Top 10 Tuesday: 'Arrow,' 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' AND Beyond: Marvel on Netflix

With the 2014 fall television season creeping upon us like the dumb Galactacus cloud, it's looking to be a pretty sweet year for series based on comic book heroes. From returning favorites like Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to promising new shows like The Flash, Agent Carter and Gotham, TV seems to be jumping headfirst into many different corners of graphic multiverse. So today, we're throwing up a list of heroes (and others) who deserve their piece of this new frontier. This week I've decided to box myself into the fledgling Defenders corner of the MCU that begins with Daredevil next May. Here's 'Arrow,' 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' and Beyond - Part 2 of 3: Marvel on Netflix!

10) Howard the Duck

Marvel Studios and James Gunn boosted the angry mallard back into the public consciousness with the end-credits tag from August’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Created in 1973 by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik, Howard was a takedown of the “funny animal” comics (usually from the Disney anthropomorphic stable) that were popular at the time. However, Howard - unlike his contemporaries – was a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking detective known for his quick temper. Based on the recent call for a Howard reboot following the release of “Guardians” and the success of more mature-leaning series like “Family Guy,” “Rick and Morty” and Netflix’s own “BoJack Horseman,” this is one Marvel hero ripe for a sharp, satirical animated series.     

9) Dazzler

Created as a joint venture between Marvel Comics and a record label, Allison Blaine is Dazzler, a mutant with the ability to turn sound into a light show. She may not have the most bombastic power set but what she lacks in SFX spectacle she makes up for in personality. A pop star and a superhero, a Dazzler series would be an interesting look at superherodom that’s seldom addressed. Think of how bad paparazzi is for celebrities. Now try to imagine that superstar leading a double life as a “miracle” or however they plan to explain Wanda and Peitro in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” As interesting as the show would be, it’d be difficult to wrangle even a C-lister like Dazzler away from Fox and the X-Men film franchise.

8) Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)

Countless articles have been written about the straight white male aesthetic stranglehold on the MCU. Hundreds of Tumblr posts, tweets and petitions have been sent Kevin Feige’s way about introducing the likes of Black Panther and Captain (nee Ms.) Marvel into the Avengers fold. And as much as I’d like to see Carol Danvers on screen, there’s another Ms. Marvel that I’d enjoy seeing just as much: Pakistani Jersey girl Kamala Khan! In one of the most endearing titles in Marvel’s current stable, the new Ms. Marvel is actually an Inhuman who discovers her powers and decides to fight crime as an homage to Danvers, who is her personal hero. Not only would a Khan-focused series give young girls an MCU hero to look up to (who isn’t an assassin – sorry Natasha fans) but also breathe some much needed diversity into the universe and acknowledge that diversity means more that adding a black supporting character here and there.

7) Blade

It’s about time the Daywalker got a chance to shine again. Now that Marvel has the rights back to characters like Blade and Ghost Rider, they have an opportunity to open up a brand new corner of the Marvel U onscreen. While the first phase of this Netflix extension of the MCU will focus largely on the street level heroes of Hell’s Kitchen, it’d be nice to see the more traditionally supernatural element of Marvel get fleshed out. Your only major issue here is finding a good showrunner and a likeable star because, as endearing as Wesley Snipes is to the role, no one really wants him back.

6) Spider-Woman

*Captain America 2 Spoiler Alert* S.H.I.E.L.D. has fallen. HYDRA as laid dormant in its infrastructure for years and now everything is out in the open. Nick Fury, former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, is now on a globe-hopping hunt for HYDRA agents in the wind. Since he’s legally dead, he needs someone else to in the open so he captures HYDRA sleeper agent Jessica Drew to hunt down her colleagues. I love Spider-Woman and the thing I love most is that she actually has little to nothing to do with Spider-Man. The showrunners have to tweak her origin some and possibly change her superhero name (“Arachne,” maybe?) but after reforming herself, she could prove a fantastic addition to the MCU. And throwing on-again-off-again love interest Hawkeye into the mix couldn’t hurt either.

5) Cloak & Dagger

Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen were two runaways who were abducted and experimented on by criminal chemists and transformed them into a superpowered vigilante duo. Tyrone is Cloak, who can drag people into the “darkness dimension” while Tandy, as Dagger, projects “light daggers” that drain the energy of her targets. Marvel’s Netflix initiative elects to focus of the street level heroes and drug cartel fighting Cloak and Dagger fit perfectly into that mold.

4) Young Avengers

The concept of teen superheroes and the potential futility of that idea is sure to be touched upon in the upcoming “Jessica Jones” series but, while that series will likely focus on how it can go wrong, a Young Avengers series could definitely show how the gifted youth fits into a post-Chitauri/Ultron world. It really doesn’t matter which incarnation of the team that you use (even though I’m partial to the new roster featuring the new Miss America) and Netflix’s original programming was bound to tap into teen drama sometime, they might as well be socially progressive super-teens.

3) The Runaways

Skewing even younger, The Runaways is the tale of a group of kids whose parents get together once a year for a mysterious gathering. After some routine spying (as kids are want to do), they discover that their parents are actually a secret society of supervillains. On the run from their parents and confused, the Runaways have to use superpowers, intelligence and imagination to bring them down and stop their nefarious schemes. I mean, come on. There’s a velociraptor.

2) The Punisher

Frank Castle’s family was murdered by mobsters so he dedicated his life to enacting bloody vengeance upon those who’ve wronged him and those who continue to wrong the less fortunate inhabitants of the Marvel U. We all know the story and we all know what Castle is capable of but my favorite Punisher stories are team ups. Perhaps this is a cast of wanting to see how he interacts with the rest of the Defenders. Castle’s methods are extreme but not exactly out of place among the likes of Dardevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist and it’d be interesting to see how crossing such a thin line can effect the team dynamic. 

1) She-Hulk

Of every major Marvel hero who hasn’t appeared in a film or TV series yet, Jennifer Walters – the She-Hulk – is probably the easiest character to translate to a serial televised program. Prosecutor Walters is the cousin of Dr. Bruce Banner, the Hulk. After being hit in a gangland shooting, Bruce gives Jennifer an emergency blood transfusion. Now with radiated blood, timid, mousy Jennifer becomes the sensational, sexually progressive and confident She-Hulk. The show would basically be a fairly action-packed “Ally McBeal” where Ally is green and 8-feet-tall. We’re already getting a glimpse of the legal side of the MCU in “Daredevil” so why not flesh it out by having Jen guest star and then spin-off into her own awesome, funny and sexy series?  

Did we miss your favorite Marvel hero or team? Agree or disagree with my picks? Suggestions of your own? Leave a comment and let us know!

Be sure to join me next week for the (final) Dark Horse/Image Edition of Top 10 Tuesday: 'Arrow,' 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' and Beyond.

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