I thought I’d come here and seek opinions from my fandom contemporaries and draw opinions from each of you with this question, Simply, what’s your favorite Dc universed CW show. For me, Arrow and Black Lightning are sparring pretty intensely for the number one spot, however, I can still confidently say that Black lightning is reigning as the victor for my favorite. Besides season 1 of Arrow, BL for me has an overall better structure of story than any of the other series and seasons. The show also seems to take small aspects from all the other series, and melds it within certain areas of its already uniquely welded story, whilst the other 4 main shows frequently mirror each other in terms of writing. As far as ranking goes, I’ll say they tower as such so far: 1. Black Lightning 2. Arrow 3. The Flash 4. Gotham 5. Legends of Tomorrow 4b. Supergirl 5b. Batgirl What’s your favorite, and how would you list the shows chronologically?
My favorites vary from season to season. From the 2019-2020 season, it was Legends of Tomorrow. Over the years, I've really appreciated the CW shows for how they have elevated TV superheroes ... and Crisis on Infinite Earths was amazeballs. But if I'm going to be honest, the stuff that DC Universe has been putting out is on a whole 'nother level. (Also, Gotham was on Fox).
1. Arrow 2. Black Lightning 3. Flash 4. Batwoman 5. Supergirl I enjoy all of them and they've all had some really good episodes and some less than great ones. Black Lightning is consistently better, but Arrow has had some real standout episodes. I like the fact that Flash has included John Wesley Shipp prominently but it is let down by the XS season which went nowhere and told us where it was going in the pre-season trailer with the Marty McFly comment from Barry - and it is starting to suffer from character bloat. Batwoman has been aided by Rachel Skarsten's Alice who is brilliant, but they are only one season in and it remains to be seen how they move on from Ruby Rose leaving . Supergirl is suffering from the change of network from Season 1 to Season 2 and the resultant loss of Cat Grant and Maxwell Lord and I think there is the problem that Martian Manhunter is probably more powerful (and more interesting) than Supergirl whilst Alex is far more relatable than Kara. I can't rank Legends, Season 1 was a mess in terms of characters but it was clearly still finding its feet. Season 2 had a clear structure, a better mix of characters and good villains. Season 3 wasn't quite as good as Season 2 but it was a close second. Season 4 started off badly, tailed off a bit in the middle and was a complete mess by the end of it (without Constantine and Zari it would have been unwatchable). Season 5 ... I gave up early doors and just couldn't be bothered to even consider picking it up again. I like comedy (for goodness sake I've got a copy of Timecop) but it doesn't fit with the rest of the Arrowverse anymore.
I didnt really enjoy infinite earth that much, I guess it’s because I didn’t watch the episodes chronologically
The Flash is my favorite. Havent really watched BL, but need too. Legends is ok, Rory (Heatwave) makes it watchable to me. Arrow was good. Batwoman was ok, could live without it. Supergirl is blah.
Arrow was my favorite, but it's gone now. So, Flash, is my favorite now. Black Lighting is good. Supergirl is okay. Used to like Lengends, but it's gone way off the rails now sadly. I don't watch Batwoman. I'm really liking Stargirl so far, it's got lots of promise.
i can't believe how many comic book and super hero show have been produced over the past decade. if i were a little kid i would have probably exploded from all the excitement. I watch very few. Usually when a show starts getting into its own continuity is when i start to get turned off. rather than jut focusing on the CW: 1)Doom Patrol 2)the Boys 3)Stargirl 4)Titans 5)Runaways (cancelled) Season 2 of the Doom Patrol debuts in a few days. If I'm correct HBMax/DCU will be releasing the fist three episodes and there are only 8 episodes. The Boys and Titans would have been premiering sometime in September but with covid related delays it can be anywhere from end of spetember til next year before these two series pick u again. totally up in the air. Runaways has been cancelled but there is a slight chance it can get the "Young Justice" treatment with a season 4 ala Disney plus but again: very slight chance. I am currently entranced with Stargirl. We'll see what happens when its current JSA/ISA focused story arc concludes. Where the show goes after this is anyones guess. The how is a rare example of changing some stuff around but while maintaining the spirits of these characters. Its a very basic, formula driven show but they're also doing very basic and formula driven very well. They could have plucked any young aspiring super heroine and given her the same treatment. for example: "Bumblebee" Investigating the mysterious disappearance of her physics professor young Karen Beecher discovers his secrets: He's the Atom and he and some of his fellow Justice Leaguers have gone missing. Along with her best friends Duela Dent and Lilith Clay and her boyfriend Mal Duncan and His best friend Charlie Parker they seek to uncover the mystery to their disappearance becoming new heroes Bumblebee, Guardian, Golden Eagle and Harlequin while Lilith learns to control her blossoming psychic abilities. Some immediate subplots would include Duela having an evil twin, Charlie discovering he's thanagarian and the big bad revolving around the Queen Bee, the HIVE, a gang of tech thieves using rocket powered skate boards and saving a few members of the Justice League (the Atom, Hawkman, Vixen, and Zatanna). I really should be doing these things professionally. !@#$ Geoff Johns.
Keeping it to just CW shows: Arrow S1-S4 Flash S1-S3 The rest of Flash The rest of Arrow Gotham S1 of Supergirl The problem I've found with the CW shows is the adventure in the writing eventually faded only to be replaced by more angsty navel-gazing. A little introspection is great for a character, having them constantly beating themselves up over the slightest things every single episode gets tiring. Along with that, the creativity seemed to drop. Flash went from finding some new aspect of his powers or something creative to do with them to defeat a villain to Cisco coming up with some wonder-tech out of thin air. Crisis had all the potential in the world but it failed on many of the fronts with lackluster effects and predictable writing. Supergirl became far too preachy after leaving CBS. Batwoman never really clicked with me. I like Ruby Rose as an actress but I just couldn't feel her as Batwoman. Black Lightning lost me somewhere around E4 or E5, again there was just too much angst and not enough action. And then there's Legends... Jeebus. I've never been a fan of purposely cheesy scifi, it always seemed more insulting than entertaining. Because of that I see Legends of Tomorrow as having had the most potential and thus having squandered the most potential. But let's move beyond the CW offerings to the shows on DC's streaming service... Doom Patrol Titans Stargirl (although I think it's on CW as well) These shows are fan-freaking-tastic! While Doom Patrol definitely has its cheese factor, it somehow works FOR it instead of against it. Maybe because the writing is original and compelling? Maybe because the characters are deep and complex? Maybe because (at least for Season 1) Alan Tudyk's narration was effing gold? And then there's Brendan Fraser's character who delves into the viewer's mindset at times with his "WHAT THE ****!?!". Titans is probably the best live-action adaptation of a comic line made thus far. Aside from the crappy final confrontation with Trigon (rushed almost to the point of being Night King-ish, bad sfx), the series has been solid with writing, effects, casting... the whole shebang. Stargirl is the new kid on the block (see what I did there? Hah! I kill me!) but the few episodes out thus far have been pretty solid. Aside from the cliche high school archetypes and the sophomoric over-symbolism of Pat's shirts (they were doing that with Courtney at first, but have backed off of it now) the stories have been very well done. I like how they are looking to make at least some of the ISA somewhat relatable, if not sympathetic. Heck, even Swamp Thing deserves a mention. While the writing at the beginning was predictable and I pretty much had to force myself to watch it to mid-season, it really picked up after that and ended on a solid note.
Titans is a weird show, not technically cw series. The writing felt so uneven, but the stunts werent bad. the characters feel like they never really get a chance to grow because the over the top drama they are trying to fit in ways to swear.
Titans is good, I think people give it a hard time because it’s a trend, not because it’s actually bad.
Well if you really want to dig in, they spend entirely too much time on backstories and drama. Even the justice league cartoon was more evenly paced. We never really actually get to see the titans assemble. In fact most of the series they are split up doing there own boring thing that only relates to the plot in a tiny way. Even the introduction of connor felt more natural on young justice. Donna troy and super boy kind of broke the show. It went from gritty grounded hero show, to standard supes. The constant hawk and dove stories, which continued into season 2 were just awful frankly. They were never A list heroes. Their characters were net really sympathetic, Rageholic drunk and backstabbing pretty little liar. And i say that on a show where dick dreamed he killed batman. These characters are far worse lol. The characters are rarely together enough for it to matter. Instead of such a split focus they should have taken one or two episodes for folding in the group and ya know, actually do something besides hang around an expensive loft. The final episode of season 2 is the first one that comes close to genuinely entertaining and i still think supergirl pulled off cadmus better. Really you cant name drop mercy bruce and cadmus and avoid luthor but they did. Super boy or whoever played him was also a horrible actor. Thats one thing i can say, while no ones winning any emmies. They are not terrible for the most part. The only way the could do a season 3 the way they are going with such powerful heroes is to split them up into their own boring stories again so donna and connor dont face roll everyone.
i love/hate the Titans show. I think the real issue is that it was the first of the DCU shows. it went through so many reworks and rewrites that you can see they were making it up as they go along. this is re enforced by the major continuity change that there was a previous titans team. they also have a bad habit of doing really great things with their characters and then completely un doing them. Hawk and Dove and Donna Troy were brilliant in the first season. season 2...not so much. they're actually currently cating luthor for season three. donna troy will be coming back as troia. i think were going to get roy harper.
Roy would be a great addition. But they seem to be missing the point of superhero shows. Its like a superhero reality show, where all you see are boring arguments and people being dicks i feel like im watching mtv. Where is the actual crime fighting? It should not take two seasons to do origin. The pilot was really strong too, and the rework of season 2 was indeed massive. They are basically doing everything but forming a crime fighting team. Which ok, for 2 seasons of 12 is just not cool.
Thaere is no continuity issue, that there had been a previous team was always part of the plan (thus the intro of a young Donna Troy early in S1). At no point in S1 had it ever been mentioned that there had never been a Titans nor even any other teen(ish) heroes. This series is loosely based off of the Wolfman/Perez reboot of Teen Titans in the early 1980's. That series introduced Starfire, Raven and Cyborg while also bringing back Beast Boy from obscurity. Throw in Donna and Robin/Nightwing as the remaining members of the original team and you end up with pretty much the XMen reboot (having a couple of originals to create the core of the team, a little-used character from another series and some brand new folks).
the show runners themselves have gone on to state that they changed continuity between seasons. this is why they cut the season one finale into two episodes. The season two premiere was part of the original season one finale with reshoots and additional footage. even though we saw hawk and dove and donna troy in flashbacks in season one having them as the original titans team operating out of a san fransisco based titans tower was never part of the original game plan. this was retconned into the series during the reshoots and additional footage that went into the season 2 premiere. you can find a couple of you tube videos that covers all the details (I watch boba talks). the show is loosely based on all titans continuity. you can find lots of interviews with marv wolfman and george perez on how they did what they did. if i'm misunderstanding something or am wrong about something i apologize but i go over this kind of stuff with a very fine toothed comb. not trying to argue here. i love behind the scenes details and comparing "original continuity" to how things end up on screen and whats different and whats not. Off to Stargirl.
