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鈥淟egends of Tomorrow,鈥� the CW鈥檚 third superhero TV show, premiered on Jan. 21.

Like the CW鈥檚 hit shows 鈥淎rrow鈥� and 鈥淭he Flash,鈥� 鈥淟egends鈥� is based off DC Comic book characters. The program involves some characters who 鈥淎rrow鈥� and 鈥淔lash鈥� viewers are most likely already familiar with such as Firestorm (Victor Garber) and Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller).聽

Reviews for the beginning of 鈥淟egends鈥� have tended toward the negative. But the fact that the previous CW superhero shows, 鈥淎rrow鈥� and 鈥淭he Flash,鈥� are doing well enough that the network felt confident enough to launch a third show set in this universe is noteworthy in itself.聽

Multiple superhero stories are far from new at the multiplex. Leading the pack are the movies released by Marvel Studios, which launched its first official film, 鈥淚ron Man,鈥� in 2008 and has since released 11 movies set in the Marvel comic book universe. Several more are planned, with the studio having announced a calendar of release dates that will involve at least two or three movies coming out a year through the next several years.聽

But the CW currently leads the pack in terms of having established a successful enough TV franchise that it can launch a third show. Others aren鈥檛 far behind 鈥� ABC, which like Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, launched its second superhero TV show, 鈥淎gent Carter,鈥� last year after having brought 鈥淢arvel鈥檚 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.鈥� to the small screen, while Netflix recently launched its second superhero show as well, 鈥淛essica Jones.鈥� (The Netflix programs are also set in the Marvel universe.)聽

鈥淟egends鈥� will have to shake off those negative reviews in order to stand alongside 鈥淎rrow鈥� and 鈥淔lash,鈥� both of which got mostly positive reviews from critics. And Netflix is probably the network most likely to threaten the CW鈥檚 current status as the superhero TV frontrunner, with critics having been especially won over by Netflix鈥檚 鈥淒aredevil鈥� and 鈥淛essica.鈥澛�

But the CW has made its mark with its superhero TV programming. wrote of the CW鈥檚 current superhero programming slate, 鈥淭he writing team has been careful and smart about how the shows integrate,鈥� while wrote of one of the creators behind the trio of CW shows, 鈥減rolific producer Greg Berlanti is approaching superhero status himself on the WB lot for his success in steering the DC-derived series鈥� that have turned around the fortunes of the CW鈥� [these shows] have become the backbone of a network that had been flagging and rudderless.鈥�