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Can The CW Arrowverse Shows Make A Comeback In 2021?

I’m not even going to sugarcoat any of it. I will be honest, and we should be honest. None of the CW Arrowverse shows have been good in quite some time now.

Granted, the ratings of the show do well, and each show has their own specific hardcore fandoms and that’s okay! I do enjoy the shows still, but I can’t help but think they’re just not the powerhouses they once were.

When you look back at the beginning of the shows, Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl etc. They all had seriously strong starts. When you watch The Flash season 1, it followed comic lore, it was intense, a great show and the writers did a fantastic job in portraying Barry Allen how he should be portrayed.

Whenever you speak to a casual fan today, they tend to write the CW shows off. I try to defend them for the most part but it’s always the same response. “They used to be good”. So, what changed?

It begs the question, doesn’t it? What did change, how did it all just become so mediocre for the best part?

I can’t answer that. Each of the CW Arrowverse shows has the potential to be absolute powerhouses. Supergirl should stop being so political, The Flash needs better villains to make him shine, Legends needs to stop being ridiculous and go back to how it used to be and more.

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I know Black Lightning and Supergirl are about to hit their final seasons. Arrow ended last year. Superman & Lois is set to air, Wonder Girl has been greenlit and Stargirl is set to move over to the CW.

It’s not like they don’t have the catalogue of shows to make some super-strong material. It’s difficult to really love them when you watch shows such as The Boys and The Mandalorian, where every episode matters and made with care.

I mean, you even hear people say The Boys writers managed to do a better job than the actual comic series. That’s how you know you’ve done a series right. Even The Mandalorian, people say the show is carrying the Star Wars franchise! A Disney+ show is literally carrying the biggest franchise in the world on its back. You know where I’m going with this.

So, I answer the question on the title. Can they make a comeback this year? Of course, they can! The CW and their writing team have the potential, they always have, they’ve proved they can produce absolute wonders with every single one of their shows!

I will never stop supporting the CW, because they’ve entertained me for so many years now, so I’m not writing this to rip into CW. I’m writing this as a disappointed fan that just wants each show to live up the potential that they have done once before.

I do have faith. The Flash could set up Godspeed or Red Death, Supergirl could set up the big bad Brainiac we all know of, Legends could take a serious ark, and Black Lightning should literally be unleashed. My faith in Batwoman does keep increasing as each promo material is released, I think Batwoman could be one of the stronger shows this year, along with Superman & Lois.

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Javicia Leslie as Batwoman – The CW/DC

I’m not saying the above is how it should be, and if it’s not that it will be terrible. No, that’s just what I’d absolutely love to see and I’ve written individual articles on them before. These villains will make the shows more intense, instead of a soap opera or drama.

CW made me fall in love with The Flash. Before the show, I never knew much, but because of the show it spawned a love for the character in me, even to the point I began buying comics for the show and more. The CW has done a lot of my entertainment side, and I just want them to do better.

I hate hearing people just slate them, but lately, it’s becoming more increasingly difficult to defend, hopefully by next year I can come back to this article and say; “well, this was a waste of time. WHAT. A. YEAR!”

We’ll see.

Daniel Lewandowski

Founder, Director and co-owner of Only Comic Universe. Journalist specializing in the Arrowverse shows, and the MCU. Creator of the Only Comic Universe website.

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