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I’ve just finished watching The Flash finale (don’t worry – no spoilers) and it really got me thinking about the world of TV superheroes. There’s a whole range of comic-based shows available to watch now; The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, Daredevil – and even more to come!
The likes of Iron Man and The Avengers certainly got people interested in superhero films, but since then TV series are becoming just as popular in their own right.
In my opinion Arrow was the original programme that kick-started it all. Due to its success there have been several spin-off shows; such as The Flash, the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow and there are even talks of a possible Green Lantern series in the future.
Arrow first aired in 2012 (coincidently, the same year The Avengers came out). It was at this time Marvel finally demonstrated their idea of creating several different films all based in the same universe, with the same actors appearing across all of them.
I think DC saw how successful this idea was and wanted a piece of the action themselves, going for a similar approach but on a different platform. Instead of using film, they were able to create TV programmes that linked several story-lines and could allow characters to drift in and out of other’s shows without any problems.
The most obvious example of this is Arrow and The Flash. Barry Allen actually made his debut appearance on Arrow before going on to lead in his own series.
This allowed Arrow viewers to already be familiar with him so it’s no surprise at all now if he suddenly appears in Starling City to see Oliver Queen for the day, or vice-versa. I think it makes it a lot more engaging as a viewer to know more about the universe a character lives in. It allows for a greater understanding of their fictional world and the problems they are facing.
I think we’ve come to a stage now where TV special effects can be just as realistic and dramatic as those seen in Hollywood movies.
We get the same action and adventure, but instead of just one two hour movie we can now get our superhero fix for an hour every week. This means we don’t have to wait years for the next instalment, because chances are there will be another spin-off on the horizon.
If you haven’t yet watched any of the series mentioned above, I would highly recommend you do. Especially Arrow and The Flash – they’re my absolute favourites.
Both are now sadly finished for the series… but I guess I’ll have to just wait for Legends of Tomorrow to arrive on my screen instead!
Stay tuned to Purple Revolver for more comics news and our Heroes For Sale YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/channel/UC5YONM6rmBSTl2nGwaTg-qw) where you will find lots more in depth comics news and reviews and our Bay TV interview with former Spider-Man writer and editor Tim Quinn.