Let’s Hope Joss Whedon’s ‘Avengers’ TV Series Has Better Luck Than Almost Every Other Superhero Show of the Last 20 Years

On the heels of confirming that he would in fact be directing the sequel to his mega-hit The Avengers, Joss Whedon also confirmed that he would be creating a television series based on the world of The Avengers for ABC. The decision to move ahead with a sequel is a no brainer (The Avengers already has grossed 1.5 billion worldwide and is the highest grossing film of 2012 so far), but despite the hot streak Whedon is on at the moment, even the Buffy creator may not be able to pull off a successful superhero-based television show.

Comic book and superhero adaptations have been on television almost as long as the medium's been around. But if you took a look at its long history, you'd notice that there's rarely a successful, long-running show based on comic book heroes. Even Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk which many remember as being 'classics', never ran for more than a few seasons. And with the exception of Smallville there have been no real success stories in the genre on the boob tube.So will Joss Whedon, Marvel and The Avengers be able to break the long streak left by these failed attempts to put caped crusaders on TV?