A Crisis is coming. At this point, most Arrowverse fans are probably tired of hearing those words, but it’s true. We’re barely two weeks away from CW’s version of the legendary maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, a story where worlds lived, worlds died, and nothing was ever the same. Though we hear phrases like this all the time and they never live up to the hype now, Crisis at the time was literally world-shattering and changed DC Comics forever.
Though we have no idea what’s in store for Crisis this time around, we do know that with so much potential reality-altering going on over the five-episode crossover, there’s an opportunity to see some of our favorite characters who’ve been killed over the course of the last eight years of storytelling. Here’s a list of the ten most interesting characters that could make a comeback.
10 RONNIE RAYMOND
Ronnie’s death doesn’t even make much sense. Caitlin had just gotten used to having him back (even going so far as to marry him) before Eobard’s schemes resulted in a singularity that only Firestorm could close, which Martin Stein survived but Ronnie did not.
Everyone involved here deserved better, and Ronnie should get to come back briefly through the Firestorm Matrix, which should probably be passed on to someone else at this point so the character can revive.
9 XS
XS isn’t technically dead, though it could be argued what happened to her was actually worse. Eobard’s machinations literally erased her from existence, resulting in yet another case where Thawne managed to dunk on Barry Allen.
At what point does Thawne accept that he’s done far more harm to Barry than the other way around? This was a bit of a bummer, but unlike the others, it shouldn’t even be that hard to bring her back. The new timeline should have an XS, and that XS should probably help her father during Crisis so that newspaper tease can finally go away.
8 MALCOLM MERLYN
Not only the first major villain of the CW DC universe but Malcolm Merlyn was also the first to hand out a one-sided beatdown to a series’ lead hero to let viewers everywhere know that stuff just got real. Though he was quite unlikeable at first, over time they developed Malcolm into a fully formed character who died rather unceremoniously, saving his daughter Thea.
While that’s a heroic death, there’s probably no better time to bring him back than Crisis—and not the Earth-2 version which got erased anyway. With Green Arrow and the Canaries up soon, a return for this character and a brief arc with Malcolm might be in order for that series when it launches.
7 RIP HUNTER
Though a rather endearing cast of misfits, the Legends find themselves botching things more often than not, only saving everyone in the eleventh hour. That’s what happened with Mallus, a being they eventually used a giant plush animal to beat in what’s one of the series’ crowning moments.
But before that could happen, Rip was forced to sacrifice himself to give the team an opportunity to escape from Mallus. This was a way of allowing the Legends to work without the training wheels, as the most experienced voice was gone. But considering how many timey-wimey things they get involved in, there’s no way Rip couldn’t pop up here to help protect the multiverse.
6 MARTIN STEIN
It seems like Martin Stein died because of a lack of a CGI budget. Stein and Jax always found some reason to remain split up on missions, and it finally backfired during the Crisis on Earth-X storyline.
While attacking a Nazi stronghold, the two of them split up to help in the battle effort but this wound up in Stein taking fire from some Nazi soldiers. Because Firestorm couldn’t have just handled both things with flight and his powers. However frustrating Stein’s death was, it would be nice to get one last glimpse of him. Perhaps before finding a way to pass the Firestorm Matrix on?
5 EDDIE THAWNE
It’s safe to say everyone who knew about Flash’s comics when the first season aired looked at Eddie suspiciously. From the moment we discovered his last name was identical to Barry’s greatest villain in the comics, it felt like a matter of time until the betrayal. But it never came.
On the contrary, rather than allow Eobard to have his way, once Eddie learned how important he was, he took his own life to save all of his friends. While it’s a heroic way to go out, he still deserves a better ending than that...especially since Eobard has been bugging Barry anyway.
4 GYPSY
Why was Gypsy killed in the first place? The episode where it happened, Kiss Kiss Breach Breach, is one of the finer episodes of Flash and certainly one of the better in season six...but why was it necessary at all?
It’s not as if Jessica Camacho had a series regular role, and she could simply have not shown up anymore since she and Cisco had already broken up. She shouldn’t just make an appearance, they should find a way to bring her back and put her on another team’s Justice League.
3 HENRY AND NORA ALLEN
The latest season of the Flash has been all about the sacrifices Barry has already made, and the ultimate sacrifice he’s being asked to make in the future. But his entire history traces back to one single moment that changed his life irrevocably: Eobard traveling back in time and taking the life of his mother while framing his father.
If we’re letting Barry survive Crisis, then it should be with him having taken off all the chains of loss holding him back. Maybe Henry and Nora can’t “come back”, but he should certainly get to have one last conversation with both of them.
2 MANCHESTER BLACK
Let’s not mince words here: Manchester Black was the single coolest villain the Supergirl series had. Taking the original character who was a commentary on the edgy 90’s hero and making him into a crusader against alien hating humans, it was easy to understand his motivation.
The character was taken out by J’onn, but there’s still so much potential left on the table for him. Especially since we know they’re now making a Superman and Lois series. Having him survive being absorbed by the Staff of H’Ronmeer and gain superpowers on top of it would make him a perfect adversary for the Man of Steel.
1 CAPTAIN COLD
The Arrowverse’s Captain Cold had a pretty interesting character arc. Though he was initially only supposed to be the usual leader of the Rogues he is in the Flash, necessity (and Rip Hunter) pulled him into becoming a member of the Legends.
There, he would travel across time to keep the framework of reality safe, before eventually meeting his end. Though we’ve seen versions of him from other worlds before, having Leonard get to meet up with Rory one last time seems like a better farewell.