7 More Marvel Spotlight TV Shows Which Need To Follow ECHO And WONDER MAN

Despite reducing the number of TV shows it produces for Disney+, Marvel Studios can still take advantage of Echo's "Marvel Spotlight" banner for some characters. See who we think should be next here...

By JoshWilding - Jun 16, 2024 12:06 PM EST

Filed Under: Marvel Studios

Last December, Marvel Studios revealed its plans to release Echo under a new "Marvel Spotlight" banner which gives them "the platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity."

It's unclear whether the plan moving forward is for all of these TV shows to be rated TV-MA and kept separate from the wider MCU, but with Wonder Man also set to boast that banner, we'd say a combination of both is likely. That allows Marvel Studios to tell a greater range of stories and, with so much talk of "superhero fatigue," it comes at a good time.

However, with Kevin Feige and company also dialling back its streaming offerings, they'll need to be more selective than ever when it comes to deciding which projects will head down this route. Below, we've selected seven characters who would either benefit from a darker tone or be freed from being enlisted for the next big crossover. And, in some instances, they fit into both categories!

You can find out who we've singled for possible "Marvel Spotlight" TV shows by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.

7. The Punisher

jon-bernthals-new-punisher-series-to-be-announced-at-d23-01-1-copy

Jon Bernthal is reprising his Netflix role as Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again and while The Punisher series was a mixed bag, there are plenty of stories which can still be told with him (especially in the MCU).

Throwing Frank into The Avengers doesn't make sense. Sure, he could eventually cross paths with Spider-Man or perhaps even the Thunderbolts, but this character has always been at his best as a lone wolf operating on the fringes of the Marvel Universe.

Ideally suited to a TV-MA rating, Marvel Studios can ditch Marvel Television's convoluted origin story and delve into the anti-hero's mission along with the moral complexities surrounding it.

Along the way, we can finally explore his rogues gallery beyond Jigsaw, all while delving into a corner of this world that the superheroes don't get their hands dirty with. Sure, Captain America and Thor can fight off an alien invasion, but who deals with drug dealers and crime lords? After all, they need to be punished too...

6. Squirrel Girl

Unbeatable-Squirrel-Girl-Vol-2-7-Classic-Variant-Textless-copy

Werewolf by Night proved the MCU can get weird, so why not shift the spotlight to Doreen Green, a superhero who is quite simply unlike any other?

Squirrel Girl is a teenager who has taken it upon herself to save the day from rude ruffians with her squirrel mates Monkey Joe and Tippy-Toe at her side. They won’t back down from a fight because they aren’t quitters; in fact, whenever she finds herself in a bind she calls on her squirrels, and a bushy-tailed army comes to her aid.

This character will never fly in a major movie franchise, but that doesn't mean the small-town superhero can't still shine.

This series obviously wouldn't boast a TV-MA rating but feels like a "Special Presentation" or "Marvel Spotlight" series which will benefit greatly from being standalone. Sure, she can hang out with her fellow heroes if it's called for but, in the meantime, Marvel can tell a fun, standalone origin story and deliver a show that's in equal parts wacky and memorable.

5. Nova

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Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn never had much interest in Nova, hence why the character has fallen by the wayside. The destruction of the Nova Corps before Avengers: Infinity War either perfectly set the stage for his debut or closed the door on it, but Marvel Spotlight may be the way to go.

One possibility is telling Nova's story and having it end with him dying at the hands of Thanos when he attacked Xandar. As the Mad Titan leaves the planet, Richard Rider's helmet could be shown travelling into the cosmos to find a new host, teasing the possibility of Sam Alexander following in his footsteps...one day.

Alternatively, bring him into the present-day MCU, but keep his adventures completely separate from Earth and the Guardians. Then, once Marvel Studios decides what's next for Star-Lord and that team, the possibility of throwing Nova into the mix is there.

Either way, there are still rumblings about Marvel Studios doing something with the character, and we'd say a "Marvel Spotlight" series is a good start when it comes to adding this hero to the mix.

4. Ka-Zar And Shanna The She-Devil

The Savage Land remains a location that's ripe for a whole host of stories, and how better to familiarise fans with it than by introducing Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil?

Some would inevitably roll their eyes at the prospect of following the adventures of Marvel's Tarzan "rip-off" and his scantily clad other half, but both characters are more complex than they appear on the surface. Both lived in civilisation before making their way to the Savage Land and, there, they befriended an intelligent mutant sabretooth tiger and even had to deal with dinosaurs.

A project like this, whether it's family-focused or a gory TV-MA fight to survive, has tonnes of potential and offers viewers the chance to explore a new side of the MCU.

The Savage Land could be revisited in plenty of franchises (Wolverine has spent a fair bit of time there as have The Avengers) but Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil can do their own thing, introducing a whole new culture in the process!

3. Ghost Rider

For the time being, we're guessing Ghost Rider won't be getting a movie. The two starring Nicolas Cage weren't particularly well-received either critically or financially and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has proven the Spirit of Vengeance can work on television.

Marvel Studios would be wise to go back to the drawing board with Johnny Blaze, delivering a comic-accurate spin on the character in a TV-MA series which doesn't hold back on the horror or sheer weirdness of a motorbike-riding superhero with a flaming skull. At the same time, the MCU's supernatural side can continue to be elaborated on and explored.

With Mephisto supposedly set to appear in Ironheart, there are ways to tie this potential "Marvel Spotlight" series into the wider MCU, but at the same time, it can be left as its own thing.

Werewolf by Night showed that there's a whole untapped genre of superhero stories for Marvel Studios to explore, with Ghost Rider a terrific choice to kick that door open and start exploring a new side of this shared world (similar to the R-Rated Blade...if it ever happens.

2. Deathlok

Deathlok-Prime-Earth-10511-from-Uncanny-X-Force-Vol-1-5-copy

If you're not a big comic book fan or haven't watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then chances are you won't be overly familiar with Deathlok. He's a cyborg and a fusion of human and machine...oh, and an unstoppable killing machine.

The original Deathlok, Luther Manning, is a soldier who is mortally wounded and later resurrected as a cyborg in a dystopian future. His body is enhanced with advanced cybernetic parts, and he struggles against his programming and the loss of his human identity.

In recent years, Michael Collins, a pacifist scientist who becomes the cyborg against his will, and Henry Hayes, a medic unknowingly transformed into a sleeper agent, have also held the mantle. Any one of them would be a great fit for a story which leans into the body horror elements and embraces R-Rated, over-the-top gore and violence.

It's hard to imagine Deathlok fitting into the wider MCU, so heading down the standalone route is absolutely the correct route for this character.

1. The Legendary Star-Lord

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended with Rocket assembling a new team of heroes and Peter Quill returning to Earth to reconnect with his grandfather...and his human side.

Marvel Studios promised that the Legendary Star-Lord will eventually return and the next Avengers movies seem likely. However, before we get to that, it would be a blast to watch as the hero embarks on a solo adventure on Earth which pits him against an unexpected foe and leans into R-Rated humour.

When WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier launched, they felt like events. That feeling has been lost in the past few years, but shifting the spotlight to Star-Lord for a standalone series (which also establishes him as a hero on his home planet) feels like a step in the right direction.

Honestly, it's a shame James Gunn isn't still around to take charge of this as Peacemaker's tone would be a great fit.

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30 Comments

Scarilian - 6/16/2024, 12:21 PM

The less content the better:
• Focuses the story by reducing superfluous narratives
• Allows the audience a break from Superhero content so each piece that does release feels like an event
• Helps to clarify which characters are important moving forward

I'd rather we just focus on securing some high quality films, whether that requires them to do a full reboot before that happens or not.

Evansly - 6/16/2024, 12:21 PM

1, 3 and 5 should be handled in movies. If anything I think Young Avenger setup should be done in shows

SonOfAGif - 6/16/2024, 2:44 PM

@Evansly - Ms. Marvel season 2 should be about her recruiting the Young Avengers. The villain could be Iron Lad and he could be a Kang Variant which the TVA is trying to prune and the Young Avengers keep coming into conflict with the TVA and Fury, Captain Marvel, and Wong play supporting roles trying to figure who the TVA are and why do they want Iron Lad. And the season should end with Cassie explaining to the team about Kang and Fury and Wong discuss the concept of Incursions and a Multiversal War.

Origame - 6/16/2024, 12:23 PM

Yes, because echo did such a wonderful job showing us what spotlight could do. What, with it being about as violent as comparable shows like secret invasion and still requiring context from both daredevil and hawkeye.

bobevanz - 6/16/2024, 12:32 PM

That's cool and all, but I think this is a bigger story https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2024/06/box-office-inside-out-2-1235973432/amp/
100 day theatrical window is going to give this legs, [frick] digital releases muahaha

Evansly - 6/16/2024, 1:11 PM

@bobevanz - I'm waiting for it to start now

Skestra - 6/16/2024, 12:57 PM

I would green light "Squirrel Girl" if it means we finally get Milana Vayntrub in the costume.

S8R8M - 6/16/2024, 1:07 PM

@Skestra - I remember years ago, Edgar Wright endorsed the idea of Anna Kendrick playing SG.

Izaizaiza - 6/16/2024, 1:26 PM

@Skestra - Sadly, she and Anna Kendrick are way to old now. Still, even if not in a show, still wouldn't mind seeing her in the costume 🤔

DocSpock - 6/16/2024, 1:11 PM

They will never get Pratt to step backwards to a D+ TV show, especially because most are just bad. They will figure out how to buddy him up with one of their front-line heroes or groups soon enough.

Izaizaiza - 6/16/2024, 1:27 PM

I would love to see more street level stories like Echo. I'm way more interested in seeing characters like Wolverine, punisher and even the Hulk dealt with in street level stories. I give Echo a solid 4 out of five stars. Great show. Sadly, the last episode was rushed.

ModHaterSLADE - 6/16/2024, 1:28 PM

Nova is a space cop that interacts with powerful universal threats on the regular, feels like the character would be too big for a spotlight project. I'd rather see Punisher, Luke Cage, or Ghost Rider get this treatment.

DravenCorvis - 6/16/2024, 1:41 PM

You added 2 more!?

Pace yourself, buddy.

https://comicbookmovie.com/marvel-studios/marvel-spotlight-5-more-mcu-tv-shows-marvel-studios-should-release-under-new-standalone-banner-a207646

Sabre81 - 6/16/2024, 2:40 PM

@DravenCorvis - Josh has no standards and just reposting his old crap! Thank you for pointing this out and I can see the word-for-word copy/paste job that hack @JoshWilding does. Not even the first time in the past few days as he did the same with a World War Hulk article.

Didn't even discuss the rebranded marvel Television banner instead of being under Spotlight.

DravenCorvis - 6/16/2024, 3:04 PM

@Sabre81 - I do this when I can after he counted me pointing out errors in his writing as trolling.

Was me that pointed out the Hulk one as well.

Very easy to find (always within 2 pages of the search).

Sabre81 - 6/16/2024, 4:01 PM

@DravenCorvis - Oh was that you as well! Sorry, didn't catch on. Yeah, I've had a go at him quite a few times about not proof reading, spelling names incorrectly etc. He has no leg to stand on!

DravenCorvis - 6/16/2024, 4:02 PM

@Sabre81 - No worries.

MCUKnight11 - 6/16/2024, 1:58 PM

Blue marvel, Machine man, miracle man.

Batmangina - 6/16/2024, 1:59 PM

D Lister and DEI Qualified? YOU get a show..and YOU get a show! YOU get a show!!!!! YOU ALL get shows!!!

marvel72 - 6/16/2024, 2:30 PM

Apart from Squirrel Girl, Disney Marvel should have gone with this list over Echo and Wonderman.

gambgel - 6/16/2024, 2:39 PM

Hell no to Starlod.
I feel like Ive seen enough of him.

Do some X-Men spotlights instead. Something FRESH

Blergh - 6/16/2024, 3:37 PM

Rather than doing multi-episode shows I would have preferred Marvel to do some more specials in the vein of Werewolf by Night to put the focus on heroes not yet established in the MCU.

Two “specials” a year in the vein of TV movies of the 90s, kind of movies but only on a smaller scale than theatrical releases. Shows are a great idea for long form stories but some of these stories didn’t need to be shows and could have been direct to streaming movies.

Just movies with lower budgets, not everything needs to be a show

dragon316 - 6/16/2024, 4:07 PM

Regardless how sheena she devil pretty sure all fans will love that show men for sheena women for kazzar only watch for skimpy clothing as some will say

KennKathleen - 6/16/2024, 9:19 PM

I never read or saw much of Deathlock in live action. However, I believe there's an interesting B story in the inevitable return of Ultron!!!

Imagine Deathlock being reanimated, unreluctatly serving the will of the vile, calculated, supercomputer, while visiting flashbacks of before and during his time as a soldier.

I think we would need a character who is so loveable in the beginning, so much so that he has a comrades, and a wife/family that'd stop at nothing to safely end his killing spree, while hoping they can help restore what little humanity remains...
🪙 🪙

My pick for Deathlock:

LukeCage2155 - 6/16/2024, 10:50 PM

I hope we see Blue Marvel in the MCU one day.

NathanielX - 6/16/2024, 11:31 PM

ABC/MCU we're handling the Universe better I think

Movies :Avengers + Guardians
Netflix Marvel Knights/Defenders
Hulu: Ghost Rider/ Hellstorm

Mrtoke - 6/17/2024, 12:05 AM

none because they'll all be trash...except for punisher.

Lhornbk - 6/17/2024, 10:57 AM

Punisher-yes. The rest of these ideas are just stupid. Star Lord should stay in movies, the rest aren't really needed at all. And while we're at it, Wonder Man isn't really needed either.

KennKathleen - 6/17/2024, 12:11 PM

@Lhornbk - right. Let's bring in a murderous cop. That'll be just what this society will embrace...

At this point, none of this 💩 is needed. However some stories may appeal to the masses much more than others. I just want to be blown away by SOLID STORIES.

That could be done with Speedball, Spider🐽Ham, and 3D Man. If Written well, they could literally become A-list Characters in a matter of hours.

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