Comic book adaptations on TV need to give the usual crime-drama format a rest and go back to the roots
For some reason, it seems as if the only comic book adaptations on television that do well are the ones that completely ditch the comic book format and go for a more periodical 'villain of the week' approach. That's extremely ironic because, on paper, comics and TV should be a match made in heaven.
In general, comics split a story arc over 2-6 issues instead of just having a different enemy pop up every week to be dealt with after one emotionally charged conversation with a loved one. And honestly, that has led to some really intense storylines over the years that have somehow lost their luster when making the transition from page to screen.
This is especially obvious with film adaptations of comics like 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' or 'Captain America: Civil War', both of which failed to really capture the magnitude of their original source material. But that's somewhat understandable — after all, a movie only has an hour or two to tell a story that should be told over at least six hours (if not more).
Yet even the TV shows that do adapt comic book properties seem hesitant to actually tell comic book stories. Of all the superhero shows on The CW, for example, only 'Black Lightning' has a comics-esque approach, splitting each season into multiple "Books".
Most of the time when we see a comics adaptation on TV that's successful without just being a crime-drama procedural with a superhero twist, it's either a limited series like 'Watchmen' or a streaming show like 'Daredevil'. Both of these examples have proven that there's a market for such shows but apparently not enough to inspire industry-wide changes.
On the bright side, Marvel's planned slate of Disney+ shows like 'WandaVision', 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier', and 'Loki' are reportedly going to be more comics than TV, which does give us some hope that things could change in the future. But the way things are going for TV superheroes right now, it's only a matter of time before the audience gets bored with the usual fare and start looking for something more innovative.
