Superheroes, heroines turn up heat
The Boys are back on TV this summer, not to mention a bunch of superpowered siblings, a DC cartoon fan favorite, a couple of Marvel heroines making their debut and the king of dreams.
While “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” and the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder” are exploding on the big screen, streaming superhero shows based on comic books will keep fanboys and girls satisfied.
Here are seven super-duper series to watch if you’re into heroic shenanigans or delicious villainy:
‘The Boys’ (Amazon Prime)
The third season of the show about superheroes who are corporately funded jerks finds Karl Urban and Jack Quaid’s group of “supe”-fighting antiheroes going to extremes to fight caped psychopath Homelander (Antony Starr) – including getting a morally questionable taste of powers themselves.
‘Ms. Marvel’ (Disney+, Wednesday)
Canadian newcomer Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, the first Muslim hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A teenager – and devoted Captain Marvel superfan – from Jersey City, New Jersey, Kamala becomes mysteriously endowed with abilities and has to figure out how to use them while trying not to disappoint her Pakistani parents.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ (Netflix, June 22)
After stopping an apocalypse in 1963 last season, the Hargreeves siblings (including Elliot Page, Tom Hopper and Emmy Raver-lampman) return home to present day in Season 3 and find the timeline is broken, a family of young superheroes the Sparrow Academy has taken their place, and the hostile new kids don’t take kindly to strangers.
‘Baymax!’ (Disney+, June 29)
The spinoff of the animated 2014 film “Big Hero 6” focuses on lovable health care companion robot Baymax (voiced by “30 Rock” actor Scott Adsit) as he embraces his core programming of helping people and gets into all sorts of comedic high jinks aiding the residents of San Fransokyo and the occasional stray cat.
‘The Sandman’ (Netflix, Aug. 5)
The seminal Neil Gaiman comic finally comes to the screen in this dark fantasy series starring Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, who’s summoned and captured on Earth but escapes to fix his cosmic and human mistakes. Among the impressive supporting cast, “Game of Thrones” actress Gwendoline Christie co-stars as Lucifer and Kirby Howell-baptiste plays Death.
‘She-hulk: Attorney at Law’ (Disney+, Aug. 17)
The MCU gets its own legal comedy, headlined by Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) as Jennifer Walters, who can transform into a muscular powerhouse just like her cousin the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). She’s tapped as the face of a new superhero law division of her firm, and while she yearns to be an ordinary attorney, Jen instead becomes a greenskinned phenomenon.
‘Harley Quinn’ (HBO Max, late summer)
Kaley Cuoco voices the foul-mouthed Gotham City bad girl in a cartoon comedy that’s definitely not for youngsters. The third season features Harley and her beloved Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) – who left Kite Man at the altar – exploring their new relationship, the return of King Shark (Ron Funches) and new folks including Nightwing (Harvey Guillen) and James Gunn (as himself ).