Well, it’s that time again. The CW’s DC shows are slowly premiering, now including Supergirl with a very special guest–Superman. Of course, this begs the question: if the CW has four superhero shows, why not five? Over the years we’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t on these shows, so let’s really dig in and figure out what could be next.
Courtney Whitmore | Stargirl / Star-Spangled Kid
In the comics, Courtney is a pretty regular teen until her mom marries Pat Dugan, a guy who used to be a superhero. After her stepdad moves the family from LA to Nebraska, Courtney finds the gear of Dugan’s former crime-fighting partner, the Star-Spangled Kid. Among the gear is a cosmic converter belt gives Courtney superhuman physical abilities and lets her project “shooting stars.” Wearing the belt, Courtney takes the superhero identity of Dugan’s ex-partner and moonlights as a hero to act out and piss off her stepdad. Yet Dugan doesn’t get mad, he tries to win his stepdaughter’s favor. Instead of punishing her, he creates a robot suit (S.T.R.I.P.E) to accompany her on adventures. Their team-up of “Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E” was born. Based on that family dynamic, can you think of a more CW plot?
Later, she adds another superhero’s gear when Starman gives her his cosmic staff, so she renames herself to Stargirl. It’s in this incarnation that she joins the Justice Society of America and it’s likely how we’ll see her in her upcoming Legends of Tomorrow debut. Does this mean we can’t go back to Nebraska for a solo series? I hope not.
Vic Sage OR Renee Montoya | The Question
After Arrow debuted, the Question was one of the regular suggestions for which DC property should next get the CW treatment. Frankly, The Question is not a bad answer. Get it? I’m sorry.
Vic Sage is a detective character who uses a mask of “pseudoderm” to hide his facial features while he fights crime as the faceless Question. He had other abilities as well, ranging from martial arts skills to shaman-like magic powers, depending on who was writing the comic at the time. Later, he passed down the mantle and mask to ex-Gotham police detective Renee Montoya.
Either incarnation of the Question would be a great character to build a show around, but for my money, Renee Montoya is the way to go. Not only is she consistently well written but she’s also one of DC’s most prominent queer characters. Representation is always good. Moreover she’s younger than Sage and CW shows favor the youth element.
Fun Fact: The Watchmen character Rorschach was heavily based on the Question after writer Alan Moore was refused the rights to use the Question and other characters.
Owen Mercer | Captain Boomerang
Mercer is the son of the original Captain Boomerang and (by way of time travel) Meloni Thawne, who is a blood relative of versions of both the Flash and Reverse-Flash. Owen inherited his father’s gift with thrown weapons and a small amount of super speed from his mother. While he can’t super-run a long distance like the Flash, he can use a burst of speed to dodge bullets and can throw a boomerang with such high velocity that it can embed into the armor of a tank. The one thing he didn’t inherit from his parents was a full-on taste for crime, so in the comics he walks the line between hero and villain.
A true “shades of grey” character would be a great centerpiece for a series and he could rub elbows with a lot of cool B-list villains to fill out the cast. In the comics, he had run-ins with Flash and a friendship/relationship with Supergirl, so the connections are already there for crossovers.
Sadly, he has no relation to Matthew Mercer of Critical Role fame, but that wouldn’t be terrible casting if you could overlook the differences in the hair.
John Henry Irons | Steel
Here’s a character that’s been criminally misused in the past. While the Shaquille O’Neal movie and many of his comics weren’t exactly great, Steel is actually pretty interesting. A brilliant engineer is inspired by Superman, so he creates his own super suit to fight crime? Perfect!
Considering the Super Family is now a part of the CW’s Universe (well, tangentially), it only makes sense to tell Steel’s story again on a smaller screen. With the inventions created in S.T.A.R. Labs and the time-traveling technology of the Wave Rider, the CW shows have already made super science plausible, so Steel fits right in. He also has a whole squad of support characters to introduce.
Beatriz da Costa & Tora Olafsdotter | Fire and Ice
These are two minor DC heroines that most casual fans might not recognize, but with names like “Fire” and “Ice” it’s not hard to figure out what their powers are. Fire (Beatriz) is a Brazilian hero that generates and manipulates fire (duh). Green fire (oh!). Ice (Tora) is from an unspecified Norse country and can create/manipulate ice (of course). They both end up in America working with various super teams and become fast friends and eventually roommates. Simple, right?
The plot would take a little tweaking to fit in the CW universe, but “young, superpowered roommates trying to make their way in Metropolis” is a good start. Sadly, the show would probably take a number of liberties from the source material. For example, Ice dates Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern, who probably won’t be cleared for a TV appearance. Also they both were part of the Justice League: International, which inspired a terrible Justice League movie, so they likely want to steer clear of that.
That’s right. They’re in a 1997 Justice League movie that you probably haven’t seen. I’m not saying that a simple Google search would find a version of it online, but it’s possible. Be careful, like the other 90’s adaptation “Generation X,” this film takes a lot of liberties with the character backstories. Also, like Generation X, it sucks.
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That’s just five characters that could make the cut as CW stars. Of course DC comics has a lot more to offer after that. Would you be upset of the CW became the DC Comics channel? I wouldn’t. I’m sure they would save space for all their other hit shows too.
What characters do you want to see come to the CW? What characters that are already on the network deserve their own show? Is it Mister Terrific? I think its Mister Terrific! Agree or disagree and do it in the comments.
Image Credits: Warner Bros. / The CW / DC Comics