Though the relatively weak box office numbers for Ant-Man (its $57 million opening weekend was Marvel’s second-lowest ever) and Fantastic Four ($42 million total) suggest that superheroes have hit their saturation point, that memo never made it to television. The fall TV lineup is bloated with special powers and comic adaptations, some new, some older, and some reboots.
Certain mainstays will return, though after the August premiere of AMC’s Walking Dead prequel Fear the Walking Dead, zombie fans will have to wait seven weeks before the show comes back for a sixth season (10/11). Meanwhile, DC properties will swarm the screen, with Gotham reviving the Joker on Fox (9/21), then CW’s formidable pairing of The Flash (10/6) and Arrow (10/7). If none of that satisfies, look for CBS’s Supergirl to save the day (10/26).
While Marvel fans wait for the Punisher to join season two of Daredevil next year, they can tune into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (9/29) on ABC. And for those sick and tired of all these nouveau superhero interpretations, Heroes Reborn (9/24) might offer a security blanket.
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