7. Arrow And The Start Of Modern Superhero Television
Three years ago marked a turning point in superhero television, though few would have guessed it at the time. Arrow was another new standalone superhero show, riding the wave of big superhero movies, but many assumed it would be just the latest successor to Smallville, which finished on The CW network a year earlier. But it was different. It fully embraced a full-fledged superhero on the small screen and its mix of Lost-style flashbacks and increasingly engaging cast made it a hit, finishing of its debut year with a shocking and unexpected finale. With seasons two and three it has continued to mine the DC universe, bringing in new characters like Black Canary, Atom and memorable villains like Deathstroke. It has even drawn on the Dark Knight trilogy for inspiration, bringing in the League of Shadows and the big bad himself, Ra's AL Ghul. Arrow had a thrilling second season and a mixed if still epic third and hasn't been afraid to draw on its comic-book roots, proving that superheroes can work on the small screen as much as the big.