beyond debut in the late 90's?

 

[Franklin Richards]

Superfriends generation 1, 2, 3, and 4.

And you answered your own question. The sheer volume of episodes outnumbered the Hanna Barbera FF and the Marvel Superheroes Cartoon Show. Plus they never aired those Marvel Cartoons back then when we had 13 channels or so. But you could always find Superfriends, Batman, and Superman.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Superfriends generation 1, 2, 3, and 4.

And you answered your own question. The sheer volume of episodes outnumbered the Hanna Barbera FF and the Marvel Superheroes Cartoon Show. Plus they never aired those Marvel Cartoons back then when we had 13 channels or so. But you could always find Superfriends, Batman, and Superman.

We're talking about the 90's, not 60's thru 80's.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Do the early 90's count?

 

[Kii]

The last season of X-Men was utter garbage, the animation was terrible and the storylines were even worse. The later seasons of X-Men Evolution were leaps and bounds above the 90s X-Men, but that's for a different thread. Batman:TAS is easily one of the best animated superhero shows in the 90s.

 

[Manic]

didn't Batman Beyond debut in the late 90's?

Yep, in 1999. It's technically a 90's show-- at least until half-way through the second season.

 

[Incrediblejeff]

Then I will say Batman Beyond is the Best Superhero Animated series of the 90's,that and the Tick.

 

[bullets]

Didn't Xmen TAS have an issue with the animators/saban. Basically they would get cells out of order or something , idk.

 

[NinjaCarm]

BTAS by a huge margin.I Watch Spider-man and X-men again recently and they were horrible.Nostalgia overrates them.

They are still pretty enjoyable. To me.

 

[Lobo]

I'm going to have to go with Spidey of the three on the poll. Gargoyles and Darkwing Duck were my faves, though

 

[gap5ewl]

X-Men really did have some grest episodes with som really strong adult themes to. Furthermore, I think all the characters had some great development, probally the best adaptation of the comic.

Spider-Man I loved as a kid. Howver, now looking back on it as an adult, it is very mehhh.

Batman is of course one of the greatest television shows of all time. Some of you seem to forget however, that it to had some of it's lame moments (Tyger Tyger anyone?) but that's the thing with all televisions shows.

I'm giving it to X-men just because I thaught some of the stories were slightly more complex and interesting but I will not deny that overall, Batman was superior.

 

[superhero]

what about batman beyond? that show rocked!! i think it had more acion in it. i watch it all the time. ilike it a lot. my favrotie is the x-men. who ever said that x-men is awufl is worng. it had different mutants like bishop cable and gambit then it had MagnetoApocalypse and omage red. i watch the x-men carton all the time. i know just about every epsidoe by heart. i alsway don't forget about x-men evoultion. which was bit diferrent from x-men cartoon. now they got specaulter spider-man and wolvrien and the x-men. i like specauler spider-man better .

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

Batman is of course one of the greatest television shows of all time. Some of you seem to forget however, that it to had some of it's lame moments (Tyger Tyger anyone?) but that's the thing with all televisions shows.

There are some posters on this board who think every episode of BTAS is 5 stars perfect

 

[JoeyConQueso]

I've always been a straight up Marvel zombie since probably the day I was handed an issue of Spider-Man in my crib but here's how my interests went.

1) X-Men - As a kid, the X-Men pumped through my veins. I became a fan with the arcade games but this series made me an addict. Even as a kid, I definitely saw it's flaws but I just loved it so much. I can still probably quote every line of Night Of The Sentinels. Yeah, I wish it had stronger animation but I still love the show.

2) Batman (The Fox years) - The first tv series that made me think of cartoons as more than just the formulaic, moralistic stuff we saw day after day. It just felt so different and really pushed things artistically.

3) The New Batman Adventures - After Batman moved to the WB, I was shocked and appalled at how much the design style was simplified and how the art deco feel was gone but episodes like Over the Edge and Growing Pains eventually won me over towards the storytelling aspect of the show.

4) Iron Man Season 2/ FF Season 2/ Hulk Season 1 - Even more than with X-Men, this was when I really felt like classic Marvel was being brought to the screen. Even as awful as I knew the first seasons of Iron Man and FF were, I enjoyed them and tuned in to catch them every Sunday. They just felt like the generic 80s action toons I loved. When that one Sunday came, when the title of the block changed to Marvel Action Universe and I caught the Season 2 openers of the shows, I just thought "I can't believe I was watching those first seasons when I could have been watching this." It felt like every thing I loved about the FF and Iron Man back issues I bought, when all of my buddies were going after the "hipper" and newer stuff like Spawn or X-Force, was distilled and put into cartoon form for me to enjoy. I wasn't the biggest Hulk fan but the first season was fun stuff, it made me a Rick Jones fan and I always loved it when other superheroes showed up as it felt that the crew was getting those heroes right.

4) Superman TAS - It wasn't quite the show I thought it would be but it was still good to great stuff. I don't think it was ever bad but it was pretty boring to me at times.

5) Spider-Man - Spidey is the reason I love superheroes, he's my absolute favorite, so when I first saw the promo for Night Of The Lizard, I was ecstatic. And it turned out to be a great episode. Then I saw the rest of the season and really enjoyed it, outside of the Spider Slayer episodes. Then the second season hit and at first, Neogenic Nightmare seemed like a pretty interesting storyline but eventually it was like it just wouldn't end. Then Michael Morbius showed up and my love for the show went from about 8 to 4 ever since.

 

[Havok83]

Wow, you are missing quite alot of shows there. Anyways, I would go with Xmen

 

[JoeyConQueso]

what about batman beyond? that show rocked!! i think it had more acion in it. i watch it all the time.

It's an awesome show and lately I've been able to catch it every day , thanks to the airings on The Hub, but it's personally hard to place here as it debuted on the tail end of the 90s and the prime-time debut is all I actually saw in the 90s. I didn't even know that the first season ran in 99 until just googling it.

 

[Batman713]

1. Batman TAS
2. Batman Beyond
3. Spider-Man TAS
4. X-Men

 

[kguillou]

So i know im a little late to the party but for me its a close tie with Batman and Spiderman. As a kid i loved the Batman TAS, but I fell IN love with Spiderman TAS. As heavily flawed as that cartoon was, that was the first toon to actually got me emotional. That episode where Spidey lost Mary Jane to the Green Goblin still hits a soft spot and the pure rage that Spidey had when he chewed out Madame Web at the end of that episode was unlike anything i've ever seen in a superhero cartoon. Say what you will but that cartoon did an EXCELLENT job of portraying Peter Parker/Spider-man and really really delving inside the character's head and showing what makes him tick. Batman is what introduced me to the world of superheroes but Spiderman is what made me stay.

Still though, Batman TAS has aged MUCH better than Spiderman TAS has, and the storytelling was so ahead of its time, so its really hard for me to decide.

 

[Hound55]

Why doesn't this poll include Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk & She-Hulk, Avengers, Silver Surfer, Superman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man Unlimited, Ultraforce, WildC.A.T.S, Darkwing Duck, Earthworm Jim, Road Rovers, Freakazoid, The Tick, or any number of other superhero cartoons I've forgotten?

Captain Planet, Batman Beyond, Static Shock...

 

[WolfCypher]

I think most would agree they were all superior to most animated shows today.

I critically disagree. While 90s Batman is the exception, the 90s superhero shows don't hold up to Spectacular Spider-Man, Brave & the Bold (it won me over), and the upcoming Young Justice.

Though 90s Batman, Cyber Six, and Phantom 2040 come damn close.

 

[kguillou]

While the 90's cartoons will always have a fond place in my heart...they dont hold a candle to today's cartoons. Justice League Unlimited was simply amazing, Avengers is kicking some serious ass right now, Spectacular Spider-man was arguably the finest interpretation of the character, Young Justice had a VERY impressive debut, Batman Brave and Bold is....unique (its slowly winning me over). Both Marvel and DC have upped the ante considerably with cartoons lately and the 90's toons just dont hold up like these do.

 

[Rez]

I know that despite barely having watched any of it, Batman is probably the "best" but I was never a Batman guy.

Spiderman was truly amazing... especially as a kid. Season long storylines!? Crazy awesome. I know that there was repeat animations, lame CGI, and censors everywhere.. but there was some truly fantastic stuff going on in that show. And DAMN, talk about dark. Like someone mentioned above, losing Mary Jane to the void.. knowing she was left in limbo, scared, alone, screaming and lost.. Damn. Peter flipped out.
Her return, Peter revealing that he's Spiderman.. it was emotional and magnificent. AND THEN SHE DIES IN HIS ARMS AND MELTS INTO NOTHING! Her being a clone, her last line.. "If the real Mary Jane's feelings are anything like mine.. then she loves you more than anything" and then falling apart. Damn. And then the show ends with her still in limbo! Sure, he has a vague determination to get her out, but DAMN.

The voice acting was mostly great too.. and it nailed most of the major characters. To this day when I read Spidey I think of Barne's voice saying his lines.
Plus it has without a doubt the best handling of Venom, uh, ever.

 

[Hellion]

1. Batman

2. X-Men

3. Spiderman

that's how i rank them

You forgot Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Superman, Silver Surfer, Spawn


...basically everything was good IMO except Spider-Man Unlimted......

......but of those three, to me its:

X-Men > Batman > Spider-Man...

I do love all three though...