Ahh, end of a year, start of a new one. As we look forward in anticipation of new and exciting things, we take some time to reflect on the preceding year. Our own Craig Byrne has already shared the top 15 shows of 2015 at KSiteTV based on website traffic. We cover a wide variety of TV here, but of course we’re known for our coverage of genre television. The current flag bearer of genre TV is the superhero show.
So, what was the best of superhero television in 2015?
Matt Tucker takes a critical stab at ranking each of the live-action superpowered series on how they performed in the year from January to December. As some series offered two different seasons during the 12 month period, each season is ranked on its own.
Also, this is strictly limited to superheroes, so other comic-based shows have to sit this one out. Sorry, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and iZombie. (Boy, that’s a lotta zombies.)
Agree? Disagree? Did we miss some shows? Let us know in the comments below.
#1. The Flash (The CW)
In the end, varying experience comes down to taste. While both of the MCU series on Netflix could fill the top spot for 2015, what pushes the premiere season of The Flash to the number one position is its unbridled passion and love for the source material.
The show is a comic book come to life in the ways we'd always been promised or teased since Batman and Superman first took to capes on the silver screen for the old movie serials of the 1940s. Colorful, enthusiastic, and outright bold in its reach, The Flash is unafraid to revel in the fact that it's about a costumed adventurer who runs faster than the speed of sound.
Perhaps even greater, it's not deterred from celebrating that its hero is a good guy with a strong moral code and isn't afraid of wearing that on his scarlet sleeve. Barry Allen wants to be a hero even more than he feels compelled to be, and those around him support that feeling, giving the entire enterprise an infectious sense of joy.
Above and beyond that, the show props itself up on the emotions of its dramatis personae, lending a natural authenticity amidst the bombastic chaos. It lives and dies by the feelings and relationships of its characters, and as such, it engenders a huge connection with the audience. There really is nothing like the father-son bond between Barry and Joe West, and when Joe geeks out with pride at what his surrogate son can do, it's a perfect stand-in for us the viewers with the season as a whole.
Keep pace with everything S.T.A.R. Labs and the Flash at our dedicated portal FlashTVNews.
8 Comments
Daredevil should be number 1 not Flash.
Daredevil and Jessica Jones are a big step above the other shows. 3rd would be Agents of Shield now for me. The Flash is just to cheesy with too many plotholes, I don’t understand the hype around it. Most of the time it is even boring villain of the week stuff with a big event tacked on at the end of the episode.
Daredevil, Jessica Jones and AoS season 3 are above anything The Flash has ever done. That show is way too overhyped
I would’ve put Constantine higher (although it started out a bit slow) and maybe Jessica Jones over Daredevil (I’m a Tennant fanboy though :D ).
Pretty much agree with the rest.
Arrow’s “team” became an eye-rolling joke to me with the addition of the two girls. Take a self-defense class and put on a costume? Study a year and you’re teamed up with the Arrow? Ugg! It’s ridiculous. I hate how crowded the team has gotten. And they totally bungled the romance in Arrow. (And I like a good romance for my superheroes!) In season 3 Felicity became one of my favorite characters. I thought she had more chemistry with Ray than Oliver, (her pairing with Ollie came out of left field) but I’ve warmed up a bit to them as a couple this year. I just worry that that is the kiss of death for her character, because the writers seem that stupid! I may be done with this show if they 86 Felicity and leave the incredibly lame Laural (who I loved in season 1) and his scrawny, annoying sister.
I disagree that Arrows team is better… Arrow’s “team” became an eye-rolling joke to me with the addition of the two girls, and remains that way. Take a self-defense class and put on a costume? Study a year and you’re teamed up with the Arrow? Ugg! It’s ridiculous. I hate how crowded the team has gotten. And they totally bungled the romance in Arrow. (And I like a good romance for my superheroes!) In season 3 Felicity became one of my favorite characters. I thought she had more chemistry with Ray than Oliver, (her pairing with Ollie came out of left field) but I’ve warmed up a bit to them as a couple this year. I just worry that that is the kiss of death for her character, because the writers seem that stupid! I may be done with this show if they 86 Felicity and leave the incredibly lame Laural (who I loved in season 1) and his scrawny, annoying sister.
I agree with the others who said the Flash has too many plot holes. Since comicbook heroes aren’t real there will be some plot holes, that’s to be expected, but the Flash plot holes tend to take you out of the story.
Arrow has become a caricature of itself, and is hard to take seriously. The Olicity stuff comes off as pandering. There are way too many cooks in that kitchen.
So far, so good for Supergirl.
Gotham is eh.
Marvel AoS is getting better.
Agent Carter was good last season.
DD was good.
the Heroes reboot has been tedious.
Gotham is interesting at times.
I suppose it’s a matter of taste… the two superheroe TV show I religiously watch each week (when they are aired) are Arrow & Daredevil, The Flash is great I guess if your are a young male adult (which I am not btw) so I only watch the episodes related to Arrow… I like Marvel AoS so I’ll watch season 4 (or is it 3?) one day or another. I tried Supergirl Pilot but I didn’t feel the need to watch it as a weekly show. I gave up on Jessica Jones after ep. 107 (Sorry, guys, I know she’s a favorite of a lot of you but she bored me to death…).
I’ll just say fortunately I don’t love them all because I can’t certainly spend more time watching TV than I already do…