Power Rankings Superhero TV Updated 2 5 19

Play This Episode

1 Vote

You love nbsp lists nbsp and Look to the Cookie doesn t do enough of them So here are the rankings and reasons for the 21 modern comic-based nbsp super-powered television series nbsp as determined by the entire LTC staff which is currently just Germar The list is updated as seasons conclude and series premiere img border 0 data-original-height 440 data-original-width 726 height 242 src https 4 bp blogspot com -6vEF FHpw-4 XFpGBLiJHOI AAAAAAAAEaY NNeQZC84aBw5-3n8OopEM8pPzonLnJ-XACLcBGAs s400 punisher 2Blook 2Bto 2Bthe 2Bcookie jpeg width 400 21 nbsp Inhumans nbsp 5 10 nbsp Years of optimism anxiety and backtracking resulted in this universally agreed upon worst part of the nbsp MCU Scott Buck may be MCU s kryptonite Please nbsp Marvel don t let him ruin another series e g nbsp Iron Fist nbsp img border 0 height 320 src https 3 bp blogspot com -89owE6IzE6w WbbHvg0o tI AAAAAAAAD48 bUy2SvYEVvQk5euUMaamg13vOSuZ8t32QCK4BGAYYCw s320 Colleen 2BWing 2BMarvel 2BNetflix png width 312 20 nbsp Agent Carter nbsp 6 10 nbsp Yes I nbsp hosted the show about the show but it always felt like a lukewarm nbsp Marvel nbsp offering The pieces fit snugly and Hayley Atwell shined but did anyone even watch the second season 19 nbsp Iron Fist nbsp 6 10 nbsp No one likes this show And no one fears the surfer dude-voiced Ramen noodle-haired prince of privilege no matter how many times he says he beat a dragon or calls himself immortal Colleen Wing and Bakuto nbsp almost nbsp saved this atrocity And I nbsp almost nbsp worked at Fox Sports Cue that Brandy song And then he improved slightly in nbsp Defenders nbsp and season two of Cage And the second season of nbsp Iron Fist nbsp was almost fire because they decided to focus on all of the amazing women while diminishing the lead Ultimately it got the axe anyway nbsp nbsp 18 nbsp Gotham nbsp 6 1 10 nbsp Gotham nbsp will probably be really good once it s all on nbsp Netflix and we all finally decide to watch it The first season got everything wrong–especially allowing Jada Pinkett to perform like an amateur starring in a Spelman College production of nbsp Wicked nbsp img border 0 height 238 src https 3 bp blogspot com -Tt4t3AMK hQ WbbIQPnGCgI AAAAAAAAD5E PTyj3AllfoEcAlz1vl4aPDQMxONEdcRjACK4BGAYYCw s400 legends 2Barrow 2Bflash 2Bsupergirl jpg width 400 17 nbsp Legion nbsp 6 5 10 nbsp Is this a period piece Style over substance Maybe but beautiful still plus ambitious It s not a great show yet but it s better than almost all of the nbsp X-men movies 16 nbsp Jessica Jones nbsp 6 10 nbsp Two Js is da nbsp realest nbsp She single-handedly saved nbsp The nbsp Defenders nbsp literally and also from us critics In her debut she overcame the 1 true villain in the MCU twice She also laid out nbsp Luke Cage And maybe she can fly And then nbsp the second season sucked hard The former 1 has dropped like the best beat Somehow this MCU Netflix show is NOT canceled Things that make you go hmmmm 15 nbsp The Gifted nbsp 6 7 10 nbsp This is the best way to realistically represent on television the best team of heroes in the history of comics No they re not the nbsp X-men But if the X-men X-isted nbsp they d nbsp be a lot more like nbsp The Gifted nbsp than that awesome nbsp Saturday morning cartoon It s inconsistent at best but there s definitely nbsp something nbsp there nbsp And now it s better but still somehow exactly the same img border 0 data-original-height 720 data-original-width 1280 height 225 src https 3 bp blogspot com -CyiSME7Lksw Wd-9rfBhhLI AAAAAAAAEEE dG6HTzMoKrwN5HNUM1y70-4g1K Gk50nwCLcBGAs s400 polaris 2Bthe 2Bgifted jpg width 400 14 nbsp Agents of S H I E L D nbsp 6 7 10 nbsp Its debut was a meandering mess But for the fans that stuck around Agents of Hydra Agents of Nothing got good fast And more recently we ve been gifted the best live action Ghostrider top notch action intelligent political commentary and the best possible what if -styled virtual world story nbsp 13 nbsp Arrow nbsp 6 7 10 nbsp Arrow nbsp has quickly nbsp become the nbsp can nbsp miss nbsp DCTV nbsp CW show of the week But we keep watching I look forward to its ending followed by frequent character cameos on the other shows It started too fast and left little room to grow Team Arrow was Justice League lite before we got the Legends Team Flash or nbsp Supergirl Pacing And now they may be taking the street justice a little too far OR maybe just far enough 12 nbsp Legends of Tomorrow nbsp 6 8 10 nbsp If you don t like this show you don t like smiles fun or good times Remember when nbsp The Avengers nbsp was the best thing to happen to the 10s nbsp DC nbsp decided to do that with 200th of the budget but weekly And now maybe it s a little too much fun I ll still ride the wave but this could fizzle fast nbsp 11 nbsp Cloak amp Dagger nbsp 6 9 10 nbsp I want to love the show in the way I love its young stars And I might if I could stay awake I think they realize they have superpowers in episode five I think Who s this show for –moody-artsy-poetic-horny-virgin 13-year-olds I m guessing They get bonus points for flipping the most common racial stereotypes And like all of the best things once it ended I begged for more nbsp Cloak amp Dagger nbsp may have something just yet img border 0 height 286 src https 3 bp blogspot com -Y3roqVdWWa0 W0vmZOWJkQI AAAAAAAAEU0 XJgQU5ldb3crLxjdG93D89BRaS9 L1e0ACK4BGAYYCw s400 cloak-and-dagger-look 2Bto 2Bthe 2Bcookie jpg width 400 10 nbsp Black Lightning nbsp 7 10 nbsp It s only the most important show in the history of television in the United States They deal with everything better than most shows deal with anything–race violence cops sex LGBT matters relationships schools and superpowers This one s for the streets So far season two has not matched season one but they remain the people s champ And season two continues to disappoint but the racist hicks storyline was somewhat refreshing img border 0 data-original-height 900 data-original-width 1600 height 225 src https 3 bp blogspot com -Zedjt8-UFPk WneSptKIPbI AAAAAAAAEQI mvrE7Cx-NSIhZyUiHJ9T5 wgF9xUEbWLACLcBGAs s400 BlackLightning-102-LaWandaTheBookOfHope-T4310002-CW-Stereo b55e1e221 CWtv 1920×1080 jpg width 400 9 nbsp Krypton nbsp 7 10 nbsp So far so good They did it They borrowed from the beautiful nbsp Man of Steel nbsp opening and made their own Krypton The black Zods are awesome and their story has stolen the show Plus it sets up Zods better than any previous source Seg-El is that dude 8 nbsp Supergirl nbsp 7 10 nbsp Every week entertains Each episode plays out like an updated less whiny less soap opera-y version of nbsp Smallville The weird episode where she was kid Supergirl was weird Pro tip nbsp Superman nbsp is your problem not your solution Last season went deep on race LGBT matters relationships and it remained a top comic book-based show Kudos I still watch but the politics may be so on the nose that it s become a distraction 7 nbsp Runaways nbsp 7 1 10 nbsp At the episode three mark this show is far better than anything on this list Performances cinematography drama use of powers relationships representation–perfection The problem with being on top is that long tumble down How will they handle powers nbsp or the discovery of the teens discovery How will they handle the budding and realistic romances And is this really the MCU Did it need to be 3 months later show was dope And in the second season so much happened on the way down Season one nbsp was nbsp nbsp too good The worst thing about being at the top There s only one way to go The sexy non-aging Spanish-speaking dude was super cool though img border 0 height 187 src https 1 bp blogspot com -lmU95ZUAE5I WjKKeK1ohFI AAAAAAAAENg bQrTdPfq2zMuupnZUdOnfSLTG1Rs3djlgCK4BGAYYCw s400 Press runaways mh-2 jpg width 400 6 nbsp The nbsp Defenders nbsp 7 1 10 nbsp The first four episodes were the highlight of my year The nbsp Defenders nbsp are to the Avengers what the X-men are to the nbsp Justice League They are the heroes we might be not the gods that save us They blended four distinct tales better than I imagined possible–style and mythos To enjoy 1 ignore the villains plot 2 remember that we witnessed an even more annoying nbsp Iron Fist nbsp earlier 5 nbsp The nbsp Flash nbsp 7 1 10 nbsp So maybe skip the second season And maybe they do the same arc each season But this is the most pleasant series on the list It s like a 90s Saturday morning cartoon for grown-ups This is the team that every Millennial would join if given the opportunity And I m in love with little Flash-et junior – sue me 4 nbsp Luke Cage nbsp 7 5 10 nbsp Cage one of the strongest characters on the list started weakly and ended weakly But that midsection does work Ummmm Cottonmouth is the King And if you re black this nbsp should nbsp feel like a moment nbsp for us nbsp nbsp because it is And in the nbsp second season a strong show got stronger It s a shame this moment is partially wasted on Mike Colter Bushmaster saved the series and washed the diamond-backed taste from our mouths Annnnnnnd it s canceled A record-breaking black-ass show that did impossible numbers for Netflix is gone img border 0 height 266 src https 2 bp blogspot com -LIW72Xz75Fo WbbI1l07eOI AAAAAAAAD5Q WXv1BDgL4K0atu7bknjTgfKC-PjciorqwCK4BGAYYCw s400 cottonmouth 2Bbiggie jpg width 400 3 nbsp The Punisher nbsp 8 10 nbsp It s nothing like other shows on this list They chose to ignore the superhero world setting It works but may have worked better as a standalone Ultimately it was more predictable than most comic book-based shows because it was a lot like every gritty revenge PTSD flick we ve ever seen And then in season two they created one of the most beautiful pieces of art in the history of time It was not like anything anyone has every seen There were TWO antagonists and they both had unconventional unpredictable realistic endings 2 nbsp Daredevil nbsp 8 10 nbsp Hallway scenes started here It s a shame they didn t end here Foggy is as whack as Charlie Cox s accent both improved by season 3 If you are anti-shadowy fight scenes then Kingpin kept your interest This series was redeemed nbsp by the nbsp Punisher s arrival Ssssooo many ninjas And then season three was maybe the best thing I ve seen on TV Yes nbsp Daredevil nbsp season three is Wire Sopranos Lost Breaking Bad -good img border 0 data-original-height 464 data-original-width 825 height 224 src https 4 bp blogspot com -e8wdAAOYt Y W-hhuthB8MI AAAAAAAAEXs OPnNgcyLfHAA9VbAPxkV0pxWKUqrr ngwCLcBGAs s400 titans-review-dc-universe-tv-show jpg width 400 1 Titans 8 5 10 nbsp We saw that corny-ass trailer and scoffed The first episode wasn t much better But nbsp Titans nbsp has become my 1 must-see-TV each week If this dropped Netflix style I wouldn t have the left the seat It would ve been my first diaper show Starting with the Hawk and Dove episode this is the grittiest most realistic non-fantastical fantasy show read best of all time This is not our nbsp Teen Titans nbsp coming soon It s not like the Titans as seen anywhere before That black Starfire that you hate is one of the best characters on TV this year DC should stop making movies They really get television nbsp img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d yIl2AUoC8zA border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie i 2mKWgcxrM2c fqz5ucy3ixY F7zBnMyn0Lo border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d 7Q72WNTAKBA border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie i 2mKWgcxrM2c fqz5ucy3ixY V sGLiPBpWU border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie i 2mKWgcxrM2c fqz5ucy3ixY gIN9vFwOqvQ border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d l6gmwiTKsz0 border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d qj6IDK7rITs border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d TzevzKxY174 border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com ff LookToTheCookie d 63t7Ie-LG7Y border 0 img img src http feeds feedburner com r LookToTheCookie 4 2mKWgcxrM2c height 1 width 1 alt Click here to visit this podcast episode

Listen to our podcast on podcasting success!