GRAYSON: Dick Grayson's grandparents are a normal suburban 1970s family whose young son John is interested in the circus, but we never see him actually join it. The series focuses on the Graysons' wrangling with their neighbor over the placement of a tree near the property line. Nothing violent or criminal or supernatural ever happens. But we know that one day, John will grow up to die when his trapeze is sabotaged, and that makes it all tragic.

THEMISCYRA: An Amazon queen unites warring Amazon tribes and creates a mighty island kingdom. This could be cool and all with lots of swords and cleavage, but Diana won’t be born for several thousand years, so it’s not much to do with her.

THE LENSHERRS: Magneto’s parents Jakob and Magda meet and court in Weimar Germany. In season 7, they start to worry about a new political movement. The show is canceled before Eric is born. There are no mutants, but what really upsets X-Men fans is that the show isn’t called “The Eisenhardts.”

TRIPLE J: Cub reporter J. Jonah Jameson navigates the New York newspaper scene, seeking the perfect scoop. In season three, his friend Ben Parker is forced to adopt an orphaned nephew. Season five’s story arc involves Jameson’s distrust of the superhuman Namor, Prince of Atlantis.