There was a time when superhero television shows were a pretty rare beast. Aside from the occasional animated series, the most comic book fans could hope for when turning on their TVs was a network's tragically misguided take on a beloved superhero property.
Things have certainly changed for the better. Now that Disney and Marvel have turned superhero adaptations into a multi-billion dollar empire, networks and streaming services have realized that getting in on the superhero entertainment action will require them to produce a series that does justice to some of comics' greatest justice bringers.
While there are more superhero shows on television than ever before, the quality of those shows tends to vary pretty wildly. Yes, we are blessed with series that arguably sur the quality of even the biggest-budget big-screen adaptations, but our airwaves are also polluted with a few series that we wish were left within the pages of a comic.
The very good news is that even the worst modern superhero show tends to be better than the average live-action superhero show that we would have been treated to in the past. That makes ranking these series a pretty tall task. After all, even the "worst" superhero shows are usually worth a look.
This is Every Current Superhero Show, Ranked.
Inhumans
On paper, Inhumans is an adaptation of the Marvel property of the same name. It focuses on Black Bolt, a ruling class of Inhumans, and their royal way of life. However, the real story of Inhumans is the rough road the series has had to television.
Inhumans was supposed to be a movie but was dropped from Marvel’s Phase 3 schedule somewhere along the way. It was then converted into a TV show, though the first two episodes debuted on IMAX screens.
Ever since its IMAX debut, Inhumans has attracted criticism for being a poorly-written and ill-conceived melodrama that just so happens to feature Marvel characters. Ironically enough, it’s a lot like those really bad superhero adaptations that were fairly commonplace before Marvel helped save the entire format.
Iron Fist
Following the tremendous success of Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones (much more on those later), most Marvel fans felt pretty confident about the release of Netflix's Iron Fist. No, Iron Fist has never been Marvel’s most exciting property, but surely the showrunners would find a way to turn it into something special.
Even if you can put aside the whitewashing controversy that preceded Iron Fist’s release, the show itself ended up being an almost impossibly poorly written take on the character. There are times when it feels like Iron Fist is more of a parody of the entire kung-fu genre than a fully-fledged dramatic series.
At the end of the day, Iron Fist’s biggest problem is that it struggles to give viewers a reason to watch the next episode.
Gotham
The first previews of Batman universe, but not directly involving Batman have been told in the past, none of the content used to tease Gotham suggested that it would be one of those stories.
Gotham has turned out to be a frustratingly inconsistent show. There are times when it is flat-out awful (unbelievably so) and there are times when it is a strangely brilliant show that has a rhythm all its own.
More often than not, though, you’ll find that Gotham has a tendency to take things over the top when it should be a bit more grounded. Regardless, it does exhibit flashes of greatness here and there.
Legends of Tomorrow
Legends of Tomorrow pretty much started off-the-rails and hasn’t really tried to get back on track since then. This series focuses on the time-traveling Rip Hunter who recruits a team to help avenge his slain family. The whole thing leads to a giant conspiracy that spans several eras of…
Look, the thing you really need to know about Legends of Tomorrow is that it’s a show that has little interest in whether or not you have time to really process everything that’s going on. Many times, this approach works against the flow of the series. Many episodes suffer from an excess of characters and ideas that don’t get the screen time they need.
However, the show does work quite well when it's firing on all cylinders. Fortunately, more recent episodes suggest that the series has embraced its absurdity and will serve as a counterpoint to more serious DC-CW fare going foreward.
Supergirl
As you might imagine, Superman universe and features many of the same characters and scenarios.
Where Supergirl differs from many recent Superman adaptations is in its willingness to be a bit silly. There are many times when this attitude works against the show. Certain stories and characters are just too plucky for the overall good of the series. The seasons’ 20+ episode format also leads to quite a bit of filler.
However, there is a refreshing quality to Supergirls’ silliness that is made all the better by the show’s occasional forays into absolute brilliance. If you learn to accept Supergirl for what it is, it becomes much easier to love.
The Gifted
The Gifted has only been on-air for a few weeks now, meaning that its overall position in the superhero television hierarchy is somewhat up for debate. For those who haven’t seen it, the series follows two parents who learn that their children are mutants. They decide to flee to avoid a number of suddenly interested parties.
So far, The Gifted is proving to be an interesting take on the X-Men universe. It’s a show loaded with social commentary, which can be a tricky creative path to take if you aren’t careful to emphasize storytelling over commenting on the latest headlines.
The Gifted seems to be more than that, but its incredibly new status makes it difficult to state with certainty whether or not it will remain as intriguing as it is now.
Arrow
Arrow debuted at a time when many audiences were still wary about the idea of a superhero show on the CW. Actually, many people were scared about the idea of a DC superhero show on any network due to previously week adaptations of DC stories.
Arrow’s first season took a little while to get rolling, but once it did, the show became a truly special piece of superhero entertainment. Arrow eventually exhibited a level of storytelling maturity was appreciated by longtime fans of the character and casual viewers.
The problem is that Arrow struggles to be that show that it was during its season one creative peak. It sometimes sures those heights - season five was an unbelievable return to form - but there’s no denying that the series has suffered through some rough years.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Avengers wave of hype and generated quite a bit of buzz, but ultimately proved to be an average-at-best drama that struggled to find its identity. At times, it was a loose, Whedon-lite piece of entertainment. More often than not, it was a show that tried - and failed - to recapture the cinematic glory of Marvel films.
Those problems still plague Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but the series’ later seasons have seen it finally find some kind of footing. Ever since the release of Captain America: Winter Soldier and the tie-ins that release resulted in, Agents has constantly strived to reinvent itself by diving into multiple storylines within the Marvel universe.
While there are times we wish Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D stuck with what works more often, it’s become a pretty great show.
The Defenders
Sure, Iron Fist was a complete bust, but fans of Netflix’s Marvel series were still looking forward to seeing the streaming service’s most famous heroes band together. Hey, it worked for The Avengers!
The Defenders biggest problem is that it tries to piece together a larger storyline that wasn’t that great to begin with. The entire plotline involving The Hand’s bid for global domination has really taken away from the intimate storylines that made Netflix’s Marvel shows so compelling.
Thankfully, there are moments in The Defenders which invoke those more personal storylines and elevate the narrative to the status of something special. These moments aren’t as common as fans may like, but they do appear often enough to make The Defenders rise above its shaky start. Plus the novelty of seeing these heroes on screen together doesn't quite wear thin over 8 episodes.
The Tick
The Tick is the simple story of a man in a blue tick costume who uses his incredible abilities to fight crime in a city known simply as The City. Those familiar with the old Tick animated and live-action series know that the show’s seemingly generic premise is really just the table setting for an often dry, though sometimes zany, parody of the entire superhero concept.
Amazon’s revival of The Tick has been nothing short of a comedic godsend. Yes, the show gets a lot of mileage out of superhero jokes, but its humor only works so well because The Tick also features a fundamental respect for the superhero genre.
Indeed, there are times when The Tick is a more effective superhero drama than some "down-to-Earth", serious shows.