Netflix Saves the Day with numerous Superhero TV Series on live stream

Over the years, Superhero fandom has skyrocketed due to the boom of comic movies in the box office, resulting in one of the largest industries today. With the increased interest in comic book heros, no wonder numerous networks have started contracting with DC Comics and Marvel Comics for rights to air new TV shows to boost viewer ratings.

Amongst those aired in the past 4 years include Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow (DC Comic heroes with respective series on CW Television Network), Daredevil, Jessica Jones (Marvel heroes with respective netflix original series) and Agent Carter (series on ABC). In case you’re wondering, in order to catch up on every episode per show, it would take about 193 hours straight to finish- 8 whole days without stopping.

So, where does one begin? Is there a correct order to watch these series? Are they somehow connected? First, the question that needs to be asked is crucial: DC or Marvel?

Generally speaking, Marvel has produced more movies, and in response, TV shows have been produced through third parties affiliates such as Netflix or ABC. Marvel only releases characters to these third parties with a partner agreement so that they may include that same character in a movie if they choose to; furthermore, Marvel encourages networks to somehow connect TV storylines with their movies, ultimately to increase viewer ratings.

On the other hand, DC Comics has only recently released TV shows. In relation to their few successful movies, these new shows do not connect with the movies themselves, rather, to their counterparts on the same network.

All of Marvel’s recent releases have been in preparation for their new movie Avengers: Infinity Wars- Part 1 set to hit the theaters in 2018. Within the movie, Thanos (introduced in teasers seen at the end of every Marvel movie as the purple Destroyer of the Galaxy, lusting to destroy Earth) plans to decimate Earth until the entire Marvel Universe teams up to defeat him. Thus, Daredevil and Jessica Jones will both be a part of the new movie alongside fifty other superheroes.

Daredevil, set in Hell’s Kitchen, follows the life of Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a lawyer-by-day who fights crime in his free time- oh, and he’s blind. Using his heightened senses and superior martial arts skills, Daredevil cleans the streets of evil-doers and gang bangers to try and destroy crime lord Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). While Netflix has received outstanding recognition, along with multiple nominations for the Creative Emmy Awards, the show is meant for mature audiences and is not a family friendly show due to violence and language.

The other hero, or heroine for that matter, of Hell’s Kitchen is Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). A rather unconventional superheroine due to her drinking problem, Jones is first seen as a private investigator with specialties in spying on cheating partners. She is the owner and sole employee of Alias Private Investigation, and throws herself into her work as a means of coping with tremendous amounts of PTSD from her past. When her mind controlling rapist Killgrave (David Tennant) resurfaces and strikes again, Jones sets out to defeat him once and for all before he claims the lives of any more innocent victims of Hell’s Kitchen. Once again, Netflix has created another show for mature audiences only, but this time due to the numerous sex scenes and alcohol references in each episode. Jessica Jones has been up for several nominations including Critics Choice Award in 2016 for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

Switching dimensions, DC Comics has given the CW Television Network rights to the following superheroes: Green Arrow, Flash, Black Canary, Legends of Tomorrow (a league composed of numerous characters) and more. Unfortunately, in order to remain true to the timeline within the shows, there is a specific order to start each season. Below is a chart that outlines when to start each:

TV Succession

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Arrow Season 1 Arrow Season 2 Arrow Season 3 Arrow Season 4

The Flash Season 1 The Flash Season 2

Legends of Tomorrow Season 1

*Note: You do not have to watch all the seasons at the same time, just before moving on to the next season of the same superhero (EX: watch Arrow season 3, then The Flash Season 1 before going on to Arrow season 4).

Now, you may be asking yourself who all the superheroes are? Arrow, played by Stephen Amell, shows the life of Oliver Queen, son of billionaire Robert and Moira Queen. After being shipwrecked on an island for five years, Queen makes it home to Starling City with a goal to fulfill his father’s dying wish: to save the city. Unaware of the dangers lurking in Starling’s shadows, the Arrow avenges his father’s death by taking down drug lords, mercenaries and “crossing off” names on his father’s list. Each episode has numerous flashbacks to Oliver’s time spent on Lian Yu, and how he became the man and hero he is today.

Only a few cities away, The Flash takes place in Central City, another city needing a savior. After a massive particle accelerator explosion within S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) awakes after a nine month coma with the ability to run faster than the speed of sound and with each passing day, the Flash grows stronger and faster. Thus, with the help of Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) of S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry defeats mutants created from the particle acceleration explosion along with investigating a murder from Barry’s past.

Lastly, Legends of Tomorrow (LOT) is a spinoff of Arrow and The Flash. In the not so distant future, Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) travels back in time to present day, bringing along with him future versions of the Arrow, the Flash, Canary (from Arrow season 2) and a few other DC Comic Book heroes in an attempt to prevent Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) from destroying the world and time itself. First airing in January 2016, this show is the most current; however, it will have numerous plot holes if one does not watch Arrow and The Flash first.

Overall, as DC Comics and Marvel Studios start releasing rights of superheroes to third party television networks, there are bound to be more action and adventure to keep up with. As Barry Allen once said, “Sometimes great possibilities are right in front of us but we don’t see them because we choose not to.”

Viewers need to tune in to these “great possibilities” of fandom - they should not choose to ignore these stories of loyalty and heroism.