History WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids / SuperheroSeries

* ''WesternAnimation/ToddMcFarlanesSpawn'': According to Todd [=McFarlane=], when he first started pitching an animated version of ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', the networks he talked to wanted to make a ''Saturday morning version''. Right down to talking animal sidekick, though at that point he may have been being sarcastic in his recollections. It seemed none of the big-wigs realized that a character whose name was short for "Hellspawn" and who was horribly burnt head to toe and fought against multiple angels and devils across Earth, heaven and hell itself ''wasn't a good fit'' alongside the light-hearted fair common to those slots. Then again, when he finally got the nod from HBO, airing past-prime-time with numerous warnings of its content, [[AnimationAgeGhetto people still complained that this 'kiddie cartoon' was so graphically violent and sexual]], leaving him feeling like he never should have bothered in the first place. It doesn't help that Spawn has a family-friendly platform brawler for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, as well as a bunch of toys aimed at kids. Ironically enough, MacFarlane stated eventually that he plans on making 2 ''Spawn'' Series which ome being for kids while the other being for adults.

** The MCU’s HalloweenSpecial ''Film/WerewolfByNight'' pays homage to old horror specials that are viewed as family-friendly these days, and is [[DeliberatelyMonochrome mainly shot in black-and-white]]. However, it carries a TV-14 rating and is cross-rated at the equivalent in other countries, and it ''shows.'' The horror elements are coupled with a level of gore far surpassing the old horror shows it inspired and only rivaled by the MCU Netflix titles, with blood splattering the camera at multiple points.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' contains tons of F-bombs, sexual content and lots of violence. It's rated TV-MA and is airing on the Canadian Creator/AdultSwim and Creator/HBOMax, not Creator/CartoonNetwork.

** ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' is definitely the [[BloodierAndGorier goriest]] entry in ''Kamen Rider'' franchise that can even ''make [[Creator/GenUrobuchi Urobutcher's]] [[YourHeadAsplode head explodes]]''. Being made by the staff members from the early Heisei-era entries, this one is NotSafeForWork to the point that they released on [[Creator/PrimeVideo Amazon Prime]] where watchers of the recent Heisei-era entries are a no-no.
** ''Series/KamenRiderBlackSun'' was also released as an Creator/PrimeVideo-exclusive due to some similar ''Amazons''-level of gore, as well as heavy references to political jargons as well as racism and ableism towards oppressed species.

* ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' looks at first like a harmless, brightly-colored Saturday morning superhero cartoon for kids--and that's the point, because it makes the FirstEpisodeTwist of [[spoiler:Omni-Man, the series' SupermanSubstitute, [[BewareTheSuperman brutally slaughtering his allies in cold blood]]]] all the more shocking. It starts out with a very familiar and seemingly predictable premise: a teenager develops superpowers, and now has to balance superhero life and high school life! But it quickly turns ''extremely'' violent, gory and adult, with ''massive'' amounts of blood and guts along with some swearing and references to sex. The Prime Video page even has a warning specifically mentioning it's for adult audiences only despite being an animated series.

** The same goes for its spinoff, ''Series/DoomPatrol'', what with its bizarre metaphysical concepts for villains, explicit sex, and depictions of psychological abuse and drug addiction. If anything, it's even more adult than Titans.