As principal photography continues for The CW's next Arrowverse crossover, "Elseworlds," new photos emerging online from the filming location in Vancouver have shown Tyler Hoechlin's Superman wearing the iconic black and silver suit.

Normally associated with the resurrection of the Man of Steel in the 1993 comic book storyline The Return of Superman, this incarnation of the Last Son of Krypton appears to be different than the Earth-38 version introduced in the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl. But based on the set photos, the black-suited Superman could appear as a villain for the television crossover event if not the main antagonist for the assembled heroes of the DCTV Multiverse.

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First seen in an Instagram post from Arrow star Stephen Amell last week, Hoechlin's black-suited Kal-El was shown posing with Amell and The Flash star Grant Gustin between filming scenes for December's crossover. While there was no indicator which Earth this version of Superman was from, set photos surfacing online this week showed a much more stoic black-suited Hoechlin in character as he read from an aged tome on a pulpit featuring mysterious text first glimpsed in the Season 4 premiere of The Flash after Barry Allen's months-long exile in the Speed Force.

Given the similarity of text in the manuscript to Barry's compulsive scrawling after escaping the extra-dimensional realm, perhaps the Scarlet Speedster caught a glimpse of the greater DCTV Multiverse that indelibly imprinted itself upon his mind. Using a pulpit as his platform, the black-suited Superman appears to be using the book to summon something perhaps from the depths of the Multiverse to confront the assembled heroes with a crisis on multiple Earths already underway. And an even more recent batch of set photos seemingly confirm this incarnation of Superman will be actively opposing the heroes of the Arrowverse.

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Other images from the Vancouver set show a version of Hoechlin's Superman in his familiar blue, red and gold ensemble facing off against an unseen opponent, who the Twitter account of YVRShoots says is his dark-suited counterpart. While cases of mistaken intentions and other contrived storytelling have certainly pitted heroes against each other before, including a massive fight between the Supermen of Earth-1 and Earth-2 in the DC Comics crossover event Infinite Crisis, being limited to three episodes for this year's crossover makes the event run even shorter than usual providing less time for a potential misunderstanding and reconciliation. Which may mean this is a truly evil Man of Steel, and not a case of mistaken identity causing a physical confrontation.

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An evil Superman with the support of currently-unseen forces from the Multiverse, including potentially alternate universe versions of Barry and Oliver Queen as the Trigger Twins, is a threat for the entire Arrowverse team, even with Hoechlin's heroic incarnation of Superman present. After all, the 2016 Arrowverse crossover "Invasion!" had the team temporarily pitted against a mind-controlled Supergirl, and the gathered heroes barely escape with their lives. But given the presence of the DC Universe's omnipotent overseer The Monitor, this dark-suited Superman is most likely serving a far greater threat with the entire DCTV Multiverse at stake.

The Monitor's literal opposite and constant nemesis is the Anti-Monitor, appropriately hailing from the Anti-Matter Universe and seeking to consume the DC Multiverse in order to grow in power and extend his dominion. First introduced along with The Monitor in the landmark 1985 DC Comics crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, it took the combined efforts of the heroes of the DC Multiverse to defeat the Anti-Monitor, albeit at tremendous cost.

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An image of The Anti-Monitor invading the Justice League's universe

Just as Marvel's destroyer of worlds, Galactus, employs a herald like the Silver Surfer to prepare for his planetary destruction, perhaps this incarnation of the Anti-Monitor enlists a herald of his own in the evil, otherworldly Superman. As a character that can endure the ravages of space and traversing the Multiverse as well as his own signature superpowers, a corrupted Superman would be an invaluable pawn for the omnipotent villain, able to dispose of a world's heroes without the Anti-Monitor having to become directly involved himself.

Less than two months until its premiere and the specifics of "Elseworlds" are still being kept under wraps by The CW. However, as details continue to trickle online about the upcoming crossover, it's becoming increasingly clear that this is the most ambitious television event that DCTV has ever undertaken. And if a villainous incarnation of the Man of Steel is opposing the DCTV Multiverse's assembled characters in service of a far worse threat, the heroes of the Arrowverse are going to need all the help they can get to stop this version of Superman and whatever additional allies the black-suited villain has.


The three-night Arrowverse crossover begins on Sunday, December 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.