Comic book fans should be assured that Joss Whedon and other creators of Marvel's "S.H.I.E.L.D." will be playing close attention to feedback about "Arrow" on The CW. Marvel is lucky to have "Arrow" debuting during the development stage of "S.H.I.E.L.D." Mistakes made by the show based on the story of Oliver Queen will be avoided in the show based on Nick Fury's team.
Similar fan base
"Arrow" and "S.H.I.E.L.D." are likely to share fans. Not all of the fans will be adults who grew up reading comic books, but those who did are likely to be the most vocal as they would be the most passionate about shows, which follow the stories of characters they have read about for years. Both shows, though, will work hard to draw in viewers who will not be familiar with the comic book stories. The comic book fans can keep ratings steady and insured, but non-readers give both shows opportunities to become blockbusters. Marvel can look at the techniques used by The CW and DC to grab general fans to determine what will work for the later show.
Focus on people not superheroes
"Arrow" and "S.H.I.E.L.D." are similar in how the focus will be on heroes being super instead of superheroes. The Green Arrow and S.H.I.E.L.D. regularly come in contact with superheroes and super villains in the comics, but the goal is to focus on the human aspects of the main characters. If "Arrow" begins successful, Marvel will be reassured about being on the right track with "S.H.I.E.L.D." and will be able to gauge how much of a superpower presence should be in the upcoming show by paying attention to the viewer feedback in forums and at comic book conventions.
Goal for "Arrow"
As of right now, one of the main goals on "Arrow" is to completely eliminate superpowers from Queen's world and make him live in a world that is similar to the real world. If this works with comic book fans, everyone should expect a small presence of superhuman abilities on "S.H.I.E.L.D.," if any at all. If the feedback points to fans who are begging for superpowers on "Arrow," the creators at Marvel and Whedon will know they need a heavy presence of aspects and abilities, which could never happen in the real world.
If "Arrow" misses the mark
Even if "Arrow" flops by completely missing the target markets, fans should not worry about "S.H.I.E.L.D." being canned during production. Marvel and ABC know the market is strong right now for shows based on comic books due to the success of "The Walking Dead" and the emergence of some of the smaller comic book publishers in the TV world. Marvel needs a strong foothold on TV and the best success fur this will come through either the proposed remake of "The Incredible Hulk" or "S.H.I.E.L.D." While the success of "Arrow" will prod the creators at Marvel and ABC, a failure will keep them on track due to the absolute presence of superhumans on the covert operations show and the strong wave S.H.I.E.L.D. has been riding since the first Iron Man movie.
More from this Contributor:
How Zenescope's potential TV success can change the comic book market
