Superheroes have dominated pop culture for approximately 20 years because of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies from the 2000s. However, the 2000s also saw caped heroes burst onto the small screens as the WB (the CW today) greenlit a Superman prequel series that had a sizeable budget, Smallville. Despite its dwindling quality in the latter seasons, Superhero TV shows owe a lot to Smallville.However, since Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, caped heroes took a page from the acclaimed franchise and began to introduce darker and adult storylines. Some of these stories are marketed exclusively to adults, and considering their streaming release, these shows can afford to forgo the underage audiences.Superhero TV shows with darker stories featuring superheroes: View this post on Instagram Instagram PostHere are a few examples of darker stories revolving around superheroes:The BoysThe Boys is the best example of an adult superhero show. The Prime Video series debuted in 2019, a few months after Avengers: Endgame blew everyone away worldwide. While not the first adaptation to deconstruct the superhero archetype, The Boys blew up as it offered everyone an alternative to the family-friendly superhero stories.The Prime Video series follows a group of vigilantes trying to keep the Corporation Vought International's superheroes in check."When Hughie (Jack Quaid, The Hunger Games) suffers a devastating loss at the hands of a reckless Supe, his devastation turns to outrage when he discovers there is no legal recourse for victims of collateral superhero damage. While still reeling from his trauma Hughie meets a mysterious operative, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Star Trek), who recruits him to join in his pursuit of some vigilante justice against the Supes—who are not exactly what they seem. The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets."Watchmen (2019)HBO's Watchmen was released ten years after the 2009 movie that ultimately proved that the acclaimed Allan Moore graphic novel was ultimately filmable. However, this series is unique because it follows the graphic novel's continuity and ending rather than the one established in the 2009 movie.The series takes place in an alternate 2019, where people still use pagers and the internet doesn't. People are still trying to reach Dr. Manhattan, who hasn't returned to Earth ever since his abandonment in 1985. Meanwhile, "retired" police officer Angela Abar finds herself in the center of a conspiracy that's linked to her Angela's grandfather, Will Reeves, who served the NYPD in 1938."Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, WATCHMEN, from executive producer Damon Lindelof (Emmy® winner for “Lost”; HBO’s “The Leftovers”) embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own. Nicole Kassell directs the pilot from a script written by Lindelof."Doom Patrol View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe relatively unknown superhero team ran for four seasons between February 2019 and November 2023. The fan-favorite Doom Patrol is about a team of superheroes who got their powers through tragic circumstances. Much like the X-Men, this team tries to help a world that doesn't like them."Doom Patrol reimagines one of DC’s most beloved groups of superheroes: Robotman aka Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), Elasti-Woman aka Rita Farr (April Bowlby) and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), led by modern-day mad scientist Niles Caulder aka the Chief (Timothy Dalton). Each member of the Doom Patrol suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities, but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found their purpose through the Chief, coming together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence. Following the mysterious disappearance of the Chief, these reluctant heroes will find themselves in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg (Joivan Wade), who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse. Part support group, part superhero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of superpowered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them."DaredevilDaredevil debuted on Netflix in 2015 and ran for two more seasons on the streaming giant until 2018. Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil returned to the MCU three years later in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home after the series' cancellation in 2018. Moreover, Marvel also greenlit Daredevil: Born Again for Disney+, which finally released in March 2024."Blinded as a young boy, Matt Murdock fights injustice by day as a lawyer and by night as the super hero Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen, New York City."X-Men '97 Season 1You may be surprised that this revival of the beloved '90s animated series is included on this list, but X-Men '97 Season 1 definitely belongs here. The series begins on a shocking note as it is revealed that Charles Xavier has given Magneto control of the X-Men and the school itself. But the most shocking event that turns the series around is in the fifth episode, "Remember It".Shockingly bloody and political, X-Men '97 aged up its superheroes with the millennials who grew up watching X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran for five seasons between 1992 and 1997."Marvel Animation’s 'X-Men ’97' revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future."Apart from the five above, there are countless other superheroes meant for adults, like Invincible, The Punisher, Peacemaker, The Boys spin-off Gen V, and The Umbrella Academy.