Fans of the DCTV Arrowverse have been waiting for this crossover event for years. Sure, there’s been a crossover every year for the past five years and while last year’s Elseworlds was a great one, Crisis on Infinite Earths is slated to be the CW’s biggest, most ambitious crossover ever. Not to mention it’ll be the first of its kind in the world of entertainment TV!
In order to better prepare ourselves for this epic crossover, it’s probably best to get a full idea of what we should expect. Or at least, what we can gather from the available information.
Where did it start? Who’s going to be in it? And most importantly, who’s not going to be leaving it? We’ve got the answers to all your questions! So, here’s everything you need to know about the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event!
When did the crossovers start?
The Arrowverse is aptly named so as Arrow was the series that founded all of the network’s subsequent DC shows: The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, and very soon, the upcoming Superman & Lois and Green Arrow and the Canaries spin-offs.
The annual crossovers started in the first season of The Flash, first turning him against Green Arrow before having the pair fight Captain Boomerang in the parallel third season of Arrow.
Then the following year saw the same two shows in the crossover, this time setting up the main plot with a backdoor pilot for Legends of Tomorrow. Alongside The Flash’s Barry Allen appearing in Supergirl. While the third crossover, titled Crisis on Earth-X, was between Supergirl, the Flash, Green Arrow, and Legends. And, of course, who can forget the awesome musical episode duo starring Kara Danvers and Barry Allen?
Crisis on Earth-X spanned over four episodes. And, just like the comics it was based on, featured a world disrupted by Nazis. Yikes!
Finally, last year’s event was Elseworlds.
What’s the plotline in relation to Elseworlds?
In Elseworlds, the Arrowverse introduces the Monitor, who will be central to the upcoming crossover as well.
The Monitor had been testing multiple Earths across the Multiverse to find out if the worlds are prepared for impending crises. And during the three-part Elseworlds crossover, we witnessed multiple reality shifts thanks to the Book of Destiny wielded by Deegan, a psychiatrist for Arkham Asylum. So, in the end, the Green Arrow asked the Monitor to spare the lives of Supergirl and the Flash as they were trying to stop Deegan, to which he agreed. But at a cost.
And Crisis on Infinite Earths will continue this plotline with Green Arrow helping the Monitor warn the multiverse. Meanwhile, Barry will learn that the crisis, first forecasted in season 1 of The Flash to be in 2024, has moved up to – yup, you guessed it – December 2019. At the same time, he and now-wife Iris West-Allen will learn that in order to save the worlds’ billions of inhabitants, he must die.
The event will bring together characters from multiple universes and timelines. And we can already expect to see the Anti-Monitor as the main villain since he’s the one behind the destruction of universes in the first place.
What does the comic tell us?
For starters, we know that the original comic is infamous for featuring the deaths of both the Flash and Supergirl. However, that seems highly unlikely to happen in the TV version of this event as it already almost happened in Elseworlds and Green Arrow took steps to prevent it.
On top of that, their respective series seem to be quite a way away from wrapping up and it’s not like The CW is suddenly going to kill off two of its titular characters.
Yet, the same doesn’t apply to Oliver Queen as it was already shown in the Arrow season 7 finale that Green Arrow wouldn’t survive Crisis on Infinite Earths. Something we could have predicted regardless with Arrow coming to an end and whatnot.
Secondly, because of the high death count in the comics, the entire DC comic Universe was, for all intents and purposes, rebooted. After all, the Anti-Monitor is defeated with the unification of all the universes into a single timeline (along with the death of Barry and Kara, of course). Fans are hoping that the same will happen in the Arrowverse, as there have always been scrunched-up noses at the fact that Supergirl exists on a different Earth from the other big shows in the lineup.
And thirdly, since the Crisis on Infinite Earths comic is the first installment in what later because known as the “Crisis Trilogy”, it could mean future crossovers continuing with this plotline as well.
Who will we see?
The star-studded casting is one of the main reasons this crossover has been dubbed “highly ambitious”, and with the highest potential for success.
Outside of the main characters seen in the five ongoing TV shows (with some playing multiple versions of themselves across the multiverse) in the Arrowverse, Cress Williams from Black Lightning confirmed that he, along with a few other characters, would be appearing in the crossover. Which will be their debut in the Arrowverse.
We’ll also be treated to three different Supermans!
Tyler Hoechlin will reprise the role of Superman from Supergirl. Brandon Routh, who plays Ray Palmer aka The Atom in the Arrowverse, will return as the Kingdom Come version of Superman. Which is super exciting, since Routh played the character in 2006’s movie Superman Returns. While Tom Welling will also once again play Clark Kent, which he hasn’t done since playing the role in Smallville! And even Hoechlin and Welling’s leading ladies, played by Elizabeth Tulloch and Erica Durance, will be returning as different versions of Lois Lane.
Next up, actors who have played Batman and The Flash in the past will also be making a comeback, albeit in various roles. Tom Cavanagh will play Pariah as well as the Reverse Flash. Kevin Conroy (the voice behind various animated Batman releases) will return as the elderly Bruce Wayne. And both Burt Ward (Robin in the 1960s Batman series) and John Wesley Shipp (the 90s lead of The Flash) will appear in yet undisclosed roles.
In terms of female leads, Ashley Scott will reprise her role as the Huntress from Birds of Prey. While Audrey Marie Anderson will reappear as Lyla Michaels aka Harbinger.
And even supervillains will look familiar as Jon Cryer will return as Lex Luthor!
Which series are involved?
Like the crossover events before this one, Crisis on Infinite Earths will span multiple episodes across the series involved. Here’s the schedule as we know it:
- The Arrowverse crossover will begin on Sunday, December 8 with Supergirl season 5 episode 9 titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One”.
- Then it will continue on Monday, December 9 on Batwoman season 1 episode 9 titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two”.
- “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three” will play out on Tuesday, December 10 during The Flash season 6 episode 9.
- After a holiday break, on Tuesday, January 14 Arrow season 8 episode 8 will bring us “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four”.
- And this monumental event will conclude on Tuesday, January 14 with as special DC’s Legends of Tomorrow episode (season 5 episode 0) titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five”.
Yes, sadly there will be almost a whole month’s wait before we can see how the crossover wraps up in the two-part ending in January. But at least the last two episodes will air on the same day back-to-back.
Just over a week to go, Arrowverse fans! Make sure you catch Crisis on Infinite Earths on The CW starting December 8th. Then leave a comment below with your thoughts on the crossover! And before you go, also check out this gallery TVLine has put together with all the available photos from the crossover. See you when the crisis begins!