Could an original superhero show work?

adnama

New member
Does anyone think an original superhero cartoon (as opposed to one based off an existing comic book) could work in this day and age?
 
Whether it would or not, it would be a lot of fun to see a new superhero we can all look up to.

Nowadays though, he would probably have to be a teenager, probably a popular guy looking to get with some girl he likes, high class, and with some other characteristics that are not exactly of the "hero" quality. Add to that there might also be a lot of lame humor.

A good superhero like a mature adult with a career, like was Superman, would probably not work today, though to me that was and is the best kind of superhero.

Should another superhero come, I would hope it will at least be in the style of Teen Titans where the characters had at least some decency maturity wise.
 
It could work, and has been done plenty of times, it's just they lack the 'staying' power without having a company putting out a comic for half a century. So, once it's over, it's over, and most likely won't arise again further down the line as opposed to the fifth Spider-Man cartoon or sixth Bat-Man cartoon.
 
Of course. It's already happened a few times. Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, Danny Phantom, Atomic Betty, My Life as a Teenage Robot and the Powerpuff Girls all did well enough for themselves.
 
Danny Pahntom
Ben 10

& even to an extent Secret saturdays already prove they can (althogh the last one is action/adventure, but you catch my drift)

Comic-esque shows can & have worked in the past & can work now & in the future, if there exicuted in the proper way.
 
Like everybody's been saying it's been done loads of times already. I have to admit questions like this kinda bug me...

Could an original superhero show be successful? Well I don't know that depends on a lot of things, whats it about? Is the main character interesting enough to hold a series? Does it have a cool rogues gallary? What about supporting characters? Is it a drama or a comedy or a bit of both?

Who's on the creative team? Does it have good writers and decent quality animation. Is it being marketed well? Did the network give it a good time slot?

There are a million tiny little factors that can save or damn a show and most of them are virtualy impossible to predict or control.
 
I definitely disagree with the notion that Superman wouldn't work today. Big Blue has endured for over half a century and remains one of the most popular and iconic superhero characters.

He just hasn't gotten a new series in a while. (Unless one counts Legion of Super Heroes, and some people don't.) If Superman Returns had been a huge box office success the way Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were, I can guarantee that we'd have gotten a new Superman animated series.
 
I didn't mean a new series of Superman, I meant a new superhero with some of the characteristics of Superman. He was a far more mature man than a teenaged superhero, and had a lot more admirable qualities. Of course if a new Superman was made it would sell because its Superman. :D
 
Kim Possible while not a super powered character did well enough, and even became the longest running Disney cartoon of this decade (second longest would be Lilo & Stitch).
 
Like with any cartoon it would need a solid story and some interesting characters, without those two elements it would probably fall flat because most people want superhero cartoons based off of their favorite comics. I personally would love something like this, we have had some in the past and even shows like Ben 10 could be considered "superhero", but a true hero-style show would be really cool and something to look foward to every week, maybe even a superhero team instead of one solitary hero......that would be cool.
 
But can it work with an original adult hero? Unknown, it seems that when creating an original cartoon character superhero or not these days the character is more likely a kid. While an original adult hero could work it might be a risk cartoon creators and Tv executives are willing to make.
 
Is there even any proof that the target audience won't enjoy a show with an original adult hero? I mean preference means that a person likes one choice better than the other, not that they dislike the other choice.
 
Yeah, Danny Phantom and My Life as a Teenage Robot are both good examples. They both "worked", and they were both enjoyable shows as well.

I casually watch Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures. I haven't read the comic books, and I still like both of those shows. I mean, I don't see why a comic book writer has to write the show (well, not write the show, but the comic writer would contribute to all of the plot lines in the show). A television writer could write the show just as good as a comic book writer could right the comic, right? If the show is enjoyable, it doesn't matter if it's original ~or~ if it is based on a comic book.
 
I think an original superhero could work. Superman, Spider-Man and Batman start to get old when they've had almost 10 series by now. (I actually have had an idea for a cartoon starring an original superhero for awhile now.. :sweat:)
 
If it's done by Disney or Nick then absolutely.

A smaller company would likely have trouble getting an unestablished superhero character off the ground though.
 
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