Concerns About Marvel Comics' Proposed Live-Action Superhero Shows

Many comic book fans are excited about the prospect of having some of their favorite heroes being represented in the form of live action TV shows. In the last year, Marvel has turned more attention to the TV division of the company, and all accounts point to the thought that DC will do the same very soon. While this excites me as well, there is one concern that I just cannot shake.

What's Going On

As of this writing, the only upcoming show that has been confirmed by Marvel is a reboot of "The Incredible Hulk." Marvel has stated that there are at least a handful of properties that it is considering for TV shows. Reports have pointed to proposed shows based off of "Alias" with Luke Cage, Moon Knight, Punisher, The Eternals, Cloak & Dagger and many more. At the same time, word is circulating that DC is considering at least a Deadman TV show. We all know how the proposed "Wonder Woman" reboot turned out.

Is there a Market?

I started off this article by stating that there is a concern that sticks out in my mind about comic book TV shows. You might wonder if my concern was about there being a market for superhero TV shows. Granted, some recent superhero movies like "The Cape" and "No Ordinary Family" flopped, but neither of these shows offered anything significant that could draw viewers in. Also, remember that if a TV show is made well, and gives reasons for viewers to come back every week, it will usually be successful.

Quality?

My concern does not center around an issue with the quality of the proposed shows from Marvel. In the last decade, Marvel has taken more of an active role in the making of many of the superhero movies and cartoons. Remember that Marvel's parent company, Disney, is known for introducing properties with major staying power. While you can never make all fans happy, I am sure that the quality will excel. As for DC, I refer you back to "Wonder Woman." DC has to get a show back on TV before we can talk about quality.

"With great power comes great responsibility"

The infamous words penned years ago by Stan Lee still ring true to this day. My concern about live action comic book TV shows revolves around what they could lead to. Hollywood has been known for inundating successful markets for years. We are flooded with more horror movies when a few horrors do well in a short amount of time. We have periods where we cannot get away from romantic comedies. If a few comic book shows to well, we should expect to be inundated with them in a short amount of time.

Remember that statements like "If one show works, two will work better," automatically lead to statements like "If two shows make us money, four shows will make us more money." If the market becomes inundated with live action comic book shows, I could see the market following in the footsteps of the science fiction market of the late 1960s. There were so many shows competing for the same viewers that they would copy anything that worked off of other shows. Viewers found that they were sitting through what appeared to be the same show for two hours even though each of the back-to-back shows was only a half hour long.