10 non-standard superhero series

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you're tired of characters in tights constantly saving the world, check out these designs.

1. Guys

• USA, 2019 - present.
• Drama, action.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 9.

The series is set in a world where superheroes fighting criminals have become real stars. One of these defenders accidentally kills the girl of the protagonist. And then he is invited to his team by Billy Butcher - a former special agent who dreams of destroying all supermen.

The combination of black humor, grotesque cruelty and drama "Boys" became one of the main premieres of 2019. But in fact, the series shows what superheroes would look like if they were in our real world.

2. Legion

• USA, 2017–2019.
• Science fiction, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

David Haller has been in a psychiatric hospital since childhood. He is being treated for paranoid schizophrenia and personality disorder. In fact, he is the strongest mutant with many superpowers. But David was already almost resigned to his madness. And then he meets a beautiful girl.

This series formally belongs to the X-Men universe, and the main character is the son of Professor Charles Xavier. But the authors abandoned traditional superheroics in favor of a completely insane plot, a significant part of which takes place in the fantasies of the protagonist.

3. Waste

• UK, 2009-2013.
• Science fiction, black comedy, drama.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Five hooligans who were sent to community service for petty crimes are caught in a violent storm. After being struck by lightning, each of them receives unusual superpowers: from the ability to rewind time back to telepathy. But at the same time, the heroes remain hooligans who do not know how to behave themselves.

The British TV series looks like a parody of typical superhero stories, where characters, having acquired abilities, immediately become noble and begin to defend the world. As a result, The Dregs is more like Shameless than Marvel comics. This is a very funny and rude series about teenagers from the lower strata of society.

4. Doom Patrol

• USA, 2019 - present.
• Action, adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

After a terrible accident, race car driver Cliff Steele wakes up in the body of a hulking robot. It turns out that a scientist saved him, and now Cliff joins a whole team of the same strange heroes. Among them is a psychopath with 64 personalities, a pilot in whose body an unearthly entity lives, and in the past a popular actress who turns into a shapeless mass.

The main difference between Doom Patrol and other superhero projects is the constant change of mood. Bright and sometimes very vulgar humor is here side by side with touching themes. After all, all the characters are, first of all, lost people who have lost their ordinary life and found a new family.

5. Jessica Jones

• USA, 2015-2019.
• Detective, drama, fantasy, neo-noir.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Jessica Jones has superpowers and works as a detective. But the trauma of the past hinders her from leading a normal and calm life: she received enormous strength not of her own free will, and then she also fell under the influence of a sadist capable of controlling people.

In 2015, Marvel decided to launch several dark adult series on Netflix, which are very different from the typical movie comics of the company. But Jessica Jones stands out even among them. This is primarily a noir detective story about a lonely heroine suffering from PTSD.

6. Umbrella Academy

• USA, 2019 - present.
• Science fiction, drama, action.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

In 1989, 43 children were born at the same time worldwide, and their mothers were not even pregnant. The mysterious billionaire Reginald Hargreaves has gathered some of them and raised a whole team of superheroes. Years later, all Umbrella Academy graduates have to unite to prevent the end of the world.

With a completely standard form and theme, this series is primarily a drama that tells about the difficulties of family relationships. Having gathered again, all the heroes first need to learn to trust each other, which is very difficult: each of them once ruined their childhood.

7. Tick

• USA, 2017–2019.
• Comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The invulnerable superhero Tick in a blue tick suit fights crime in the city. Arthur, a nervous young man, becomes his assistant. Together they need to figure out and catch a villain called the Terror, who has long been believed to be dead.

The main role in this project was played by comedian Peter Serafinovich. And "Tika" can be considered a parody in the spirit of "Naked Gun" rather than just another superhero project. Everything here is presented as ridiculous and funny as possible.

8. Lucky

• UK, 2016 - present.
• Drama, crime.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Harry Clayton is constantly unlucky. Police work does not bring success, and there are continuous problems in my personal life. But everything changes when Harry meets a stranger. She gives him an ancient bracelet that brings good luck. But this same artifact turns out to be the cause of big problems.

"Lucky" was created by legendary comic book writer Stan Lee. And the main idea here is that you have to pay for any good - sometimes with personal relationships and the happiness of loved ones.

9. Legends of Tomorrow

• USA, 2016 - present.
• Science fiction, comedy, adventure.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Time Traveler Rip Hunter gathers a team of heroes and criminals. Together they travel into the past and the future and try to avoid terrible tragedies for humanity.

The CW's superhero series are criticized by many for their cheap special effects and silly plots. But the authors of Legends of Tomorrow decided to take a slightly different path. They turned all the madness of what was happening to the maximum, turning the plot into an outright trash comedy. And this saves the project from unnecessary criticism.

10. Superpowers

• USA, 2015-2016.
• Drama, crime, fantasy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

In a world where superheroes live next to ordinary people, a special department appears in the police. Detectives Christian Walker and Dina Pilgrim investigate murders committed by criminals with superpowers.

This series is somewhat reminiscent of "Boys". But it was filmed a few years earlier and is a little simpler. But the main thing is that here superheroes are shown most often as villains, and the main emphasis is on the detective component.