Ant-Man and the Wasp
In the 1980s, an Ant-Man and the Wasp animated series was in development, but was eventually abandoned.[105]
Iron Man
In 1980, an Iron Man TV series was one of several pitches, resulting in an unaired pilot and an abandoned prospect of a full-fledged series.[106]
Daredevil and Lightning the Super-Dog
In the 1980s, ABC had planned a Daredevil animated television series that would have featured a guide dog named "Lightning the Super-Dog".[107][108] Television writer Mark Evanier said in 2008 that he was the last in a line of writers to have written a pilot and series bible, with his including Lightning as a guide dog without superpowers.[107] Production stills for a proposed Daredevil animated series meant to air on Fox Kids were made.[109]
The Young Astronauts
In 1985, The Young Astronauts, produced by Marvel Productions, concerned a 21st-century family aboard the interplanetary transport ship Courageous, along with their cat and a comical maintenance "droid". It was slated to be a Saturday-morning midseason replacement on CBS.[110] A Star Comics comic book series from Marvel Comics was planned to be released before the cartoon, but was also canceled for the same reason. An advertisement that appeared in many comic books in 1986, which promoted the upcoming fall lineup for CBS Saturday morning, prominently featured a drawing of The Young Astronauts along with other shows set to air that fall.[111] The show never aired due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, causing CBS to cancel the show before it finished production.[112]
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men
TV-pilot that was intended to launch a series. Funding for this pilot came from the budget for RoboCop: The Animated Series. Instead of making a 13th episode of RoboCop, Marvel Productions decided to use their funding to have Toei Animation produce the animation for this pilot. Shortly after this pilot was delivered, Marvel started having financial issues (New World Pictures, who purchased the Marvel Entertainment Group or MEG from Cadence Industries in 1986, sold MEG in January 1989 to the Andrews Group) and stopped work on just about everything but Muppet Babies.
Solarman
In 1988, a 22-minute animated Solarman pilot was produced, which its creator David Oliphant maintained ownership of, since he produced over $400,000 for its production, with Marvel acting as a licensee. It was released on VHS as a cross-promotion tie-in with the first issue of Marvel Comics' adaptation. The pilot finally aired on October 24, 1992, as a special on Fox Kids, a week before the debut of the X-Men animated series. According to Oliphant, a major studio offered $15 million to create 64 animated episodes of Solarman, but the studio cancelled this offer soon after on the advice of their consultants, who cautioned that Saturday morning superhero cartoons would soon die out in popularity.[113]
Ruby-Spears Thor
Artwork by Jack Kirby from a planned Thor animated series, in the 1980s, by Ruby-Spears Productions has surfaced.[114]
Mort the Dead Teenager
In late 1996, Wizard had reported on a potential primetime adaptation of the 4-issue miniseries Mort the Dead Teenager in negotiations to be broadcast on UPN.[115] A leaked pilot script, titled "Death Pays All Debts...Except For Mort's", written by X-Men Evolution head writer Greg Johnson, was uploaded to the Internet Archive on April 3rd, 2026.[116] Compared to the miniseries' unproduced film adaptation, this version would have been more faithful to the original story, with characters Slick and Weirdo being prominently involved in the plot alongside Mort's family.
Captain America
In the 1990s, a planned Captain America animated series from Saban Entertainment to air on Fox Kids proposed that Captain America's true name was Tommy Tompkins, with "Steve Rogers" being a cover name assigned to him by the U.S. Army. The Red Skull would appear as the main antagonist. The series was cancelled during production with scripts written, characters designed and a one-minute pitch film produced, because of Marvel's bankruptcy.[117][118][119]
Rocket Racer
In 2006, writer Rick Remender pitched an animated Rocket Racer television series for Marvel, but it got canceled for unknown reasons just as it was completely outlined.[120]
Marvel Era
In 2012-2013, Powerhouse Animation Studios pitched an idea for an animated Marvel series titled Marvel Era. The shorts series was to be made in time with Marvel's 75th anniversary and would have consisted of standalone stories focusing on different Marvel characters in different eras with different animation styles. CEO Brad Graeber revealed that 14 concepts were pitched including, "A 40's Captain America D-Day story in the style of Fleischer Studios, a Sub-Mariner U-boat story, a 60's X-Men story that featured a mutant who led a cult with his powers. There was also a very cinema 70's Luke Cage and Iron Fist, an 80's Punisher story that leaned into Scarface and Miami Vice, and a Deadpool story made based on cheesy 90's cartoons." The project was cancelled due to the then-current shift in management at Marvel, following The Walt Disney Company's purchase. In 2021, Graeber revealed the animation test that was pitched to Marvel.[121]
The Offenders Hulu series
In February 2019, Hulu ordered adult animated Marvel series based on MODOK, Hit-Monkey, Tigra and Dazzler, and Howard the Duck, leading up to a crossover special titled The Offenders.[122] In January 2020, Marvel decided not to move forward with Howard the Duck, Tigra & Dazzler, and The Offenders, with M.O.D.O.K. and Hit Monkey continuing as planned.[123]
Morgana le Fay series
Ben Balistreri once pitched a series starring Morgan le Fay to Marvel and Disney Television Animation. The series would have centered on a teenage Billie Eilish-esque Morgana creating a nefarious plot with help from her "crow-nies". However, the pitch was rejected.[124]
