Soon, every DC superhero series currently airing on The CW will crossover in the massive, highly anticipated "Crisis on Infinite Earths." The Arrowverse's annual crossover promises to be the biggest yet: not only will characters from The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl and DC's Legends of Tomorrow once again share the screen together, this will also mark the first time that Black Lightning joins the fray. What's more, freshman series Batwoman will also take part in the event, which is set to closely follow the comic book series of the same name.
Ever since the arrival of the Monitor, the all-powerful cosmic being has warned characters that the end of everything is coming. The Anti-Monitor threatens to destroy the entire Multiverse, and we've already seen the catastrophic results of his powers when he wiped Earth-2 from existence in Arrow's Season 8 premiere. The CW has released a new trailer for the upcoming event, and it seems to tease the destruction of Earth-1, home of Oliver Queen, Barry Allen and Kate Kane. Could it really happen?
At the start of the latest "Crisis on Infinite Earths" trailer, a wave of anti-matter energy consume the STAR Labs building. What's more, we see the wave wipe out Central City and its heroes, from the Elongated Man and Killer Frost to Vibe and Iris West. Of course, these clips all come from Barry Allen's vision of the future, which we first saw in the second episode of The Flash's sixth season. However, in the trailer, the footage also comes with a new shot of Supergirl reeling from the loss of an entire planet. While we see the footage of Earth-73 get destroyed, could it be a misdirect and Supergirl actually reacting to the loss of Earth-1?
This would explain why we see a shot of Kate Kane with one of the inter-dimensional travel discs that have featured on Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl before. These discs open portals to other universes. If Batwoman has one, then it's possible this is how she escapes the destruction of Earth-1. Given that most of Team Arrow and Team Flash have these devices handy, it could be how all of them manage to avoid the destruction of their homeworld, and how they are able to regroup and mount a counter-offensive.
Now, you may be wondering "but wait, how can Earth-1 get destroyed if it's the home of most of our heroes?" Well, the answer can be found in the comics. Marv Wolfman and George Perez's 1985 series Crisis on Infinite Earths is a classic that is mostly known for getting rid of the DC Multiverse, which at the time was vast and in dire need of streamlining. As a result of the Anti-Monitor's attack and the superheroes' actions, the Multiverse was in fact destroyed, but a single, New Earth was created. Characters from other worlds were folded into this new reality, and one single continuity was established. There were no longer multiple realities -- just a single one.
Therefore, it's possible The CW crossover is getting rid of Earth-1 to create a new Earth in its stead. If that is the case, then the cast of Supergirl, who resides on Earth-38 and Black Lightning, which takes place in a separate reality, would finally be merged into the Arrowverse Earth. This way, it would be much easier to have the characters run into each other, instead of forcing an interdimensional trip across universes.
But this is all assuming the television event will offer the same ending as the comic book. For all we know, The CW has a much different outcome planned -- but what will become of the Multiverse then?
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" begins Sunday, Dec. 8 on Supergirl, then continues in Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9, and then picks up in The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10. After a winter hiatus, the crossover concludes on Tuesday, Jan. 14 on both Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow.