All 12 Canceled Superhero Shows of the Last 6 Years Including Spider-Noir, Ranked

Another superhero has lost its cape before getting a second flight. Prime Video canceled Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir after one season, despite the Sony-Marvel series earning 92% from critics, 90% from audiences, and 11 Emmy nominations – the most of any Prime Video series in 2026. It joins a surprisingly crowded casualty list from 2020 through 2026. Some of these shows deserved their fate more than others, while several were cut down despite excellent reception or unfinished stories.

I’m ranking these 12 by critical response, audience reaction, originality, performances, storytelling, and how frustrating their cancellation was. A high Rotten Tomatoes score helps, but unfinished potential and the quality of what actually reached the screen count just as much.

12 Helstrom Couldn’t Outrun Marvel’s Overhaul

Helstrom entered Hulu as one of the final remnants of the old Marvel Television operation, following siblings Daimon and Ana Helstrom as they confronted supernatural horrors. Then Marvel Television was folded into Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios structure, and Hulu canceled the series after one season in December 2020 (per The Wrap). Its 27% Tomatometer makes last place difficult to argue against, although the 71% audience score suggests viewers found more to enjoy in its occult detour than critics did.

11 Gotham Knights Never Filled Batman’s Boots

Starting a Batman series by killing Batman was a gutsy move. Unfortunately, Gotham Knights never found a substitute compelling enough to make Bruce Wayne’s absence stop looming over every episode. The CW canceled the DC drama after one season in June 2023. Its 27% critic score and 44% audience rating reflect the problem: Turner Hayes and Gotham’s young fugitives had worthwhile ideas around inheritance and identity, but the execution rarely matched the mythology surrounding them.

10 Jupiter’s Legacy Collapsed Under Its Own Weight

Netflix wanted Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy to become a sprawling superhero dynasty spanning generations, but Season 1 spent so much time establishing its mythology that the richer conflict often waited around the corner (via The Wrap). Netflix released the cast from their commitments after one season while shifting its Millarworld attention toward Supercrooks. Critics gave Jupiter’s Legacy just 40%, although audiences were kinder at 72%. The family conflict deserved another crack, but eight episodes should not feel like an elaborate prologue.

9 Zero Had a Fresh Hero but Too Few Viewers

Italian superhero drama Zero centered on Omar, a teenager whose invisibility powers become useful while protecting his Milan neighborhood. Netflix’s own synopsis confirms the superpowered premise, while Netflix Italy executive Tinny Andreatta later said it attracted fewer fans than expected, ending the series after eight episodes. Rotten Tomatoes has too few reviews for a full Tomatometer, while audiences give it 56%. Its setting and community-focused approach were refreshing, but the first season never became essential viewing.

8 The Imperfects Never Finished Evolving

The Imperfects gave Abbi, Tilda, and Juan bizarre abilities after experimental gene therapy and then sent them hunting the scientist responsible. Netflix canceled the series in November 2022, only two months after its debut. Rotten Tomatoes has only four critic reviews, so there is no meaningful Tomatometer, while its 66% audience rating suggests respectable rather than passionate support. The trio had chemistry, and the creature-power angle had room to grow, but Season 1 still looked like a promising blueprint rather than a finished house.

7 Naomi Won Critics but Lost Its Audience

Ava DuVernay’s Naomi had one of the strangest critic-viewer divides on this list. The CW superhero drama earned 91% from critics but only 43% from audiences. Its January 2022 premiere ranked among The CW’s stronger launches that season, yet viewership later fell by more than 40%, and the network canceled it after one season. Kaci Walfall gave Naomi an easy warmth, but the mystery moved too cautiously for a series asking viewers to invest in an unfamiliar DC hero.

6 M.O.D.O.K. Turned Supervillainy Into Farce

Patton Oswalt’s giant floating Marvel menace spending his days trying to conquer Earth while simultaneously failing at work and marriage was exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. That was the charm. Hulu canceled the stop-motion comedy after one 10-episode season in May 2022. Yet critics gave it an impressive 87%, with audiences at 68%, and Rotten Tomatoes praised its animation, voice cast, and bottomless appetite for jokes. It ranks sixth because its cancellation robbed Marvel television of one of its strangest flavors.

5 I Am Not Okay With This Got Terrible Luck

Sophia Lillis’ Sydney Novak was dealing with grief, sexuality, teenage chaos, and telekinetic abilities when Netflix ended her story on an enormous cliffhanger. The cancellation was especially painful because Netflix had already been preparing Season 2 before COVID-related scheduling and budget problems forced the streamer to reverse course in August 2020. Critics and viewers agreed almost perfectly: 86% on both Rotten Tomatoes meters. This one ranks fifth because creative failure did not kill it. Circumstances did.

4 Wonder Man Had Its Renewal Taken Back

Wonder Man managed something increasingly rare for the MCU: it made superhero television feel small, personal, and interested in people before spectacle. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams and Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery helped the Hollywood satire earn 91% from critics and 87% from audiences. Disney+ even renewed it before reversing the decision only months later. Showrunner Andrew Guest later said contracts had been signed and schedules cleared before the cancellation. That makes fourth place painful. The door had opened, and then Disney shut it again.

3 Dead Boy Detectives Died Far Too Soon

Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland survived death, Hell, witches, and supernatural bureaucracy, but Netflix proved harder to escape. Netflix canceled the DC Comics adaptation four months after its April 2024 premiere (per TV Line). The numbers make that decision difficult to swallow: Dead Boy Detectives has 92% from critics and 92% from audiences. George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, and Yuyu Kitamura gave the paranormal detective format enough personality that another season could have pushed it much further.

2 Spider-Noir Deserved Another Case

Spider-Noir made an old Spider-Man lesson feel new again: genre can be a superhero’s best friend. Cage’s Ben Reilly inhabits a Depression-era detective story built around gangsters, private-eye conventions, and a superhero past he would rather avoid. Prime Video even released the series in both black-and-white and color. Then came the axe despite 92% from critics, 90% from audiences, and 11 Emmy nominations. That résumé would usually scream renewal. Instead, Spider-Noir became one of 2026’s strangest cancellations.

1 Gen V Had Too Much Life Left to Lose

Gen V takes the crown because it had already passed the hardest test for any spinoff: it stopped feeling optional. Prime Video canceled The Boys offshoot in April 2026 after two seasons, while producers confirmed that its characters could continue elsewhere in the wider universe. Its reception was formidable. Gen V averages 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Season 1 at 97% and Season 2 at 90%. Even after the death of Chance Perdomo forced major creative changes, the second season remained critically acclaimed.

Jaz Sinclair’s Marie, Lizze Broadway’s Emma, Asa Germann’s Sam, and the Godolkin University setting had developed their own identity while feeding directly into The Boys. That is why it edges Spider-Noir. We lost a strong new series with one season there; with Gen V, we lost a proven one after two. Which cancellation annoyed you most, and would you put Spider-Noir above Gen V?

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