While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently dominating the box office, the CW’s Arrowverse has cornered the market on small screen superheroics. This is largely due to its commitment to telling stories across multiple different TV shows, with the scale of current crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths rivaling that of Avengers: Endgame.
The only question now is: “Where to from here?” After all, Crisis is nearly over, so Arrowverse architects Gregory Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim need to set their sights on a new comic book event to adapt. With this in mind – and factoring in the available roster of characters (sorry, Sinestro Corps War fans!) – here are our top picks for which comics crossover should get the Arrowverse treatment next.
10 Armageddon 2001
Let’s address the gigantic elephant in the room: yes, the “2001” part of Armageddon 2001’s title would either need to be updated or dropped entirely. Other than that, this 1991 crossover – which sees our heroes up against the villainous Monarch, exploring various possible futures along the way – would work nicely as an Arrowverse epic without any other major tweaks.
For starters, most fans are suckers for dystopian timelines, something Armageddon 2001 has in spades. Better still, Hawk and Dove’s cameo in Crisis on Infinite Earths – which established them as part of the Arrowverse – means that the storyline’s controversial ending could be recreated verbatim if required.
9 Dark Nights: Metal
Audiences are now very familiar with the “multiple Earths” concept at the heart of the Arrowverse – so much so that this once-novel notion is in danger of becoming stale. So what better way to reinvigorate things than to follow the lead of Dark Nights: Metal and reveal the existence of a Dark Multiverse that lurks beneath its (relatively) benign counterpart?
Of course, this will be yet another instance where the writers will need to use the source material as a springboard rather than following it to the letter – for example, don’t expect Batman to be leading the charge as he does in the comics. Nevertheless, the idea of a “Dark Arrowverse” is a tantalizing one, especially since it’d give the cast the chance to portray twisted versions of their regular roles.
8 Our Worlds At War
If we’re being perfectly honest, Our Worlds at War was a pretty forgettable event – it’s basically just a rip-off of classic Fantastic Four storyline, “The Galactus Trilogy”. So why nominate it for an Arrowverse adaptation? Mostly because its greatest weakness as a comic book crossover – its anemic plot, which pits DC’s heroes and villains against entropic entity Imperiex for the fate of the universe – would be its greatest strength as a TV story arc.
Think about it: the basic premise is streamlined enough so that the cosmic-scale peril can be quickly communicated without devoting excess screen time to exposition. This would ensure that that there’s enough room to squeeze in character beats for all of the major players without having to cut short the set pieces that fans expect from a blockbuster yarn like Our Worlds At War.
7 Infinite Crisis
On the face of it, an Arrowverse version of Infinite Crisis is a no-brainer: it’s a direct sequel to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, so why not adapt it next? Yet bringing Infinite Crisis to the small screen poses several challenges which might make it a non-starter.
That said, we could see an adaptation of Infinite Crisis coming to fruition further down the line, possibly once the CW wants to hit the reset button on Arrowverse canon. Looking beyond continuity reboots, Superboy-Prime could also provide the wider franchise with arguably its most terrifying villain yet – and who doesn’t love a good baddie?
6 Doomsday Clock
We know, we know – the odds of a Doomsday Clock adaptation ever materializing are roughly a gazillion to one. Not only is HBO's Watchmen completely unconnected to the Arrowverse (well, almost), but the unprecedented acclaim the series has generated all but guarantees that things will stay that way, too.
Still, it’s hard not to fantasize about a live-action spin on Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s follow-up to the original Watchmen maxi-series, especially since it could easily be altered to fit Arrowverse continuity. Flashpoint – a crucial lead-in event to Doomsday Clock – has already been adapted in The Flash Season 3 and key figure Superman is active in the wider franchise, so all we’re really waiting for is the Watchmen characters to show up!
5 DC One Million
Logistically speaking, DC One Million is a hard sell, as realizing its 853rd century setting would probably be prohibitively expensive. We’re not giving up all hope, though; a few clever revisions – most notably, moving as much of the action as possible to the present day – could bypass any financial roadblocks.
From there, an Arrowverse take on DC One Million should be a piece of cake. The prospect of our heroes teaming up with their distant successors to foil a millennia-spanning conspiracy would make for riveting viewing, plus provide ample opportunity for the kind of OTT comic book craziness the Arrowverse is fond of embracing.
4 Forever Evil
Despite visiting dozens of alternate Earths so far, Team Arrow and their allies have yet to be menaced by the Crime Syndicate. This is a real missed opportunity, as the Justice League’s devious doppelgangers rate among the most memorable (and deadly) villains in the DC Comics stable.
For our money, an adaptation of 2013’s Forever Evil would be the perfect way to unleash the Crime Syndicate on the Arrowverse. Sure, the Syndicate’s membership would need to be modified to reflect the line-up of the various shows involved. But those are minor details – what matters is that the core concept of antagonistic analogs running amok is always a winner!
3 World War III
World War III – the climactic story arc in the Grant Morrison/Howard Porter run on JLA – starts off big and only gets bigger. First, Lex Luthor recruits a new Injustice Gang, stacking its ranks with those who’ve come closest to defeating DC’s premier supergroup in the past. Next, ancient living weapon Mageddon emerges as the real villain of the piece, telepathically nudging Luthor (and the wider world) to the brink of annihilation.
So really, all you need to do is substitute the Justice League with Team Arrow and you’ve got all the ingredients necessary for a brilliant Arrowverse crossover. Besides, we’re desperate to see a live-action depiction of World War III’s bombastic conclusion, which sees the entire planet granted temporary superpowers and flying into battle!
2 Convergence
It’s fair to say that Convergence isn’t the most beloved event in DC history. On the contrary, the consensus among critics and fans alike is that the main mini-series was two months of filler material capped off by a hastily executed closing chapter. Still, that doesn’t mean Convergence couldn’t be reimagined as a cracking Arrowverse crossover.
Aside from spicing up the existing alternate reality concept with a fun mash-up conceit, this adaptation could also mark the proper debut of legendary Superman adversary Brainiac. Heck, if that’s not enough, Convergence’s focus on extinct timelines could even provide the CW with the means of relaunching canceled properties like Krypton – but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves!
1 Final Crisis
Of the two installments in the so-called “Crisis Trilogy”, Final Crisis is hands down the more divisive choice for an Arrowverse adaptation. Indeed, this 2008 crossover was decidedly less conventional than the 2005 crowd-pleaser Infinite Crisis. Now, that might make it seem like a risky storyline for the Arrowverse to retell, but it’s a bet we’re confident would pay off.
See, Infinite Crisis essentially offers up more of the same – like the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, there’s an alternate universe Lex Luthor pulling the strings, and several different iterations of Superman slug it out, too. Final Crisis, however, would distinguish itself by having the New Gods of Apokolips handle bad guy duties (although Mandrakk the Dark Monitor could always show up if a callback to the Monitors is needed), while its mind-blowing narrative could top the multiverse-shaking stakes of its predecessors!