User blog:ARTaylor/February 2016 Poll Results

March is here which can only mean that the February poll results are in. Last month we asked visitors which decade they felt Marvel's animation most shined in.


 * 1) It was a landslide victory with 50% for the 1990s. That was an amazing decade for superhero animation. DC Comics had landmark series like Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond. Marvel had their own acclaimed series with X-Men and Spider-Man, which still remain their longest two running animated series with five seasons each and are still considered among Marvel's best efforts. Fantastic Four and Iron Man were both criticized for their first seasons but saw significant improvements in their second. Conversely, The Incredible Hulk was praised for its first season but criticized its second. Silver Surfer and Spider-Man Unlimited both took bold, though flawed, directions. However, the decade went out with a whimper with Marvel's financial problems that took Silver Surfer, Spider-Man Unlimited, and the misguided The Avengers: United They Stand.
 * 2) Second place was a tie with 25% between the 2000s and 2010s. The '00s was when Marvel began taking the movie world by storm inspiring the likes of Marvel's third longest running series X-Men: Evolution, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, and Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes. That decade also saw highly acclaimed series The Spectacular Spider-Man and Wolverine and the X-Men which were both tragically cut short. This was also when Marvel began making their own highly acclaimed direct-to-video fare. The '10s which we currently live in, has already given us the highly acclaimed The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the mixed bag that was the four Marvel Anime series. It also gave us the Academy Award winning film Big Hero 6. We currently have Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy which have proven popular with younger viewers though criticized by older fans. Marvel continues to make direct-to-video films though they are much derided by fans and critics.
 * 3) Sadly, there were no votes for the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The '60s were an interesting time as Marvel was just getting going with the heroes we currently know and love. There was The Marvel Super Heroes, which was the first animated Marvel series, and the 1967 series Spider-Man series, which is far more known for its catchy theme song that is still played to this day. The '70s were a low point with three barely memorable shows: Fantastic Four, mostly known for the introduction of H.E.R.B.I.E. and absence of Human Torch, Spider-Woman, and the barely connected Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The '80s turned Marvel's animation around with much-loved shows Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and The Incredible Hulk. This was also the time Marvel first experimented with direct-to-video with the near-forgotten features Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned and The Monster of Frankenstein.

In this month's poll we ask a purely hypothetical question. With so much talk about Netflix reviving beloved shows, which would you like to see restarted by the streaming service: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine and the X-Men, or The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.