The story begins in 1952 with Adventures of Superman, the first television show based on a comic book (not counting comic strips). The syndicated show was shown in black and white and starred George Reeves as the title character. Reeves was mostly known for his work as Superman and tragically took his own life at age 45, although the exact circumstances of his death have been hotly debated.
Despite the efforts of the producers, the series did not survive the death of its star and the final episode was broadcast in 1958. There were 104 episodes over 6 seasons.
It featured the famous description of Superman as "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" as well as the lines "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!"
Adventures of Superman's special effects may look silly by today's standards, but for the time, and especially for a television program, they were actually pretty impressive. At first, they made the scenes of Superman flying by suspending Reeves from wires, but during the first season, they broke causing him to fall and be injured, so a safer method was devised. In season three, they started filming in color, even though the episodes were still being broadcast in black and white and this coincided with a more lighthearted tone aimed at younger viewers.
Some comic creators even worked on Adventures of Superman, like Mort Weisinger, who served as story editor.
They attempted a pilot called The Adventures of Superpup in 1958 with a main character named Bark Bent, but it was never actually aired. Similarly, The Adventures of Superboy pilot three years later also went nowhere.
That was it until 1966, with the pop culture phenomenon that was Batman, starring Adam West as Bruce Wayne and Burt Ward as Robin. It ran for three seasons on ABC until 1968 and was a massive cultural phenomenon. This made Batman a household name, but the portrayal didn't sit well with all comic readers.
It was incredibly campy and focused on humor, and while looking back it's highly entertaining, I can definitely empathize with this perspective. We've had multiple more serious interpretations of Batman since, but at the time it was the only way that most people knew him. Besides the relatively obscure serials from the 1940s, Adam West was the only live-action Bruce Wayne until Tim Burton's film in 1989.
Several villains from the comics appeared, including iconic versions of The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin, and Catwoman, as well as lesser-known bad guys like The Mad Hatter and Mr. Freeze. One of the most well-known parts of the Batman series was the flashy titles saying POW! or BAM! during fight scenes. There was even a theatrically released movie based on this version of Batman, but it didn't do that well at the box office.
Unusually, Batman was on twice a week with the second episode continuing the plot of the first. A voiceover implored viewers to watch the next day with the famous line "Tune in tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!"
The 1960s incarnation of the Caped Crusader lives on through animation as multiple cast members reprised their roles for two animated films in 2016 and 2017.
1974 saw the premiere of Shazam! on CBS, based on DC's hero Captain Marvel. The main character was named Billy Batson and he spoke the name "Shazam" in order to transform, just like in the comics, but a lot of other things were drastically changed. From the beginning in 1940 in the source material, Batson was given his power by a wizard named Shazam who is entirely omitted in the adaptation.
It aired for three seasons on Saturday mornings with the last new episode coming out in 1976.
Besides the Captain Marvel serials in the 1940s, this is the only live-action portrayal of the character until WB finally comes out with their Shazam film that's been in development for years.
Finally, all three of DC's biggest heroes had a live action TV show with Wonder Woman beginning in 1975 on ABC. The superhero had been seen in a 1974 TV movie that was intended as a pilot, but was never picked up and the more famous version was developed instead.
Wonder Woman starred Lynda Carter in the title role and Lyle Waggoner as her love interest Steve Trevor. After the first season, it switched to CBS under the title The New Adventures of Wonder Woman where it lasted until 1979.
The first season was set during World War Two making it rather expensive to produce and ABC skittish about renewing it. Therefore, when Wonder Woman switched networks, it was also set in the present day to cut costs.
Until the version in Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman, this was the most well-known depiction of the character in popular culture. Just like the 1960s Batman, this was basically the only thing the general public knew about the character for a long time.
Things were pretty quiet for almost all of the 1980s until 1988 when a syndicated series called Superboy began airing. It was developed by the Salkinds who made the first three Superman films as well as Supergirl. Superboy is pretty cheesy with unfortunate special effects, but seems to satisfy at least some hardcore Superman fans. Like the original portrayals of Superboy, it's Clark Kent as a kid and not an entirely separate character like in some more modern comics.
After the first season, many actors were recast, even including the title character. For season three the title was changed to The Adventures of Superboy and it took on a darker tone and a new setting in Florida. Season four still got good ratings, but rights issues caused Superboy's cancellation.
Superboy has not been shown in live action since, or at least not with that name. Obviously, there are some similarities with the later Smallville series that also featured a young Kent.
The early 1990s had four new shows based on DC comics and the first was Swamp Thing: The Series on the USA network. Swamp Thing had been featured in two films in the 1980s and actor Dick Durock reprised his role as the title character in the series. A live action version of Swamp Thing hasn't been seen since, but he was mentioned in a Constantine episode decades later.
Also beginning in 1990 was The Flash, which was canceled after only one season on CBS. It was based on the Barry Allen version and starred John Wesley Shipp as the Scarlet Speedster, who later appeared on Dawson's Creek and the 2014 iteration of The Flash as Barry's father. Notably, the cast additionally included Mark Hamill, who played the villain known as The Trickster, which he reprised on the CW's version in multiple episodes.
Human Target was based on the DC character of the same name and only lasted for seven episodes in 1992. Pop singer Rick Springfield played the titular detective, based on the Christopher Chance version created in 1972.
The most successful one of the 1990s was the Emmy-nominated Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Instead of your typical superhero fare, it fit more into the romantic comedy genre. DC wanted to keep Superman in the public consciousness as the character hadn't been in theaters since 1987, but networks didn't want to spend money on the special effects a superhero story would require.
A relative unknown was chosen for Clark Kent in Dean Cain, and was Lois Lane was played by Teri Hatcher, who went on to a much more successful career. The typical Superman cast of characters appeared, including Lex Luthor, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen. A couple significant villains were on Lois & Clark, most notably Deathstroke and Metallo.
Lois & Clark lasted 4 seasons and 87 episodes.
DC television took a huge step into the modern era in 2001 with Smallville, which as of now is still by far the longest-running live-action program based on DC comics with ten seasons. In fact, its the longest lasting live action show adapted from comic books in general, although The Walking Dead may pass it up in a few years. A series about a young Bruce Wayne was originally intended, but they went with an origin movie instead, which ended up being Batman Begins. The next best thing was focusing on a young Clark Kent.
In addition to Clark, many supporting Superman characters were featured, like Lana Lang and Lex Luthor, who is portrayed as a friend of Clark. Besides Luthor, many classic villains were included in some form, including Zod, Doomsday, and Braniac. There were eventually versions of other DC heroes, such as The Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and more. The relatively obscure Justice Society of America from the Golden Age of comics were part of the show too, and we got to see Doctor Fate and Hawkman. Christopher Reeve also cameoed in a couple episodes.
The pilot was seen by over 8 million people, setting a network record for WB.
In 2002, Birds of Prey began airing on The WB and was set in the Batman universe, however, he's mainly just seen in flashbacks. His daughter with Catwoman is a main character named Helena Kyle, who goes by Huntress and unlike in the comics, has superpowers. Two other significant heroes featured are Barbara Gordon and the daughter of Black Canary, and they included Alfred and Harley Quinn as well.
The Human Target property was given a second chance on television in 2010, but still only lasted two seasons. There were a couple notable names in the cast, like Jackie Earle Hayley who played Rorshach in Watchmen and Chi McBride from Boston Public and I, Robot.
With Smallville ending in 2011, DC and comic book television in general would be changed forever in 2012 with the premiere of Arrow on the CW. It was so significant because despite Marvel beating DC to the punch with a connected cinematic universe, DC did manage to create a successful television universe.
The Arrow series began in the wake of a huge influx of popular superhero films like The Avengers and The Dark Knight trilogy.
While some characters were created for Arrow like John Diggle and Quentin Lance, tons of other DC characters have appeared over the years, including Black Canary, a hero that's been around since 1947 and has appeared in three different incarnations so far on the show. Antagonists over the years have included Deathstroke, Merlyn, and Prometheus.
Another character not in the comics is Olver's sister Thea Queen, but she does fight under the moniker of Speedy, which was the name of the Green Arrow's teenage sidekick from the character's conception in 1941. The original Speedy was male in the comics, and his civilian identity was Roy Harper, which is also the name of an Arrow character. Created by Kevin Smith, the second Speedy was a woman, but she was named Mia Dearden and not related to the Green Arrow.
Queen's costume is less fanciful and reminiscent of Robin Hood than the bright green one we see in the comics and he starts out without a mask, although he does eventually get one in season two.
Arrow is definitely not without its flaws like cheesy dialogue and dodgy acting, but overall it's pretty entertaining, especially for CW.
Barry Allen was introduced on Arrow and The Flash started airing in 2014, set in the same continuity and also on CW. The show is currently in its fourth season and has featured villains like Reverse-Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and Savitar. In addition to Barry Allen, other versions of the Flash from the comics have popped up, such as Wally West and Jay Garrick.
There are some small differences like Barry not getting his costume out of a ring and the addition of a particle accelerator to his origin, but overall the adaptation is faithful to the spirit of the comics. The costume is similar, just a less bright shade of red.
The Flash is repetitive at times and the budget isn't quite enough for some of the special effects they try to pull off. However, there are lots of fun moments, especially for anyone that's into DC comics. They don't shy away from some of the more out there elements from the source material like multiple universes and time travel.
The Arrowverse expanded even further with Legends of Tomorrow in 2016, also on the CW network. It features various characters that had been in either The Flash or Arrow, like Ray Palmer and Sara Lance. Legends of Tomorrow's roster has varied over the years, including more obscure DC heroes such as Firestorm, Captain Cold, and Vixen. The antagonist of the first season was Vandal Savage, who had previously been seen on The Flash. Like Smallville, Legends even had heroes from the Justice Society of America in Season 2. As of now Legends of Tomorrow in its third season.
These shows have also had tie-ins with Supergirl, which wasn't originally advertised as part of that continuity when it started on CBS in 2015, but Grant Gustin did appear as the Flash as early as the first season. It's set in an alternative universe, but characters the Arrowverse can hop dimensions, so when Supergirl switched over to the CW for its second season, crossovers became a regular thing.
All Arrowverse shows have now crossed over with the four-part "Crisis on Earth-X" in 2017 spread out across one episode from each and I'd expect this to be a yearly occurrence from now on.
In addition to the title character, Supergirl also features major DC heroes like her cousin Superman and the Martian Manhunter.
In 2014 another big one called Gotham came out, but on FOX instead of CW like so many other DC adaptations. As its name suggests, it's set in the Batman universe, but when Bruce Wayne is a young boy. Bruce and Alfred are a big part of the series, but it centers around the future Commissioner James Gordon.
We see younger versions of lots of Batman villains including Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze, but the most entertaining ones are easily Penguin and the Riddler.
In addition to the famous supporting characters, plenty of others that have seen less exposure have gotten their time to shine as well. Villain Hugo Strange, Gordon's partner Harvey Bullock, and The Court of Owls made their live-action debuts on Gotham. Jervis Tetch aka The Mad Hatter appeared in live-action for the first time since the Adam West series. Victor Zsasz had only been briefly seen in Batman Begins but is a recurring character here. Like in the comics, he's bald and scars himself for each of his victims, but the latter part is mainly forgotten in later seasons. In the source material he's an insane serial killer, but in the show, he's more of an assassin. Of course, that could always change as Gotham progresses.
Gotham has some interesting ideas at times and cool production design, but has major flaws, such as annoying, poorly written characters that get way too much screentime. This was especially true in the first season with Barbara Kean and Fish Mooney.
There have been multiple recent shows based on DC comics that aren't your typical superhero fare as well. Also coming out in 2014 was Constantine, which only survived for one season on NBC, starring Matt Ryan. Despite being canceled, this incarnation of John Constantine lives on as Ryan has appeared as him on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. This has led to Constantine being retroactively considered part of the Arrowverse and there's even an upcoming animated web series on CW Seed with Ryan providing his voice.
iZombie is inspired by the similarly titled comic published under DC's Vertigo imprint, written by Chris Roberson and with art from Michael Allred that ran from 2010 to 2012. In both the comic and the adaptation, the main character gains people's memories when she eats their brains. The series references its origins by having opening credits and scene introductions in the style of comics. iZombie has had three seasons on CW with a fourth coming soon.
Also from Vertigo, Lucifer was a supporting character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and eventually appeared in his own comic. The TV adaptation is in its third season airing on FOX and is about Satan deciding to leave Hell and run a nightclub.
Yet another Vertigo comic was chosen as the basis for a TV show and that's Preacher, which was created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and was published from 1995 to 2000. The adaptation was developed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen and it airs on AMC. Preacher finished its second season in 2017 and got picked up for a third, airing in 2018.
Powerless was an NBC sitcom centered around non-superhero characters in the DC universe that starred Vanessa Hudgens and Alan Tudyk as Bruce Wayne's cousin. It was canceled after only nine episodes and they didn't even bother to air the last three.
The most recent DC show to premiere is Black Lightning on CW, based on the first black DC starring character created in 1977. It was not advertised as being part of the Arrowverse, but fans have still speculated about the possibility, and in the first episode there was a mention on the news of other cities having superheroes. This could just be referencing other superheroes totally unrelated to the Flash or the Green Arrow, but with multiple universes, you can really never rule anything out. There has been talk of creating a so-called "Lightningverse" on the CW separate from the others and it could include Static Shock.
On top of the many DC shows currently on TV, several are in the works. David S. Goyer is developing a prequel called Krypton for the Syfy channel taking place 200 years before the birth of Superman. An entirely separate Superman prequel is going into production this year called Metropolis, and that'll be on the planned DC streaming service. The streaming service is also going to be home to Titans, based on the famous Teen Titans.
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