5 Superhero Shows That Have Aged Like Milk

Superhero shows can either become a total success or a complete flop—and it all comes down to a combination of factors. A wildly creative superhero origin or lore can set the tone, but much of the heavy lifting ultimately comes down to execution. Unfortunately, not every show has mastered the art of bringing superhero stories to the screen.

Whether it’s poor pacing, a lack of suspense, or uninspired world-building, superhero shows with promising potential can quickly end up in the trash because of treatment they never deserved. From dumping an entire origin story into its opening episodes to failing to live up to the potential of its original series, here are superhero shows that have aged like milk.

Secret Invasion should’ve been one of Marvel’s strongest spy thrillers—if only the show knew how to nail the thriller aspect of it. The miniseries takes place in the aftermath of the Blip, featuring a now-worn-out Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who’s been living away from Earth after the trauma of the Blip. But when he learns that a group of renegade, shapeshifting Skrulls are forming a resistance-turned-terrorist group by impersonating humans around the world, Fury steps in alongside Talos (Ben Mendelsohn).

The premise of Secret Invasion should’ve hinged on the uncertainty of not knowing who is actually a Skrull and who is human. However, Secret Invasion lays everything out at the beginning, treating the mystery as one giant exposition dump that immediately reveals who the villains are and, in turn, strips away much of the show’s intrigue. And while it’s only human for Fury to be worn out like any other hero, something about his characterization feels completely out of character. It’s one thing for him to be out of shape, but it’s another to completely forget that he was once an international spymaster. Watching Fury act clueless, reckless, and passive while handling a situation that should be right in his wheelhouse feels deeply unusual for a character who has always been defined by his ability to stay several steps ahead.

The Cape is quite a doozy. Neither belonging to the Marvel nor DC binary, the NBC series follows Vince Faraday (David Lyons), an honest detective who is framed for murder by corrupt billionaire Peter Fleming (James Frain), a.k.a. the villain Chess. Presumed dead, Faraday is taken in by a circus crime ring, where he learns specialized cape-fighting and illusion techniques that allow him to become a masked vigilante. As for his new name, he adopts his son’s favorite superhero identity. It’s low-key giving Kick-Ass vibes, with a hero origin story that, although unconventional given the whole circus aspect of it, feels surprisingly genuine. Unfortunately, terrible execution buries whatever potential The Cape has.

Instead of letting the premise breathe, The Cape crams its origin story, training montage, superhero transformation, secret lair, supporting cast, villains, criminal conspiracy, family drama, and larger mythology into its opening episodes. Because there’s so little room for the setup to develop naturally, The Cape never really figures out what kind of tone it wants. On one hand, Vince’s revenge story gives The Punisher vibes, while the show’s colorful absurdity has the appeal of Silver Age comics. One moment, it’s dealing with corruption and Vince’s struggle to get his family back; the next, villains are delivering cartoonish one-liners, with dialogue that sounds like it belongs in a Saturday-morning cartoon.

Heroes Reborn is an ambitious follow-up to its original series, seemingly assuming that longtime Heroes fans can keep up with the lore while doing little to bring new viewers up to speed. Heroes Reborn takes place one year after a terrorist attack in Odessa, Texas, turns the world against people with extraordinary abilities known as evos. Forced into hiding and hunted by vigilantes, a new generation of heroes must learn to control their powers while uncovering a dangerous conspiracy involving powerful corporations. As a catastrophic geomagnetic reversal threatens the planet, these emerging heroes must unite to save humanity from extinction.

Heroes Reborn needed to offer something distinctive to justify bringing the franchise back, but everything feels too stacked on top of everything else. Instead of allowing one storyline or character to develop before moving on to the next, the series keeps adding another character, another mystery, and another conspiracy to an already crowded story. While that gives the show plenty of suspense to keep audiences hooked, the limited time devoted to each storyline gives viewers little reason to become emotionally invested in the characters. Heroes Reborn ultimately has almost the opposite problem of a show with too little going on: it starts with too many premises and never establishes a strong enough emotional center to hold them together.

Iron Fist arrived at a difficult moment for superhero television, with DC series such as Arrow, Supergirl, and Gotham already dominating the genre. The series had a compelling premise: Danny Rand (Finn Jones), a billionaire heir who disappeared for 15 years, returns to New York as a highly trained martial artist with the mystical power of the Iron Fist. Unfortunately, the biggest problem is that Iron Fist begins after the most fascinating chapter of Danny’s life has already happened. His inherently outrageous superhero origin deserves the most spotlight, yet the series mostly treats it as exposition rather than something audiences get to experience, leaving Danny already fully formed.

The show’s priorities make matters worse. Instead of fully embracing its mystical mythology, Iron Fist spends much of its runtime on corporate politics, inheritance disputes, and the Rand-Meachum business drama. Corporate intrigue can work, but here it consistently overshadows the supernatural elements that make Danny’s story distinctive. Add in Danny’s lack of charisma and the controversy surrounding his casting, and the result is a series that wastes an incredible superhero origin by focusing on almost everything except what makes the character interesting. For a show built around a mystical warrior who defeats dragons and wields supernatural power, Iron Fist spends surprisingly little time letting him actually be one.

Inhumans had so much superhero potential, especially by focusing on a group of heroes who don’t even come from Earth, leaving plenty of room for some truly strange and exciting superhero magic. Unfortunately, terrible writing, cheap-looking production, and stiff performances do little justice to bringing their story to life. Inhumans follows the Royal Family of Attilan, a secluded race of genetically gifted beings who gain their powers through the mysterious Terrigen Mists. When their kingdom comes under attack, King Black Bolt (Anson Mount) and his family must defend their home while protecting their people from a power-hungry force.

Considering the original Inhumans lore, the series could have explored this fictional realm more deeply and intentionally, particularly its rigid caste system and questions surrounding genetic superiority. Instead, all of that potential is reduced to a basic “brother wants to overthrow his brother” storyline. Inhumans should also have felt weird, alien, and surreal given its origins, but instead, much of the action takes place in ordinary-looking environments that make the entire world feel lackluster. The Moon-based kingdom of Attilan should have been one of the most visually and conceptually interesting locations in the MCU. Instead, the production makes it look bland, empty, and inexpensively constructed, which begs the question of whether the creators actually cared about this series at all.

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