Fans and actors of Young Justice were recently able to celebrate a great victory when it was finally announced last year that Young Justice Season 3 was being put into production.
That's good news, but Young Justice is hardly the only animated superhero television series to be cancelled before its time.
Over the last several decades, there have been plenty of great shows that either ended too soon or simply were so great that fans still wanted more. Many of these shows have been off the air for years, even decades, but could be easily resurrected with their original casts and continuity intact. They simply work so well that they needn't be rebooted.
1.For example, had season 2 been as good as season 1, then Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes would have gone on to be the greatest animated series of all time. Unfortunately, while season 1 wisely stayed close to the original Stan Lee stories of the 60s with a few modern elements thrown in, season 2 tried to jump ahead to tell modern stories like Secret Invasion and New Avengers, long before audiences were ready for them. Also, related material didn't sell so well aiding in its cancallation and replacement by Avengers Assemble.
But while season 2 wasn't as good as the first, it wasn't so bad as to mean the end of the show. Several elements worked well, including opening up the Marvel Universe to include the Fantastic Four and Winter Soldier.
Despite having been replaced with a more recent show, Earth's Mightiest Heroes follows a different continuity so could still work within its own little animated universe. With so many stories still to adapt, as well as some story elements like Civil War and Ragnarok left unresolved, there's still hope for more adventures from what could have been a legend.
2. As it stands now, there is already a Spider-Man series in production, with a panel for it to occur at New York Comic Con later next month.
But considering the wide scope of stories that the Spider-Verse has to offer, who's to say another beloved animated series couldn't concurrently, through a different platform?
The Spectacular Spider-Man aired for two seasons between 2008 and 2010, and accumulated quite a fan following in the years since. The series followed Peter Parker throughout high school, with each arc of episodes being themed around a certain school subject.
While the first season was initially aired on the CW (who has since turned their focus to DC-related programming, it's sophomore season did find a home on Disney XD. While a third season was planned, a legal battle between Disney and Sony caused it to fall through.
But some fans have hoped that the series could find yet another home - in the streaming platform Netflix. The #SpecSpidey4Netflix has accumulated quite a few tweets, with a fans campaiging both for the original seasons to be uploaded to the streaming platform, as well as for the content giant to create a third season of the series.
All these years later, there's certainly no reason for it not to happen. While Marvel and Sony's recent partnership has had some awkward moments, the two companies appear to be on much better footing than they were in 2010. This means that the two could easily extend their partnership into bringing back Spectacular Spider-Man.
With this year's Spider-Man:Homecoming becoming a smash hit, reviving the series would be a perfect way for the two to create more Spidey content in between films.
3. The animated series that actually preceded Earth's Mightiest Heroes was none other than 2009's Wolverine and the X-Men.
While rather short-lived - earning only one, twenty-six episode season - Wolveirne and the X-Men established itself as a profund member of the Marvel animated series pantheon.
The series followed the titular group, which is brought back together by Logan/Wolverine in the wake of an oncoming war.
Wolverine and the X-Men premiered to one of the Nicktoons Network's highist ratings in history, with 3.5 million viewers. The series was praised in the weeks since for its perfect blend of humor and acion, as well as its addressing of serious topics.
A second season for Wolverine and the X-Men was in the works for a long time, even predating the release date of the first season. Teaser images for the sophomore season were even shown, with characters such as Cable, Colossus, Deadpool, and Magik expected to appear in the series. But, as with Spectacular Spider-Man, the plans fell through, thanks to both financial and legal woes between Disney and Fox.
With that much work already in place for the eight-episode second season - even down to the episode titles being announced - there's no reason for the show not to get its second chance now.
Seeing as Fox is trying to further grow their X-Men universe, thanks to upcoming live action films such as X-Men: Dark Phoenix and New Mutants, providing fans with a fresh look at the beloved animated series would help their cause. And with many of the season two characters having recently appeared in live-action X-Men films, a lot of hype would be created around their animated portrayals as well.
While the series might not necessarily end up on a streaming platform, Fox certainly has outlets to place it on. With FX's smash-hit Legion and the upcoming The Gifted helping build up the X-Men television game, there's plenty of reason to place Wolverine and the X-Men among it.
4.Constantine barely lasted a season before low ratings saw it meet its end. Much like Firefly, it was just finding its feet and beginning to buiild its own universe when it was cancelled. Much like so many other great shows that met a early end, fans have been clamouring for a return of the DC character ever since. They did get a little pay-off when series lead Matt Ryan reprised the role for an appearance on sister-show Arrow and that, in turn led to the CW green-lighting an animated Constantine series for their alternative streaming servicem CW Seed, But that still doesn't bring back the glory that was NBC's live action iteration.
But, it really needs to come back - in live action. Constantine fit in so well with the rest of the Arrowverse and neatly rounded out the fictional universe with John Constantine dealing with magic and occult themes while Flash traversed the multiverse, Arrow stayed in the shadows, and The Legends of Tomorrow went full-tilt sci-fit and traversed the time stream.
A return would be so easy, having only been off-air nearly 3 years. The cast haven't aged, the story could easily tie to the rest of the Arrowversem and more importantly, we'd all get to see a truely dark show in the otherwise reasonably bright universe, Arrow notwithstanding.
Unfortunately, this one is probably wishful thinking as Warner tried desperately to find a new home for the show after being dropped by the network. But, with Young Justice getting a new season after so many years, it could sitll happen.... just don't hold your breath.
5. Spinning off from the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, Agent Carter told the story of Peggy Carter as she continued to serve the SSR after the end of the Second World War and during the early years of the Cold War. Despite a great response from critics (87% on Rotten Tomatos) who praised the performance of Hayley Atwell as Peggey Carter, low viewership led to the show's cancellation after two seasons.
It's a show that even the producers now want a S3 revival written all over it. While similar in tone to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Carter could still fit into the Netfix universe of Marvel shows and be given a second life there. Perhaps a third season would go a little darker and explore the early years of S.H.I.E.L.D with Peggy taking a leadership role having finally broken the glass celiing? Maybe she could even explore the mystery of the cryogenically frozen Winter Soldier and rumors of a resurrected Hydra? As Hayley Atwell's Conviction has now been cancelled and she is once again a free agent, maybe, just maybe we could still see Steve Rogers's best girl once more.
6.Initially planned for a four-season run, Teen Titans was so popular a fifth season was ordered and a TV movie followed to serve as a finale in 2006. The show used many elements from the '80 comic book series and dealt with surprisingly mature themes for a show on Cartoon Network. Thematically, it had a lot in common with Young Justice and certainly set the standard for animation for the next decade.
One of Cartoon Network's most beloved shows, Teen Titans still airs in syndication around the world to this day and has a strong following who regard it as being far superior to the reboot series Teen Titans Go! which is far less serious in its tone. While there were no plots left unresolved and the show had a very satisfying ending, it remains so well-loved that a further season or two would certainly be met with the same critical acclaim as the original run.
7.While it was never going to exceed the high standard of its predecessor Batman: The Aniamted Series, Batman Beyond certainly lived up to them and was a great show in its own right, indeed it's consideried to be one of the greatest animated superhero shows ever made.
Batman Beyond wisely stuck to the elements that made Batman: The Animated Series so successful, the futuristic Gotham City was still as corrupt as ever, The Batman was still as mysterious and enigmatic. But what it did that set it apart was to show a new Batman, one less secure in the role and one that juggled the real pressures of family and friends along with their super-heroics.
While not a show that was considerd to be cut down in its prime, it is a show that would be great to see more of, especially if we got to catch up with Terry McGinnis's life as Batman after a few years in the role, perhaps training a sidekick of his own.
8. It goes without saying that Batman: The Animated Series is one of the best animated shows ever made, if not the best. Its unique visuals set an insanely high standard for animation from that point onwards and its dark themes often captivated adults more than the kids they were watching with.
Inspiring by years of comic books as well as the then-recent Tim Burton movies, Batman: The Animated Series was the first party in the Bruce Timm era of DC animation epics through Superman and eventually Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. While Batman continued having adventures as part of the League, we never got to see his further solo advnetures besides his appearances as a old man in Batman Beyond. It's those missing years with a older Batman prior to his retirement that we would love to see explored. And let's face it, a few more seasons of the show that gave us Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker, as well as the show that introduced Harley Quinn, would be amazing not merely for the nostalgia, but for the sheer quality of the show that still sets the standard over 20 years after its ititial run.
9. Despite being aimed squarely at a pre-teen audience, Static Shock became immensely popular with teens and even adults during its four-year run. Static Shock's origin was pretty standard fare for the era, a geeky science nerd gets exposed to a mutagen and develops super powers, he then fights crime aided by his close pal. Despite this, and criticisms that the animation was dated and the jokes were a little too similar in tone to Spider-Man's, the show did deal with some serious issues and earned the show several awards and nominations, including a Daytime Emmy noimation.
Like many other animated shows, poor sales of the related merchandise contributed to the cancellation, but in the case of Static Shock, the show did generate further interest in the character leading to a revival of the comic book.
While dated, the show could really work if revived largely due to its existing fan base and a lack of quality superhero shows aimed squarely at a younger audience. While there's a few around, the majority of modern superhero animation is aimed at a more mature audience and there's certainly room for more Static Shock.
10. Like its predecessor series Justice League, Justice League Unlimited is one of the greatest animated shows ever produced and never hit a bum note throughout its run. Everything about it is perfect, which is why we really want to see another series.
The pinnacle of the Bruce Timm era of animation, Justice League Unlimited took the entire DC universe for inspiration as well as created some storyline of its own. While not as mature as the universe seen in Young Justice, it did deal with themes such as revenge in a surprising mature way. Huntress being fired from the League for attempting to kill the mob boss who killed her stood out as a high point for the show, as did Superman's epic take down of Darkseid.
Justice League Unlimited may have had a good run, but as a show that's still beloved by fans even now, it's one that would be most welcome if DC/Warner ever chose to give us another season.
Is the revitalization of Young Justice reason to hope that some other shows may also be brought back to life? Maybe, or maybe not, but they were renowned for their incredible stories. They transcended the animation genre and are more compelling than many live-action shows. For that, they deserve revived.