The Old Guard 2 and More SFF to Watch on Netflix 

If you’re in the mood for a funny and entertaining take on the superhero genre, add this French sci-fi thriller to your watchlist. It’s set in an alternate Paris where humans and superheroes coexist but there’s a new illegal drug that apparently gives superpowers to mortals. Now, two cops and two ex-superheroes are forced to team up to investigate this mysterious street drug and uncover a deeper conspiracy. With an engaging story, fun action sequences and some comic relief in the form of Benoît Poelvoorde’s Monté Carlo, How I Became A Superhero is perfect for a lighthearted watch on a Friday night with plenty of popcorn. 

A wacky superhero series, The Umbrella Academy combines time travel, family drama, dysfunctional relationships, and prevent-the-apocalypse plots in a thoroughly entertaining fashion. This Netflix series is adapted from the comic books by Gerard Way. Way is also a successful musician and was the lead vocalist of the rock band, My Chemical Romance famous for albums such as The Black Parade and Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (also turned into a comic book series). 

The Umbrella Academy follows seven siblings (adopted by an eccentric billionaire) navigate years of trauma, confront family issues and risk their lives to save the world. While the first three seasons are absolutely brilliant, the last season can be a bit of a letdown, but it ties up all the loose ends. 

The first Suicide Squad (2016) film was kind of a disaster, but the James Gun sequel/reboot managed to fix matters, though its release during the pandemic may have caused it to underperform at the box office. It also brought back Margot Robbie as the delightfully unhinged Harley Quinn, teaming up with former criminals on a deadly mission. They’re tasked with destroying a secret laboratory housing “Project Starfish” except the alien entity called “Starro the Conqueror” manages to escape—and the team have to use their wits to fight it. Balancing action-packed sequences with the occasional funny one-liners, The Suicide Squad is a thrilling watch even if you’re not a diehard DC fan.   

If superheroes seem a bit bland to you by now, you can check out the dysfunctional lives of immortal gods in KAOS, a Netflix mini-series inspired by Greek mythology. The deities here are supremely powerful, arrogant and corrupt, particularly the leader of the pantheon, Zeus. The series follows Prometheus’s attempt to overthrow Zeus as per an ancient prophecy, with the unwitting involvement of fellow mortals—Ariadne, Caeneus, and Eurydice. The mini-series engages with queer issues and offers a refreshing take on the mythology genre while also being supremely enjoyable. Too bad it was canceled after just one season. 

For all those who grew up reading superhero comics, Alan Moore’s pathbreaking contribution to the genre, Watchmen is a must-read. This alternate history carefully deconstructs the superhero genre set amidst the Cold War and was adapted almost frame-by-frame into a film by Zack Snyder. It was an overly long film, extremely faithful to its source material, and over the years has gained quite the cult following. Whether you’re a casual fan of superhero comics or a scholar investigating how the genre has evolved over the decades, Watchmen is definitely the film to watch. 

If you enjoy anime and manga, you should check out the long-running animated series, My Hero Academia on Netflix—either dubbed in English or with Japanese subtitles. It unfolds in a society where most of the population is born with some superpower (called Quirk) or the other. Depending on how powerfully and intelligently one can use their Quirk, they can opt to attend special schools to train to be “Heroes”—personnel tasked with keeping people safe from “Villains” who use their Quirks for nefarious ends. 

The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a persevering and kind-hearted boy who was born without any Quirks but still dreams of being a superhero one day. Impressed by his bravery, the famous Pro Hero All-Might bestows his Quirk to him and helps him enroll for superhero training. The rest of the series focuses on the interconnected lives of the students of U.A. High School as they train their powers, compete with each other, sit for challenging exams and fight villains to save the day.