Cartoon Network
Everyone loves comic book movies. The Avengers, the X-Men franchise, and the reboots of Batman and Superman have provided audiences with hours of photo-real super hero action. However, animated series really allow comic book stories to come to life in the form most natural to them. They can accomplish way more super-powered action without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on special effects. Sometimes you need to get a little anxiety out after a long day of work or school, a fight with your partner, or a generally stressful day. Why not relax and let your favorite superheroes kick ass on your behalf?
Young Justice
This series focuses on the second generation of the Justice League. It’s similar to Teen Titans but takes more of a serious approach to the DC Universe. It follows the adventures of Robin, Aqua-Lad, Kid Flash, Super Boy, Miss Martian and Artemis. There are tons of cameos by Justice Leagures and major villains like Lex Luthor, Bane, and Vandal Savage. Die-hard DC fans will enjoy a fresh take on the universe with a new take on many of the characters. There are also voice appearances by Danica McKellear, Jesse McCartney, Lacey Chabert, Marinia Sirtis, and even Dave Franco.
The Superhero Squad Show
This Marvel series blends cartoon irreverence with serious comic book action. Lego-ish versions of your favorite members of the Marvel universe battle your least favorite villains. Some major marvel team-ups from your wildest dreams happen with pint-sized versions that must defend Super Hero City from the residents of Villainville. The series is cute and is fun to watch when you need to turn your brain off and just enjoy some good old-fashioned cartoons. It takes your favorite parts of the comics and gives them a slapstick makeover. There are some high profiled voices including Ty Burrell, Cheryl Hines, Mark Hamill, and even Stan Lee himself.
Batman Beyond
This series is set in the future of the wildly popular Batman: The Animated Series. It finds Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) retired from crime fighting but with a major bug up his ass about the criminals of Gotham City. His solution appears in the form of Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) who gets a super powered version of the popular cape and cowl. Together, they battle meta-human and techno-powered villains. There are plenty of cameos by popular Batman favorites like Barbara Gordon and Harley Quinn. The series also gives the show a drastically futuristic take on the popular crime fighter.
This prematurely canceled series is a great precursor to X-Men: Days of Future Past. Like the upcoming film, it incorporates a post-apocalyptic future ravaged by sentinels, time travel, and Wolverine. In this version, a mysterious attack at the X-Mansion finds Professor X and Jean Grey missing. Professor X has been transported to a horrible future where mutants are hunted by the villainous robots. He contacts Wolverine telepathically from the future to reunite the X-Men. He drafts popular members Cyclops, Ice Man, Shadowcat, Beast, and villain White Queen to form a new squad. Aided by intel from the future Professor X who has his own host of allies they try and save the future from Sentinels and the MRD (Mutant Response Division). The series has tons of cameos by your favorite characters from the comic books. It feels like the perfect blend of the original X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men: Evolution.
Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
This series takes the characters of Batman: The Animated Series and The Adventures of Superman to their inevitable roles in the eponymous Justice League. People may mistakenly confuse this DC team with The Super Friends. However, this series is all action all the time as popular DC villains join forces and the Justice League must rally to destroy them. Later seasons of the series were branded Justice League Unlimited.
All of these series are available for binge watching on Netflix.
