CW Looking For "The Right Hero"?

[Jetfire]

CW Looking For "The Right Superhero"?

http://www.ksitetv.com/7468/the-cw-is-looking-for-the-right-superhero/

"We are looking next year to do superheroes if the right superhero comes to be," he says. "Having Warner Bros. as one of our partner companies and their having DC Comics makes it very intriguing to find the right superhero to go there," he adds.

Interesting, I think with Dawn Ostroff gone CW might do better doing a superhero show with Mark Pedowitz at the helm? Wasn't he the head of UPN back in the day? Maybe not.

Here is something about Tom Welling and a future with CW; http://www.ksitetv.com/7471/tom-welling-future-with-the-cw/

"I know Tom is probably in development right now. I do hope he comes back to The CW, and I do hope he comes with a show that he wants to star in. We would be very receptive to the whole thing."

As far as heroes I would like to see in a show on the CW...Blue Beetle, Hawkman and maybe a Teen Titans series.

[edit] I would like to see another attempt at Wonder Woman.

 

[Icemizer]

I would like to see some lesser heroes sort of sneak into the mix. Since DC is relaunching 52 new issues tying into that would be a good idea. Mr. Terrific and Firestorm immediatly jump out as being two heroes I would like to see. With Terrific we could work in JSA guest appearances, lure in the African American demographic, and his powers are easy to do on a tv budget.
Firestorm would cost more but skews better to the CW's younger audience.

 

[Admiral_Young]

"Blue Beetle" still seems to me to be the most logical approach to a new series for them. Recast Jamie Reyes and tinker a bit with the CGI of the suit and make it less "Iron Man" like and I think you've got a pretty decent attempt a show.

 

[DarKush]

^
All good suggestions. I think Wonder Woman would fit in nicely on CW. Perhaps an action block with Nikita.

As for other good choices, IMO: Nightwing, Blue Beetle, Aquaman, Batgirl, Supergirl, or Green Arrow. A Legion of Superheroes show might be too expensive and too out there, but it could provide for an ensemble cast.

I would love to see them take on Mr. Terrific, Firestorm, Static, Hardware, or Icon & Rocket, but CW doesn't seem too keen about scripted shows with black leads unfortunately. A Black Lightning show might could work because it can mix in high school drama with the heroics. And a Vixen show could mix modeling with heroics. And Static could do the teen drama thing. So there's potential, but I doubt it will ever be realized.

 

[Admiral_Young]

A Legion of Superheroes live action series is kind of my one fan boy wish television series but yeah it would be way too expensive to produce. We can't pretty much eliminate all the Bat characters due to the embargo.

 

[Captain Craig]

As for other good choices, IMO: Nightwing, Blue Beetle, Aquaman, Batgirl, Supergirl, or Green Arrow. A Legion of Superheroes show might be too expensive and too out there, but it could provide for an ensemble cast.

I'd guess Batgirl and Nightwing are offlimits.
If they wanted a Supergirl spinoff they would've already pursued that with ties to Smallville.
If they wanted a Green Arrow, same thing.
They already attempted Aquaman and shot down the pilot.

I would love to see them take on Mr. Terrific, Firestorm, Static, Hardware, or Icon & Rocket, but CW doesn't seem too keen about scripted shows with black leads unfortunately. A Black Lightning show might could work because it can mix in high school drama with the heroics. And a Vixen show could mix modeling with heroics. And Static could do the teen drama thing. So there's potential, but I doubt it will ever be realized.

Static is the highest profile of those. Firestorm while popular in the comics hasn't really had much media coverage in 20yrs outside a cameo in a few cartoons since SuperFriends.

Of those I'd like to see Mr.Terrific tried. Blue Beetle could be cool as long as it avoids the bad look of M.A.N.T.I.S, which given CGI improvements that shouldn't be too tough, right?

How about something less obviously SuperHero, one where the spandex set are guest stars throughout the season/show? Agent Chase?
X-Files meets superheroes, the non costume tie in episodes could act as links to a larger story arc perhaps?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The Flash or Wonder Woman seem the best bets.

 

[OsmiumJohnnycake]

How about a show that focuses on Barry Allen growing up?

"No speed, no tights!"

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

A Legion of Superheroes live action series is kind of my one fan boy wish television series but yeah it would be way too expensive to produce. We can't pretty much eliminate all the Bat characters due to the embargo.

Careful what you wish for! I can see them doing a show where the Legion is stranded in the present day and have to blend in by attending high school, etc. That would allow them to save on the future FX and they could wallow in all the teenage angst they want at the same time.

Actually, that doesn't sound so bad now that I think about it. They did it in the comics a few times, the best being when they took on Mordru.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

CW needs to invent their own superhero. It's easy enough to crib from other characters without violating copyrights in a way that gets the lawyers interested.

The trouble with superheroes is that they're generally crafted for a male adolescent audience, and CW's audience is female adolescents (and somewhat older but not much older than 30).

Are there any superheroes created specifically for a female audience? I can't think of a single one, but if they exist, that's a good way to start.

Not to be too cynical about it, but here's what a CW superhero would need. It's going to sound like I'm making fun of CW with this list, but I'm perfectly serious - they have a formula that works and they're not going to deviate from what works:

-The main character should be around age 18 and have lots of regular human friends of the same age group.

-The main character will have no or minimal adult supervision.

-The main character will be female. This could be a normal female in love with a male superhero, or a female superhero who is torn between her normal human boyfriend and another (bad) superhero character (also male). Whatever the configuration, there will be a love triangle.

-There can be gay characters, in fact I'd expect that, but odds are remote that the main love triangle will be anything but het.

-Even if the show starts with one lone superhero, more will show up along the way.

-The superhero(es) will have some angsty aspect to their powers that they can moan and cry over, and write about in their diary. The superhero doesn't have to be a literal vampire, but they should be a metaphorical one in the eternal-angst sense.

 

[Christopher]

How about a show that focuses on Barry Allen growing up?

"No speed, no tights!"

A series about a forensic scientist solving crimes? What an innovative idea for a television show!

 

[Samurai8472]

"Blue Beetle" still seems to me to be the most logical approach to a new series for them. Recast Jamie Reyes and tinker a bit with the CGI of the suit and make it less "Iron Man" like and I think you've got a pretty decent attempt a show.

Before making his debut in "Smallville" there was test footage for a potential pilot


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCdHopuxXqU

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ I know. We discussed it here when it first was leaked.

Actually the concept of the Legion blending into the town of Smallville isn't a new one and one that I would accept if done right. The Espionage Squad has infiltrated Smallville High to recruit Connor Kent for a mission. In one of the issues of the Early Years arc that Paul Levitz wrote last year, the Legion posed as modern day people. Brainy and Jonathon Kent had a very touching and humorous scene together. It was revealed that Jonathon Kent was a bit of a hero for Brainiac 5.

 

[DarKush]

Temis,

Check out Ultra. Not sure if it was designed for a female audience specifically, but CW passed on the pilot, according to Wikipedia. Might be time to revisit the idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_(comics)

I think Witchblade is also ripe for a reboot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchblade

I'm not sure if making a hero from wholecloth is the best way to go. Even though superhero shows in general haven't had a great track record period, it's just as bad or even worse for original heroes. Heroes bucks the trend, but that's the only one I can think of; though it did better than some established characters like Blade, Flash, Birds of Prey, and the Wonder Woman and Aquaman pilots. Though I am thinking more of the original hero show failures like No Ordinary Family, MANTIS, The Cape. Even Heroes came to a bad end, though it at least got four seasons.

Though if they did want to go the 'original' route, a remake of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl could be awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_Woman_and_Dyna_Girl

 

[Jetfire]

I'd watch a Stargirl series.


Smallville Absolute Justice Stargirl vs Icicle

 

[Thestral]

^ I think doing a series based around Stars could work, especially on the CW. She could use some decent villains, but in terms of family and supporting characters she's in good shape.

Weren't there rumors of a Raven series?

A series about a forensic scientist solving crimes? What an innovative idea for a television show!

 

[C_Miller]

I've had the idea in my head for a Mr. Terrific/Dr. Mid-Nite team up comic where they solve crimes that have metahuman elements to them. Two of them get called in for stuff like that. idk. It could work as a TV show.

 

[Jetfire]

^ I think doing a series based around Stars could work, especially on the CW. She could use some decent villains, but in terms of family and supporting characters she's in good shape.

This. Stargirl I think would be great.

Weren't there rumors of a Raven series?

There was...

As for Raven, which was talked about last year, Pedowitz said "that was before I got to the company."

 

[Lindley]

Are there any superheroes created specifically for a female audience? I can't think of a single one, but if they exist, that's a good way to start.
...

-The main character should be around age 18 and have lots of regular human friends of the same age group.

-The main character will have no or minimal adult supervision.

-The main character will be female. This could be a normal female in love with a male superhero, or a female superhero who is torn between her normal human boyfriend and another (bad) superhero character (also male). Whatever the configuration, there will be a love triangle.

-There can be gay characters, in fact I'd expect that, but odds are remote that the main love triangle will be anything but het.

-Even if the show starts with one lone superhero, more will show up along the way.

-The superhero(es) will have some angsty aspect to their powers that they can moan and cry over, and write about in their diary. The superhero doesn't have to be a literal vampire, but they should be a metaphorical one in the eternal-angst sense.

Well, you've just described Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately that's not coming back any time soon.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Are there any superheroes created specifically for a female audience? I can't think of a single one, but if they exist, that's a good way to start.
...

-The main character should be around age 18 and have lots of regular human friends of the same age group.

-The main character will have no or minimal adult supervision.

-The main character will be female. This could be a normal female in love with a male superhero, or a female superhero who is torn between her normal human boyfriend and another (bad) superhero character (also male). Whatever the configuration, there will be a love triangle.

-There can be gay characters, in fact I'd expect that, but odds are remote that the main love triangle will be anything but het.

-Even if the show starts with one lone superhero, more will show up along the way.

-The superhero(es) will have some angsty aspect to their powers that they can moan and cry over, and write about in their diary. The superhero doesn't have to be a literal vampire, but they should be a metaphorical one in the eternal-angst sense.

Well, you've just described Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately that's not coming back any time soon.

And I don't even watch Buffy! But that's just more evidence that the CW should create a new version of the show, but with something other than actual vampires at the core, because apparently Buffy is a perfect distillation of The Successful Formula(TM) (no big surprise the show was successful).

Have a "slayer" who hunts aliens, ghosts, zombies, anything. Just leave out all the identifying details like proper nouns and nobody will have any grounds for a lawsuit. Can't copyright a formula.