The latest photo from the Arrowverse Elseworlds crossover event features an easter egg in the form of Bane's mask from The Dark Knight Rises. Said breathing apparatus (which Tom Hardy sported as the villain in Christopher Nolan's Batman movie trilogy finale) can be seen in a new image featuring Cassandra Jean Amell as Nora Fries (aka. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze's wife).
Elseworlds is the latest addition to the Arrowverse's growing collection of annual crossovers, following events in years past like Invasion! and Crisis on Earth-X. 2018's crossover brings Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl together (with Legends of Tomorrow sitting things out in favor of its own "crossover") for a storyline in which reality itself has been rewritten on Earth-1. The party responsible? Well, technically, John Deegan (Jeremy Davies), though the real puppet master pulling Dr. Deegan's strings is Mar Novu aka. The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett). The latter was introduced in a short sequence attached to this week's Arrowverse episodes - one that shows The Monitor facing off with Earth-90's The Flash, as played by The Flash 1990s TV series actor John Wesley Shipp.
Related: Everything We Know About Batman in the Arrowverse
Dr. Deegan and The Monitor won't be the only villains that either appear or are referenced during Elseworlds, either. As the image below reveals, Cassandra Jean Amell (who, yes, is married to Arrow star Stephen Amell) appears as Mrs. Fries in a scene where Bane's mask from The Dark Knight Rises is clearly visible. As noted by CBR, a previously-released photo showed Nora Fries looking at at Mr. Freeze's gun in what appears to be the same room (possibly, a collection of objects from the many villains that Batman has battled over the years in the Arrowverse).
While it's been confirmed the the Caped Crusader won't appear during Elseworlds, it's also been revealed that the crossover event will touch on Batman's history in the Arrowverse. Clearly, based on these images of Nora, the Dark Knight has been fighting rogues in Gotham City for quite some time and has even confiscated much of their villainous gear over the years. However, when Elseworlds picks up, Batman has been missing for awhile and left Gotham in the equally capable hands of Kate Kane aka. Batwoman (Ruby Rose, making her Arrowverse debut as the character here).
However, lest anyone get overexcited, it's probably safe to assume that Bane's mask is just an easter egg and not meant to be "proof" that The Dark Knight trilogy (including, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) is canon to the Arrowverse. Then again, who knows; there's nothing to stop the Arrowverse's overseers from alluding to certain events in The Dark Knight trilogy and integrating them into the fabric of their DCTV universe. Heck, maybe the Arrowverse's Bruce Wayne has even been retired and living a quiet life alongside Selina Kyle in Florence for the last several years.
MORE: Everything You Need to Know About Elseworlds
The Arrowverse's Elseworlds crossover begins with The Flash on Sunday, December 9, continues with Arrow on Monday, December 10, and concludes with Supergirl on Tuesday, December 11. All episodes air at 8 pm ET.