Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check out the final entry: Your Childhood Is Always for Sale (Have You Heard Sesame Street Is Looking for a New Home?)
We’ve bought a very long time to attend earlier than James Gunn’s Superman hits theaters, which could really feel like a little bit of a bummer after such a transferring trailer. But I’ve excellent news: Superman & Lois, Supergirl, and the whole Arrowverse is obtainable to observe proper now, and a formidable hunk of it shares the identical “superheroes truly being heroes” vibe that it appears Superman (2025) goes to deliver to the desk.
For a long time, WB and The CW (the previous rebranded to the latter in 2006) have been residence to all the teen and style programming one might hope for. I nonetheless get heat fuzzies strolling on to the Warner Bros. lot immediately simply due to all of the historical past I’ve with the studio, even though The CW has been gutted and Warner Bros. is run by somebody who appears to hate it. (Don’t ask me what number of occasions I’ve seen Supernatural from begin to end.)
Now the final vestige of the Arrowverse not too long ago got here to an in depth as Superman & Lois aired its last episode simply earlier this month, however it’s all available to begin from the start on Max. The collection, alongside Supergirl, will certainly fill the “hopeful heroes who don’t know to do anything however be type” void. It is probably not on the identical scale as the flicks, and there are undoubtedly moments the place the price range reveals, however since I’ve all the time been a story-focused critic, the smaller scale doesn’t hassle me a lot.
Though I by no means actually cared for both of the Kent youngsters and their made-up issues, Tyler Hoechlin’s takes on each Superman and Clark Kent are impressed, and Bitsie Tulloch performs one among my favourite Lois Lanes of all time. The collection has a basic understanding that with out the small, the large doesn’t matter — significantly in terms of Superman himself. In spirit of that, the story kicks off with Clark and Lois leaving Metropolis and returning to Smallville whereas their sons end faculty.
Hoechlin’s Supes, like many different heroes of the Arrowverse, was launched effectively earlier than getting his personal collection. After showing on Supergirl and within the eventual Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover occasion, it grew to become clear that Hoechlin had the tremendous chops to tackle the boy scout longterm. There was a degree the place the showrunners insisted that Superman & Lois was not a part of the Arrowverse canon, however they’d little luck placing that cat again within the bag.
As an apart, in the event you ever need a second of pleasure and don’t really feel like watching all 12 years of the Arrowverse collection, you must search for Green Arrow and Superman’s introduction to one another. Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow (who was, for a very long time, a stand-in for Batman for foolish DC forms causes) doesn’t take too kindly to being smaller than the Man of Steel. He puffs out his chest like a dork and will get caught. It’s extraordinarily foolish and cute.
The Arrowverse succeeded for so long as it did as a result of for a lot of its run there was one thing for everybody. Arrow saved issues darkish, Supergirl was hopeful, The Flash was too (however in a extra angsty manner), whereas Legends of Tomorrow was always insane (complimentary) and Batwoman, although it suffered behind the scenes woes, gave us a brand new tackle the Bat Family and the issues of a Batman-less Gotham. Superman & Lois got here into the image later within the run, which is the way it ended up the final collection standing, however it was simply as worthwhile as all of its tremendous siblings.
To the shock of nobody, I used to be extra into Supergirl than I used to be Superman & Lois. But in the event you’re searching for a wholesome dose of hope whilst you look forward to Superman to return out in July, each reveals will completely scratch this itch. Supergirl is obtainable in its entirety on Netflix.
For my cash, the Arrowverse by no means actually obtained the accolades it deserved. The franchise set the blueprint for a efficiently interconnected DC continuity whereas the DCEU tried and failed for years. It was the beginning of so many careers in Hollywood and in leisure journalism — mine included — and instructed intricate, considerate, and significant tales throughout each single one among its reveals. I miss it terribly, and I believe maybe I would comply with my very own recommendation and provides among the reveals a rewatch.
Where to Watch Each Arrowverse Show (Right Now)
- Arrow: Netflix
- The Flash: Netflix
- Supergirl: Netflix
- Legends of Tomorrow: Netflix
- Batwoman: Max
- Superman & Lois: Max
- Black Lightning (not technically Arrowverse however that technicality is dumb): Netflix
