5 Superhero Shows That Have Aged Like Milk

Image via Disney+ Published Sep 4, 2026, 12:07 AM EDT Dyah (pronounced Dee-yah) is a Senior Author at Collider, responsible for both writing and transcription duties. She joined the website in 2022 as a Resource Writer before stepping into her current role in April 2023. As a Senior Author, she writes Features and Lists covering TV, music, and movies, making her a true Jill of all trades. In addition to her writing, Dyah also serves as an interview transcriber, primarily for events such as San Diego Comic-Con, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Sundance Film Festival. Dyah graduated from Satya Wacana Christian University in October 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, concentrating on Creative Writing. She is currently completing her Master's degree in English Literature Studies, with a thesis on intersectionality in postcolonial-feminist studies in Asian literary works, and is expected to graduate in 2026. Born and raised between Indonesia and Singapore, Dyah is no stranger to different cultures. She now resides in the small town of Kendal with her husband and four cats, where she spends her free time cooking or cycling. Sign in to your Collider account 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' (2023) 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' (2011) Image via NBC 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' (2015–2016) Image via NBC 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. Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory? 🕷️Spider-Man 😈Daredevil 🤖Iron Man 💀Punisher ⚡Thor 🛡️Cap FIND YOUR HERO → 01 What drives you to do what's right? Choose the answer that feels most like you. AWith great power comes great responsibility — I protect those who can't protect themselves. BMy faith and my conscience — I believe justice must be served, even in the dark. CLegacy and ego, honestly — but I've learned that others depend on me now. DThe system failed. Someone has to make sure the guilty actually pay. EDuty to the innocent and honour to my name — I was born to protect realms. FThe values I was raised with — freedom, decency, and never backing down from a bully. NEXT QUESTION → 02 It's 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you'd think. ASwinging between skyscrapers, keeping an eye on the neighbourhood. BRunning rooftops in Hell's Kitchen, listening for trouble. CIn my lab, upgrading my suit with a cold cup of coffee nearby. DStaking out a target I've been tracking for three weeks. ESomewhere between the stars, or at a feast that got out of hand. FOn a morning run — I was up at 4, actually. Couldn't sleep. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What's yours? AWeb them up and leave them for the police — again. BBuild an airtight case and dismantle their entire operation from the inside. CDeploy a containment system I designed specifically for them. Tech wins. DMake sure they don't escape a third time. Permanently. EChallenge them to single combat. Honour demands a decisive end. FRally allies, adapt the plan, and bring them in — by the book, even if it's hard. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything. AEssential — my loved ones would be in danger if anyone found out who I am. BCritical — the mask protects my mission as much as my face. COverrated — I announced myself to the world and I'd do it again. DI'm a ghost. The less people know about me, the better. EMy name is known across the Nine Realms. There's no hiding it. FI don't hide — but I understand why some need to. Transparency builds trust. NEXT QUESTION → 05 You've lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it. AWith guilt that never fully goes away — it pushes me to do better, every single day. BI channel it into purpose — their memory is the reason I keep fighting. CI buried myself in work for years. I'm only recently learning to face it. DIt transformed me completely. I'm not the same person I was before. EWith warrior's grief — I honour them by fighting with everything I have. FI keep moving forward. Stopping means letting the loss win. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What's your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are. AThe enthusiastic wildcard who somehow makes it work — and keeps the mood up. BThe strategist who works best alone but shows up when it matters most. CThe one who funds it, equips it, and occasionally takes over the whole operation. DI don't do teams. I'm more effective operating solo, on my terms. EThe heavy hitter — I crash in, draw fire, and turn the tide of battle. FThe leader — I earn trust, build the plan, and make sure no one gets left behind. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are. AClearly — I don't kill, and I wrestle with that line constantly. BI try to hold the line, but I've come terrifyingly close to crossing it. CPractically — I do what's necessary to protect people, including hard calls. DI crossed that line long ago. What I do is justice — the system just won't admit it. EIn battle, victory is justice. Mercy is earned — not automatic. FFirmly. The moment we abandon our principles, we become what we fight against. NEXT QUESTION → 08 When you're not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story. ATrying to juggle school, a part-time job, and not failing my friends. BWorking as a lawyer by day, fighting for justice in court and on the streets. CRunning a global company, attending galas, and pretending I'm sleeping enough. DQuiet. Isolated. Surviving with a clear mission and no distractions. ENavigating a bizarre and fascinating mortal world — coffee is extraordinary. FAdapting to a world decades ahead of everything I knew. Quietly, stubbornly. NEXT QUESTION → 09 What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThe people I couldn't save — and the ones I might not reach in time tomorrow. BWhether the monster I fight every night is starting to live inside me too. CThe threats I can see coming and whether my tech is actually good enough. DNothing. Silence is the only peace I get. I've made my choices. EWhether I'm truly worthy — of the hammer, of the throne, of the people I protect. FA world where no one stands up anymore. Where good people do nothing. NEXT QUESTION → 10 The battle is lost. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully. ACrack a joke to buy a second, then find the one web shot that changes everything. BBlock out everything except the sound of the next threat — and keep going. CActivate the emergency protocol I built for exactly this scenario. Always have a plan. DI don't accept that it's lost. I keep fighting until I physically cannot anymore. ECall the lightning. All of it. The storm answers to me. FPick up the shield. Stand up. Because as long as I can stand, it's not over. REVEAL MY HERO → Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed. 🕷️ Spider-ManYou carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing. You do the right thing not because it's easy, but because no one else will. You understand that responsibility isn't a burden you choose — it's one that finds you. Whether it's a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up. Peter Parker's lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn't a slogan to you. It's the code you live by, even when it costs you everything. 😈 DaredevilYou fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free. You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks. You've looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy. Matt Murdock's duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own. Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you. 🤖 Iron ManBrilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem. You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic. You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility. Tony Stark's arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too. You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you're willing to give everything. Because in the end, you're Iron Man. 💀 The PunisherYou've been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What's left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief. You don't ask for forgiveness, and you don't expect gratitude. You see a corrupt, broken world and you've decided to do something about it, consequences be damned. Frank Castle's war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours. Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute. ⚡ ThorPowerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry. You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth. You're larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on. Thor's story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector. You bring the storm when it's needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much. 🛡️ Captain AmericaYou believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will. You don't bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard. Steve Rogers didn't become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you. Your strength isn't in your fists; it's in your refusal to compromise what's right, no matter the cost. In a world full of people taking the easy road, you're the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 'Iron Fist' (2017–2018) Image via Netflix 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' (2017) Image via ABC 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. Inhumans Release Date 2017 - 2017-00-00 Network ABC Cast Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt Medusalith Amaquelin / Medusa Showrunner Scott Buck Directors Roel Reiné, Chris Fisher, Billy Gierhart, David Straiton, Kevin Tancharoen Writers Rick Cleveland, Scott Reynolds, Charles Murray, Quinton Peeples Franchise(s) Inhumans Seasons 1 Producers Jeph Loeb, Scott Buck Story By Scott Buck Streaming Service(s) Dis