Live-Action DC Comics TV Shows, Ranked

The final DC series to premiere on the CW is also the lowest-rated title on this list. Gotham Knights follows a group of young people framed for Bruce Wayne's murder as they try to clear their names and become Gotham's new protectors. Among the group are Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), Wayne's adoptive son; Carrie Kelly (Navia Robinson), Batman's Robin at the time of his death; and Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan), who is believed to be the Joker's daughter. Misha Collins plays Harvey Dent, Gotham's two-faced district attorney.

Critics were not impressed, calling the show dull and unmemorable. Some reviewers wondered if Gotham Knights was pushing up against the limits of how much Batman-related material people will take. 

"With the lone exception of Misha Collins' Harvey Dent, every main character manages to be bland and uninteresting. The by-the-numbers mystery plot and the meager action scenes do little to take advantage of the rich tapestry that is the Batman mythos." —Jesse Schedeen, IGN

This Superman prequel tells the story of Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), Kal-El/Superman's grandfather. It takes place on the planet Krypton 200 years before Kal-El's birth, as Seg-El tries to restore his disgraced family's honor and stop a time-traveling threat that would make it so that Superman was never born.

Reviewers found the show to be slow and talky, with occasional flashes of inspiration bogged down by tedious pacing and an air of unimportance. Critics were split on whether the special effects were good or not. 

"Krypton's special effects are pretty impressive throughout the first five episodes made available for review. But the overall storyline begins to bog down rather badly in the latter hours, making Krypton seem like too much of a slog en route to a seemingly long-in-coming payoff that's already set in stone." —Ed Bark, Uncle Barky

Based on a comic that also served as the source material for an equally middling 2005 Keanu Reeves movie, Constantine is about John Constantine (Matt Ryan), an unscrupulous exorcist whose soul gets damned during an exorcism gone wrong. In order to get his soul redeemed, he takes a job working as a sort of supernatural detective, going to places where demonic activity is suspected, figuring out what's going on, and banishing the demons from whence they came.

While critics liked the spooky special effects and Ryan's rakish performance, they didn't like much else, calling the story predictable and the world ill-defined. 

"The wildly uneven Constantine premiere is a decidedly mixed bag of magic tricks. It's moody and mysterious. It's also muddled and meandering." —Mark Dawidziak, Cleveland Plain Dealer

This edgier take on the Teen Titans famously established its different style from its CW cousins by having Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites)—Batman's former sidekick Robin now forging his own path as Nightwing—say "F--- Batman" in the pilot. Dick leads a team of young vigilantes as they fight crime and figure out what kind of heroes they want to be.

Superhero fatigue was already setting in with critics by the time Titans premiered, and most did not find Titans compelling enough to overcome that exhaustion. Many compared it to Netflix's Marvel shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones and found it lacking. 

"Yes, Titans is unnecessarily violent, gory and profane (the F-word gets quite a workout), although it's probably less disturbing than Fox's Gotham. Another superhero show is overkill, but for what it is, 'Titans' strong-arms its way into acceptance and occasionally more (the series' depiction of a Beaver Cleaver-style family of killers, introduced in episode two, is especially clever)." —Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DC's spin on a workplace sitcom is about regular people in a superhero world. Vanessa Hudgens is Emily Locke, the head of research & development at Wayne Security, a division of Wayne Enterprises that makes products that help bystanders not get hurt during superhero battles. She wants to make a difference in the world, even though she doesn't have superpowers.

Reviews remarked upon the cleverness of the premise, the pleasant atmosphere, and the talented cast that also included Danny Pudi and Alan Tudyk, but also noted a major flaw: The show was simply not funny enough. 

"If Powerless intends to be an actual comedy, as opposed to a harmless way to wile away a half-hour, it needs to give them [cast] something to do that counts as funny. So far, whatever powers this NBC sitcom has on display, the power to make us laugh isn't one of them." —Robert Bianco, USA Today

DC's earliest attempt at a TV adaptation of a deep cut comic, Birds of Prey follows a team of three female superheroes as they take up the vigilante mantle in Gotham after Batman seemingly abandons the city. They are Helena Kyle/Huntress (Ashley Scott), Batman and Catwoman's daughter; Barbara Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle (Dina Meyer), daughter of Commissioner Gordon; and Dinah Redmond/Black Canary (Rachel Skarsten), daughter of the original Black Canary.

Birds of Prey earned some praise for its visual style—including the characters' elaborate hair and wardrobe—and its punchy attitude, but not enough to offset critics' problems with its overly complicated setup and lack of originality in its storytelling. 

"But as visually sleek and occasionally funny as Birds of Prey starts out, the show will have to get out from under its tangled premise if it's to divert easily wandering attentions. So far, it's difficult to tell where the series might be headed, but there are hints in the premiere." —Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News

The simplest explanation Legends of Tomorrow is that it's an ensemble series that follows a team of superheroes who travel through time to try and save the world. But it ran for seven seasons, featured so many different characters, and was so meta and self-referential that it's impossible to describe in just a few sentences.

While critics appreciated the show's sense of humor and willingness to be playful, its kookiness was a double-edged sword, with stilted dialogue and an overabundance of characters that spread the show thin. 

"The groan-worthy dialogue's a head-scratcher, as Legends Of Tomorrow was developed by the team responsible for Arrow and The Flash, while showrunner Phil Klemmer is a veteran of quippy favorites Veronica Mars and Chuck. But the bigger mistake here might have been creating a show starring characters who wouldn't be compelling enough to anchor their own star vehicle." —Gwen Ihnat, The A.V. Club

This series featured two different Batwomen over the course of its run. Ruby Rose played Bruce Wayne's cousin Kate Kane in Season 1, filling the role of Gotham's protector in Batman's absence. She exited before Season 2 under controversial circumstances. For the final two seasons, Javicia Leslie took over as Ryan Wilder, an ordinary person who became Batwoman after finding Kane's suit in the wreckage of a plane crash.

Critics liked the show's straightforward depiction of Kane's sexuality (she was the Arrowverse's first openly gay main character), but found the story paint-by-numbers and the fight scenes underwhelming. 

"The best part of the new series is that unfussy, effortless way of getting Kate's sexual orientation out of the way, and also Kate herself. She's a bantamweight crusader with lightning moves as opposed to devastating ones. ... What's less-best is the usual reliance on the sort of story that Gotham has undergone countless times before. There are no surprises left here, not even a decent dopey headline in the still-dopey, ever-credulous Gotham newspapers (which still don't have websites)." —Verne Gay, Newsday

Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth is one of the least likely heroes to get his own show, but he did with this Gotham prequel series set in 1960s London. Alfred (Jack Bannon) is a SAS veteran and security company owner who works with Bruce Wayne's CIA-aligned parents Thomas and Martha to fight a fascist organization trying to take over the government.

Pennyworth received mixed reviews. Critics approved of its production value, performances, and setting, but felt that the series never made a compelling case for why it needed to be made at all. In other words, the world didn't need an Alfred show, even if it looked pretty cool. 

"Pennyworth is kind of fascinating in that it looks good, the performances are solid, the design is strong … and I just never found a reason to care. Like so much modern TV, every episode is too long, and the slack pacing doesn't help an already slow writing sensibility. There's nothing overly wrong with Pennyworth, except it never quite justifies its existence." —Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

This time around, Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) are a little older, and in order to escape the hustle and bustle of Metropolis, they've moved back to Smallville with their two teenage sons, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass/Michael Bishop) and Jordan (Alex Garfin). But even in Smallville, trouble still finds them, and their quiet small-town life is frequently interrupted by supervillains.

For the most part, critics liked that the show prioritized family drama over superhero action, which set it apart from other Arrowverse shows. It found a different angle on Superman, which is hard to do, and an admirable thing to try even if the show sometimes felt muddled. 

"It doesn't look like it's going to follow the traditional path that other Superman series have, and that's just fine with us. Just as we like seeing Clark and Lois as harried parents, we're also happy to see Superman battle some different enemies for a change." —Joel Keller, Decider

High school student Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) discovers that her stepfather Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson) used to be the superhero Starman's sidekick—and still has his Cosmic Staff, which Starman made him promise to give to someone worthy before he died. So Courtney becomes Stargirl, and puts together a new Justice Society of America to battle supervillains in Blue Valley. 

Many critics remarked upon the gravitas that Wilson brought to his role, and enjoyed his stepfather-stepdaughter relationship with the spunky Bassinger. The knock on Stargirl is that it dragged. 

"DC's Stargirl gets off to a rousing, high-flying start, then loses some momentum when subsequent episodes open with deep-diving, Titans-style, -centric flashbacks. But by Episode 4, the stage is set for what is both DC Universe's and The CW's lightest, brightest, family-friendliest live-action superhero show yet." —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine

In this horror-tinged series, CDC doctor Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) returns to her small Louisiana hometown to investigate a deadly virus in the swamp and the mysterious death of her colleague and friend Alec Holland (Andy Bean), who was studying the same thing. Her investigation leads her to Swamp Thing (Derek Mears), a supernatural being made of plant matter that has Andy's memories and protects the natural world.

Critics favorably compared the body horror elements of Swamp Thing to John Carpenter's classic film The Thing, and praised the show's unusually accomplished cast, which included Virginia Madsen, Will Patton, and Jennifer Beals. 

"Swamp Thing isn't perfect, but it's more than capable of filling the hole in superhero television that's looking for a blend of horror and fantasy." —Tim Surette, TV Guide

This adaptation makes a significant change from the comics on which it's based. On the show, security contractor Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) just gets really close to his clients and doesn't actually imitate them to draw their enemies to him instead. With the help of his team, he saves his clients from assassins, week in and week out.

The word that came up over and over again in reviews of Human Target was "fun." Critics had a lot of fun watching the fast-paced, stunt-heavy, wisecrack-filled show. 

"It's a blast to watch Valley's character squirm his way out of a major mess, while keeping his droll sense of humor intact. Human Target never will be a big-time Emmy magnet, but as a piece of good, escapist fun, it definitely hits the mark." —Chuck Barney, San Jose Mercury News

Set in Gotham City before Batman—here, Bruce Wayne is a kid, played by David Mazouz— Gotham mostly focuses on Detective (and future Commissioner) James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) as he tries to bring down organized crime in the city alongside his semi-crooked partner, Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). It also features a large ensemble of Rogues' Gallery villains, including the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith).

Gotham differentiated itself from other superhero shows by leaning into crime drama genre elements, and critics found that to be a smart choice. Further praise went to the sci-fi-noir production design and the fun villain performances. 

"Gotham is not reinventing the dark cop show, or the dystopian drama, or the superhero genre. But it combines them in a way that's invigorating–and, honestly, it's probably better than a new series with this built-in fanbase needed to be." —James Poniewozik, Time

Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay co-created this young adult series based on a comic that debuted in 2019. It's about Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall), a teenage girl living in Oregon who loves comic books. She becomes the star of her own superhero story when she starts to develop superpowers, and she learns that her story is very similar to Superman's.

Not every critic found Naomi's plot compelling, but most critics liked Naomi herself—both the conception of the character as a confident and intelligent young woman and Walfall's easy performance. 

"It's a welcome departure from The CW's slate of otherwise too-often grim superhero dramas, and a smart blend of genre tropes that should fit well on the network should it allow it enough time to let Naomi's more unique story unfold." —Caroline Framke, Variety

The Doom Patrol is arguably DC's most unique superhero team, consisting of heroes who gained their powers due to tragedies. For example, Robotman (Brendan Fraser) was a NASCAR driver who died in a car crash and had his brain put into a robot body. The team was assembled by the Chief (Timothy Dalton), who wants them to do good but also has his own shady motives.

Doom Patrol is a weird comic, and critics respected that its signature weirdness made its way into the show as well. They liked its self-referential humor and willingness to try things that more traditional superhero shows wouldn't be able to. 

"The series is refreshingly self-aware, both in the hilarious meta narration by Alan Tudyk as the team's archenemy Mr. Nobody. ... And in its more fundamental understanding that if you make a show about these characters, you'd best come weird or not come at all." —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone

In this limited series spinoff from the 2022 movie The Batman, gangster Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), claws his way up the ladder of the Gotham underworld while squaring off against Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), daughter of deceased mobster Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), for control of the Falcone crime family.

The Penguin is one of the most prestigious DC shows to date, and critics responded in kind, praising the gritty tone, technical details like production design and special effects makeup (Farrell is unrecognizable under layers of prosthetics), and especially Farrell and Milioti's performances. She won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series in 2025.

"It simply delivers a multifaceted character study without any unnecessary fan service, staying loyal to the well-written material and letting its potent characters dominate every step of the way." —Akos Peterbencze, Looper

Lanterns is the first TV series adaptation to focus on Green Lantern, one of DC's signature characters. It follows Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), members of the Green Lantern Corps intergalactic law enforcement agency, as they investigate possibly alien-related murders in Nebraska.

While critics found it to be less impressive than co-creator Damon Lindelof's best work (more on that below), they praised the series' detective story chops and, especially, the powerful performances from Chandler and Pierre. 

"While the investigation proves just interesting enough to hook viewers, it's really the blistering chemistry between our two leads that carries Lanterns across the finish line." —Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm

Superhero dramedy Peacemaker, a spinoff from James Gunn's 2021 movie The Suicide Squad, tells the story of Chris Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena). Smith starts out as a nationalistic a-hole antihero who doesn't care about other people, but as he faces his traumatic upbringing and flawed coping mechanisms, he becomes more like an actual hero. 

Critics praised Peacemaker's anarchic humor, Cena's alternately hilarious and emotionally vulnerable performance, and its unforgettable opening credits dance numbers.

"There is still a lot of Gunn's trademark over-the-top punching and gouging, but beyond the gore and gun smoke, Peacemaker is a superhero ramp with a heart, soul and a seam of ennui wider than a crime fighter's cape." —Ed Power, The Telegraph

It's the show for which the Arrowverse is named. Greg Berlanti's first DC series spawned a producing empire that at its peak featured 18 shows simultaneously on the air, half of which were DC properties. Arrow follows Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), a Bruce Wayne-esque billionaire and masked crimefighter. His weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, which he uses to protect the people of Star City.

Upon initial release, critics rated the show for its slick action setpieces and Amell's charming performance, which toed the line between ironic and sincere. 

"The action is hot, fast and believable, achieved through quick-cut editing and spot-on direction." —Dave Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

The longest-running Arrowverse show follows DC's top second-tier character (after Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman). Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) gains super-speed after being exposed to an explosion at a particle accelerator and uses his power to fight crime in Center City.

Critics appreciated the show's lighter, more optimistic tone compared to other superhero media of the era. It's another show where the word "fun" appeared in many reviews. 

"Although these series can't compete with feature budgets, The Flash delivers enough action to effectively work on that level, and has developed a strong array of characters to function as a drama, peppered with humor that happily avoids the trap of camp.... This CW series--seemingly emboldened by its success--isn't hitting the brakes at all as it races into the future, or the past, or wherever its two-dimensional roots might lead it." —Brian Lowry, Variety

This era-spanning young adult drama is about the coming-of-age adventures of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as a teenager and young man, before he went to Metropolis and officially became Superman. It follows his relationships with his adoptive parents Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O'Toole), his love interest Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), and his frenemy Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum).

At the time of its premiere, Smallville's origin story premise was novel, and critics thought it was clever. They also liked the show's high-quality special effects and sly sense of humor. 

"Simply put, Smallville is super. A new spin on the modern myth of Superman, it's part action series, part teen romance and part high school drama, done with superior production values and featuring an array of new faces that could quickly become familiar." —Tom Long, The Detroit News

Superman's cousin Kara (Melissa Benoist) is the subject of this super-series. Initially sent to Earth to protect young Kal-El, her ship got trapped in a Phantom Zone, and when she finally got there he had already grown up. After a few years living with the Danvers family, she embraces her power and becomes Supergirl, protector of Central City.

Benoist's charming performance was critics' favorite thing about Supergirl. They also appreciated the supporting performances from Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant and Mehcad Brooks as "James" Olsen and the show's earnest tone. 

"Come for the top notch production values and the budgetary polish that being on CBS allows. Come for Benoist, who brings a sort of heroic decency you might call Christopher Reeve-esque. Come for Flockhart chewing scenery. I'd say to stay for the uplifting and progressive message, but that's up to you." —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter

Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a mild-mannered high school principal, but he used to be Black Lightning, a superhero with the ability to control electricity. When his daughters Jennifer (China Anne McClain) and Anissa (Nafessa Williams)—who have powers of their own that are starting to emerge—are kidnapped by his old nemesis Tobias Whale (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III), he is forced to become Black Lightning once again.

Critics found Pierce to be a complex and compelling character, with a fine performance from Williams. Reviews noted that Black Lightning's middle-aged characterization set him apart from the CW's younger heroes in an interesting way. 

"The Pierce family dynamic is so compelling that even if Jefferson Pierce had no powers beyond great motivational speeches, this show would be a worthwhile watch. Black Lightning balances humor with all-too-necessary social commentary (why are white masked crime-fighters 'heroes' when Black Lightning is called a vigilante?) to make a refreshing addition to the superhero TV pantheon." —Dana Schwartz, Entertainment Weekly

Creator Damon Lindelof's fully reimagined take on writer Alan Moore's seminal 1985 comic takes place 34 years after the events of the book. Police officers are allowed to wear masks to protect their safety, while masked vigilantes have been outlawed. In Tulsa, Okla., Det. Angela Abar, aka Sister Night (Regina King), investigates the murder of her boss Judd Crawford (Don Johnson) and discovers secrets that change everything she thought she knew.

Watchmen is the superhero series best-received by critics by a considerable margin. Critics marveled at how intelligently the show remixed the pieces of the original story into something different and timely while staying true to its essence. It won 11 Emmys, including Outstanding Limited Series. 

"HBO's drop-dead fantastic new series 'Watchmen' is many things at once — a righteously topical, thrillingly conceived riff on race and criminal justice set in an allegorical USA of vigilante cops, shady superheroes and subversive domestic terrorists. It's fabulous and flammable and feels exactly right." —Hank Stuever, Washington Post