Next week, the eagerly anticipated Arrowverse crossover, "Elseworlds," debuts on The CW, with the heroes of Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl discovering their realities have been rewritten by an unknown force. The latest promo for this year's upcoming DCTV crossover provided the most expansive look at the story yet, with what appears to be the Monitor approaching Jeremy Davies' mysterious Doctor John Deegan with the promise of "godhood."
Coupled with the revelation that this incarnation of the classic DC Comics omnipotent being may have taken a villainous turn is a mysterious object that the Monitor hands to Davies' character, capable of reshaping all of the DCTV Multiverse to his will. Appearing as an ancient tome, the reality-altering artifact was previously seen in leaked set photos while the crossover filmed in Vancouver last month. The set photos revealed the various DCTV superheroes, including John Wesley Shipp's '90s Flash, facing off against a black-suited Superman who was ominously reading from the aged text.
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Given that the book was initially seen in the possession of an alternate incarnation of Superman, there was speculation that the object was the Book of Rao. An ancient Kryptonian holy writ, the book could have fueled a darkly evangelistic mission for the evil version of Superman. However, the Book of Rao traditionally lacks the reality-altering power that seems to come from the crossover's artifact, and the leaked text does not resemble the Kryptonian written language previously seen in Supergirl. Rather, the set photos reveal a font that bears a striking resemblance to the unknown language Barry Allen was seen compulsively writing in Season 4 of The Flash after his time trapped within the Speed Force.
Given the Speed Force's extra-dimensional nature, Barry may have caught a glimpse of something outside of conventional comprehension in his months inside the alternate dimension, something that may share a background with Elseworld's mysterious book. And it may be linked to another artifact from deep in DC Comics' extensive lore, created by none other than prolific comic book visionary Jack Kirby.
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First seen in 1972's Weird Mystery Tales #1, the Book of Destiny, first introduced as the Book of Souls, was an ancient tome that allowed readers to read the past and future of all of existence, with certain individuals having the power to rewrite reality. With the Monitors being the omnipotent race tasked with overseeing all of the DC Multiverse, their connection and power over the Book of Destiny is possible. The presumably rogue Monitor would likely also bestow Jeremy Davies' character with the ability to alter realities using the text. And given the latest promo placing a noticeable emphasis on rewriting destiny, a potential connection to the Book of Destiny could make the promo's tagline more than a throwaway line.
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The other big question remaining is the identity of Davies' new character. Initial reports revealed that Davies would be portraying Doctor John Deegan, a doctor at Arkham Asylum who serves as the catalyst for this year's crossover. The character has no clear analogue to a pre-existing DC Comics character, but there has been speculation that he will be another character strongly linked to DC's 1985 crossover event The Crisis on Infinite Earths: Pariah. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, Pariah was a scientist who accidentally alerted the evil Anti-Monitor to the presence of the matter multiverse, leading to the omnipotent villain coming into conflict with the Monitor over the fate of all reality.
With Monitors appearing so prominently in Elseworlds, perhaps the Monitor that entrusts the Book of Destiny to Deegan is an agent of the Anti-Monitor using the unhinged doctor with delusions of grandeur as a pawn to unleash something far more devastating on the DCTV Multiverse. And given that the black-suited Superman is seen also reading from the pages of the Book of Destiny, it's clear that the dark version of the Man of Steel is also working for something more evil, whose escape may lie within the pages of the ancient text.
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Of course, all will ultimately be revealed when Elseworlds begins this Sunday, but given all the existing clues, from Deegan's true identity and role in the crossover to the exact nature of the mysterious tome, it seems possible to draw some conclusions about what exactly this year's crossover will entail. One thing is for certain, though: This year's DCTV crossover is the most ambitious, epic story the Arrowverse has ever seen.
This year's Arrowverse crossover event will involve the casts of Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash. The event will unfold over three nights, starting with a special episode of The Flash on Sunday Dec. 9 at 8 pm ET/PT. Then, it continues Monday, Dec. 10, with Arrow, and concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 11, with Supergirl.