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While it’s difficult to classify any superhero movie as sci-fi, TV shows with capes and masks paint a different picture. The episodic format allows creatives on the small screen to experiment with different ideas, including those that push boundaries. Here are the five best sci-fi episodes of superhero TV shows, including one that’s universally disliked.
5) “Invasion!” (Arrowverse Crossover)
It’s going to be hard to make any list about superhero TV shows that doesn’t mention the Arrowverse in some way, shape, or form. After all, it houses hundreds of episodes. Well, at least three of those episodes lean heavily into sci-fi territory, focusing on an alien invasion that happens on Earth-One. Barry Allen, aka The Flash, is the first on the scene and calls for aid after realizing his new extraterrestrial friends don’t care about phoning home.
The “Invasion!” crossover marks the first time that Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl all share the screen, which makes it a monumental event in Arrowverse history. There’s much more to it than superficial facts, though, as the Arrowverse’s heroes have to deal with time travel and mind control. A few of them even end up in a fake reality created by the Dominators where they can live their ideal lives.
4) “4,722 Hours” (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
In Season 1, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. serves as the MCU’s take on a procedural, following a group of agents as they clean up problems left behind by the characters in the big leagues. Subsequent outings give the show more freedom, but it doesn’t get much better than Season 3, which features what might be the most unique story in the MCU’s history.
While studying an alien artifact in “4,722 Hours,” S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons disappears from her post and ends up on an alien planet. She meets a NASA astronaut who’s been marooned for years, and they devise a plan to escape while forming a connection. Unfortunately, they’re not alone on the planet, with a dark force watching their every move.
3) “Space Patrol” (Doom Patrol)
Doom Patrol embraces the weird and wacky side of the comic books. There’s a sentient street and a very grumpy man whose brain lives inside a robot body. Despite having all of that in its back pocket, Doom Patrol‘s strangest moment comes when a group of astronauts arrives at the titular team’s door.
“Space Patrol” introduces Larry Trainor, aka Negative Man, to The Pioneers of the Uncharted, whom the Chief sent into space in the 1950s and never heard from again. Larry listens to their story and opens up to Valentina Vostok, who has a Negative Spirit, just like him. There’s a strange feeling that Larry can’t shake, though, and his intuition turns out to be right because he learns a shocking truth about his new friends.
