Crisis on Infinite Earths resumes on Tuesday, January 14, and the 5-hour Arrowverse crossover is set to begin a new chapter of Greg Berlanti’s shared DC TV universe. Since December 8, Supergirl, Batwoman, and The Flash have used the crossover’s first 3 hours to realize the stakes and danger that the Multiverse is in. With the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) having destroyed Kara’s (Melissa Benoist) world, it didn’t take long before all the other Earths ceased to exist, including Earth-1. During the course of the event, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) died and was reborn to carry the Spectre mantle. The final 2 hours, which will take place during Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, will be the biggest crossover finale the Arrowverse has ever faced.
The CW has spent several years building up towards the ambitious crossover that basically began with the final scene in The Flash pilot, foreshadowing the network adapting the iconic DC storyline. Little has been shared about the remaining episodes of all the shows’ seasons. But what executive producers have made it clear is that Crisis on Infinite Earths is about changing the status quo.
Similarly to the 1985 comic that the crossover is based on, the DC shows will evolve, which allows the Arrowverse to extend its longevity. While some of the crossovers have kept the shows somewhat tightly connected for the rest of the seasons, this time will be different. The CW has already revealed portions of their plans for what the future of the Arrowverse will look like following Crisis on Infinite Earths - and it's going to look very different.
Arrowverse Lineup Will Be Different
Arrow, which began Berlanti’s massive interconnected CW universe, will be closing the curtains on Tuesday, January 28 with it series finale. But before the Emerald Archer-led series wraps up, it will set up a spin-off that's designed to keep the Green Arrow active in the Arrowverse. Green Arrow and the Canaries will be airing its backdoor pilot on Tuesday, January 21, which will focus on establishing Mia Queen (Kat McNamara) as the new Emerald Archer. The synopsis for the ninth episode of season 8 teases how Mia reunites with Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy) as they set up their team-up series. While little is known about Superman and Lois, the pilot is already beginning to cast its group of characters, including two mysterious teenage boys that will be main players.
With the line-up of Arrowverse shows changing up, The CW has also already committed to new seasons of The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Black Lightning. Prior to the crossover resuming, The CW went ahead and renewed all of their DC shows along with 8 other series for the 2020-2021 TV season. While neither Green Arrow and the Canaries or Superman and Lois have been officially slated to join the network, chances are very high that The CW will order them to series in April/May.
Crisis On Infinite Earths Merges Worlds & Stories
As Earth-38, Earth-1, and Jefferson Pierce’s (Cress Williams) world have been destroyed, none of the remaining heroes have a world to live on outside of the Vanishing Point. But with the remaining two hours of the crossover set to undo what the Anti-Monitor did, things will look good for the heroes in the end - with a twist. The basis of the Crisis comic book was about merging worlds into one to make it easier for DC Comics to focus on its main continuity. The same is bound to happen with the Arrowverse, as the episode synopses for both Supergirl and Black Lightning tease that their respective worlds' status quo are set to change up.
For Supergirl’s first post-Crisis episode, the summary teases Kara being forced to face a chaotic threat due to “the subsequent complications from the Crisis.” Meanwhile, Black Lightning’s episode synopsis foreshadows Jefferson navigating “his new reality following the events of the Red Wave.” That alone basically confirms that Kara, Jefferson, and characters from their shows will exist in the same world as Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) and the rest of their league of super-friends. While all of the shows will continue their respective season storylines, Crisis on Infinite Earths will still run through the shows due to the new changes - particularly The Flash.
Arrowverse Is Entering A New Phase
The Arrowverse has stuck to a lot of consistent bases for how the show's seasons are executed. From their structures of following a "big bad" to setting up annual crossover events, the Arrowverse has stayed consistent for more than 7 years. However, sticking to something without any significant changes can hurt a multi-show franchise like the Arrowverse. That’s is why the showrunners behind the ongoing series are using Crisis on Infinite Earths as an opportunity to exit one phase and enter a new one. With two spin-offs in the work and all the current shows renewed, The CW is committing for more years within the DC TV business. But with the large effects that Crisis on Infinite Earths has, it will not only extend the Arrowverse’s life span but help reshape it.
While the 22-episode (or 16 in the case of Black Lightning and Legends of Tomorrow) order is unlikely to change anytime soon, that doesn’t mean story structures won’t. The Flash has already begun taking advantage of that prior to the Crisis, with new showrunner Eric Wallace splitting the season into a format that makes it feel like two graphic novels. The second half of season 6 will have a brand new big bad that is not connected to the Bloodwork saga. Something like that is possible for the other four shows and the two new ones that are in the work. Even the addition of DC Universe’s Stargirl airing on The CW could mean a new chapter in the Arrowverse if the teen hero-led series somehow connects to the franchise.
What Arrowverse's Next Major Crossover Could Be
While Crisis on Infinite Earths will be the network’s biggest, most expensive and ambitious crossover of all time, viewers are already looking ahead to what future events will look like. The CW is not going to stop doing crossovers; it would be out of character for the network to not take advantage of bringing all the shows together at least once a year. However, longtime Arrowverse executive producer Marc Guggenheim has made it clear that while they’re already discussing the next annual crossover, the size of it will be changing. With the creative team and cast scaling it down a bit, it might mean only a few of the shows getting involved.
It could be similar to Elseworlds where only Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl got together while Legends of Tomorrow didn’t partake in it. Even if all the shows came together, the storylines might be what is smaller compared to the previous 4 events. But just because the crossovers may be small for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t mean something on a Crisis on Infinite Earths level of scale can’t happen again in years to come.