Last week I had a chance to watch the first episode of HBO's The Penguin. I will have my full review later, but it got me to thinking about the best Superhero/Supervillain TV shows. In the last few years, there have been several productions from both Marvel and DC. Going through this list, there were some shows I ranked in surprising spots.
With TV shows, there is always a bit of a catch. A great show can be remembered poorly because the quality of the show slid drastically over time. But for the purposes of this list, I will focus only on the greatness it achieved.
Also, this is not the best "Comic Book TV Shows." The list is reserved to shows about superheros and villains. So that means shows like The Walking Dead and Locke and Key will not be on the list.
So here are the top ten.
10. Jessica Jones
This was not a pleasent show to watch. In fact, it might be the darkest super hero show I have seen. But that doesn't take away from the quality of that first season. Killgrave was one of the creepiest villains I have ever seen in a show. Watching him tightent the noose around Jessica and her friends kept me enthralled the entire season. After that first season, the quality dipped, but I still remember how intense it was at the beginning.
9. Loki
Of all the Disney Marvel shows, I think this one might be the best. It has flaws to be sure, but Loki comes off as a more dangerous Doctor Who. The second season had incredibly charming supporting characters and closed the arc on Loki's journey in an incredibly satisfying way.
8. Stargirl
There is something fun and innocent about this show. While it may never have reached the depths that other shows on this list may have, Stargirl was so enjoyable because at its heart it was a family show. Sometimes they dealt with mature topics, but it always came back to the idea that in this world our friends and our family are our greatest super powers.
7. Batman
When I was a small child I loved this show. But then in my teens I reviled it for its campy tone and silly humor. But now that I am a man, I look back on this show with great fondness for what it was. I can see why my childlike eyes were drawn to the vivid colors and dazzling visuals. I think I owe this show a lot for stirring in me the love of superheroes. If you take the show for what it is, it can still be incredibly enjoyable.
6. Smallville
I love the fact that this show is about the "man" behind the "super." While most people probably remember the big fights and spectacles, I think back on the character moments. I loved watching how Jonathan and Martha helped shaped Clark into the man he became. I loved watching his youthful crush on Lana eventually transform into a mature love for Lois. I was enthralled by the slow-moving tragedy of Clark and Lex's doomed friendship. Piecing the mythology together over ten years, the last 5 minutes of this series might be some of my favorite moments on television.
5. The Incredible Hulk
I hope that this show regains popularity in our collective pop culture memory, because it was great. Lou Ferrigno was a mountain of muscle that you could believe was the Hulk. But the real key to the series was how deadly serious Bill Bixby played David Banner. He gave him such a haunted and tragic look that the happier the ending of an episode the sadder you were that David had to move on.
4. Arrow
There is a reason why the CW "Arrowverse" lasted as long as it did. Arrow essentially made a Batman show around Oliver Queen. Season 2 might be one of my favorite seasons of television with that fantastic villain in Slade Wilson all the way through to the final episode. And the quality kept up for a few more seasons in a way where I looked forward to what was going to happen next.
3. The Flash
If Arrow is the CW's Batman, then The Flash is their Superman. Bright and hopeful, this show added so many fantastic sci-fi elements to the story. I loved the way they explored Barry's powers and his character. Thrawne was such a fantastic villain that brought menace and charisma to every episode. You never knew what to expect. With a show like this, they unlocked all the potential of what a super hero show could be in ways I had not seen before.
2. Superman and Lois
This one may surprise many people that it is up this high on the list. But the concept of the show is fantastic: Superman and Lois rasing teenagers. This is a problem that you cannot punch your way out of and heat vision would just make things worse. The drama comes from when our heroes are at the most powerless. This past season when Lois got her diagnosis, I felt the anguish of Clark in a way I hadn't felt since Superman: The Movie where he said, "All those powers... and I couldn't even save him." On top of that, this show does something that so few movies and TV programs do: subvert expectations in a satisfying way. The pilot episode ends on a twist, but the writers were so smart in making you think the story was going in one direction when it was actually going in a much better one. That has consistantly been the case with this show, with one final season to go.
1. Daredevil
This show is brutal. You feel bruised after watching it. But that is because it makes you feel every hit, both physically and emotionally, that our hero takes. Matt Murdoch is up against impossible odds. And more often than not he fails. But the light in the darkness is that no matter how much he wants to give up, there is just enough spark in him to keep going. And while Matt is no saint, this show takes the question of God and the Catholic faith respectully and seriously as our characters wrestle with the darkness of the world. The writing is fantastic. The fight choreography is some of the best. The stories pull me in and have me on the edge of my seat until the final moments of the season. Disney is set to release a follow-up to this series and I am dubious that it could possibly match the quality of what has come before it.
Honorable Mentions:
Agents of SHIELD
Agent Carter
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Wonder Woman
The Adventures of Superman
Thoughts?
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