WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 3," which premiered Tuesday on The CW.
With the antimatter wave destroying Earths across the DC TV Multiverse, the CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover placed all its heroes in fragile emotional states. In one vulnerable moment from the event's third chapter, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) and Earth-38's Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) have a heart-to-heart after watching the destruction of Earth-73.
In that quiet moment, the Monitor reveals that he has a very different history from any of his comic book counterparts.
As the wave destroys Earth-73, Lois is heartbroken, exasperated after watching more innocents perish because of the Anti-Monitor. The Monitor, Mar Novu. goes over to console her, and it's here that the cosmic being reveals that he's not just a detached bystander in all of this.
"These Earths are not the only worlds destroyed," he said to Lois, pensively looking out into the recesses of space. "My world died. My family..." When she asks what were they like, feeling sympathy for her ally, he explained how his work took him away from them, not being able to enjoy the finer things before they died.
"So full of life. They were everything to me. If only I cared as much for them as I did my work," he continued with a tone of regret. It's not clear if they died due to this wave or some other action from the Anti-Monitor, but it seems like the being also known as Mobius also had something to do with it due to the rivalry they share.
This adds layers of depth to the Monitor, who was portrayed as little more than a spectator when he was introduced to the comics in the '80s. After Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Crisis on Infinite Earths, he shot to prominence but his backstory remained largely the same -- he was a being of positive matter who came to life when Krona tinkered with the Multiverse at the point of creation. This gave rise to him and his antimatter counterpart, the Anti-Monitor, and they'd feud for years to come. In 2006, after 52 where 52 Earths were created, the concept of the Monitors got a more human touch as each Earth got its own, and they all assumed personalities based on the Earth they presided over.
However, this all changed in recent issues of Justice League, where the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor have been retconned to be brothers with a third sibling, the World Forger, added to the mix. These developments have given the Monitor a different kind of family turmoil, though, as their mother Perpetua wanted to create and destroy the Multiverse in the name of doom, which resulted in the brothers rebelling against her and imprisoning the villain.
While it's not clear if that idea will ever be explored outside of comics, "Crisis" humanizes the Monitor by giving him a very palpable human experience. With the people he loves most being ripped away from him, he has as much reason to fight as any other hero does. Hopefully, we get to see this world he and his family lived on before the end of "Crisis" so we can better understand the Monitor and his quest for redemption.
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" will return after the winter hiatus. The crossover will conclude on Tuesday, Jan. 14 in Arrow at 8 p.m. ET/PT and in DC's Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET/PT.