Marvel Studios entered the world of television in 2021 withWandaVisionandThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Before the Disney+ Marvel series, however, a separate division known as Marvel Television had already produced a multitude of Marvel shows. Most of these shows, includingMarvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.andDaredevil, had taken place within the MCU, but due to studio politics at the time, the shows did not cross over with the films and were relegated to their own self-contained space. Marvel Television has since beenfolded into Marvel Studios, with greater connectivity between the films and television series being promised moving forward. What’s more, Marvel shows on Netflixhave moved to Disney+, raising questions about their canonical status.
Updated July 13, 2025: This article has been updated with even more Marvel Television series as well as recent developments regarding the MCU, including releases likeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andSecret Invasion.
Since the beginning of Phase 4 of the MCU, new television series have prominently featured key characters from the films. Wong has appeared inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the end credit scene forMs. Marvelfeatured Captain Marvel, andSecret Invasionstarred Nick Fury. Television series are now more important to the overall MCU viewing experience. Unfortunately, that has led to many fans paying little attention to television series that did not have the “Marvel Studios” branding. Some of these shows may not have ever been connected to the MCU but still featured Marvel Comics characters in their own unique original series. There are hours and hours of Marvel material that fans have missed out on. Here are twelve Marvel television shows that MCU fans have forgotten about.
12Blade: The Television Series
Two years before the release of Iron Man and the MCU began, Marvel’s biggest film franchises were X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and of all characters Blade. Blade went from a minor cult hero in the comics to the star of his own trilogy of films released from 1998 to 2004. AfterBlade: Trinity, a television series was put into development that would continue the story of Blade titledBlade: The Series.
Related:Why Blade Is One of the Most Underrated Movies Ever Made in 4 Key Points
Rapper Sticky Fingaz was cast as Blade, and the series ran for one season on SpikeTV before being canceled. Blade is set to join the MCU with Mahershala Ali playing the title role, and while Wesley Snipes version of the character cast a large shadow, the television series has mainly been forgotten about.
11Mutant X
After the success of Fox’sX-Menin 2000, Marvel was looking to get a piece of that profit themselves. The only issue was thatthey didn’t have the rights to any X-Men characters. Out of this, the legally distinctMutant Xwas created. A show that would be completely separate from the X-Men continuity and something that Marvel could own to themselves without any conflict with Fox - or so they thought. Months before the release of the series, Fox would hit Marvel with a lawsuit that would outlast the show and go on for 4 years before it was privately settled. Fox stated thatMutant Xwas infringing on their exclusive rights, while Marvel claimed it was dissimilar. The court allowed production of the series under the condition that no X-Men material was used in promotion, andMutant Xwas born.
The series centered around geneticist Adam Kane, who starts the titular team after his experiments accidentally led to the creation of hundreds of mutants. While Adam himself is not a mutant, he’s made it his goal to save those that he created and help them better society with their newfound abilities. As with anything X-Men related, the mutants in the show faced pushback from the public and the government, who attempted to capture and experiment on them.Mutant Xran for three seasons from 2001-2004 until it was abruptly canceled when one of its production companies, Fireworks Entertainment, was dissolved.
10Inhumans
When Marvel Studios' plan for Phase 3 was first announced, theInhumans were set to get their own feature film, much to Kevin Feige’s contempt. It was during this period of time that then Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter wanted a massive push for the Inhumans and use them to replace the X-Men since they didn’t have the rights. After amassive company shake that put Feige in charge, the project was quickly moved over to Marvel’s separate television division and away from the MCU as a whole. Put together on a shoestring budget,Inhumansaired in 2017 on ABC, along with the first two episodes playing in IMAX theaters.
The royal Inhuman family, led by Black Bolt and Medusa, live in peace in the city of Attilan on the Moon. When Black Bolt’s brother Maximus overthrows him with a military coup, the royal family retreat to Hawaii, where they must save themselves and the world.Poor critical reception of the series lead to its quick cancelation, but recently Anson Mount made his return as Black Bolt inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.With talks of his character making a return in the MCU’s mainline continuity, the series can be watched now on Disney+ for anyone interested in seeing how the tumultuous show turned out.
9Guardians of the Galaxy
2014’sGuardians of the Galaxymade the relatively unknown team a household name. At the time, Marvel animation was booming on Disney XD. With series likeAvengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man,andHulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H,they were looking to add a new show to the Marvel Universe block of programming. To capitalize on the team’s new popularity, Marvel quickly moved to develop an animated series. While it wouldn’t be connected to the MCU in any way, it took inspiration from that version of the team in their designs, roster, and soundtrack.
Premiering in 2015, the series would go on to air for three total seasons. While they may look like the MCU versions of the characters, they follow the comic backstories. This includes a different parentage for Star-Lord as he meets his father, J’son, the Emperor of Spartax, in the show. Before he made his live-action debut inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol 3this year,theHigh Evolutionarymakes an appearance in season 2 in a crossover with The Avengers as they team up to stop him. While the series had positive reviews, including an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, it would end in 2018 after the third season.
8Marvel 616
Marvel 616was an episode documentary series that aired on Disney+ on August 06, 2025. Each episode focuses on a different interesting aspect of the Marvel Universe and how it impacted the real world. From a great episode highlighting the history and legacy of the Toei Japanese Spider-Man toHow Did This Get Madepodcast co-host Paul Scheerattempting to pitch a Disney+ series with an obscure title Brute Force, the series goes to show just how wide-reaching the Marvel Universe is.
One great episode seesCommunitystar Gillian Jacobs interview various women about the history and impact various women have had on the Marvel Universe, both the heroes as well as artists and writers. Another episode put the spotlight on Children’s theater groups that put on special plays based on Marvel characters, allowing kids to both get into the creative field of acting while also showcasing how these concepts and characters relate to a modern audience. It was a truly wonderful series that got great reviews that was sadly removed from Disney+ on August 05, 2025.
7The Gifted
The first season ofThe Giftedlaunched a few months after the release ofLogan. LikeLogan,The Giftedwas set in a world where the X-Men had disappeared but did not take place intheX-Menmovie universe. The series was centered on an ordinary suburban family forced to go on the run. The Strucker family joined the Mutant Underground in protecting mutants from the corrupt government agency, Sentinel Services. But another mutant resistance group, the Inner Circle, had its own way of doing things.
Related:Secret Invasion: Everything Marvel Should Learn From the Show
Whenever the Mutant Underground made progress towards peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans, the Inner Circle made things a lot more complicated.The Giftedhad a great cast and told an emotionally resonant story before it was canceled following the end of its second season.
6M.O.D.O.K.
Patton Oswalt played the Koenig brothers inAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.and Pip the Troll inEternals. But the actor also co-created the stop-motion adult animated seriesM.O.D.O.K., and played its titular character.M.O.D.O.K.even featuredSonic the Hedgehogvoice actor Ben Schwartz as M.O.D.O.K.’s son, Lou. The show was a hit with critics but received a more mixed response from Marvel fans.
M.O.D.O.K. had been a character considered to be difficult to bring into live-action due to his gigantic head. His stop-motion series tried to be ridiculous and not take itself too seriously, attempting to emulate theRobot Chickenstyle of adult humor. There was no grand overarching plot other than M.O.D.O.K. suffering a midlife crisis, acting as a strange father in a family of four, and struggling to manage his financially-troubled A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics). The series was canceled after only one season, as it was greenlit shortly before Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios.M.O.D.O.K recently made his live-action debut inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which reimagined the villain as previousAnt-Manvillain Darren Cross being turned into M.O.D.O.K. by Kang the Conqueror.
5Hit-Monkey
M.O.D.O.K.was greenlit alongside four other Marvel animated comedy series that were to unite in a crossover event:The Offenders. Two of the series,Howard the DuckandTigra & Dazzler,were canceled before they began animation, but one was already well into development, and that wasHit-Monkey. The series follows a wronged Japanese macaque who is mentored by the ghost of an American assassin as they travel the criminal underworld. The series premiered on Hulu on July 15, 2025, and received positive reviews.
UnlikeM.O.D.O.K.,Hit-Monkeywas renewed for a second season, likely due to the fact that the MCU had no plans for the character like they did M.O.D.O.K. However, season 2 notably dropped the Marvel branding from the title, effectively distancing the series from the larger franchise and brand. NowHit-Monkeyis, for all intents and purposes, just another adult animated series.
Marvel initially developedRunawaysas a feature-length film before it was shelved and became a Hulu television series. Six teenagers united upon discovering their parents were part of an evil organization. PRIDE, the name of the organization, was a charity in Los Angeles, a front they used to mask their criminal activities and dark secrets.Runawaysdealt with real teenage issues as well as the fantastical, involving both aliens and magic. The series featured the Book of Spells, known as the Darkhold, before Marvel Studios’WandaVision.
For a teenage series,Runawayssometimes got surprisingly dark and was a character-centric series. But it balanced that darkness with light-hearted moments and the occasional joy of being a teenager. It also was unafraid to get weird, even including a genetically engineered dinosaur.Runawayswas in that grey area of being “part of” the MCU but never referencing any major events or being referenced itself, but it would be a shame if these characters never made a return to the franchise. It appears the series might soon be forgotten completely as theshow was removed from Disney+ and Hulu.
3Cloak and Dagger
Tyrone Johnson (Cloak) and Tandy Bowen (Dagger) were two teenagers with a supernatural connection after a shared childhood tragedy. The event gave Tyrone the ability to teleport and see people’s fears. Tandy, on the other hand, gained the ability to summon light daggers and learn about people’s desires. The two teenagers developed a strong friendship and discovered that they were stronger when they were together.
Throughout the series' two seasons, Tyrone and Tandy investigated the night that took their loved ones. They worked with Detective O’Reilly to uncover the corruption within her police department.Cloak and Daggerwas a Marvel television series geared towards teenagers and young adults. It was less a superhero show and more of a mature teen drama. Cloak and Dagger did a crossover withThe Runaways,and now seems like they would fit right at home in an MCU that is filling up with teenage superheroes.Cloak and Daggermay have only lasted two seasons, but this is one of Marvel’s most underrated series about two cult favorite characters.
