The fall television is underway, and our TV Power Rankings is back for Week 2.
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The TV Power Rankings is our official list of the best comic book shows on television. As with last year, we’ll start the list with only shows that are either currently on the air or have a scheduled premiere date.
So how do we decide where shows wind up on the list? We take into account fan buzz, ratings, and critical response, as well as feedback from our readers.
We’ll update the Power Rankings every Saturday, using our criteria as well as your input. We’ve also included a handy poll at the end of the slideshow to give you a voice in pushing your favorite show up the rankings. So be sure to click through to the end and let us know which shows you feel should rank a bit higher.
1) Luke Cage
Last Week’s Ranking: #4 (up 3)
There’s a new superhero show on television and his name is Luke Cage. Netflix dropped the show’s entire first season on Friday, giving Marvel fans an excuse to take the day off and start binge watching. No spoilers here, but we’re guessing that millions of fans will start incorporating “Sweet Christmas” into their vocabulary after finishing the season.
If you aren’t four episodes deep into Luke Cage yet, be sure to give this trailer a watch to get yourself psyched.
2) Agents of SHIELD
Last Week’s Ranking: #2 (no change)
Agents of SHIELD continues to hold the second spot on the ranking, although that’s more due to a lack of competition than anything else. This week’s episode teased a few big references to the Marvel Universe, including a certain dark artifact and a possible ex-Captain America. Still, the ratings are rough for Agents of SHIELD, as the show barely brought in 3 million viewers last week. If Ghost Rider can’t drive Agents of SHIELD‘s ratings up, can anything save the show?
3) The Walking Dead
Last Week’s Ranking: #1 (down 2 spots)
We’re starting to learn a bit more about the new season of The Walking Dead, and it sure doesn’t sound good for Rick and his friends. The just released season synopsis implies that Rick’s group will quickly bend to Negan’s will, likely because of his gruesome method of dealing with dissent. We also heard some of the cast’s reaction to Negan’s first kill and it sounds like they were impacted by Negan’s brutality as much as fans will sure to be later this month. We’re only three weeks away from the season premiere and we still don’t know who will be walking away from Negan’s trap alive.
4) Supergirl
Last Week’s Ranking: #6 (up two spots)
Supergirl gets a big boost this week thanks to the release of a new sneak peak showing Supergirl and her cousin Superman in action. We’re not going to join the throng of people knocking Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Superman in the DC Extended Universe movies, but Tyler Hoechlin’s version of the character feels like an old friend returning after a lengthy absence. Supergirl premieres next Monday and we’re psyched to see how the show does on its new CW home.
5) Gotham
Last Week: #5 (no change)
Gotham‘s second episode showed why the show continues to be such an enigma for these power rankings. The Penguin continues to be perhaps the most complex character in superhero television, but Gotham still has plenty of frustrating storylines bogging it down. Aging Poison Ivy hasn’t gotten any less icky over time, Bruce’s confrontation with the Court of Owls was underwhelming, and what the heck is the deal with Bruce’s doppelganger? Perhaps next week’s introduction of the Mad Hatter will help us make up our mind on Gotham.
6) The Flash
Last Week’s Ranking: #3 (down 3 spots)
The Flash takes a bit of a tumble this week, although that’s more due to movement from other shows than any fault of the CW’s biggest superhero show. ComicBook.com senior writer Russ Burlingame gaveย The Flashย top marks in his review for the new season, and we also got a pretty cool promo picture of Barry and Jay Garrick standing side by side in full costume. “Flashpoint” is coming next week and we’ll see how much Barry’s tinkering of the timestream will affect his friends and family in the long run.
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7) Fear The Walking Dead
Last Week’s Ranking: #9 (up two spots)
Things aren’t looking too good for Chris, the teenage son of the mixed family at the heart of Fear the Walking Dead. After Travis reunited with Maddie sans Chris, he revealed that his now remorseless killer son to travel with two equally savage tourists. Unfortunately, we saw those tourists in the crowd outside of the hotel and they weren’t accompanied by Chris either. So what happened to Chris? And will something happen to the group’s hotel haven? We’ll find out this weekend in the two part finale.
8) Arrow
Last Week’s Ranking: #7 (down 1 spot)
The big news this week on the Arrow front was that Deathstroke was returning to the show for its 100th episode. Deathstroke is by far the most compelling villain Arrow‘s ever had, and we’re curious to see exactly how he’ll come back this season. We assumed thatย the one-eyed mercenary was off the table, since Deathstroke is the villain in Ben Affleck’s upcoming Batman movie, but we’re glad to see Manu Bennett back in the suit if only for a cameo appearance.
9) The Tick
Last Week’s Ranking: N/A
A new player has entered the game! Amazon this week that it had picked up The Tick reboot to series after getting a positive fan reaction from its (already released) pilot episode. The full show won’t hit Amazon Prime until next year, but fans of the cult comedy comic are probably pretty happy to see more of the goofy superhero on their TV (or computer) screens soon.
10) Runaways
Last Week’s Rankings: N/A
Rounding out our power rankings is Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of The Runaways, which took a big step this week by hiring Tamara Becher as one of its writers. Becher already has experience with the Marvel Universe, having written episodes of Netflix’s Iron Fist, so we’ll see if she’ll lay any teases between the world of the Runaways and Netflix’s Defenders shows.
Honorable Mentions (and Poll)
Missed the Cut: iZombie (CW),ย Outcastย (AMC), Iron Fistย (Netflix),ย Preacher (AMC),ย Dark Matterย (SyFy), American Horror Story (FX), Riverdale (CW), Legends of Tomorrow (CW), Lucifer (Fox)
[Note:ย Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and other shows that don’t have an upcoming “premiere date” have been left off the rankings unless there’s some sort of new news about the show, but will be added once a premiere date has been announced.]
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