2017’s Biggest Comic Book TV Moments

It could certainly be argued that 2017 represented a high point for television series based on comic books — not merely in the sheer number of shows, but also in terms of diversity and quality. It was a year in which the heroes of the Arrowverse united in a true crossover, the two-night “Crisis on Earth-X,” Fox’s X-Men franchise expanded with Legion and The Gifted, Marvel’s street-level heroes at last united as the Defenders, and Hulu entered the fray with Runaways.

However, that barely scratches the surface, as The Walking Dead remained a television juggernaut, even as its ratings slipped, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. demonstrated that, even after four seasons, it’s still able to surprise viewers by completely upending the status quo. Again.

Needless to say, comic book television shows were packed with plenty of memorable moments last year. With that in mind, we look back at 10 from 2017 that stood out:

10. Star-Trekking (Agents of SHIELD)

The fourth season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was jam-packed, between Ghost Rider, a new Life Model Decoy program, and the Framework, a virtual reality in which Hydra was triumphant. Those threads intersected in the finale, “World’s End,” with the heroes eventually taken by a mysterious group to a most unexpected location.

Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) awoke to find that his team was now aboard a mysterious craft in outer space. That led to speculation that Season 5 could link to Inhumans or even Avengers: Infinity War. However, this hasn’t been the case, as the agents have been dealing with the Kree and other aliens. That said, the Season 4 finale represented a shift in the status quo, demonstrating just how ambitious Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had become.

9. Tulip Gets Shot (Preacher)

For Tulip O’Hare, Preacher‘s Season 2 finale was quite literally “The End of the Road.” Not realizing Jenny was the traitor she he been looking for, Tulip (Ruth Negga) met her fate at the end of a gun, setting up Season 3 to follow the events of the acclaimed comic series.

There was still a chance at life, however, as Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) wanted to transform Tulip into a vampire in order to save her. However, Jesse (Dominic Cooper) didn’t want any of that for the love of his life. Tulip dying may well lead to the intervention of God — or worse, Jesse’s grandmother, Marie L’Angell, who brought her back in the books, but at a price even the Preacher may not want to pay.

8. Solomon Grundy Twist (Gotham)

In the Season 3 finale of Gotham, “Heavydirtysoul,” fans were subtly teased with the unexpected origin of a classic Batman villain. After Butch Gilzean (played by Drew Powell), long relegated to the role of henchman for the likes of Fish Mooney and Oswald Cobblepot, was shot in the head by Barbara Kean, it was revealed his birth name was Cyrus Gold, better known to DC Comics fans as the supervillain Solomon Grundy.

The current season has gone beyond that mere tease, with Butch’s comatose body dumped into the murky waters of Slaughter Swamp, only to reemerge as a zombie. But the original reveal took most everyone by surprise, as few expected Solomon Grundy to appear on Gotham — and certainly not in the form of perpetual second fiddle Butch Gilzean.

7. Kara’s Superman II Tribute (Crisis On Earth-X)

The CW’s “Crisis on Earth-X” brought together the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow to fight against Nazi invaders from an alternate Earth. The Arrowverse crossover delivered plenty of big moments, but few were as fun as the tribute to 1980’s Superman II.

The brief but delightful scene required substantial setup, with Supergirl’s evil doppelganger Overgirl (both roles played by Melissa Benoist) established as a general in the Nazi forces of Earth-X, and Kara left in a weakened state for most of the third part of the event. Once fully recharged, however, the Girl of Steel soars back into battle to confront Overgirl aboard the Wellenreiter (Earth-X’s Waverider) — “General, would you care to step outside?” — in a nostalgic exchange lifted from Superman II.

6. Fenris Reborn (The Gifted)

From the moment the name of the family at the center of The Gifted was revealed to be Strucker, Marvel Comics fans began to speculate what connection the teen siblings might have to Andrea and Andreas von Strucker, the X-Men foes better known as Fenris. The Fox drama parceled out clues early on, with a reference to twin mutant terrorists operating in the 1960s, and a Strucker family secret, all building toward young Lauren and Andy Strucker unleashing their combined mutant abilities.

Arrested by Sentinel Services and transferred to Trask Industries, a top-secret facility operated by Dr. Roderick Campbell, Lauren and Andy are placed in an adamantium-reinforced testing room and forced to demonstrate their powers. Like their great-grandfather Andreas and his twin sister Andrea, the teens are able to merge their already-formidable abilities simply by grasping hands. The result is beyond what even Campbell expected, buckling the adamantium wall and wreaking havoc in the adjacent room.

5. The Shadow King Revealed (Legion)

From its opening moments, FX’s Legion left its characters, and its audience, wondering what’s real and what’s merely in the mind of protagonist David Haller (Dan Stevens), who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. Unreliable memories, incomplete flashbacks, a government conspiracy, and the presence of something sinister lurking on the shadows combined to keep the truth just outside the grasp of David and his friends.

Although fans long suspected that Amahl Farouk, the X-Men villain better known as the Shadow King, was the yellow-eyed “devil” that had tormented David since childhood, the confirmation of his identity in the penultimate episode of Season 1 was nevertheless gratifying. It also led to confirmation that on Legion, just as in Marvel comics, David’s real father is Charles Xavier (although he’s yet to be actually named).

4. Defenders … Assemble (The Defenders)

In the finale of Marvel’s The Defenders, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones gather beneath Midland Circle, both a corporate front for the Hand and the location of the bones of one of K’un-Lun’s fabled dragons, key to the immortality of the leaders of the ancient order. Although the four heroes first assembled earlier in the miniseries for one of the signature hallway fight scenes, this climactic brawl is far more epic, delivering an iconic ensemble shot similar to 2012’s The Avengers.

Here, director Farren Blackburn pans across the tunnel to show everyone in action, beating down Elektra’s ninjas. The heroes then line up to face Elektra herself, a showdown Daredevil reserves for himself.

3. Martin Stein Dies (Crisis on Earth-X)

In “Crisis on Earth-X,” the heroes traveled to Earth-X to confront the Nazi regime, but while trying to return home through a temporal gateway, Martin Stein (Victor Garber) is shot. He then bonds with Jax (Franz Drameh) to form Firestorm, and the heroes make their way back to their own Earth. However, their union as Firestorm is all that keeps Martin alive; Jax was basically acting as life support. To save the youngster, Martin sacrifices himself by drinking a Firestorm “cure” and severing their bond.

It was very emotional and added a sense of gravity to the crossover. Death wasn’t expected, at least not for a major player like Martin. When he bid goodbye to Jax and asked him to look after his family, let’s just say we needed several tissues.

2. Bruce Wayne Name-Dropped (Arrow)

Arrow loves Batman Easter eggs, but the biggest by far was a direct reference to Bruce Wayne. Viewers waited years for this, and Mayor Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) obliged. Attempting to debunk a photo that suggested he was Green Arrow, Oliver mocked the media.

“Photos can be doctored,” he said. “They could have put Bruce Wayne’s head on that body. Has Bruce Wayne left Gotham to hang out in Star City recently? No.” Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim later revealed it was a playful nod and nothing more, so fans shouldn’t expect Batman on the show anytime soon.

1. Carl’s Been Bitten (The Walking Dead)

AMC’s The Walking Dead delivered a shocking blow in Season 8’s winter finale. As Rick and company staved off Negan’s Saviors, Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) sneaked his people away from Alexandria, suggesting he would indeed become second-in-command to his father. However, it wasn’t to be, because Carl then revealed to Rick and Michonne his time was up.

While on the run, Carl pulled up his shirt and informed everyone he’d been bitten in a previous outing while fending off walkers. It caught the audience off-guard because everyone figured, especially from Rick’s vision of growing old earlier this season, that there was a happy ending in sight for the Grimes family. Instead, we’ll be tuning in next month to see exactly how Carl dies and how it affects everyone.