5 Things We Don't Miss About '90s Comics (And 5 We Do)

It's difficult to remember a time when it was thought all but impossible to bring comic books to the silver screen. In the '90s, only a handful of comic book adaptations had been made, and even fewer were successful. Therefore, carrying on the legacy of comics fell to animation.

This revolution began with Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's seminal work on Batman: The Animated Series. A show that refused to coddle to children, Batman introduced the Caped Crusader as a dark, gothic avenger of the night in a way that was faithful to the comics without being too dreary.

Following that success, Marvel produced the X-Men. Though not as mature, X-Men worked to adapt some of the most influential stories in the mutants's history, including the Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. The show was vibrant, action-packed, and was preceded by one of the greatest theme songs of all time.

Superman and Spider-Man became huge hits on their own, with lesser works during the decade including adaptations of Fantastic Four, Hulk, and even Malibu Comic's Ultraverse getting the animated treatment. The result is that an entire generation of children grew to know and love these characters, which almost certainly meant that some cartoon fans became comics fans.