Have no fear! Watch these superhero shows to prep for Daredevil premiere

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Daredevil
As far as secret identities go, Daredevil's cover as a blind lawyer is pretty solid. Photo: Netflix

Marvel’s new show about blind superhero Daredevil swoops into your Netflix queue this Friday, and the looming arrival of “the man without fear” got us in the mood to watch some other comic-inspired TV shows and movies. To make it interesting, however, we’re avoiding the obvious Marvel and DC characters and focusing on lesser-known and original characters.

Here are a few more metahuman stories to help you get your fix of “BIFFs!” and “POWs!” Be sure to tell us some of your favorites in the comments.

Misfits (2009 – 2013)

Surely, these are the least heroic of jumpsuits. Photo: Clerkenwell Films
Surely, these are the least heroic of jumpsuits. Photo: Clerkenwell Films

British series Misfits tells the story of a group of juvenile delinquents who get caught in a bizarre storm and find themselves imbued with superpowers. And this is probably the most accurate representation I’ve seen of how normal folks would react if this happened, because mostly people just abuse their gifts and act like a-holes with impunity.

It’s not just the kids who can do amazing new things. Anyone who ventured outside that day got zapped, and the show features a wide range of both typical and less-useful abilities, including one guy who has absolute control over dairy. He calls it “lactokinesis.”

Misfits is an awful lot like NBC’s Heroes, except that it doesn’t take itself so damned seriously and is good.

Availability: Netflix (disc), Amazon Video, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network

Dredd (2012)

The helmet never comes off. As well it shouldn't. Photo: Lionsgate
The helmet never comes off. As well it shouldn’t. Photo: Lionsgate

Proving that 1995 Stallone movie to be a fluke, 2012’s Dredd shows that you can make an entertaining film out of the supercop star of the Judge Dredd comics series.

Karl Urban plays the eponymous lawman with all the scowling, shooting and helmet-wearing the character demands. The film plays out like a supercharged Die Hard, mostly taking place in one building as Dredd and his partner face off against a ruthless gang set on making them dead.

Dredd is a violent, blood-splattered, borderline nihilistic action romp that includes almost fetishistic scenes of bullets tearing people apart in slow-motion and a “hero” whose job both allows and encourages him to shoot perpetrators in the face. And that’s where all the fun comes from.

Availability: Netflix (disc), Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network

Darkman (1990)

Darkman has super-strength and does not feel pain. He can also rock that hat, but I'm not sure if that's a superpower. Photo: Universal Pictures
Darkman has super-strength and does not feel pain. He can also rock that hat, but I’m not sure if that’s a superpower. Photo: Universal Pictures

Brace yourself for this premise: Darkman stars Liam Neeson as a scientist who is developing an artificial skin for burn victims. One night, villains show up, destroy his lab and blow him up, after which he swears revenge and uses his invention to craft disguises and exact his bloody retribution. The twist is that the fake skin deteriorates if exposed to light for more than 90 minutes. Therefore, Darkman.

Director Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead series) brings his kinetic sensibilities to this admittedly silly story. And remember that this was 18 years before Taken, so it was actually kind of surprising to see Liam Neeson killing a bunch of guys.

Availability: Netflix (disc), Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network

The Rocketeer (1991)

Yeah, it looks goofy. And it is, in the best possible way. Photo: Disney
Yeah, it looks goofy. And it is, in the best possible way. Photo: Disney

If all that gunplay and Neeson-ing has you hoping for something lighter, check out The Rocketeer, Disney’s 1930s-pulp-style story of a regular pilot who finds a jetpack and uses it to combat Nazis. It comes courtesy of director Joe Johnston, who would go on to capture a lot of the same period appeal in Captain America: The First Avenger. But The Rocketeer feels a lot more innocent. And I’m not just saying that because the main characters hang out in a diner shaped like a giant bulldog, but that definitely helps.

This movie stars Billy Campbell (The Killing) as the rocket man, with Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, Terry O’Quinn and Alan Arkin rounding out the cast. It’s a fun movie, and it’ll make a great palette cleanser after you’ve watched all of those people getting viciously murdered in Dredd and Darkman.

Availability: Netflix (streaming and disc), Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network

Super (2010)

Looks like someone's been taking scowling lessons from Dredd up there. Photo: IFC Films
Looks like someone’s been taking scowling lessons from Dredd. Photo: IFC Films

Writer-director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) took his first shot at superheroes with Super, which is either the blackest comedy ever or a gruesome study of mental illness.

Rainn Wilson (The Office) stars as Frank Darbo/The Crimson Bolt, a masked vigilante whose desire to do good far outweighs his ability. Comic-store clerk Libbie (X-Men: Days of Future Past‘s Ellen Page) becomes his sidekick Boltie, and she isn’t any better at her job than Darbo is. The Crimson Bolt’s crimefighting arsenal consists of a stack of fliers warning criminals not to crime so much and a pipe wrench that he brings to bear on such evildoers as a couple of jerks who cut in line at the movies.

Super isn’t for everyone, but it’s one of the weirdest and most ridiculous takes on hero-ing that I’ve ever seen.

Availability: Netflix (streaming and disc), Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network

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