The Arrowverse Gets Its Due for Saving the TV Superhero Genre

Entertainment Weekly is now moving to monthly digital publications, and for their first issue, coming out in August, they are highlighting the leads of the Arrowverse: Stephen Amell (Arrow), Grant Gustin (The Flash), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Caity Lotz (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), and Ruby Rose (Batwoman), while celebrating the legacy of the Arrowverse for TV superheroes.

I know that, technically, Black Lightning isn’t part of the Arrowverse, but it always saddens me when they aren’t included in these kinds of EW photoshoots, because the series has done a lot for showing Black families in media, and while it’s sometimes a little too religious for me, it has been a great place to see Black talent shine. But going back to the Arrowverse proper, I’m glad to see that it continues to get its due in pop culture discourse.

There are some serious issues I have with Arrow and The Flash, but they are both shows that helped shift the way comic book media could be adapted into live-action on TV. While Smallville started it (and Birds of Prey made an attempt), Arrow really pushed that into a new realm. Even though I’ll never forgive them for Laurel and how they wrote a lot of female characters, that’s for another day. What it has grown into is one of the most diverse universes on television, with LGBTQ characters, women, and women of color in lead roles, and made that profitable.

Despite how lauded the Netflix Marvel shows were, I have to say I don’t actively miss them. I appreciate things about them, but even with their shorter seasons, those shows dragged and didn’t always live up to the hype. Hell, it even managed to be sort of worse at representation than the Arrowverse, on the whole. Not to mention, the Arrowverse is (mostly) fun, and they embrace the weirdness of the comics. King Shark was on The Flash, guys. They just went for it, rather than toning it down or mocking the colorful costumes.

In the interview, Amell, while drinking a pint of Guinness (relatable content), laments the final season of Arrow. “I’m 38 years old, and I got this job when I was 30. I’d never had a job for more than a year. The fact that I’ve done this for the better part of a decade, and I’m not going to do it anymore, is a little frightening.” The EW issue is a great tribute to Arrow‘s legacy and, regardless of whether you love the show or not, its ending will be an event worth watching. I won’t really be sad to see it go, but I can still be happy with what it gave me.

(via Entertainment Weekly, images: The CW)

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Princess Weekes

Princess (she/her-bisexual) is a Brooklyn born Megan Fox truther, who loves Sailor Moon, mythology, and diversity within sci-fi/fantasy. Still lives in Brooklyn with her over 500 Pokémon that she has Eevee trained into a mighty army. Team Zutara forever.

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