In the 20th century, Marvel’s leap into TV and movies was a rollercoaster ride of modest hits, near-misses, cult classics, and full on disasters that laid the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe we know today. After 2024, we saw only one MCU release with Deadpool and Wolverine, and 2025 serves up three with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and Fantastic Four: First Steps, all hitting cinemas this year.
It all began with the Captain America 1944 serial, a low-budget yet intriguing chapter in superhero history, with the star-spangled hero battling the Red Skull on the big screen.
Fast-forward to the 1970s, and Marvel found a niche in TV with The Incredible Hulk series (1977–1982), starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, a beloved cult classic that spawned TV movies, including The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988).
Meanwhile, the Amazing Spider-Man (1977–1979) TV series turned Peter Parker into a modest small-screen hero, on an even more modest budget. Starring as a feature-length pilot episode in 1977 (titled Spider-Man), The Amazing Spider-Man (1977) live-action series was short-lived. However, the producers found a way to spin a profit by editing episodes together to release them (outside of America) in cinemas.
Using a few new scenes shot at the Daily Bugle to fill in some plot gaps, episodes were edited together and released theatrically outside of America. Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, and Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge all saw in inside of European cinemas.
Meanwhile, Spidey got a unique 1978 version featuring a mecha robot in Japan.
1978 also saw the Doctor Strange TV movie, a bizarre take on the Sorcerer Supreme that never quite caught on. For the most part, the film plays out like a pilot episode of a medical drama.
Captain America returned to TV in 1979 with a cheesy live-action movie that left much to be desired, no not much, everything.
Howard the Duck (1986) is one of Marvel’s most bizarre and cult-favorite creations, brought to life in a quirky, live-action film that blended sci-fi, slapstick comedy, and a hefty dose of weird. Despite being a box office flop, the film has gained a following for its outlandish premise.
Still, Marvel wasn’t done experimenting—The Punisher (1989) starred Dolph Lundgren in a grim, forgotten film adaptation that’s more of a generic revenge movie. Generation X (1996) produced a feature-length pilot to launch a new TV series that never happened.
Not satisfied with its late 70s cut-price Captain America, the 90s tried again with a baffling, low-budget affair that missed the mark, leaving fans confused. If I’m being honest, I felt hurt and a little sad after I wasted almost a month’s worth of pocket money to buy this heap on VHS. Cap’s shield is essentially a big frisbee.
The 1991 Power Pack TV pilot remains a largely forgotten chapter in Marvel’s history. Despite this, the reception to the completed pilot episode was powerfully negative, before it was ultimately shelved. Based on the 1980s comic series, Power Pack followed a group of young siblings who gain superpowers after an alien encounter.
The pilot tries very hard to blend family-friendly action with the fun of superhero adventures, it failed to capture either and the show wasn’t picked up to series by NBC. However, Fox picked the Power Pack pilot episode up, and it was eventually broadcast. It has been reported that a new Power Pack TV series for Disney+ is in the works, but there’s no shortage of Marvel shows in various stages of development.
There’s little concrete evidence that the abandoned 90s She-Hulk movie was ever truly in the works, but despite ongoing financial troubles, production got fairly far along before the plug was pulled. We even got an official poster for the film, which, in hindsight, may have been tempting the wrath of the movie gods. The disastrous box office and critical response to Howard the Duck made it nearly impossible to get another Marvel movie off the ground, and She-Hulk couldn’t lift the weight of that failure.
1998 was also home to Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, one of the most 90s things ever to 90s. Starring David Hasselhoff, an over-the-top movie that was, well, something only the 1990s could deliver, from clunky one-liners to a plot that makes little sense, The Hoff as Fury has to been seen to be believed.
The decade closed out (well, 1998) with perhaps the best and worst 90s Marvel had to offer. We had a taste of the R-rated Marvel with Wesley Snipe’s iconic role as vampire hunter Blade. X-Men is frequently cited as the point when movie studios saw that superhero movies could work on a big scale (outside of Batman or Superman), but Blade kicked that door open.
From cheesy serials to offbeat TV pilots, Marvel’s early ventures showed that the road to superhero stardom would be anything but smooth, but they laid the foundation for the massive franchise that would follow.
Captain America: Brave New World is out now in cinemas everywhere.
