Ten Failed Superhero TV Pilots From the 60s, 70s, and 80s

Superheroes have been all the rage for over a decade with the MCU movies still performing well in the theaters (not so much the DC films, though) and shows like The Boys, Invincible, The Umbrella Academy, The Peacemaker, and more pulling in decent viewership on television.  But there was a time years ago when some well-known heroes were given a chance but did not succeed in drawing enough attention to warrant their own TV shows.  Below is a look at ten failed pilots from the ’60’s to the ’80’s, some of which might have had a notable impact on television history if they had been picked up to series.

1. Wonder Woman (ABC, 1974)

A year before Linda Carter would pick up the lasso and put on the bracelets as Wonder Woman, Cathy Lee Crosby appeared in a pilot based on the Amazon princess. However, this was a very different take on the character from the comic books and from the series that would make it to television a year later.  It was loosely based on storylines in the comics at that time when Diana Prince had renounced her powers and became a martial arts expert.  That was certainly more budget-friendly for television, though it was not the Wonder Woman many people wanted to see. (I still have fond memories of the pilot and liked it better than the version that would eventually go to series.) ABC passed on this version, and Carter would eventually take up the torch while also showing a lot more cleavage in the era of “jiggle TV”. She went on to become the actress most closely associated with Wonder Woman until Gil Gadot reinvented the character for the DCEU. Warner Archives did release this pilot on DVD for those interested.

2. Legends of Superheros (NBC, 1979)

These two one-hour specials were apparently intended to launch a Justice League-like TV series that would have followed the same campy style of 1966’s Batman series. And I say that because among the superheroes featured were Batman and Robin with Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their prior roles. The other heroes were The Flash, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern, The Atom, Huntress, and Black Canary (and Frank Gorshin returned as the Riddler). Both specials were super-cheesy and were even filmed on videotape for the in-studio segments, but they were still a ton of fun. Apparently, they didn’t do well enough to convince NBC to keep the concept going as a series, though. Warner Archives has since released them on DVD and they are definitely worth checking out for some retro guilty pleasure fun.

3. Dr. Strange (CBS, 1978)

Abbreviating the honorific from the “Doctor” used in the comics was not the only liberty this pilot would take with the source material. The TV version tied the Sorcerer Supreme’s origins to Merlin and brought in Morgan Le Fay as well as a demon known as Balzaroth as the main antagonists. The pilot was slow and could be quite cheesy at times, but it was also inventive with its visuals and showed some promise. Unfortunately, it went over budget and also performed poorly in the ratings against a rerun of the juggernaut mini-series Roots. Also working against Dr. Strange was CBS’s aversion to being labeled the “superhero network” (only The Incredible Hulk would survive on that network past the 1978-79 season), so they decided to pass on the project. The pilot has finally received its long-overdue DVD release, so curious fans can check it out. And you can read more about it at this link.

4. Captain America (CBS, 1979)

This is yet one more attempt by CBS to bring a Marvel superhero to the small screen, though like Dr. Strange, it diverged notably from the character’s comic book origins. In this version, Steve Rogers is an ex-Marine who is given the FLAG (“Full Latent Ability Gain”) formula which gives him enhanced strength and agility. He travels around the country on a motorcycle in his Captain America outfit and he works for a secret organization that supplies him with all sorts of high-tech gear. The pilot was high on the cheese factor and generally regarded as a poor adaptation of the character. But it apparently did well enough in the ratings to generate a second movie (which aired the same year). The network ultimately passed on the series as it went through its superhero purge, and this version of the Captain has since been mostly forgotten. Both movies were issued together on DVD for those who might want to give them a look.

5. Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince? (ABC, 1967)

This earlier attempt to create a Wonder Woman TV series came from Batman‘s William Dozier and was an attempt to capitalize on the pop culture phenomenon that the Dynamic Duo created when they debuted the prior year. Only a five-minute screen test was produced, and the plan was for this to be more of a sitcom than an action-adventure show. It starred Linda Harrison (Planet of the Apes) as Wonder Woman with Ellie Wood Walker playing the title role of Diana Prince. The pilot does find Wonder Woman in a comics-accurate suit, but it is unlikely the series would have remained close to the source material beyond that. The short film produced is a delightfully campy look at the sexist attitudes that still pervaded the 1960’s, and was apparently not enough to convince ABC to pick the show up to series. You can watch it on YouTube at this link.

6. The Adventures of Superboy (1961)

This intended series was designed to capitalize on the popularity of The Adventures of Superman which had ended its run after Superman/Clark Kent actor George Reeves passed away. It would continue with basically the same format as its predecessor, except with a younger version of the Kryptonian in the lead. And judging from the pilot, the show likely would have worked in teen-focused stories as well since Clark Kent was still a high school student (though he looks to be in his twenties). Twelve additional scripts were written, but the show was never picked up and only the pilot remains (which you can watch on YouTube). A few years earlier, a pilot for The Adventures of Superpup was filmed which was a live-action series that reimagined the Superman characters in a world populated by dogs instead of humans. You can get a glimpse at what that one looked like (if you dare) at this link.

7. Exo-Man (NBC, 1977)

Iron Man never had his own live-action series, but this odd 1977 TV pilot played pretty close to that character’s origin. A professor who is incapacitated in an attack from the mob builds a suit of super-powered armor that he uses to fight against crime. It definitely wasn’t as sleek or functional as Tony Stark’s armor, and TV audiences never bought into the idea (it was aired as a movie-of-the-week). This one now finds itself regularly among lists of the worst television superheroes ever, and it seems quite apparent why it never received a DVD release. It does show up on YouTube from time to time, though, for anyone who might want to sit through this cheese-fest (it is currently available at this link).

8. Thor (NBC, 1988) and 9. Daredevil (NBC, 1989)

The Daredevil character had a hit series on Netflix (soon to be revived by Disney+) and Thor has become a staple of the Marvel Universe, but NBC first took a stab at bringing these characters to television all the way back in the ’80s. Both were introduced as “back-door pilots” in the guise of  Incredible Hulk movies of the week. That series had ended with its fifth season in 1982 without a proper conclusion and NBC picked up the property with the intention of producing several TV movie continuations. The Incredible Hulk Returns bowed in 1988 and introduced Thor, and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk arrived a year later with Daredevil in a supporting role (along with John Rhys-Davies playing Kingpin!). Daredevil was the better of the two TV adaptations of the comic book characters (though both took plenty of liberties with the source material) and both movies pulled decent ratings. But apparently not enough to convince the network to greenlight ongoing shows for either character, and they would have to wait over two decades to get the live-action renderings they deserved. Both of the Incredible Hulk movies have been released together on DVD for those who want to see the early versions of these characters.

10. The Greatest American Heroine (NBC, 1986)

The Greatest American Hero debuted on ABC in 1981 and proved popular at first, though its viewership dwindled throughout its run. The network cancelled the show midway through its third season, but NBC acquired the rights two years later with the intention of producing new episodes.  William Katt was not interested in returning to the show, though, and the network instead produced a spin-off pilot titled The Greatest American Heroine. This reunited the original cast and the story involved Ralph Hinkley turning over the suit to a woman that he had chosen to take his place. Bill Maxwell would continue in the same role assisting his new super-powered partner. The full pilot was never aired and (obviously) did not result in a series. It was eventually edited as an episode to be included with the syndication package, but it was apparently not included with the DVD release of the main series.  In 2017, ABC was working on another female-led reboot of the show, but that did not go to series either.

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