When looking for great comic book entertainment, Netflix has you covered.
Whether you are looking for DC and Marvel superhero shows, or something a little off the wall, there is something here for all tastes.
At one time, Netflix was the one-stop-shop for Marvel movies, but that changed when Disney+ arrived. Likewise, HBO Max is the new home for DC movies.
As a result, Netflix has started to pump out original comic book material.
The streaming giant also has plenty to choose from when it comes to network television series based on Marvel and DC properties.
Updated January 2022: We will update this article every month with new comic book properties streaming on Netflix, while also removing any shows or movies that have dropped off the site, so bookmark this page for new entries every month.
300 (2006)
Zack Snyder achieved a lot of success when he directed the DCEU movies based on Superman and Batman. However, those were not his first comic book adaptations.
Before he joined the DCEU, Snyder directed an adaptation of Alan Moore and David Gibbons’ Watchmen and an adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300. For 300, he actually worked with Miller for the adaptation.
In 300, Gerard Butler and Lena Headey starred in a movie about King Leonidas leading 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian God-King Xerxes and his 300,000 soldiers. Much like Watchmen, Snyder shot almost all the movie in front of a green screen and then added replica backgrounds from the comics.
Jonah Hex (2010)
Jonah Hex starred Josh Brolin as the DC Comics Wild West superhero, intent on stopping all outlaws, especially the supernatural.
The movie takes place during the Civil War and Jonah Hex was a Confederate soldier whose commanding officer ordered him to burn down a hospital. When he refused, he has to kill his best friend, the son of his commanding officer.
After the war, Jonah’s wife and son die in a house fire at the hands of this officer and he is left to die.
However, Jonah is resurrected though mystical forces and goes on to seek vengeance,
Superman Returns (2006)
Bryan Singer brought Superman back to movie theaters in 2006 with Superman Returns.
However, the movie did not get good reviews and remains an underappreciated comic book movie. This is mostly because the movie deals mostly with Superman as a man and not so much about him fighting supervillains.
The movie is set up as a sequel to Superman II and had Superman leave Earth for years to try to find if Krypton was still out there. When he learned it was destroyed, he returns to Earth.
By this time, Lois Lane was married and had a child and Superman had to find his place in the world while Lex Luthor was still around, making things difficult.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Television fans are watching the first seasons of Snowpiercer on TNT, but movie fans had already gotten to see the comic book adaptation play out on the big screen in 2013.
Fans who want to catch up with that original movie once again can see it on Netflix.
The film has a great cast, with Chris Evans (Captain America), Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange), Jamie Bell (Fantastic Four), and Ed Haris leading the way. It also has an Oscar-winning director in Bong Joon-ho (Parasite).
The story is about a train that is the only thing keeping the people on it from dying on the frozen wasteland that is Earth, and the class system on board that threatens to bring it all to an end.
Daredevil
Daredevil was the first big Marvel original series that Netflix produced. Critically acclaimed and widely watched, it helped create a new interconnected Marvel universe on Netflix.
Charlie Cox starred as Matt Murdock and Daredevil, while Vincent D’Onofrio appeared as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. The show played out for three seasons.
After Daredevil’s spectacular first season, average second, and improved third season, it was also one of several Marvel heroes who debuted on Netflix, including Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher’s return to Marvel Entertainment.
Jessica Jones
While Daredevil was the series that started the Marvel series on The CW, there was another that was almost more critically acclaimed.
Jessica Jones was a girl who was in an accident as a child and developed superhuman powers. However, she chose to become a private investigator and help people in need.
Krysten Ritter starred as Jones and she brought the classic Marvel storyline showing Jessica’s battles with The Purple Man to the small screen.
There were three seasons and she also appeared in The Defenders.
Sweet Tooth
Sweet Tooth is a recent addition to Netflix, based on the comics by Jeff Lemire.
The series takes place after a disease wiped out large portions of humanity at the same time hybrid animal/human children were born. Survivors blamed the hybrids and began hunting and killing the kids.
The main character is Gus, and a man named Jepperd began to work to protect him. The two then met other hybrid children, and they began to rise against the hunters trying to kill them.
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is yet another Netflix fantasy series based on a comic book. In this case, Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá‘s comic books provided the story.
Fans might recognize Way as the lead singer of the alternative rock band My Chemical Romance.
The Umbrella Academy is about a group of seven superpowered children who were taken in and trained from the moment they were born.
By the time the children are grown, one has died, and another disappeared. When the missing member of the group returns and says the world is about to end, the team has to reunite and work together to save the planet.
Gotham
Gotham aired on Fox, telling the story of Gotham City before Batman became the hero.
The show had Bruce Wayne as a young boy and introduced most of his villains, including Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, and more.
The show is an acquired taste, a colorful look at bizarre characters that are not copied directly from the comic books. Every season of Gotham is available to stream right now on Netflix.
Raising Dion
Raising Dion is a Netflix original series about a young boy who discovers he has superpowers. His mother sets out to protect him at all costs.
When an organization sets its eyes on Dion, an old friend of his deceased father returns to help protect the child and his mother.
However, things are not what they seem to be, and a supervillain sets out to try to capture Dion and use him for his powers. The best news is that Raising Dion will get a second season.
October Faction
October Faction hit Netflix in 2020, based on the comic books by Steve Niles and Damien Worm.
The series and comics are about a family of monster hunters that move back home and realize that the worst monsters might be living in the shadows of their hometown.
The father, mother, and their two kids then set out to clean out their town of monsters as part of a secret organization set out to save humanity.
There is one season, and Netflix did not pick up the series for renewal.
Jupiter’s Legacy
Mark Millar signed an exclusive deal with Netflix and the first comic book he brought to the streaming service was Jupiter’s Legacy.
The show has the first heroes, now older and settled as Earth’s greatest protectors. However, the basis of the series is their kids, the second generation of heroes who don’t want to follow in their parent’s footsteps.
When things in America move away from The Utopian’s values, Earth’s most powerful hero, the second generation has to step up and determine the future of the world’s superheroes.
Warrior Nun
Netflix released Warrior Nun in 2020, based on the comic book manga Warrior Nun Areala by Ben Dunn.
The story followed a secret group of female warriors working for the Catholic Church, protecting the world from demons and other evil forces.
When the leader of the group dies in a fierce battle, a new warrior gains the power from a divine artifact in a girl in the morgue that the church believed had previously taken her own life.
However, forces that represent heaven and hell want to stop her and a supernatural being wants it back.
The first season ended on a cliffhanger, but a second season of Warrior Nun is coming.
Arrow
Fans of DC Comics can watch all their favorite Arrowverse shows on Netflix. The one that started it all, Arrow, is there in its entirety.
This series features Oliver Queen, the son of a wealthy family who almost dies with his father but ends up on a deserted island. He soon finds others there with him and trains to become a great warrior.
When he returns, he takes on the role of the Arrow and sets out to protect his city from evil. Fans of Arrow can also branch out on Netflix and watch The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Supergirl
In November 2021, Netflix added the rest of the episodes of Supergirl, which wrapped up The CW series.
This means that fans will now have every episode of Supergirl on the streaming service to watch.
Supergirl stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, Superman’s cousin and the most powerful hero in her world when the series started. Since that beginning, Supergirl has crossed over with all the other DC shows on The CW.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
A Marvel series from ABC is available for Netflix subscribers to watch in its entirety. This is Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was the first TV show to spin off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The show took S.H.I.E.L.D., introduced in the Iron Man movies, and resurrected Agent Coulson from the dead after Loki killed him in The Avengers.
Coulson put together a team to investigate superhuman activities in the world. The show crossed over with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, introduced the Inhumans and Ghost Rider, and got better as the seasons wore on.
iZombie
iZombie was another show from The CW that is available to stream on Netflix.
Unlike the Arrowverse, this series is not based within the main DC Comics universe, instead based on comics from the Vertigo imprint (the same as Sweet Tooth).
The show stars Rose McIver as Liv, a former medical resident who was turned into a zombie at a boat party. She gets a job at a medical examiner’s office, giving her access to brains to eat to keep her sanity.
However, eating a brain allows her to see that person’s life, and she uses this to help the local police solve crimes.
Lucifer
Fox canceled the fantasy series Lucifer after it produced three seasons, but Netflix moved in to save the series.
The streaming service renewed the series for a fourth and later fifth season. The first half of the fifth season hit in 2020, and fans have a sixth and final season to look forward to.
Lucifer was based on the comic book series Sandman by Neil Gaiman, but it has turned into a comic of its own. The series follows Lucifer as he leaves Hell and opens a piano bar in Los Angeles where he helps a local police officer solve criminal cases.
Riverdale
While Riverdale was based on the classic Archie Andrews characters, the idea for the show was based on the comics, which put Archie and friends into horror-themed situations.
The show ended up featuring murder mysteries, and had these high school friends try to solve the crimes while staying alive themselves.
Recently, a time jump moved everyone in Riverdale to adulthood, but all the previous seasons are available to stream on Netflix. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was also based on Archie comics and is also on Netflix for fans.
The Walking Dead
Created by Robert Kirkman for Image Comics, The Walking Dead might be the most successful comic book adaptation ever created for television.
The story started after the zombie apocalypse and followed a former cop named Rick Grimes as he set out to find his wife and son after waking from a coma.
However, over the years, it was not about one character. The show featured a group of traveling survivors trying to stay alive, while both zombies and evil surviving humans tried to kill them every step of the way.
There will be one more season of The Walking Dead on AMC, but fans can catch up with all the previous seasons on Netflix.
Locke & Key
Locke & Key is an original Netflix fantasy series that is based on the comic books by Joe Hill, who is Stephen King’s son.
Locke & Key tells the story of the Locke family after the patriarch is killed by one of his students. The family moves into the iconic Key House, but soon the three children learn that the house is full of secrets.
There are keys that can open doors that lead to great powers or unexpected places. However, there is also a demon under the house that wants the keys for herself.
Locke & Key released its second season in October 2021.