Recently, The CW delivered its biggest Arrowverse crossover yet with "Crisis on Infinite Earths." The television event was massive, unfolding over five parts and involving characters from Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. The fate of the multiverse itself was at stake, as DC's ultimate villain, the cosmic giant known as the Anti-Monitor, made his live-action debut. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was a massive event that celebrated how far the Arrowverse had come.
In fact, Arrow co-creator, producer and writer Marc Guggenheim recently shared script pages from the very first Arrowverse crossover, 2014's "Flash vs. Arrow"/"The Brave and the Bold." The tradition started off with only two shows, and now it counts as many as six. But the very best Arrowverse crossover finds itself right in the middle.
No, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" doesn't rank as the best Arrowverse crossover so far. That honor falls on 2017's "Crisis on Earth-X."
"Crisis on Earth-X" arrived at a time when Arrow was in its sixth season, while The Flash was on its fourth and Supergirl and DC's Legends of Tomorrow were both on their third. By that time, all series had found their footing and were delivering fun and exciting stories. What made 2017's crossover such an event, in every sense of the word, is that it started out with a literal event: the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West. Characters from all series were invited to attend, which made this not only an organic way to get a crossover started but also something that could easily happen in the comic books.
Unfortunately, the wedding never actually took place, because invaders from the Nazi-ruled Earth-X crashed in, attacking everyone in attendance.
The big twist from "Crisis on Earth-X" was that the superheroes would end up fighting twisted versions of themselves. This created some interesting character interactions and dynamics, and it made the fight all the more personal. What's more, the idea to have evil doppelgangers as the main antagonists of the crossover not only kept the event's CGI budget in check, it also delivered some truly epic fight scenes that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" could never surpass. What's more, the cast of the Arrowverse was a bit smaller at that time.
And yet, the crossover still unfolded over four parts -- just one less than the massive "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Therefore, the 2017 crossover, which was already smaller in scale, had plenty more room to breathe. Each character had their time to shine and interact with one another, and the introduction of newcomers such as the Ray and a different Captain Cold were more than just glorified cameos.
The visit to Earth-X was also a small event all on its own given the twisted nature of this parallel world. Not to mention the return of the Reverse-Flash and a more comic book-accurate Red Tornado also contributed to make the crossover something truly special.
"Crisis on Earth-X" didn't try to redefine the Arrowverse. It simply told an exciting story for all of the characters involved. Each of the Arrowverse's crossovers had their strengths: "Invasion!" was ambitious, "Elseworlds" delivered the most comic book fun and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" adapted one of DC's most popular and classic cosmic events of all time. But "Crisis on Earth-X" delivered the perfect blend of fun, drama, action and comic book goodness. It was the Arrowverse at its peak, and a reminder of everything it can achieve.
Crisis on Infinite Earths is re-airing this week on The CW and is available to stream in its entirety on The CW App.