While superhero movies have become some of the most profitable films in the world, animation has been an important aspect of many heroes’ continued pop culture success. It introduces characters and concepts to a wider audience who may have never picked up a comic book. Mainstream audiences likely know Aquaman not from comics but from Super Friends and his own animated series.

Many animated series, like the great The Spectacular Spider-Man and Batman: The Animated Series, are often regarded as some of the best incarnations of their heroes. Both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men exploded into popularity with animated series which helped build their franchises and brands into becoming viable live-action film franchises. Cartoons have also turned obscure characters like Static Shock into fan favorites, and in many ways set the template for how an audience perceives a certain character or concept like how John Stewart was Green Lantern to a generation of kids because of his role in Justice League. Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Surfer, and many other characters have led their own animated series. While the days of Saturday morning cartoons might be over, various streaming services are launching more animated superhero properties.

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With how many superhero TV shows there have been (and how many more there likely will be, probably with popular characters like Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and the X-Men), there are still plenty of heroes and teams who have never been given an animated series. They have made appearances in animated form as supporting players or guest spots, but never had a chance to lead their own series. These five superheroes who have never led their own animated series deserve to get the spotlight.

Wonder Woman

     DC Comics

In the DC universe, the three most important characters are Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. They are the pillars of the universe and are often referred to as the DC Trinity. However, while Superman and Batman have been the leads of many animated series, Wonder Woman has never gotten her own. She has been a featured player in many, but never the star. It feels like an even bigger crime when one considers Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Teen Titans, and Krypto the Super Dog have been given animated series all before Wonder Woman.

Not only is a Wonder Woman animated series long past due, but there is also plenty of material to make for an animated series. Wonder Woman’s rich comic book history means she has a wide variety of stories to adapt that fit many genres that can span from science fiction to mythic fantasy. She has a great roster of villains and an even better supporting character cast that includes multiple Wonder Girls who could have the spotlight. Given the success of 2017’s Wonder Woman film, it is almost baffling that Warner Bros. animation didn’t try to cash in by launching an animated series at the same time similar to how Marvel did with Guardians of the Galaxy following that film. As HBO Max begins to invest more in DC material, an animated Wonder Woman series seems long overdue.

Hellboy

     Dark Horse

Hellboy is one of the most popular and iconic superheroes not created by Marvel or DC, and has been the star of three live-action films yet has never had his own animated series. Two animated films were produced, 2006’s Hellboy: Sword of Storms and 2007’s Hellboy: Blood and Iron which were set in the same universe as the Guillermo Del Toro Hellboy films and were showcases for the rich world of the Hellboy comics and how well they lend themselves to an animated series.

The artwork of the Hellboy comics from Mike Mignola is iconic, and the style was already translated into animation as Mignola designed the iconic look for Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series. An entire Hellboy series done in the style of Mignola’s artwork drawing from the character’s rich vast history in the comics with multiple supporting characters seems ideal for an animated series, in many ways more so than a live-action film.

Young Avengers

     Marvel Comics

The Young Avengers are a team that Marvel Studios is heavily investing in, peppering various members of the team into the Marvel Cinematic Universe across various films in Phase 4 and likely will continue through Marvel’s Phase 5 and 6. With that in mind, a great way to raise the status of the various characters, as well as the concept of The Young Avengers, is with an animated series. While animation is a rich art form that appeals to everyone, it is primarily aimed at younger viewers, particularly children.

A superhero series focused on a group of heroes close to the age of the target audience is an easy sell, and combine that with being connected to the legacy of one of the most popular superhero teams in popular culture, it seems like an easy slam dunk. Animated shows focused on young heroes have been something DC has turned into massive hits with both Teen Titans and Young Justice, and Marvel has the ultimate group of young heroes to fill the void.

Not only could the series include popular mainstays like Wiccan, Stature, Patriot, Hulkling, Kate Bishop Hawkeye, Iron Lad, Speed, and America Chavez, but they could also bring in other popular young heroes to the series like Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and X-23 as well as feature guest appearances by various Avengers.

Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld

     DC

While Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld technically has already been adapted into animation, it was on a series of shorts for the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network in 2013. However, the character feels like the perfect fit for a full animated series. Instead of traditional superheroics, this is an epic sword and sorcery fantasy series. That has been particularly popular in animation, most recently with Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

DC essentially has their own version of a He-Man/She-Ra type series they are just sitting on and not doing anything with. While she might not be the most well-known character, the concept is strong enough that it could introduce her to a wider audience, if the comic isn’t turned into a movie. Animation has often been the gateway to introducing an obscure character to a wider audience, and Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld could be the next big DC franchise.

The Inhumans

The Inhumans were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby during their groundbreaking run on Fantastic Four and were introduced right before Galactus, the Silver Surfer, and Black Panther. They have been one of the most interesting concepts in the Marvel universe and one that writers have had plenty of fun exploring over the years. There was a time when they were set to be the next big Marvel franchise.

While the character’s mythology was explored in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the disastrous response to the 2017 Inhumans series did a lot of damage to the brand. Despite Anson Mount reprising his role as Black Bolt in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it appears the Inhumans will be taking a backseat in the MCU to both the Eternals and the X-Men with the traditionally Inhuman Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel being changed to a mutant.

While the characters might not have an immediate future in the MCU, the Inhumans have potential, particularly in the form of an animated series. It features a colorful cast of characters with unique powers and an entire history and relationship with one another that could be explored.

There are multiple runs from the Inhumans comics that the series could draw from, even including the recent developments that were done as a way to push the Inhumans to the forefront as an attempt to replace the X-Men before Disney had their film rights. An animated series could feature Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, arguably the most popular Inhuman character, as an audience POV character and hook for general audiences and have her explore the various Inhuman culture and society and meet the Inhuman royal family.

Inhumans could be a big grand sci-fi epic, featuring the Inhuman Royal family not only dealing with threats from within like Maximus, but a new batch of Inhumans appearing around the world, threats from other nations, and even cosmic threats like the Kree. Inhumans has such a rich mythology that might be better suited for an animated series, where it can really go big on huge concepts the live-action series was limited to because of budgetary restrictions.