Over the past decade, superhero films have proliferated and became the genre of choice for many audiences. Marvel and DC have reigned at the box office with every film they churn out (despite debatable criticism) and recently, they’ve both set their sights on the small screen as well. Far from the campy Adam West’s Batman series, the latest live action superhero shows have been smart and engaging – playing to both new fans and old.
Live action superhero shows based on comic books date back to the 1950s, when George Reeves’ Adventures of Superman first aired. Since then, DC Comics has been the studio most linked with superheroes on television, with numerous shows based on their characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Shazaam, the Birds of Prey and the Flash. Marvel had fewer attempts since the 1970s, with The Incredible Hulk in 1977 as their most successful series.
The latest and most successful slew of live-action comic book shows all started in 2012 with DC’s Arrow. This dark, grounded look at Green Arrow took hints from the Christopher Nolan Batman films without directly being a part of that universe. Marvel followed in 2013 with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was a part of its own movie universe, following along with the adventures of Phil Coulson – a character who was killed off in the film The Avengers in the previous year. Since then, the DC and Marvel television universes have taken parallel branches to success.
After so many years of intelligent writing and directing in Hollywood, the general public no longer thinks of comics as something just for children as they once did. Television writers and directors – also taking advantage of the popularity of television as a medium thanks to shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones – are able to tell the stories that they want to tell. Audiences are hungry for more of the stories that they love. It is far easier to tell a more nuanced story for a larger group of characters in ten to twenty hours of television than it is in two hours of a summer movie.
Both DC and Marvel have taken advantage of this new landscape in storytelling, with DC creating The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow from the universe of Arrow, as well as having non-connected shows like Gotham and Supergirl, both of which can be found on local channels on cable. Marvel continues to connect its shows to the films, and through its deal with Netflix shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones have been popular and well-regarded.
While some see this as a glut of superhero shows, others view it as a chance to examine the human condition from various angles. Daredevil does a superb job of contrasting how two people with such similar motivations could take such completely different courses of action. Jessica Jones is a series-long study in post-traumatic stress and abusive relationships. Supergirl takes a look at a young woman’s navigation of a traditionally male society, both in terms of the real world and the comic book world.
Some critics have stated their belief that the oversaturation of the comic book television show market means that audiences will tire of these shows faster. Others argue that it is prizing spectacle over story. The answer may be neither of these. Instead, one can hope that shows will continue along an intelligent path and continue their look at reality, albeit one wrapped in superpowers. Superheroes have evolved with audiences over the decades, and superhero shows will continue to change to fit the times as well.
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