Superhero TV shows have traditionally always played second fiddle to their big screen counterparts. Christopher Reeves Superman may have led the way for modern superhero movies but its TV equivalent Smallville took 10 years teasing his transition from Clark Kent to the Man Of Steel. Marvel had a successful TV show in The Incredible Hulk but they only really flourished with the animated shows like X Men and Spider-Man in the 1990s.

But that has changed of late. Shows like Arrow and its spin-off The Flash have shown that superheroes can work just as well on TV screens as the movies; creating great stories and action-packed adventures on a portion of the budget afforded films like The Avengers and The Dark Knight trilogy. And now suddenly great adaptations of fan favourite comic book heroes are springing up all the time.

2015 really saw great strides forward; superhero TV shows have clearly upped their game with new shows in Netflix to more confident multi-verse storytelling over on The CW. Here are 10 ways the TV superhero genre has proven this year that it can be just as successful as its big screen counterparts…