With Smallville about halfway through its final season, The CW is hoping to find a new comic book character to fill the future Superman’s red boots. And now it looks like they’ve found what they’re looking for in a DC Comics character called Raven.
Right now, Raven has just a script order, but if The CW likes what it reads, it could get a pilot or series order. The DC character’s real name is Rachel Roth, and she’s the daughter of a human mother and a demon father, making her half demon, which is where her powers stem from. She’s able to read emotions empathically, she can read minds, she’s a teleporter, and she can detach her “soul self” from herself to go places her physical body can’t. But Raven must maintain constant vigilance against her own dark side, lest she give in to some evil destiny.
The character is the brainchild of Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and is being developed for television by Diego Gutierrez of ABC’s V. He also worked on Without a Trace, The Shield, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If Raven goes to series, Gutierrez is expected to serve as showrunner.
No one expected Smallville to endure and last for ten seasons, but this certainly isn’t the first time The CW (aka The WB) has tried to capitalize on Smallville‘s success by developing another comic book property. There was the short-lived Birds of Prey, which ran for just 13 episodes. There was Aquaman, which never made it beyond a pilot. And more recently, The CW seriously considered creating a property around the early adventures of Batman’s sidekick Dick Grayson, before he became known as Robin. (Wonder Woman is also in development from David E. Kelley, but that show hasn’t found a network home yet.)
Will Raven‘s dark, teen angsty thrills finally hit The CW’s sweet spot?