Superhero TV Show Power Rankings — NOV 2018
By: Daniel L
Tags: Superheroes, Television, Marvel, Dc, Rankings

Don’t underestimate Stanley…

ARROW (CW)

Season: 7

Episodes Reviewed: 4–8

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD. Likely.

THE GOOD: (1, 2 & 3) “The Slabside Redemption” was one of the best episodes in recent memory. With multiple fight scenes — including one where Oliver fights people with a soda can in a pillowcase— along with major revelations about Stanley, a change of heart for Turner and two big deaths, it was an episode to remember. It also involved Oliver’s most brutal beatdown yet and finally ended the Diaz saga (I hope)! Plus — how about that line where Oliver casually mentions to Sampson that he’s sliced his artery? Amazing.

THE BAD: (1) Team Arrow is downright uninteresting this year. They all seem to wander around doing their jobs, occasionally running into each other and arguing. With the exception of Felicity, everything else in their lives is fine. No romantic issues for Curtis. No revenge-hunting for Dinah. No Oliver-betraying Rene. It’s all kind of quiet, which is concerning for a show that’s 1/3 of the way through its season. (2) I don’t even remember why Diaz hates Oliver. Oh well. Looks like he’s finally done for. (3) NO! BEEBO MADE IT TO ARROW!

How to Make It Better: The flash-forwards are great but are way too short. Here’s hoping Stanley takes over as big bad for the rest of the season. Have we ever seen a villain like that? I don’t think so!

Stray Observation: Wow — they killed off Brick, Sampson and Diaz! Those are the first deaths on the show in a while! (Since Quentin in Season 6?)

Bold Prediction: More marriage troubles for Olicity. Is that bold?

Score: 8/10 (+2)

Old Prediction Realized: Stanley, Oliver’s “big fan” in prison, isn’t who he says he is. [close] He is Diaz’s man on the inside…[incorrect]or perhaps another villain[correct].

Is there any redemption for Khalil? And is he really the best henchman Tobias can get?

BLACK LIGHTNING (CW)

Season: 2

Episodes Reviewed: 4–7

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD.

THE GOOD: (1) Gambi fighting with drones!!! (2) Painkiller’s struggle has been surprisingly interesting to follow, despite his weird 360-degree character flip. (3) Even though he doesn’t do anything significant(none of the characters do) I love Tobias.

THE BAD: (1) Not sure why the POD kids issue isn’t a matter of national security. Twitter would be all over that. (2) I wonder where they’re going with this Sange/Perdi stuff. It’s been very weird so far. (3) Each episode of this show feels exactly the same. I wish something significant would happen.

How to Make It Better: Easy fix — drop the theme song. As most of the episode open with a song, its jarring to switch to the theme song just for the opening.

Bold Prediction: Lala doesn’t come back this season. Has he been written out?

Score: 3/10 (no change)

They outdid themselves AGAIN!

DAREDEVIL (CW)

Season: 3

Episodes Reviewed: 1–5

RENEWAL STATUS: Cancelled.

THE GOOD: (1) Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk! Missed that guy. (2) Foggy running for DA! That’s a great choice for that character. (3) The 11-minute fight scene in the prison!!!! A work of art.

THE BAD: (1) Surprise, surprise, a Marvel Netflix show that’s way too slow. (2) How is Matt not entirely black and blue at this point? (3) Ugh why do we have to go back to the black costume?

How to Make It Better: Bullseye costume! (I know I won’t get my wish)

Bold Prediction: Karen and Matt get back together! (No? Wishful thinking?)

Score: 8/10

“Mazel tov.”

FLASH (CW)

Season: 5

Episodes Reviewed: 5–7

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD. Likely.

THE GOOD: (1) Absolutely loved Rag Doll. He seemed like a villain straight out of Gotham. He added a bit of that “villain-of-the-week” magic from the earlier seasons that I’ve missed. The show’s done a good job of bringing that formula back for most of the episodes so far. (2) While Nora’s been pretty whiny all season, Cecile’s lesson about Iris was unexpected and genuine. (3) Elongated man swinging from rooftops!

THE BAD: (1) Not sold on Cicada yet. His “I will kill all the meta-humans” mantra is very cartoony. Then again, maybe he’ll go like Dr.Alchemy and be defeated mid-season. (2) Again — there are still too many cooks in the kitchen. I could do without Sherloque, Cecile, Joe and maybe even Caitlin. (3) I’m not sure if Nora is likable or not. She’s very temperamental, but does explain her reasons.

Stray Observation: Nice to see Weather Wizard II again!

How to Make It Better: Convince me Cicada is dangerous.

Bold Prediction: Icicle will return before season’s end!

Score: 7/10 (no change)

Time Bureau antics!

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (CW)

Season: 4

Episodes Reviewed: 3–6

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD. Likely.

THE GOOD: (1) Despite being a gay woman, Ava Sharpe is the only “straight man” left on this show. She’s vital to keeping this show, which gets wackier every week, grounded. Henry Heywood is also effective in this role. (2) I was pleasantly surprised at Nate’s non-reaction to Amaya’s doppelgänger. They could have made a big deal about it, but I was glad that Nate handled it maturely. (3) I think moving Nate off the team is a good move, as it will allow the team to more readily accept Charlie into their ranks. We’ve yet to really explore her character.

THE BAD: (1) Gary can be annoying, but Mona is just awful. I’m okay with her being a love interest for Gary, but she has no business working in the Time Bureau. (2) I feel like Matt Ryan is regretting signing up for this show, which is essentially Constantine for kids. I wish they’d give him a more important role. (3) Can I just say how much I despise Gideon? Probably more than any Arrowverse character, I feel that Gideon only makes things easier for our heroes. And don’t give her lines!

How to Make It Better: Okay — make it a comedy. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be dark moments and real stakes.

Bold Prediction: Nora Darhk and Ray Palmer exit the team at the end of the year.

Score: 4/10 (-2)

We’ve got the early makings of a super UN here!

SUPERGIRL

Season: 4

Episodes Reviewed: 4–7

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD. Likely.

THE GOOD: (1) Things got real in Episode 4. Alex finally got told off by the President for all the DEO’S mistakes and Supergirl got a scolding for ignoring protocol and endangering her life. The DEO was lectured about betraying the job to which they devoted their lives. The more superhero shows are rooted in reality, the more they make sense to us. These are all (relatively) realistic consequences. (2) Manchester Black as an anti-hero. We’ve never seen anyone like him on the show. He feels like he’s from Arrow, which is refreshing to see on a show like this, where everyone is a goody two-shoes. (3) Lena’s internal ethical debate about human experimentation. Finally, they’re showing that Lena has a little Luthor in her.

THE BAD: (1) Nia just kind of…disappeared… (2) Some wacky stuff going on — like that dog/alien/dragon? What happened to fighting — you know-Livewire? (3) Colonel Haley would have been a good antagonist, but she keeps giving Alex and Kara passes.

How to Make It Better: Let’s get to the Supergirl clone!!!

Bold Prediction: Lena finally goes to the dark side.

Score: 4/10 (-3)

Jason Todd is the worst.

TITANS

Season: 1

Episodes Reviewed: 4–8

RENEWAL STATUS: TBD

THE GOOD: (1) Jason Todd — what a fun version of Robin! He’s an irritating jerk who enjoys being Batman’s sidekick for all the wrong reasons, which bothers Dick to no end. (2) The reveal that Rachel can not only heal but reverse-heal, as she displayed by reopening Dr.Adamson’s self-inflicted neck wound, was epic. (3) I loved the episode with the Melting Man. Robin’s detective work made me reminisce about old Batman comics. I didn’t even miss the rest of the team in that episode.

THE BAD: (1) Rachel’s real mom: It worked as a MacGuffin to get the team into the clutches of the Organization, but now that they freed her, the result is a bit anticlimactic. Now what? I can’t imagine she remains on the show for more than a few more hours. (2) Where does Kory find all of that outlandish purple material? (3) Does Dick Grayson not have to go to work? Isn’t he a detective? And what about his new partner’s murder?

How to Make It Better: More Detective Grayson!

Score: 9/10 (+1)