In honor of the smoking hot new Iron Man movie hitting the theaters this weekend, I decided to visit YouTube and dig up 20 examples of how Hollywood has attempted to bring comic book superheroes to life over the years.
Some of these you may be familiar with already. Some may be gems from your childhood that you’ve long since forgotten. And some I’m certain will thrill you for the very first time. I’ve broken them out into four classes: The Good, The Bad, The Campy, and the Kind of Interesting.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, and most of these are TV shows — but my goal here wasn’t to find the best examples, just the most entertaining ones, either from a nostalgia or a cringe-worthy perspective. I’ve red-starred a few of my favorite clips. Please to enjoy …
THE GOOD …
Adventures of Superman (1952-58)
I watched this religiously as a kid … in the 70s! Poor George Reeves.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=s1C8d2qZrbA
Wonder Woman (1975-79) ***
Lynda Carter set the bar — and cup size — for every superheroine who followed her.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3_QSBuaDba0
The Incredible Hulk (1978-82)
The Fugitive format rocked, and the sad music during the end credits still haunts me.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VRZ_kH9ZQiI
Lois & Clark (1993-97)
Back when Teri Hatcher didn’t annoy me yet, I loved this fresh take on Superman.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JdcvM-vBV1s
Birds of Prey (2002)
This WB show never quite made it past 13 episodes, but was actually very good.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PzJT9zqVZtY
THE BAD …
Electra Woman & Dyna Girl (1976) ***
Until I found this on YouTube, I thought maybe I had only dreamed it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zXUSOLB3-NA
Captain America (1977) ***
Dudes, no. Just … no. Captain America isn’t Special Ed. He doesn’t wear a helmet.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=knZuskFYVe8
Spider-Man (1977-79)
Even at ten years old, it pained me to watch this. The Japanese did it better (scroll down).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ErhFqQOEUDE
Doctor Strange (1978)
Doctor Who? Check out a hot young pre-Bluth Jessica Walters as Morgan Le Fey.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_ecgAqDzMJY
Justice League of America (1997) ***
This pilot never saw the light of day … for so very very very many reasons.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nXK859soUM8
THE CAMPY …
Batman (1966-68)
Fun to watch, but it took decades for the Batman franchise to recover from the silliness.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4OJXrNtXw
The Green Hornet (1966-67)
A classic. Keep an eye out for Seth Rogen’s take on this character in 2009.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uuoNLnrPlFM
Shazam! (1974-77)
Campy Saturday morning fare — but at the time, how bad did I want to be Billy Batson?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SDKiCS8S2Hs
Swamp Thing (1982) ***
Swamp Thing, Schmwamp Thing … Adrienne Barbeau gets topless! (not in this clip)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5P4ULjEvOZ4
Fantastic Four (1994) ***
This right here is movie making GOLD. Roger Corman pwns Hollywood!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r_X5C6e3ZeY
AND THE KIND OF INTERESTING …
Spider-Man Tokusatsu (1978) ***
Seriously, as weird as this is, it’s ten times better than the US version. Giant robots!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XBKPsM0dlUE
Superboy (1988-92)
This Smallville predecessor got shafted by ongoing licensing issues, but it wasn’t half bad.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yk3XVA6CqEQ
The Flash (1990-91)
They made the mistake of airing this against The Simpsons and The Cosby Show. D’ohhh!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=br2hXBhgLVY
Generation X (1996) ***
I remember watching this pilot and loving the concept … but FOX never picked it up.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yLc-F-HiF1w
Mutant X (2001-04)
Yet another half-decent show with a following that got screwed by licensing issues.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Sz7EgeIhPQ
Are there any great ones I missed? Be sure to let me know!
Man, that shit brings back some memories. I loved the Hulk show so much and Linda Carter was an “inspiration” for a young baptist boy.
Chuck, I have no idea what you’re talking about. (ahem)
I know, right? I totally wanted that tiara.