Superheroes in animation

Superheroes have been portrayed in animation since the early 1940s. Up until the late '90s animated cartoons have been the most common venue, right after comics, to depict superheroic adventures. Contrary to live action productions, they do not require expensive sets and special effects, although animation production standards can vary widely in cost. As a result, cartoon shows featuring superheroes became a staple of children's entertainment with a few shows reaching adult audiences.

In late 1941, Superman became the first superhero to be depicted in animation, The Superman series of groundbreaking theatrical cartoons was produced by Fleischer/Famous Studios from 1941 to 1943 and featured the famous "It's a bird, it's a plane" introduction. One of the most successful imitations/parodies was Terrytoons' Mighty Mouse series, which became the flagship property of the studio.

With the rise of television in the 1960s, superheroes have found success in animated television series geared towards children, including Filmation's Superman-Batman Adventure Hour and Grantray-Lawrence Animation's Spider-Man, featuring the "does whatever a spider can" theme song.

In the 1970s, Japanese anime strove to emulate American superhero cartoons with their own creations. The most successful was Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) which became a television classic that created a template that many other anime series followed.

In the 1970s and 1980s American superhero animated series were constrained by the broadcasting restrictions that activist groups like Action for Children's Television lobbied for. The most popular series in this period, Super Friends, an adaptation of DC's Justice League of America, was designed to be as nonviolent and inoffensive as possible. The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends were similarly tame. Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman aired in North America as the Battle of the Planets but it was so severely edited for violence that plots were incoherent although it still won many fans for its distinctive take on the genre.

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Wikipedia