User blog:Dorkpool/Comic Book TV Shows

Some time ago, I talked about the TV show known as Gotham, specifically the name Ivy Pepper, and my ire towards said name. And, if anyone's curious, yes I still hate that name.

But today, I decided to talk about the four comic based shows I watch: Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, Flash, and Gotham. Sorry, Constantine, but I'm not sure I'm watching you. Please don't cry.

Anyway, I'm here to talk about these shows, and how good they are. So, let's start with one of my favorites:

Agents of SHIELD. The basic concept is this: Agent Coulson, fan favorite character who died during The Avengers is now alive and leads a team of SHIELD agents to take down Hydra. Wow. This show really turned around. At first, this show was well, meh. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't particularly good. However, some time after the midseason finale, this show got really good, especially with the Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in, with the Hydra thing (CUT OFF ONE HEAD, TWO MORE SHALL TAKE ITS PLACE! HAIL HYDRA! ...sorry). That was where it really started getting good. Season 2 has, so far, been awesome, and I'm looking forward to see where this show goes.

The Flash: This show is actually a spin-off from a different show, Arrow. I'll get to Arrow in a bit, but first, let's talk about The Flash. The concept goes like this: Barry Allen, forensic scientist, was struck by lightning and is now able to run really fast. He works with people from a place called STAR Labs to stop rogue metahumans - people with super powers. This show is a lot of fun. Gustin Grant plays a good Barry Allen, and I personally wish he would've played Peter Parker instead of Andrew Garfield, but oh well. Actually, speaking of Spider-Man, this show seems like the DC version of Spider-Man. Hell, in one episode, it felt like one line was ripped from Spider-Man 2. But hey, I like Spider-Man, and I like this show. However, it does have its flaws, and it's similar to one Arrrow has. Speaking of Arrow...

Arrow: This show has its ups and its downs. Anyway, the basic concept is this: Billionaire Oliver Queen was stranded on an island for five years. He comes back home to become a vigilante known as the Hood. Then the Arrow. He fights crime with a team now, made up of Felicity Smoak, an awkward IT girl who's the tech head of the group; John Diggle, the token black guy who was the first person to work with Oliver; and Roy Harper, a teenager also known as Arsenal. Season 1 was great, season 2 was pretty good, and season 3 alternates is good. Unlike The Flash, this show is more serious and dark. It's still a good show though. Now, the flaw I was speaking of involved the female romantic leads. Honestly, for the most part, they're annoying. For example, in season 3, Laurel Lance has gotten really annoying. After her sister, Sarah, died, she's decided to become a vigilante and find her sister's killer. Noble effort, but for the most part she just rages, complains to Oliver Queen, and is generally getting her ass beaten or doing nothing. A similar problem occurs in The Flash, with Iris West. She's writing a blog about the Flash (who's called "The Streak" here for now). Barry Allen and Iris' father don't want her doing that, since they fear that some nut might track her down and hurt her. They both tell her to stop, and she says no. Ok, I get it, she likes blogging. So do I. But when the Flash goes to her and tells her to stop, and she ignores him, then she's stupid. THE FREAKING BEING YOU'RE BLOGGING ABOUT TOLD YOU TO KNOCK IT OFF. LISTEN TO HIM. UGH. This little flaw isn't limited to romantic leads though. In Arrow, Oliver Queen's sister, Thea, was really annoying in season 2. People lied to her, and she was annoyed. I get that. But all she did was complain about how much her life sucks and boo friggity hoo. Bitch, your brother dresses up like an emo Robin Hood and fights crime. Shut up.

That's not to say these shows don't have good female characters. My favorite character in Arrow, Felicity Smoak, is a female, and she's a fun character. Basically, she's the tech person for the Arrow. She's awkward, funny, and is a great character overall. And she has a thing for Oliver. And Barry Allen. Awkward. There's also Thea Queen who, in season 3, is a much more tolerable character. Anyway, enough about this. Let's move on to...

Gotham: Ugh. Out of all the shows I've talked about, this one is my least favorite. The show goes like this: Detective James Gordon has moved to Gotham city, and, with his partner Harvey Bullock, is trying to figure out who killed the Waynes (with the exception of Bruce) and take down the gang lords in Gotham. Now, this show would be really good if they focused on the gang stuff. But they don't. The gang stuff acts as a subplot, with most of the main plots being about Batman villains pre-Batman. And boy are some of the stories stupid. For example, in the episode "Spirit of the Goat" there's two killers who identify themselves as the Spirit of the Goat, both of whom kill the children of the rich and have very specific characteristics. They can't be the same person, since the first one worked alone and died 10 years ago. What's the answer to this mystery? A hypnotist hypnotized two people to kill the children of the rich in order to hurt the city. It's so unbelievably stupid, but it's how the episode went. Honestly, the best episode so far, "The Penguin's Umbrella" dealt solely with the gang war. Sure, it had Victor Zsasz, a serial killer during the time of Batman, makes an appearance as a mob hitman, but it works. When I saw that episode, I thought, "This show is finally getting good!" Then the next episode involved an underground fighting ring in which people fought for a job. I'm not even joking. And it's not even a cool job either, or a job that would involve the skills necessary to fight to the death. In a different, more humorous series, it could have worked. In Gotham, it's stupid.

Also, remember my anger towards the women in Arrow and The Flash? Well, there's Jame Gordon's fiancee, who I find extremely bothersome. During "The Penguin's Umbrella", Gordon tells her to leave Gotham for a bit so that he can take down a gang lord. She decides to come back, and ends up screwing up Gordon's plan. I don't care if it's because of love, she just annoys me. Ugh.

Anyway, what should you get out of this? First, there are many annoying female characters in these shows. And second, Agents of SHIELD, The Flash, and Arrow are awesome. Watch those shows. However, if you're starting from season 1 with SHIELD, you're going to have to sit through a lot of crap. Also, HAIL HYDRA!