10 Best Superhero TV Shows Of 2018 (So Far)

It's hard to imagine a time when there weren't any superheroes saving the day on the small screen. Although crime-fighters and do-gooders have been a regular presence on TV for over half a century, the standard has never been quite as high as it is right now. From vigilantes to metahumans and private detectives to mutants, there is an abundance of superhero shows across multiple platforms.

With DC's Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow all still on our screens, the colourful world of The CW's Arrowverse is bigger than ever, with it showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. Meanwhile, Marvel and Netflix continue to offer us grim stories from their dark world that keep us on the edges of our seats until their respective finales. Furthermore, the superhero line-up grew considerably this year, with newcomers Black Lightning and Krypton making memorable debuts this season.

But with all these mask-wearing, super-powered heroes on our screens, it's hard to figure out which ones shined the brightest. Many of these shows provide us with the exact kind of fun that we've grown to anticipate from this genre, while others continue to surprise us in ways we never thought possible — setting themselves apart from all the others. With that in mind, let's descend into a chaotic world of archers, private detectives and mutants in order to figure out which 10 of this year's superhero shows were truly the best.

The Flash returned to The CW for its fourth season last fall. With a fun approach and a new kind of villain, it was a refreshing change from the grim Season 3. But unfortunately, the format of this season never really allowed it to get out of the box and as it continued into 2018, the standard began to decline rapidly.

As far as villains go, Neil Sandilands turned in a commandingly brilliant performance as Clifford DeVoe. But unfortunately, the character's convoluted arc (in which he required a certain bus of metahumans for his evil plans) led to the vast majority of the season becoming a consecutive series of filler episodes. In its defense, it was a well thought-out storyline worthy of the villain, but the TV format unfortunately worked against it. And because The Thinker grew stronger as the show went on, his relatively simple defeat in the season finale was ultimately a little disappointing.

In many ways, Season 4 was a vast improvement over the show's darker third season. But in its attempts to make up for those mistakes, it too lost sight of what made the show so compelling in the first place. While there were flashes of excellence throughout (such as "Enter Flashtime"), that standard just wasn't maintained for the majority of the season. And although it was a highly enjoyable outing, we've just come to expect better from what once was the best superhero show on TV.