Warning: Slight Spoilers Ahead!

2017 is shaping up to be the year of the superhero. Not only are movie superheroes setting records and dominating at the box office (we’re still obsessed with Wonder Woman!), but they’re taking over fall TV as well. From new shows, like The Gifted and Marvel’s Runaways, to some old returning favorites like Jessica Jones, masked heroes are all over the small screen. And we’re not complaining. There’s nothing we love more than watching our favorite TV stars save the world again and again.

This week, all FOUR of CW’s superhero shows are returning, finally giving us some answers after all the cliffhangers they left dangling last spring. They’re also planning another major crossover event, bringing all our favorite characters from The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow together once again. We can’t wait to watch Oliver Queen be surly around literal cupcakes Kara Danvers and Barry Allen even as they all work together to fight off alternate realities, aliens, weird ancient curses, or whatever surprises are in store this time. (We’re praying it’s an Olicity wedding, FYI.)

Since all of our superhero CW shows are returning this week, we’re bringing you an official roundup of each – including premiere dates, speculations for the new seasons, tie-in books and SPOILERS that you don’t want to miss:

The Flash

It’s starting to get a little hard to follow the twisty timelines on The Flash, with Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) continually changing the past and future, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. This is the 4^th season of the acclaimed show, delivering a Team Flash who has grown and changed a lot over the years. At the end of Season 3, we saw Barry and friends finally defeat Savitar, right before Barry sacrificed himself to the Speed Force. In Season 4, the others will be forced to carry on without Barry – at least for a little while. This is our chance to see Team Flash working on their own, with Iris West (Candice Patton) as their leader in Barry’s absence. When he returns, it’ll take awhile for everyone to readjust to what that means. No matter what, there’s a lot of cool stuff clearly coming this season – including a new big bad in The Thinker.

Returning: October 10^th at 8pm EST

Tie-in Read: The Flash: Hocus Pocus, Barry Lyga (Amulet Books, October 3, 2017)

In the latest official Flash novel, Barry faces off against a villain named Hocus Pocus who possesses the ability to control minds, forcing citizens to act out his heinous plans in his stead.

Supergirl

Now in its 3^rd season, Supergirl seems to have settled into a new home on The CW quite nicely. The girl-power show has always been a bigger hit with younger audiences, and its mix of lighthearted fun and superhero pathos seems just right for a network that isn’t afraid to let their heroes laugh as well as fight. Last season, we left Kara (Melissa Benoist) in a pretty devastating place – she saved the world from the Daxamites, but at the cost of losing her love, Mon-El (Chris Wood). This season promises to deliver lots of intergalactic drama, including a new villain in killer Reign (Odette Annable), who we saw as the mysterious baby at the end of season 2. There’s also the return of Mon-El at some point – though he may no longer be the same man Kara fell in love with. Regardless, Season 3 looks like it will be about Kara’s search for identity as she struggles to move past the guilt and anger that comes from her first truly difficult decision as a superhero.

Returned: October 9^th at 8pm EST

Tie-in Read: Supergirl: Age of Atlantis, Jo Whittemore (Amulet Books, November 7, 2017)

Acclaimed middle grade author Whittemore is tackling Supergirl this time, giving us a story that has Kara investigating the appearance of a mysterious sea creature that’s somehow tied to a rise in superpowers across the city.

 

Legends of Tomorrow

They broke time! The coming 3rd season of Legends is all about dealing with the consequences of their choices – mainly, the fallout from interacting with their past selves while in a timeline they already visited. All that time travel action made for a dynamite season 2 finale, but now the team must pay the price, which includes trying to get dinosaurs out of modern day LA. On a larger scale, Season 3 is all about proving to the world (and to themselves) that they’re still important players in the time travel game. Knowing the Legends team, they’ll succeed…just with a lot of bumbling and wisecracking along the way.

Returning: October 10^th at 9pm EST

Tie-in Read: Legends of Tomorrow: The Atom, Roger Stern (DC Comics, February 20, 2018)

Though not an official CW tie-in novel, this collection of stories about The Atom is a must read for any Legends fan. Featuring tales from huge creators in the DC Universe, it’s the ultimate guide to understanding The Atom (played by Brandon Routh on the show!).

Arrow

Thanks to Lian Yu exploding at the end of Season 5 – and maybe taking a good chunk of Team Arrow along with it – there has been very little press around Season 6 of the fan-favorite vigilante show. So it’s hard to say where we’re headed when mostly we’re just praying to every god we can think of that Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is still alive. She is, right? SHE HAS TO BE, RIGHT? We do have some speculations though, including a potential Olicity wedding and a lot of father/son bonding time between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and William (Jack Moore). The theme of this upcoming season is family, so we’re sure that it’s going to focus a lot on the dynamics of Team Arrow and how family plays into all of their relationship. And while we don’t know much about the ‘big bad’ yet, we do know that it’s going to be massive.

Returning: October 12^th at 9pm EST

Tie-in Read: Arrow: A Generation of Vipers, Susan & Clay Griffith (Titan Books, March 28, 2017)

Directly connected to the recent Flash book, The Haunting of Barry Allen, the latest Arrow read sees our heroes on a journey to Markovia where they need to defeat Count Wallenstein and his army in order to save Barry’s life.

Which CW superhero show are you most excited for? How hard will you riot if Olicity don’t get married this season?? Let us know in the comments!