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We’re still living in the Golden Age of Superhero movies in Hollywood (some might argue it’s sputtering to an end). That doesn’t mean there haven’t been superhero movies and TV shows in the past, though. In the ’80s, there was actually way more than you might remember. We all love Christopher Reeve as Superman and Michael Keaton as Batman, but the list is so much longer than that.
Helen Slater (Supergirl)
After Superman starring Christopher Reeve became a massive hit, the studio started lining up sequels and spinoffs. Supergirl, starring Helen Slater as the titular hero, was one of those. While it exists in the same universe and uses much of the same music, or version of it, it’s, frankly, not as good as the first two movies in the franchise. There is one crossover moment, Marc McClure starring as Jimmy Olsen, that’s a lot of fun, though. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments, but sadly, it pretty much bombed at the box office.
Michael Keaton (Batman)
Towards the top of any list of iconic superhero portrayals has to be Michael Keaton as Batman in Tim Burton‘s Batman. People may have winced when Keaton was cast, but he proved all the doubters wrong when he led the character into a new era. Gone was the campiness that marked the 1960s’ Batman TV show, and in was a new, darker, grittier version of the Caped Crusader.
William Katt (Ralph Hinkley/Ralph Hanley)
The TV show The Greatest American Hero starring William Katt as the titular hero is mostly remembered today for its banger of a theme song. The show, while fun for a certain demographic of pre-teen boys, somehow managed to last three seasons on ABC before it was canceled with five episodes yet to air in early 1983. Still, the song endures.
Sam J. Jones (Flash Gordon)
Flash Gordon was a different kind of superhero. He didn’t have any special powers aside from being a great quarterback, but he was certainly a hero. Sam J. Jones played the titular character in Flash Gordon in 1980 in a wild movie that updated the character, who dates all the way back to the 1930s. Of course, it also has that amazing, unconventional soundtrack by Queen, which has helped it stay relevant for decades.
Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers)
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, old Depression-era comic strip characters were en vogue, and one of the most popular both in the 1930s and in the ’80s was Buck Rogers. The sci-fi show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was briefly a minor hit for two short seasons on NBC, which was based on a 1977 movie, and is fondly remembered by many Gen X guys, despite its abbreviated run.
Peter Weller (Buckaroo Bonzai)
The 1980s were full of cool, unconventional superheroes, and no hero personified that better than Buckaroo Banzai in 1984’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Buckaroo, played by Peter Weller, was a scientist, adventurer, musician, and more. He and his team do everything they can to stop an alien invasion, and the cast of the movie is totally stacked. Some people may hate the cult classic, but if you grew up with it, you likely love it.
Joe Morton (The Brother)
In The Brother from Another Planet, Joe Morton plays “The Brother,” who, like Superman, is an alien with all kinds of powers. The movie, directed by John Sayles, was actually a surprise hit when it was released in 1984 and has since become a cult classic. It was also fairly progressive at the time and wasn’t afraid to address race and other social issues head-on.
Casey Kasem (Robin)
Between 1973 and 1985, there were multiple versions of the cartoon Super Friends, but one constant throughout them was legendary DJ Casey Kasem voicing Batman’s iconic sidekick, Robin.
Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk)
Perhaps the most successful superhero show of the era was The Incredible Hulk, starring Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk (and Bill Bixby as his alter ego, David Banner). The show ran for five seasons on CBS, and not only did it make it 80 episodes, but it also produced five made-for-TV movies.
Tanya Roberts (Sheena: Queen of the Jungle)
The first adaptation of the Golden Age comic Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, was a TV show in the 1950s starring Irish McCalla as the titular hero. In 1984, Columbia Pictures revived the hero for Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, starring Tanya Roberts as the female version of Tarzan, an orphan who grew up in the jungle. If we’re honest, the movie is pretty cheesy, and the box office reflects that, as it pretty much completely bombed when it was released in 1984. It’s a movie that just doesn’t know what it is. Comedy? Maybe. Action flick? Sometimes. Melodrama? Sadly, yes.
Jerry O’Connell (Andrew Clements)
The Canadian production My Secret Identity was a good, low-cost option for U.S. syndication, and the show ran for 72 episodes over three seasons as such. The most notable thing about it is that it starred Jerry O’Connell as Andrew Clements, the teenage superhero lead in the show.
Christopher Reeve (Superman)
Of course, we’re going to include Christopher Reeve on this list! The first Superman movie, directed by Richard Donner, was released in 1978, but Reeve continued to play the character well into the 1980s with the three sequels. starting in 1980 with Superman II. It could be argued, in fact, that the first sequel is better than the original, but you can’t go wrong with either. You can’t say the same thing about the final two in the series, which are pretty mediocre at best.
Dick Durock (The Swamp Thing)
Swamp Thing has been a popular comic book anti-hero since the early 1970s. In 1982 Wes Craven brought the character to the big screen, with actor Dick Durock playing the character in The Swamp Thing. Durock returned to the character in 1989 with The Return of Swamp Thing.
Dolph Lundgren (The Punisher)
The history of The Punisher on the big and small screen has been hit or miss, though mostly miss. The very popular Marvel anti-hero first hit the silver screen in 1989, starring Dolph Lundgren, in The Punisher. No one loves that version. In fact, no one loves any of the versions that have appeared in movies, and Jon Bernthal’s version in the Netflix-era Marvel shows has proved more enduring.
Ed Gale/Chip Zien (Howard The Duck)
Two actors played the lead character in Howard the Duck, the 1986 box office bomb about the Marvel character. Ed Gale was in the suit, while Chip Zien did the character’s voice. He’s not really a superhero, per se, but he is a giant duck who can speak and think like a human (or an alien, really), and that has to count for something. More recently, Seth Green has voiced the character in the MCU.
Robin Williams (Popeye)
Some of you might disagree that Popeye is a superhero, but come on, the guy eats spinach and gets super-strength when he does? Sounds like a superhero to us! While 1980’s Popeye starring Robin Williams as the sailor man and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl was lambasted at the time, it has since found its place as a somewhat beloved cult classic.
Chuck Wagner (Automan)
What if you took the ideas of Tron and flipped them around so that the humanoid computer programs could exist in the real world… and fight crime! That’s pretty much the premise of Automan, starring Chuck Wagner as the program-come-to-life. Yeah, it’s pretty much as bad as it sounds, and it only lasted 12 episodes on ABC in the mid-1980s.
Mitch Cohen (The Toxic Avenger)
Though it’s a classic “B-movie” from the 1980s, The Toxic Avenger has an enduring legacy. The first movie starred Mitch Cohen as The Toxic Avenger. The character has been part of four sequels in the years since, with a different actor playing the character each time, including, most recently, Peter Dinklage.
Michael Crawford (Condorman)
Disney is responsible for some of the biggest superhero movies of all time, with the giant success of the MCU movies in the last couple of decades. Those were the first time the company tried its hand at the genre, though. In 1981, they produced Condorman starring Michael Crawford as the titular hero. If you’ve forgotten the movie existed, you’re not alone.
Micheal J. Fox (Teen Wolf)
Okay, okay, we admit that we’re pushing the envelope here, but in our opinion, Teen Wolf definitely belongs on this list. The classic ’80s comedy stars Michael J. Fox as a meek teenager who transforms into a powerful wolf with some serious basketball skills. We dare you to tell us he’s not a superhero!
Peter Weller (RoboCop)
RoboCop is a classic anti-hero from the 1980s. The first appearance of the character came in the wild 1987 movie directed by Paul Verhoeven, named after the character. That movie, starring Peter Weller, was followed by two direct sequels in the 1990s and a 2014 reboot starring Joel Kinnaman as the cop-turned-android.
John Ritter (Steve Nichols)
1980’s Hero At Large starring the late, great John Ritter as Steve Nichols, an out-of-work actor who turns himself into a hapless superhero after a casting call, is actually better than it’s remembered for.
Courteney Cox (Gloria Dinallo)
One of Courteney Cox’s earliest roles was a superhero in the short-lived TV show Misfits of Science. The show only lasted 16 episodes on NBC in the 1985-’86 television season. Though the show, about a group of teenagers with superpowers, bombed, it sure didn’t slow down Cox in her career.
Alan Arkin (Captain Invincible)
1983’s The Return of Captain Invincible is a wild movie. It stars Alan Arkin as Captain Invincible, a washed-up superhero who had been forced into retirement, but is forced to suit up when his arch-nemesis returns 30 years after disappearing.
Simon MacCorkindale (Manimal)
One of the many crazy TV shows created by Glen A. Larson in the 1980s was Manimal. The show, which starred Simon MacCorkindale as the titular shape-shifting hero, lasted just eight episodes in 1983. It’s a good thing Larson also created Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.
Bruce Boxleitner (Tron)
1982’s Tron quickly became a cult classic after decent results at the box office in 1982. Bruce Boxleitner starred as Tron, and while he’s not a traditional superhero, he was as close as it came in the early ’80s when superhero movies weren’t really being made. Or, at least, good ones, so we had to include this on the list.
John Newton (Superboy)
Amid all the adaptations of Superman over the years, one that tends to get lost in the shuffle is the ’80s show Superboy starring John Newton as the young hero. In Season Two, Newton was replaced by Gerard Christopher. The lasted two more seasons before it was pretty much relegated to the dustbin of TV history, but it really wasn’t a bad show for its time.
Mia Farrow (Alura)
Even the great Mia Farrow has starred as a superhero. Sort of. Farrow played Alura, the mother of Supergirl, in 1984’s Supergirl. While we don’t see her in her traditional costume from the comics, it’s impossible to leave such a legend off the list.
Jeff Lester (Captain Justice)
Arguably, the worst example of a TV superhero show on the list (and that’s saying something) has to be Once A Hero starring Jeff Lester as Captain Justice. The show aired just three episodes on ABC before being canceled in 1987.
Lewis Van Bergen (Jon Sable)
Like a couple of other examples on this list, Jon Sable is pushing the definition of a superhero, but since he started out as a comic character and at times shows superhuman abilities, we’re including him here. Lewis Van Bergen played the character on the ABC show simply titled Sable.
Dolph Lundgren (He-Man)
Toys being turned into multimedia franchises were all the rage in the 1980s, and one of the biggest hits across media was He-Man. In 1987, the cartoon was adapted into a live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren as the Prince of Eternia. The movie, Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture, wasn’t well received and failed to find an audience that matched the popularity of the cartoon or the toys. Maybe there is a future for the franchise, but only time will tell.
Sam J. Jones (The Spirit)
Sam J. Jones is best remembered for starring in Flash Gordon, but that wasn’t the only hero he played in the 1980s. In 1987, Jones starred in The Spirit, a made-for-TV movie based on a World War II-era comic of the same name. It’s campy and fun, but it’s easy to understand why it’s not well remembered.