How Crisis on Infinite Earths set up the next big Arrowverse crossover

It's a post-Crisis world, and we're just living in it.

Since the biggest Arrowverse crossover yet came to an end, each show has suffered from the ongoing "fallout," as The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace puts it.

While the likes of Batwoman and Black Lightning continue to deal with the ramifications of this, fans are already wondering how The CW could ever hope to top 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' in the future.

They're not the only ones either, as executive producer Marc Guggenheim has already revealed some "ideas for ideas" are in place ready for the next event in 2020. But what does a CW crossover actually look like without Arrow and its ubiquitous salmon ladder in sight?

Here's what we think the next Arrowverse event could be in a post-Crisis world.

Legion of Super-Heroes

Previous crossovers have tackled everything from aliens and alternate realities to Nazis and time travel, but so far, these temporal journeys have focused mostly on the past.

Now would be the perfect time to finally make good on all those Legion teases in Supergirl and visit the 30th century. The latest season has already picked up on this idea by bringing back Winn, complete with his own Legionnaire costume.

The biggest obstacle here is that The CW's budget is already stretched pretty thin across all the Arrowverse shows. And visiting the future ain't cheap!

Final Crisis

Supergirl season five recently included another, more subtle clue about the Arrowverse's future in 'The Bottle Episode', which introduced multiple versions of Legion member Brainiac-5.

Thanks to some Crisis complications, these alternate Brainies were killed off by a random MacGuffin called the Anti-Life Equation, unless of course, this seemingly insignificant plot device is actually far more important than we realised.

As comic-book fans already know, the Anti-Life Equation is sought by none other than Darkseid, a major Justice League villain who played a key role in 'Final Crisis'. Inspired by 'Crisis on Infinite Earths', this comic-book crossover was published decades later in 2008, and it's fair to say an adaptation of 'Final Crisis' could even top what happened in the most recent crossover.

It's easy to assume that the next crossover will try and outdo what came before it. That's the formula each Arrowverse event has followed up until now, but it gets to a point where bigger doesn't always mean better, and The CW's team know this too.

World's Finest

Speaking to TVLine, executive producer Marc Guggenheim hinted that the next crossover could be scaled down in size, especially compared to 'Crisis':

"I think you've got to build to an event of this kind. The one thing we're all in agreement on ... is that we're not going to go as big next year. In fact, Mark (Pedowitz) and I were talking about 'returning to the roots' of our crossovers, and I'll leave it to people to interpret what that means."

If we're to interpret that final point literally, then "the roots" of these crossovers could take us back to the early days when Green Arrow and The Flash first teamed up on each other's shows.

Sure, Oliver Queen is technically gone now, but this tradition could be revived by Supergirl and Batwoman instead. Not only is their bond a natural successor to this friendship, but The CW already promoted the pair before as "World's Finest", tapping into a long-standing comic book tradition of team-ups.

Justice League

During that aforementioned interview, Guggenheim was keen to avoid comparisons to Avengers Endgame "because it's just not fair – we're working with Endgame's catering budget – but Marvel didn't follow up Endgame with Endgame 2".

However, it's hard not to draw at least some comparisons between the two given how 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' ended. Just like Marvel's first batch of solo movies set up the Avengers, each Arrowverse show is now inextricably linked by the new team formed at the end of this crossover.

While the name "Justice League" isn't used in an official capacity, it's clear that each team member is no longer working in isolation either thanks to their shared headquarters. Next year's crossover could "return to the roots" of this team-up tradition by focusing on a more conventional event than a truly world-shattering crisis like, well... Crisis.

Just like Barry Allen and Oliver Queen learned to put aside their differences for the greater good, Batwoman, Superman, Black Lightning and the rest could now do the same within an actual team, and this will be easier to manage than ever given that they now live on the same earth together.

This back-to-basics approach could give viewers a breather from the major events while still breaking new ground with a Justice League fans can finally be proud of. Let's face it: Justice League 2 isn't happening anytime soon.

Arrow season 8 aired on The CW in the US. In the UK, the final season continues on Sky One and NOW TV.

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David Opie

After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival. 

In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.

David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.

Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends. 

As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound. 

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