Tag: Supergirl

The Arrowverse has gone stale on the CW

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I was so happy when the CW started the “Arrowverse” series. Since Smallville ended, there wasn’t any really good superhero TV series out there. Then came Arrow, followed by The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. While most of these series have brought out a variety of great story arcs (especially the crossover events) lately, the stories have gone stale. Instead of dark, superhero stories, we’re getting reality show drama.

Arrow started out as a dark vigilante, out for revenge. Now, he’s worried about his son being gay and his relationship with Felicity. The Flash had more of an upbeat storyline with Barry learning to use his power while fighting off the foes of Central City, including the start of The Rogues. However, those villains went on to become “sometime” heroes in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and the Rogues never really came together. The storylines have gone on to try and cover every “politically correct” drama, twists, and story arcs with a lot of “B” villains and heroes filling out the cast.

Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are supposed to be about the individual heroes, yet they are really teams of heroes instead, so all those background stories and plot holes get lost in the main character’s story. Meanwhile, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (the actual superhero team show) is a time travel romp that lost it’s focus after the first season. It seems to be more about comedy relief than actual superhero storylines. If you want comedy, they should add Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Guy Gardner into the mix. That would make it a better show.

The one bright spot in the CW’s shows has been the epic crossover events. The “Nazi-themed” Earth-X storyline was epic and the last one introduced Batwoman (who’ll be added to the mix with her own show next season). Unfortunately, they handled her with kid gloves. She barely saw any real action. She was mostly used for “Batman-esque” establishing shots with Batwoman standing atop a building, looking down on our heroes.

I realize that throughout this rant I haven’t mentioned Black Lightning. That’s because (a) I didn’t read a lot of his comics so I don’t really know the character or his villains; and (b) he’s not part of the Arrowverse. I grew up with “Black Vulcan” on Superfriends, and that’s a whole different character, so I don’t really watch his show. It might be more interesting if he was part of the Arrowverse, but DC and CW decided not to include him.

They keep bringing more drama and less action. We also get villains that many people, even avid comic book readers, don’t know for the main seasonal arc. I mean, Cicada? Seriously Team Flash? You haven’t even given us a proper Rogues storyline and you give us Cicada. At least Supergirl has gone the Legion route, since she played a big part in the future league, and they’ve handled it well, and I’m waiting to see Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor. That should be fun.

The point of all this is that if you’re going to do a superhero TV show, then make it a damn superhero TV show. We want to see intrigue, action, and cliffhangers like we get when we read a comic book. I don’t mind the occasional love story (i.e. Cisco and Gypsy) but Barry and Iris dealing with their teenage daughter from the future is a bit much. Plus, the comedy is a bit overboard at times, especially on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. I’m getting tired of the pop culture references between Ray and Nathan in every single episode.

The Arrowverse is fading, and I hate that. Make it fresh again, like it was in the beginning. Otherwise, you risk losing your audience. It doesn’t matter how many “Crisis on Infinite Earths” events you do, it won’t save an entire season.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Attending San Diego Comic Con is on my bucket list, but not just yet

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It is a dream of mine to one day attend San Diego Comic Con! To walk amongst my people–geeks from around the world–would be an adventure in itself. There is so much going on, from television to movies, books and comic books, any media imaginable is on display at SDCC. The cosplay is amazing as everyone puts on their best costumes for SDCC. The stars are everywhere, and this year was no exception, as Justice League and Avengers: Infinity War went head-to-head this year. As Netflix and Amazon become just as relevant as any big name studio, so too does their offerings, from Marvel’s The Defenders to The Tick, these smaller characters are getting an upgrade to the small screen through these “pay-for” media services.

The firs thing you have to talk about is the trailers, both the released trailers and the “secretly recorded and released” trailers. Justice League definitely made the biggest impact because fans got to see all these great characters in action, and we finally got to see the villain, Steppenwolf. I think that’s why they have a slight edge over Avengers: Infinity War. For some odd reason, Marvel is holding onto their trailer so tight that the “bootleg” recordings is the only reason I saw their trailer. That is really a disservice to the fans who can’t make it to SDCC. Don’t get me wrong, seeing all their movie franchises on one screen is AWESOME but I only saw it in low-res bootlegs.

I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, this is a great time for geeks. We have been waiting for technology to catch up and give us the superheroes we love on TV and movies, just like they are in the comics. It’s nerd paradise!

I really think that DC is starting to catch up with Marvel when it comes to movies and television shows.Sure, Marvel has a great lineup with all their Netflix series, from The Defenders to The Punisher, as well as the mutant series Legion and The Gifted on Fox, Cloak and Dagger on Freeform with the New Warriors with Squirrel Girl (yes, finally!). Agents of Shield and Inhumans on ABC rounds out a powerful line up of shows. These shows are (for the most part) grittier, down-to-earth, realistic versions of their comic book counterparts.

But DC has an amazing line-up going with their CW shows of Arrow, The  Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Plus, they’re adding Black Lighting, a Titans show on TNT, and Gotham is on Season 4 on Fox and getting better every year. Their shows are more like the comics with colorful costumes, the best villains and great storylines. They’re bringing in new characters, some updated characters and even some classics. I mean B’wana Beast? It’s just incredible. Sometimes, they variety of heroes passing through these shows is like watching the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. You’re always looking in the background just to see who’s there.

Fantasy shows aren’t too far behind either. Netflix’s Bright brings orcs, elves and magic into modern day Los Angeles, with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton. The trailer just blew me away. Even ABC’s Once Upon a Time is changing things up a bit, with a new town, new characters, new fairy tales, and it looks even more fascinating now.

This past weekend, I couldn’t tear myself away from YouTube of Facebook, just waiting for the next video or link to what’s been going on at SDCC. Even more fun is looking at the elaborate cosplay people come out with at a big event like SDCC. Tey get bigger, brighter and more elaborate in everything from comics to anime to video game characters.

So SDCC is definitely on my bucket list. It’s like a religious journey but for geeks. Sure, there are plenty of other comic book conventions across the country, but none hold the power of SDCC. It’s a definite check on the bucket list I need to check off.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.