7 Most Perfect Superhero Shows of the Last 5 Years, Ranked

Published Oct 11, 2026, 7:22 PM EDT

Eddie Possehl is a dynamic and driven writer/director with a passion for the written word and all things film, television, comics, and games. His passion for storytelling led him to establish his own production company in hopes of achieving his dreams.

His dedication to his craft has attracted renowned talent like Yuri Lowenthal to collaborate with him on his projects. As he grows and improves, Eddie is a shining example of a self-starter.

Long before they took over the Hollywood cinema space, superheroes grabbed a chokehold on the television world and have yet to let go, all these decades later. In the last five years, superhero shows have continued to prove why this medium is perfect for these kinds of characters and worlds. It's truly hard not to love some good superhero television.

Whether they're coming from Marvel, DC Comics, or a third-party universe, the superhero shows of recent years come from all across the board. They also vary in medium, coming in the form of both animation and live-action. Spanning multiple genres and mediums, superhero television has never been better, and if anything is proof of that, it's these phenomenal shows from the last five years.

7 'Invincible' (2021–Present)

Mark flying through the air in Invincible Season 4

If there's anything that Robert Kirkman franchises are known for, it's subverting expectations. Aside from The Walking Dead, one of his most famous franchises is, without a doubt, the tale of the young hero Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun). Invincible has completely taken over the planet since debuting in 2021. It's animated, dark, thoughtful, and gory in all the best ways. Before this show aired, the Invincible (2003) comic book was one of the best and most popular independent superhero comics out there. So, it only made sense that it would eventually get an adaptation in the era of streaming platforms grabbing as many intellectual properties as possible to make more content.

Invincible is one of the better adaptations out there, as well. It takes what works in the comic books and keeps those things, but makes whatever changes it needs to in order to serve the story. The character of Amber Bennett (Zazie Beetz) is a great example. In the source material, Amber doesn't have much to offer in terms of an actual character, so when the show came around, Kirkman and the new writers around him put a lot of effort into making her more fleshed out. This applies to the entire story as a whole. There are new plots, changes in story beats, and more. It shows that a story adaptation can be very accurate, while still changing enough to keep it unique. The vocal performances in Invincible are phenomenal, as well.

6 'Peacemaker' (2022–2025)

John Cena surrounded by ARGUS guards in the Peacemaker Season 2 finale

When James Gunn took a step away from Marvel Studios and their Marvel Cinematic Universe for a bit, he stepped on over to the DC Comics world and decided to produce a pseudo-sequel to one of their worst films ever made. When given the choice, he chose to make The Suicide Squad and brought new characters into the fold and old favorites, too. One of said new characters, Peacemaker (John Cena), easily became a fan favorite—so much so that he got his own streaming series. Gunn would also return to write and direct this project.

Peacemaker is a James Gunn show through and through. All the style, humor, and wit that typically come with his content are very present in this series. The performances from the entire cast bring these characters to life excellently, especially the likes of John Cena, who brings what may be the best acting of his entire career. When Gunn took hold of the DC cinematic world with the DCU, everyone was very happy that Peacemaker got brought over—akin to Blue Beetle—and for these exact reasons. Audiences continue to be excited to see him return at some point in the cinematic universe, following the end of Season 2. He's in Man of Tomorrow, right, James? Please?

5 'Spider-Noir' (2026)

Nicolas Cage pointing a gun down at someone in Spider-Noir

When it comes to Spider-Man-related content outside of the MCU post-Captain America: Civil War, Sony Pictures has struggled. While they've had massive successes, like the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise, they have numerous other flops that have given people a bad taste in their mouths regarding the studio's attempts at Spidey content (the Venom franchise, Kraven the Hunter, etc.). However, come 2026, they'd finally strike gold once more—for the first time in a while in live-action—with the Prime Video show, Spider-Noir.

From the get-go, a Spider-Man live-action series that is a period piece feels like a perfect idea. Filmed and intended for viewing in black and white, Spider-Noir has a classic charm to it that simply cannot be recreated in any other Spidey media. The writing is smart, Cage's performance is—as per usual—superb, and the style all-around has Spider-Noir feeling like a future cult classic. The proof is in the large number of people who were severely disappointed to hear of the show's cancellation.

4 'The Penguin' (2024)

After the massive success of Matt Reeves' The Batman in 2022, nobody doubted that Warner Bros. and DC Comics would invest in this new universe more and give audiences some spin-offs. With Colin Farrell's Penguin being a fan favorite of the flick, people were pretty happy that he got some love by having his own streaming miniseries greenlit. This crime-noir story explores the streets of Gotham after the massive events of The Batman, and delves deeply into the crime world beneath the surface.

While people obviously wanted to see Batman (Robert Pattinson) make an appearance, eventually no one cared anymore because of how excellent the writing of this screenplay is. All the writers who came together to make this show wrote a story that truly delves into not just crime, but human psychology. The Penguin feels like the DC universe's The Godfather, and that makes it feel so distinct, while still existing in The Batman universe. Not to forget, just like in the 2022 film, Farrell brings a stellar performance that makes Penguin feel like a horrifying person, but also compelling at the same time.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which MCU Villain Do You Align With? Killmonger · Namor · Zemo · Thanos

Eight honest questions about how you actually are: what you do about something unfair, how long you will wait for what you want, who you are really loyal to, how easily you let a thing go. Answer them and we will tell you which one of these four you have more in common with than you would like. Every one of them thinks they are the reasonable person in the room.

🐆Killmonger(Black Panther)

🔱Namor(Wakanda Forever)

🎭Zemo(Civil War)

🧤Thanos(Infinity War)

FIND YOUR VILLAIN →

How do you react to something you think is unfair? All four of these men started here.

ALoudly, and I want the whole thing torn down. BI protect whoever it hurt, first and fast. CI say nothing, and I start planning. DI look for why it keeps happening at all.

NEXT QUESTION →

How long will you wait for something you want? Patience separates these four more than anything else.

ANot long, since I have waited long enough already. BAs long as my people stay safe meanwhile. CYears, if years are what it takes. DTime does not really come into it.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who are you actually loyal to? Answer for the real one, not the polite one.

AThe people nobody else turned up for. BMy own, and nobody outside that. COne person, and they are already gone. DAn idea, rather than any group of people.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you win an argument? Everybody has one method and uses it every time.

ABy being angrier and more right. BBy making the cost of disagreeing obvious. CBy letting them talk until they trip over something. DBy explaining it until they run out of objections.

NEXT QUESTION →

How easily do you let something go? This is the question that makes villains out of people.

AI do not, and I can tell you exactly why. BOnce whoever caused it stops being a threat. CWhen the balance is settled, and not before. DInstantly, because it was never personal.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you think about breaking the rules? Nobody on this list has ever felt guilty about it.

AThey were written by whoever benefits from them. BMine apply, and theirs do not reach me. CRules are a tool, and I use them precisely. DThe rule matters far less than the outcome.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do people say about you behind your back? You already know which one it is.

AThat I am far too angry about it. BThat I put my own above everybody else. CThat I am much quieter than I should be. DThat I am certain in a way that unnerves them.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would you do with real power? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your villain.

AGive it to the people it was kept from. BUse it to shut my own people off from the world. CUse it to make the guilty face what they did. DUse it to fix the thing everybody refuses to face.

REVEAL MY VILLAIN →

The Case Is Made You Align With…

Four villains, and four arguments the films were honest enough to actually let them make. Here is the one you lean towards, the part of it that holds up, and the exact point where it stops holding up.

Erik Killmonger

You align with the one who was right about the problem and wrong about the solution. Killmonger is the most persuasive villain Marvel has produced because the film never pretends his anger came from nowhere.

You notice who was abandoned and you cannot let it go, which is a moral instinct before it is anything else.
His argument lands because Wakanda really did watch and do nothing, and the film makes T'Challa admit it out loud.
Where it breaks is the method, since a man who was failed by power decided the answer was to hold more of it.
Michael B. Jordan plays him as somebody performing certainty over grief, which is why the last scene of that film still works.

Namor

You align with the protector, which is the most understandable and most dangerous position on this list. Namor is not chasing power or revenge, he is doing whatever keeps his people hidden, and he has been doing it for centuries.

Your loyalty has a hard border around it, and everything inside that border matters far more to you than anything outside it.
Talokan is the best realised world Marvel has built since Wakanda, and the film makes you understand exactly what he is guarding.
His logic is airtight right up until it requires somebody else's people to pay for his people's safety.
He would rather be feared by the surface world forever than trust it once, and history has given him reasons.

Helmut Zemo

You align with the patient one, the only man on this list with no powers, no army and no hurry. Zemo lost his family in Sokovia and then spent years working out that you do not fight the Avengers, you introduce them to each other's secrets.

You go quiet when you are hurt, and the quiet is where the thinking happens.
Zemo is the only MCU villain who completely won, and he did it with a notebook, a plan and a great deal of self control.
His grief is real, and the film is careful never to let you forget that he started as an ordinary man with a family.
Where it fails is the cost, since taking apart the people who hurt him meant hurting a great many people who did not.

Thanos

You align with the one who decided the answer was arithmetic. Thanos is not angry and not grieving in any way he will admit to, he simply reached a conclusion and never once revisited it, which is precisely what makes him frightening.

You are capable of holding a position that costs you everything, and you would call that conviction rather than stubbornness.
Infinity War works because it is structured as his film, with a goal, a journey and a sacrifice, and the heroes are the obstacle.
The flaw in the plan is not the cruelty, it is that he never seriously considered a single alternative to it.
Josh Brolin plays him tired rather than triumphant, which is the choice that turned a purple giant into a real character.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

3 'X-Men '97' (2024–Present)

X-Men led by Cyclops with Beast, Jubilee, Jean Grey, and Wolverine.

X-Men: The Animated Series is considered a classic and even a masterpiece by television fans everywhere. But with how long it's been off the air, no one would have ever expected it to make a comeback. Disney+ and Marvel Animation surprised everyone when they announced X-Men '97, not just with the fact that it was a continuation, but with the amazing quality of the original show returning as well. X-Men '97 is commonly noted to be the best Marvel Animation content in quite some time, and for very good reason.

What X-Men '97 does so well is that it doesn't just try to copy the original, but it expands on what worked and takes risks with the characters. At its heart, it's focused on character first and foremost. Audiences also don't need to have seen the original necessarily, either. X-Men '97 acknowledges that not everyone has seen a series as old as X-Men: The Animated Series and keeps it accessible to everyone.

2 'Superman & Lois' (2021–2024)

Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) and Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) in 'Superman & Lois'

The CW DC "Arrowverse" shows often get a bad rap for their lack of quality, but the major standout of them all is, without a doubt, Superman & Lois. Some people don't even know it is a CW series. The character of Superman often comes with large and bombastic stories and characters, which may make someone think that he's a character that would be extremely difficult to portray in a live-action television show. Superman & Lois shows that it's more than just possible, but that it can be phenomenal in quality, too.

The 2021 series takes Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and places him in a position he's yet to be in before in cinema: A married man and a father to two teenage sons. When he's forced to return to Smallville when his mother passes—leaving her son with the Kent farm—he has to face the ongoing struggle of being both Superman and a father, all while his family adjusts to life in Smallville. Superman & Lois doesn't just do some profound character work—the highlight of the show, really—but it manages to manage its budget perfectly. It adapts characters like Steel (Wole Parks) and Doomsday without sacrificing much quality at all. When it comes to network television, Superman & Lois is near perfect.

1 'Loki' (2021–2023)

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in the 'Loki' series finale.

The Disney+ era of the MCU is often given a lot of criticism for the clear lack of quality—often blamed on temporary Disney CEO Bob Chapek. This, however, does not mean that there's no good content among the Disney+ MCU shows. In fact, one of the greatest superhero shows of all time lies among them in the form of Loki. This takes fan-favorite anti-hero Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and turns him into a bona fide savior of the multiverse by the final episode.

The production quality in Loki is very strong, making it look and feel like an MCU film that could be in theaters. Being in the form of a series, though, gives Loki the chance to do some amazing character work, not just with the God of Mischief, but with new characters like Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) and Mobius (Owen Wilson), too. Loki is unforgettable and remains one of the best MCU projects to date.