This has been a fantastic season for superheroes on television and in the movies. The genre has come a long way from the original "Superman" series of the 1950s when the late George Reeves played the Man of Steel on the small screen opposite Noel Neill's Lois Lane.

It was the first live-action superhero show I remember watching on WVIA. Most of the episodes in the early seasons were black and white, but I can still hear the stirring theme in my head and the opening monologue."Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman. Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way."Each episode a cool Clark Kent would follow Lois Lane and rescue her and Jimmy Olsen from one mess or another. While the show was great from a 10-year-old perspective, I soon realized that none of Superman's arch enemies ever appeared on the show, and I wondered why. There was no Lex Luthor, no Parasite and no Bizarro. While it did not detract from the pleasure of watching my then favorite superhero on television, it occurred to me as I got older both Superman and his villains had superpowers and abilities that would be hard to portray on television, and this was most likely why they never appeared in that series.Then came Batman. Of course both were already in reruns by the time I saw them, but I really saw Batman with Adam West after the Superman series. Finally there was a series that had action and arch-enemies like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler. Each one managed to trap Batman and Robin in precarious positions, and yet at the conclusion of the two-part story, the Caped Crusaders would not only escape but capture their enemy in the process. Even today when I watch the show, I still enjoy the puns and groaners interspersed in the action along with West's deadpan portrayal of Batman.The first series I saw in original airings though was Wonder Woman. It was on Friday evenings on CBS, but like Superman only criminals and gangsters were portrayed as her enemies. The superpowered ones from the comics such as Giganta and the Cheetah were nowhere to be found. Even without them, I caught every episode of the show while it aired and watched the reruns when they were shown. A version of "The Flash" and "Captain America" also appeared on television in the '80s and '90s, and while I enjoyed them, they really suffered from not having convincing comic book worthy villains. "The Flash" did attempt to show some however, like Captain Cold, but they were very limited in what they could do superpower-wise.In the 1990s, "The Adventures of Lois and Clark" appeared on the dial on Sunday evenings, and finally there was Lex Luthor. He had hair, but he was finally on the small screen. This incarnation of the Kryptonian was more a love story between the two heroes in the title and less about Superman kicking butt, from what I recall. I cannot say I watched it weekly, but it was worth a viewing occasionally. In the last season, the two end up married and together, and the show faded off into the sunset.The next attempt was "Smallville" and things started to pick up as far as quality was concerned. Finally television producers had the special effects technology and abilities to create a true set of enemies for Superman, but the caveat is this series was about what led Clark to his destiny. Because of that we watched the first four seasons of a Kryptonian version of the X-Files followed by a few seasons of the "Blur" fighting crime. The series really improved toward the last few seasons as the writers introduced some cool characters including General Zod, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Aquaman and the Green Arrow along with another rendition of Lex Luthor. This version of the series culminated in the birth of the Man of Steel. The final scene showed the birth of Superman. As he streaks into the sky, viewers can see the iconic "S" emblazoned on his chest. It was satisfying and yet simultaneously a letdown as well.Two years ago however, the superhero series on the small screen was altered with the birth of "The Arrow." This series follows the origin and evolution of the iconic Green Arrow, Oliver Queen. I have not missed one episode of this nail-biting series that has introduced a rich canvas of characters from the Arrow's universe including Black Canary, Deadshot, Deathstroke, the Atom and the Flash.If that was not enough, this season the Flash reappeared on television, and the production and writing has been phenomenal. The storylines hold nothing back and are well-written. Finally, with modern special effects and CGI technology, producers can truly show supervillains in all their glory and they have not disappointed in this penultimate show. Captain Cold, Heatwave, Captain Boomerang, the Mirror Master, the Weather Wizard and Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash.The superhero world continues to get better and better. Just a few weeks ago, the Daredevil appeared on Netflix, and just last week it was announced that it was picked up for a new season. This is like the silver screen's Golden Age of superheroes, and it is a great time to be a superhero junkie.Till next time …