The Maxx, Beware the Batman and Diabolical top tvline’s 10 most underrated superhero cartoons of all time, ranked
A Surreal Image Comics Adaptation
Image Comics began in 1992, and its title The Maxx became a 13-episode MTV series in 1995. Created for television from Sam Kieth’s comic, it stars Michael Haley as a hulking hero shunned for his monstrous appearance. The Maxx faces serial killer Mr. Gone, voiced by Barry Stigler, amid a reality-bending adventure.
The series mixes conventional 2D animation with early computer graphics and live-action footage to suggest worlds colliding. Its mature themes and surreal tone set it apart, while superhero action remains part of the show’s appeal.
Batman Beyond His Familiar Shadow
Beware the Batman premiered in 2014 as a computer-animated series, following a younger Bruce Wayne, voiced by Anthony Ruivivar, early in his crime-fighting career. He works alongside Katana, voiced by Sumalee Montano, against villains including Anarky, voiced by Wallace Langham.
The series arrived after the acclaim of Batman: The Animated Series, and it has received less attention than other later Batman cartoons. Its distinctive animation and use of less familiar elements from the character’s comic-book history make it a different take on the Caped Crusader.
An Animated Boys Spin-Off
The Boys Presents: Diabolical ran for one season in 2022, before the main series is set to wrap in 2026. The anthology features stories inspired by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s superhero saga, set in a world where Vought International sponsors immoral superheroes. Its stories do not share the main series’ continuity.
Antony Starr returns as Homelander, and the show carries over the live-action series’ graphic violence. Across eight episodes, it shifts animation styles and tones while exploring different parts of the superhero world.
Key points
- The Maxx aired on MTV for 13 episodes in 1995.
- Beware the Batman follows a younger Bruce Wayne and his partner, Katana.
- The Boys Presents: Diabolical is an eight-episode anthology from 2022.
- The featured series span surreal animation, a new Batman approach and a graphic superhero anthology.