CBS Could Have Had Its Own Marvel Universe on TV in the 70s

The Marvel Universe has become one of the largest film franchises in cinema history with currently over thirty movies released and more on the way along with television offshoots like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Wandavision, Loki, and more. This helped start a new superhero boom that has made comic book characters ubiquitous in the cinemas and across the linear and streaming television channels over the past ten-plus years. Back in the 1970s, CBS had the opportunity to create its own Marvel Universe on television, though the network ultimately decided that superheroes were not its thing.

The first Marvel character to land on the CBS Prime Time line-up was Spider-Man who premiered in a movie-of-the-week in September of 1977. That would be followed by the Hulk who appeared in two successful television movies in November 1977. By the Spring of 1978, both shows had joined the network’s schedule as ongoing series. The Amazing Spider-Man would air for two shortened seasons before the network called it quits for that character (you can read more about the cancellation at this link). The Incredible Hulk would last five seasons and go on to be counted as a classic sci fi series (you can read more about the show at this link).

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During the same time frame when The Amazing Spider-Man was still on the air, CBS also flirted with two more Marvel Characters. A Dr. Strange TV movie hit the schedule in September 1978 (shortening the honorific from the full “Doctor” usually used in the comics) that teased an ongoing series following the Sorcerer Supreme (you can read more about that at this link). And then in January of 1979, a Captain America TV movie introduced the possibility of a series based on that star-spangled character. However, apparently each new Marvel entry delivered diminishing returns as far as viewership, and CBS did not want to become known as the “superhero” network (it was also airing Wonder Woman which it had previously saved when ABC cancelled it after one season). By the end of the 1978-79 season, all of the superhero shows would be purged from the network’s lineup except for The Incredible Hulk (though one more Captain America movie would air in November 1979).

None of the Marvel characters on CBS ever crossed over, but Nicholas Hammond had suggested that Spider-Man make an appearance on the Hulk’s show. And if Dr. Strange and Captain America had gone to series that would have opened up further cross-over potential. Sadly the distaste that network execs had for the superhero genre ended the chances of any sort of Marvel Universe establishing itself on television at that time. NBC would later pick up the rights to The Incredible Hulk in the 1980s after CBS had cancelled it and that network also toyed with ongoing series featuring other Marvel characters. It produced three Hulk movies, one of which introduced Daredevil and another that brought in Thor (more on those two at this link). Neither carried on to their own shows, and a second chance at a television Marvel Universe was ended before it really began.