Ok so here's the thing. As much as I love Superhero stuff (and ya'll know I do) - I try to watch as little Superhero shows as possible because A} they're formulaic, and B} there is much, much better television out there. The films are great because they're more of an event and are a smaller time commitment, the time that is spent is used getting to the good stuff, not drawing out melodrama for cardboard characters across 8-10 episodes.
For the most part I agree with you for most of those shows, and I watch most of them. But I think a lot people write some of them off because they are super hero shows. Personal I feel like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Legion, and The Boys are among the best of tv that's been made in the time they've been out. Also I don't even really think Legion can be classified as a super hero show, that show just happens to be about people with super powers.
I thought Jessica Jones and The Boys were great. I gave up on Daredevil and am planning on giving legion a watch at some point.
THE BOYS. That is the best comic hero TV I have ever seen.
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I watch allllll the superhero shows, and honestly enjoy every one of them. If you're looking to limit your hero intake, I heartily second the votes for Legion, Daredevil, and The Boys. They may be superhero shows, but they're far from formulaic. Daredevil and Legion are two of my very favorite shows. Also, Preacher (though that's hardly a heroic show even though it's based on a comic book).
Personally, I enjoy Agents of SHIELD a lot -- if you can get through s1-A (which ended up piecemeal and suffering deeply because the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier forced hurried rewrites), it's good fun. It's cornier than the shows above, but it's not like Batman 60's corny.
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I agree about Shield, I like that show a lot, but mostly it is sorta just kinda a good twist on your run of the mill network tv stuff though. I used to really like the CW shows, but the longer I watch them the more I don't like them. Like how many times can The Flash screw up in the exact same way and have everyone forgive him...
Ugh, yeah, DCTV is pretty awful.
I enjoy Gotham and Pennyworth has been good so far, but the rest is a hard pass.
you're solid gold // i'll see you in hell
Same here but it's not Marvel so we better get back on topic or Thanos will give us a pounding like you wouldn't believe! But The Boys is a short series of 72 issues, I will probably try to read it someday.
(One more thing though, Amazon put out a promo calendar for The Boys featuring The Deep and it is hilarious, I need one!)
I've only seen about half the Marvel movies. Usually on Netflix, which I don't pay for. Most of them are just okay, certainly not worth paying for. Only ones I paid for are Guardians of the Galaxy and Infinity War/Endgame. I don't own a single one, but I do want to pick up The Winter Soldier, easily the best of the MCU.
In the past decade the only Disney movies I'd paid for are those three MCU movies, The Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4, which were both at matinee prices. I don't support Disney. I've spent more money on X-Men movies than Disney in that same time period, I think.
The only comic property I support is The Walking Dead, but there also aren't any super powers in it. Super powers are pretty dull to me.
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Wow. I bet you're a lot of fun at parties. "Hey bro did you see the new Avengers movie? Man that shit was sick." "No. I don't subscribe to Disney's imperialistic musings of world domination."
All kidding aside tho, if Superhero things aren't your thing, then I guess it's just not your thing. Although I will say that it's a little myopic to paint everything with the same brush because there are some truly good to Great superhero films out there. Super powers are just facilitators to tell high-concept sagas. It's no different than Star Wars and Jedi/Sith abilities, or Lord of the Rings with wraiths, wizards, demons, magic etc.,
Also Matt, check out this interview with Todd Philips, whose directing Joker. I think it might alleviate some of your fears about the film and could potentially entice you to go and watch it. I think this will be another mold-breaking CBM.
In ‘Joker’ the stakes are life and death, and comic-book movies may never be the same
I'm pretty much right in the middle when it comes to superhero movies or TV shows. I know nothing about the source material (or at least, I haven't read any of it), so I see them as entertaining and fun, but largely forgettable.
I think the MCU is an amazing achievement in succeeding (largely) in what it set out to do, and I think it will be remembered in retrospect for its spectacle and the scope of that ambition. But will the individual movies continue to be held up as examples of great movies? I doubt it. Personally, I've rarely had any desire to go back and rewatch them. Similarly with the TV shows - I've only seen a few of the series, and they are entertaining and fun, but not at the top of my list of "great TV". Jessica Jones and Daredevil come close - I think the early seasons, in particular, were really solid - but I will probably never rewatch them.
I'm probably an outlier, admittedly, in that I've never really been invested in Marvel as a franchise.
HBJ
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I enjoyed the last two Avengers movies and both Guardians films. Ragnarok was worth a watch. I write enjoyed Homecoming. The rest is pretty meh. There are some good superhero movies for sure, but most of them are just okay at best for me. I liked Thor Ragnarok, but I'll never watch it again, like most of the MCU I've seen. The movies coming out just hold no interest for me. Maybe they'll be good, but I'll watch for free.
I'm just not big on Fantasy stuff. It doesn't really interest me. Lord of the Rings is great because of his well it's made. I don't care about the lore at all. I think most superhero and fantasy stuff fails at telling a good story with good characters and over-relies on lore and world building and special powers, which I don't care about. I like Batman because Bruce Wayne is a fascinating character. Most comic book stuff loses me on character and meaning and it ends being being a lot of sound and colors with dialogue, and it goes in one ear and out the other.
I can't get excited for Joker because it's DC and they're going to need to make several good movies after the junk they've made if they expect me to care. If I hear good things I'll watch it for free eventually.
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