Superhero fiction has a reputation for being immature and aimed at
children. While plenty of superhero media has its fair share of colors,
humor, and mindless action, the genre has much more maturity than
people realize. Shows can often touch on relevant, profound, and
sobering themes.

This may partly be due to the audience; some shows may appeal to adults
and younger audiences, but hold more poignancy to the former. With more
experience of life and potentially greater understanding of some of the
show's nuances, some shows are sadder to more grown-up audiences.

10 WandaVision's Grief Is More Real For Those Who Have Experienced It

Grief is the major running theme of WandaVision, with the entire series
caused by Wanda's inability to accept and process her intense feelings
of loss. Instead, she constructs Westview and tries to live in an
insincere, fake world that causes her mental health to spiral
downwards.

Grief is a relatively universal human experience, but people typically
get more experience with it as they grow older. Children may have lost
close relatives or friends, but adults are more likely to. Older
audiences are more likely to relate to what Wanda is going through
throughout the show, and appreciate its devastating impact better.

9 Invincible Hits Harder For Parents

Although it touches on the world-spanning side of superheroics,
featuring alien invaders and superhuman threats to the entire world,
Invincible is a much smaller story at heart. It focuses more on the
protagonist Mark Grayson and his relationships with his friends and
family, particularly his father, Nolan Grayson.

Nolan spends much of the series guiding Mark through becoming a
superhero before convincing him to betray the world alongside him. When
Mark refuses, Nolan overpowers and brutalizes him. What to many is a
tragic-but-epic fight scene - complete with inspiring a meme - is more
likely to hit home and horrify parents at the sight of a father beating
his son.

8 Batman: The Animated Series' Villains Aren't Monsters

Despite its immense prestige, Batman: The Animated Series is likely to
be written off by some for not only being a superhero show, but a
superhero children's cartoon. Nonetheless, the show is so beloved
because of its mature and serious writing that doesn't patronize its
audience. This allows it to hit home, particularly with the tragedy of
its villains.

As with many other incarnations of Batman's Rogues' Gallery, The
Animated Series emphasizes that most of Batman's villains are mentally
ill and completely failed by the state. They're not monsters; they're
people who need help � something that children may miss amongst the
colorful action and the exciting plots.

7 Hawkeye's Themes Focus On Family And Responsibility

Hawkeye has plenty to offer any audience. It's a fun and stylish set at
Christmas, with moments of heart and levity contrasting with genuine
emotion and sadness. However, the latter is more likely to hit home for
older audiences than younger ones due to the series' underpinning
themes.

It focuses on family - particularly parenthood - and responsibility,
focusing on regrets and past decisions returning to haunt people. While
these themes are broadly applicable, they're more likely to hit home
for people with families of their own to look after, and those who've
lived long enough to have significant things they'd rather do
differently.

6 The Boys Is Enhanced With Greater Political And Social Awareness

The Boys is a recent tour-de-force of superhero television, able to
appeal to a diverse audience. Although the show is rated for adults
only, some younger viewers may be drawn in by the things that make it
so notorious � its shocking violence, lurid content, and sordid
exploration of superheroes.

Although these are all essential parts of the show, its political and
social themes are equally important. Taking a stand against celebrity
culture, fake corporate virtue-signaling, and the alt-right, the show
has many messages that older audiences will likely find more poignant
and troublesome than younger viewers.

5 Legion Deals With Particularly Adult Topics

Legion tries to set itself apart from other superhero shows. Although
it involves action, fantasy, and superheroics, it's a more
introspective piece that focuses on the emotional state and mental
health of its characters - and touches on some particularly dark
topics.

The show doesn't coddle its audience, and younger viewers could
doubtless appreciate the show. However, adult viewers may be more aware
of its issues around mental health, medicalization, consent, autonomy,
and more � particularly if they have experience themselves.

4 The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Is A Surprisingly Political Show

After the Marvel Cinematic Universe avoided overt politics for some
time, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier can come as a surprise to
viewers by having explicitly political themes. It deals with race and
racism in America, the rise and justification of political extremism,
police brutality, refugee rights, and more.

There is no reason that younger audiences can't appreciate these themes
� or, for that matter, enjoy the show on its other merits. However,
adults are perhaps more likely to focus on the political underpinnings
of the show rather than Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes' battles with John
Walker and the Flag Smashers.

3 The Umbrella Academy Veers Between Humor And Tragedy

Luther Hargreeves with his brother Viktor in The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is one of the most unashamedly odd superhero shows
of recent television, but also one of the more poignant and emotional.
It includes things like time travel, sapient goldfish, and aliens, and
it isn't afraid to create laughs; but there are genuine and human
problems at the show's core.

With its focus on a fractured family, and the emotional fallout from
such, it can hit harder for adult audiences. In particular, younger
audiences might just see the main characters as entertaining adults -
but older audiences are more likely to realize that they're people in
their thirties acting more like teenagers due to their trauma.

2 Jessica Jones Leans On Metaphor And Allegory

Jessica Jones is one of the more popular MCU Netflix series, a large
part of which is due to its mature storytelling. The show takes a
darker and grittier look at its topics than several of the already-dark
Netflix shows, mainly focusing on the effects of trauma and rape
culture on a character like Jessica.

The show doesn't particularly try for subtlety, hammering home the
importance of its message instead, but it might still go over the heads
of some in the audience. Adults are more likely to pick up on the
subtext throughout the show, such as seeing Kilgrave and his abuse as
an allegory for rape culture.

1 Arthur's Trauma Shines Beneath The Jokes In The Tick

The Tick is one of the oddest and most entertaining superhero shows of
recent years. It focuses on the relationship between the easily-scared
Arthur Everest, and the eccentric and barely-functional superhero The
Tick. The show is absurdist and strange, which may be enough for some
viewers.

Darker things lurk beneath the surface, however. Arthur spends the
entire show deeply unhappy, with his formative trauma brought up
repeatedly throughout the show. Coupled with his canonical mental
illness, adults may find much of the humor less entertaining and more
tragic.

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Let's go Brandon!