10 Best Marvel Shows (& What Fans Think)
Since Disney bought Marvel for $4.24 billion on December 31, 2009, long gone are the days when Marvel Comics were adapted for theaters only. Disney+ has stepped up its game to become the powerhouse in the production of Marvel content, surpassing the previously successful Netflix, which was the sole streaming service for years. With that in mind, here is a comprehensive list of the 10 best Marvel shows that have been released so far.
A list of every country’s favorite Marvel superheroes can be found here.
10. Wandavision
TV Mini-Series (2021)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
WandaVision is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and follows Avengers Wanda Maximoff and Vision as they live a perfect suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey, that is until their reality starts moving through different decades of comedic homages.
As the first project of Disney+ and the first series of MCU’s Phase Four, fans seemed content enough with WandaVision despite the disappointing finale that was criticized, but overall, it explored some interesting motifs such as grief and nostalgia, thus earning a spot on this list.
9. Jessica Jones
3 Seasons (2015 – 2019)
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
Jessica Jones follows the story of Jessica Jones, an ex-superhero turned private investigator who is a functioning alcoholic and a misanthrope that opens her own detective agency. Its first season was quite impressive, with Kristen Ritter fitting the role of Jessica Jones perfectly and Doctor Who’s David Tennant being cast as the amusing enamored sociopath Kilgrave.
8. Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
7 Seasons (2013 – 2020)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. follows S.H.I.E.L.D agent Phil Coulson leading a team of specialists in dealing with a myriad of unusual adversaries such as Hydra, Inhumans, alien species and so many more. The first season seemed slow and predictable, though this was used as the season to set a foundation for presenting the characters and developing the main storyline but as more seasons were produced, the showrunners started to hit their stride with more complex characters being added and being fleshed out nicely without it feeling forced.
7. Legion
3 Seasons (2017 – 2019)
Where You Can Watch It: Hulu
Set in an alternate timeline of the X-Men films, the show follows David Haller as Legion as he tries to control his mutant powers and the diabolical forces trying to control them while evading a government agency. Directed by Noah Hawley, who is more famously known for directing the highly acclaimed TV series, Fargo, Legion stands out among all the Marvel shows on this list as the main character doesn’t conform to the conventional idea of a superhero.
It’s an engrossing trip down the rabbit hole, where you don’t know what’s real and what’s not, but the attention to detail and faithfulness to the comics makes this show a must-watch, and it is a shame that it went over the radar of many potential fans.
6. What If…?
1 Season (2021 – Present)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
The only anthology series on this list, What If…? explores alternate timelines in the multiverse that show what would happen if major moments from the MCU films occurred differently.
What If…? is a bittersweet show where exceptional episodes that are simply faultless, such as What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? are pulled down by poorly thought-out episodes such as the subsequent What If… Zombies?! If the showrunners were able to find the right balance for this show, it would have easily topped this list.
5. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
TV Mini-Series (2021)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set 6 months after Sam Wilson (The Falcon) was handed the mantle of Captain America in Avengers: Endgame by a now retired Steve Rogers, and he now teams up with Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) to stop anarchists who believe the world was better during the five years after Thanos erased half of the human population with the Infinity Gauntlet.
Despite the poor execution due to the dull forgettable villains, the Flag Smashers, there are some truly spectacular characters such as Isaiah Bradley, Helmut Zemo and most importantly, John Walker, who becomes the new Captain America after Sam relinquishes the shield to the U.S. government.
4. Loki
1 Season (2021 – Present)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
The God of Mischief gets his much-awaited TV series that takes place after the events of the Avengers: Endgame, in which an alternate version of Loki created a new timeline, thus introducing fans to the main concept of MCU’s Phase Five, the multiverse.
MCU has known for a while now that Tom Hiddleston was one of the best casting choices they made, and it’s evident here once again as the charismatic Loki never skips a beat. The more surprising casting choices that pay off are Owen Wilson and Richard E. Grant, who both deliver award-worthy performances.
3. The Punisher
2 Seasons (2017 – 2019)
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
Marvel‘s The Punisher is a spin-off from the first Marvel Netflix series, Daredevil where Jon Bernthal reprises his role from Daredevil as the uncompromising Frank Castle/Punisher, a vigilante who uses whatever means necessary to dispense the much-deserved justice to criminals that seem to evade the law consistently. I can go on and on about why you should watch this show, but I’ll only give one reason: Jon Bernthal!
2. Spider-Man: The Animated Series
5 Seasons (1994 – 1998)
Where You Can Watch It: Disney+
For most of us, we grew up watching this show and even 20 years later, it still holds up as one of the best Marvel shows to be produced. Spider-Man had the ideal personality and voice-acting in Christopher Daniel Barnes, and nearly every major character in the Spider-Man verse made an appearance, and that’s not even mentioning how great and realistic the character designs were. I seriously doubt there will ever be another Spider-Man show that comes close to this.
1. Daredevil
3 Seasons (2015 – 2018)
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
We finally arrive at the crème de la crème of Marvel shows, and it’s none other than the critically acclaimed Marvel’s Daredevil that follows a blind lawyer-by-day who fights crime as a masked vigilante by night. Daredevil is to Marvel what The Dark Knight trilogy is to DC.
First, every single casting choice is flawless, from Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Jon Bernthal as The Punisher to Wilson Bethel as Benjamin ‘Dex’ Poindexter (Bullseye). Secondly, when your poorest season is the season where The Punisher is introduced, then that speaks volumes about the quality of the show.
The writing on this show is remarkable, the acting is phenomenal, the action scenes are sensational, and there are not enough positive adjectives to describe how incredible Daredevil is. This is the template to which all superhero TV series should be made and to this date, I have never understood why Netflix canceled this show.
What do fans think are the best Marvel TV Shows?
Andrew
“The best Marvel TV shows have either been with actors playing characters that fans are already familiar with like Tom Hiddleston in Loki or Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, or beloved Marvel characters like Daredevil and Punisher on their Netflix shows.
As someone who collected comics for years when I was younger, the Punisher appearing in Season Two of Daredevil was a personal favorite, and a disappointment when he did not appear again in Season Three. Marvel fans often go for the familiar whether they are fans of the movies or the comics. Yes, storylines, quality acting, and CGI are important in Marvel films and TV shows, but perhaps more importantly, fans want a connection to the characters.
Where Moonknight failed was its confusing storyline, but fans would have still been more enthusiastic about the show if Moonknight had been a more popular comic book character, while Hawkeye was always the least important character in the Avengers films and why fans didn’t watch the show with the same interest as they would if any of the other original Avengers had their own show.
Marvel plans on releasing a number of TV shows during Phase 5. I expect fans will be back in huge numbers for Season Two of Loki and for the new Daredevil series, but viewership will not be as high for Secret Invasion, Echo, Ironheart, Agatha Coven of Chaos, or Thunderbolts. Sometimes too much is too much. Some fans will still watch, but with the gluttony of content coming from the Marvel Universe, fans will be drawn to the familiar rather than these new characters and new storylines that Marvel decided were not worth their own film.”
- Andrew Selepak, PhD – is a media professor at the University of Florida
Jennifer
“I did very much enjoy Moon Knight on Disney+ and here’s why:
- The CGI is very impressive. Those creators have come a long way with using computers to create animations.
- The characters are accurate within Egyptian mythology. The deities are animal-headed and speak in the way you would think folks in ancient Egypt would talk.
- Settings and other aspects are also generally accurate. The main characters go through Egypt and through the Duat, the Egyptian underworld. The Weighing of the Heart was well manifested.
- The series addresses issues in and around dissociative identity disorder. I really thought that they applied that appropriately. “
- Jennifer Jones, the founder of Beginner Guitar HQ, a leading guitar blog
Julian
“Marvel shows are never better than when they capture the human element. Not just through the experience of the show’s characters, but through the feelings and emotions those experiences can invoke in the viewer. Many Marvel stories successfully portray the common fantasy of the everyman being gifted with great powers, but it’s the grounded tale of a person struggling against humanity, their own and that of others, that makes for the best and relatable viewing.
This is why Netflix’s The Punisher makes its case for being the best Marvel TV show in history, certainly the most human. It depicts Frank Castle, a former soldier turned anti-hero vigilante, and his goal to exact justice on those responsible for the deaths of his family. Of course, with the difference between justice and revenge being matters of perspective and morality, the show forces to the viewer to ask themselves how far they would go if presented with extreme but realistic circumstances in a way most Marvel shows cannot.
The show also doesn’t shy away from harshly accurate depictions of how American soldiers operate in foreign territories and does a phenomenal job of profiling the bitter reality of the many veterans who are cast aside and forgotten once they return. These narratives are adeptly used to create the most sympathetic of characters as well as building some of the most prolific villains seen in any show in modern television.
Combined with stellar performances by Jon Bernthal and his castmates, brutal but rewarding fight choreography, and the build delivered by an expertly written and ever thickening plot, it’s a challenge not to consider The Punisher as the best Marvel show. After all, it’s only real flaw is that it was axed needlessly before it’s time.”
- Julian Lara, Co-producer and Videographer at Proxima Clinical Research
Ali
“When talking about the best Marvel shows, there is no doubt that Netflix’s Daredevil has to be included in the running. While the second season falls short, the first and third seasons are fantastic. It’s great to see Disney+ adapting the classic Born Again comic book storyline. If done correctly, it will cement the show as one of the best comic book shows of all time.”
- Ali Subzwa, the owner of SubZero Comics
Tori
“I’ve been a Marvel fan for over 10 years now and the franchise holds a very special place in my heart. I’ve rewatched every Marvel series countless times and I would love to share my personal input. My opinion is as follows: Recently a show that’s arguably left one of the biggest impacts on the future of the MCU is Hawkeye.
Hawkeye is an Avenger that has been around since the very beginning, however, some fans including myself felt as though the on-screen adaptation was still missing so many beloved comic aspects that the show fulfilled quite enjoyably! From bringing in a sense of realism surrounding Clint’s hearing loss as one of the only humans on the Avengers team and being around constant catastrophic and deafening loud events to allowing the audience more time with his family, a lot of questions were answered.
Once again, similar to Wandavision portraying how Wanda Maximoff dealt with her grief following Avengers: Infinity War, we witness a similar process as Clint often takes time to mourn the loss of Natasha Romanov. The show introduced us to characters such as Echo and Kate Bishop as well as some returning beloved fan favorites such as Yelena Belova and most surprisingly: King Pin! Hawkeye served as actor Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of King Pin’s first MCU appearance and ignited the imaginations and spirits of Netflix Marvel TV Show fans everywhere.
Spiderman: No Way Home pulled a similar stunt with the first MCU appearance of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, but Hawkeye is now the first Marvel TV show to have done that monumental crossover with intentions of the character presumably sticking around. Actress Alaqua Cox’s MCU debut as Echo made history as well and wowed us all with her performance as well as a tease for the future of her character that will be explored in her very own show coming to us soon.
On the contrary, stepping away from shocking reveals, Hailee Steinfeld’s debut into the MCU as Kate Bishop was a long-awaited feat from the moment the show’s first trailer dropped. Over the course of just six episodes, the audience experienced a growing mentorship between Clint Barton and the young hero (that many assume will solidify Kate Bishop as one of the first future Young Avengers!)
At this point, Hawkeye provided us with glimpses into the future of both Marvel’s heroes and villains as well as allowing the audience to spend more time with one of the original six Avengers. This show exceeded my expectations in the best way possible and incorporated countless secrets and details that any fan could appreciate.”
- Tori Manuel, a freelance writer and website manager for Mels2021
Ashfaan
1. Jessica jones
After her tragic downfall from her short-term superhero career, she starts the investigation agency, and she tries to hunt down psychopath Kilgrave, whom he made to kill someone (like’s wife) from her.
2. Daredevil
A blind since childhood, Matt Murdock a lawyer, flights the criminals in the nights of new york city as Daredevil, they meant to make it darker than the other marvel project. to avoid crossovers with the wider MCU. and made crime fiction type inspired by the ’70s films.
2. Loki
One of the best Marvel shows for the time being, and the second season is expected to release end of the summer on Disney+.
After the Avengers endgame, stealing the tesseract, the group of people who controls time and space gives Loki a choice to help them to get fix the timeline from future threats.
4. Agent Carter
Peggy carter balances her life by working in Strategic Scientific Reserve(SSR) and in the meantime in S.H.I.E.L.D. Howard stark is accused of selling weapons to the enemy country, he hires Peggy carter to clear his name with help of Edwin Jarvis.
5. The Punisher
After the murder of his family, by a group of criminals. Frank Castle a marine veteran, seeks to revenge. and will be known as THE PUNISHER throughout new york city.
- Ashfaan from Movie Bureau
