Top 5 television shows based on Marvel comics

Marvel is famously known for setting high standards at the box office, but the superhero juggernaut has also been making inroads into television. Since the premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC in 2013, it has quietly but gradually put together a diverse mix of programming, ranging from the gritty to the experimental.

Marvel television has evolved dramatically, covering platforms such as ABC, FX, Netflix, Hulu, Freeform, and Disney+. They have soared to great heights and evolved into something as bizarre and ambitious as their big-screen equivalent, ranging from dark, action-packed thrillers to mind-bending comedic parodies.

With such a diverse range of comic material on screen, we pick our five favorite Marvel television shows.

Note: Opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer.

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Hawkeye, Legion and three more of the best TV shows based on Marvel comics

5) Agent Carter

Agent Carter (Image via Marvel.com)

This cheerful ABC adventure, set after World War II, follows Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter as she struggles to negotiate post-war tensions, Russian sleeper spies, and sexist coworkers. From the sleek 1940s couture to the colorful supporting cast, the entire production is brimming with vitality. But the attention is on Atwell, who imbues Peggy with tenacity and fighting spirit to portray a kind but battle-tested soldier in red lipstick.

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4) Hawkeye

Jeremy Renner's bow-wielding hero was the last of the original six Avengers to have a solo project, and what a treat that solo endeavor proved to be. Clint Barton occasionally fell flat on the big screen, especially when compared to his more spectacular counterparts, such as the wise-cracking rich playboy or the hammer-wielding deity from outer space.

Clint, on the other hand, shines in his own Disney+ program; a brisk, New York-set narrative inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja's legendary Hawkeye comic series.

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3) Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones was by far the most steady of the Marvel-Netflix programs. It had the same pacing issues as the other titles, but you could always count on the stars and creative team to never lose track of the season's thematic flow, be it Season 1's dive into trauma, sexual assault, and misogyny, Season 2's exploration of anger, or Season 3's look at the responsibilities and limitations that come with power.

Krysten Ritter, who was brilliantly cast as the sardonic, reserved, and super-powered private investigator who didn't know if she was or even wanted to be a hero, was a significant driver of the show's popularity.

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2) Legion

Legion (Image via Marvel.com)

If The Gifted exemplified one approach to an X-Men TV program, Legion, starring Dan Stevens, exemplified the other. The show focused on a single individual with an immensely strong and life-changing mutation. Telepathy is a tough skill to express visually – anybody who has watched Dark Phoenix will remember the agonizingly lengthy moments of Michael Fassbender and Sophie Turner looking at one another, squinting and moaning as they just thought extremely hard.

Legion, on the other hand, created riotously enjoyable sequences by devoting its whole style to the investigation of mental abilities. Telepathic confrontations were shown as dance-offs or comical wrestling, with fast shifts between genres and periods, portraying what it would be like to be continually inundated by the ideas of others.

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1) WandaVision

Since WandaVision shattered the paradigm of what a comic book programme could — and should — be, the start of the Disney+ era of Marvel TV signified a fresh beginning for all of its television series. They were highly stylized, high-concept episodes that took fans through every decade of iconic sitcoms with a startling level of detail.

All of that was enriched by an amazing plot that was more about a superhero gradually accepting her own grief rather than fighting yet another event threatening to end the world.