Review - Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. After having talked about a Marvel movie with the recent Deadpool & Wolverine, I think it's only fair to talk about an epic scale DC event. And, I can't think of a better one than the 2019 television event Crisis on Infinite Earths, which would be a crossover event held between the following five CW superhero shows: Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman. 

        Okay, so to get everyone up to speed, the DC/CW universe, more commonly known as the Arrowverse, began in 2012 with the television series Arrow starring Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen. In the second season of Arrow, Grant Gustin would be introduced as Barry Allen, who would get his own spin-off series called The Flash. And, it was during the first season of The Flash and the third season of Arrow that we saw the annual crossovers begin. In 2015, CBS would air the first season of Supergirl starring Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl. And, as this was happening while the second season of The Flash had introduced the Multiverse, Grant Gustin would pop up on an episode of Supergirl as Barry Allen/The Flash. 

         It was also at this time that another spin-off series, Legends of Tomorrow, kicked off, and featured supporting characters from both Arrow and The Flash, such as Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, and so forth. Supergirl would move from CBS to The CW beginning with the show's second season. Additional crossovers would occur each year, with the 2016 crossover, Invasion, and the 2017 crossover, Crisis on Earth-X, being absolute banger events. However, the 2018 crossover, Elseworlds, was a slight downgrade by comparison, but it did introduce us to Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, who would get her own CW series, Batwoman, in 2019, which would see the biggest Arrowverse crossover of all: Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

        So, the Crisis begins with an antimatter wave spreading across the Multiverse, taking out the likes of Earth-66, where we see an older version of Dick Grayson, and Earth-89, where we see Gotham news reporter Alexander Knox. And, unfortunately, Earth-38, home of Kara Danvers/Supergirl, is the wave's next target. So, Lyla Michaels, now going under the moniker of Harbinger, brings together several heroes from Earth-1 to make a stand against the antimatter wave: Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Barry Allen/The Flash, Sara Lance/White Canary, Ray Palmer/Atom, Kate Kane/Batwoman, and Mia Smoak, Oliver's daughter from the future, who eventually becomes a Green Arrow. Also, Harbinger manages to save both Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane before the destruction of Argo City, but the pod their son was in ended up on Earth-16. 

       So, Lois, Sara and Brainiac 5/Brainy head to retrieve Jonathan from Earth-16, while Oliver, Kara, Clark, Barry, Ray, Mia, and Kate all work to protect a pillar, which is slowing the spread of the antimatter wave, all while Kara's sister, Alex Danvers, goes to seek the help of Lena Luthor to build a portal big enough to get several ships with Earth-38 inhabitants to safety on Earth-1, with J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter leading the evacuation with a fleet of alien ships. On Earth-16, Sara meets with an aged Oliver, who has been alone for many years, and tries to explain the idea of multiple Earths, and how on her Earth, both she and her version of Oliver were great heroes. 

       Unfortunately, the antimatter wave keeps going, and an army of shadowy demons overwhelms our heroes, forcing Mar Novu/The Monitor to send the heroes to Earth-1 for safety. Unfortunately, Oliver stays behind to make sure the last of the ships gets through the portal safely, and ends up with many fatal injuries in the process. And, it's here where we see that Nash Wells, one of many multiverse variants of Harrison Wells, has become Pariah in penance for unleashing this threat to the multiverse: the Anti-Monitor. Harbinger, meanwhile, meets with a version of Mick Rory on Earth-74, as his version of the Waverider is needed. Monitor reveals that he has consulted the Book of Destiny, and learned of a group of heroes called Paragons, who will be the key in defeating the Anti-Monitor. Kara and Sara are both Paragons, the Paragons of Hope and Destiny, and two other Paragons are out there: the Paragon of Truth (a Superman who has lost more and suffered), and the Paragon of Courage (the Bat of the Future). To find them in the multiverse, Clark, Lois, and Iris West head to Earth-167, home to the versions of Clark Kent and Lois Lane from the show Smallville, and eventually to Earth-96, where they meet a version of Clark that bares resemblance to Ray Palmer. Yep, Brandon Routh got to suit up as Superman again, and it was awesome. 

       Meanwhile, Kate and Kara meet with the Earth-99 version of Bruce Wayne, who is older, more rageful, and killed his Earth's version of Superman. And, in spite of how much darker and more villainous this portrayal of Bruce Wayne was, I was over the moon seeing Kevin Conroy get to play an on-camera version of Bruce, having been the definitive voice of Batman since the '90s. But, it turns out that Bruce of Earth-99 is not the Paragon of Courage. Kate is. Meanwhile, Mia, Sara, and Barry work with John Constantine to locate a Lazarus Pit to restore Oliver, locating a Pit in North Dakota on Earth-18, where they run into Jonah Hex. Now, while Oliver's body is brought back to life, his soul is still out there somewhere. But, the antimatter in the multiverse is causing Constantine's magic connection to diminish. However, he knows a guy who can help gain access to purgatory: Lucifer Morningstar, who is running a club in Los Angeles on Earth-666. Unfortunately, when Constantine, Mia, and John Diggle reach Oliver in purgatory, Oliver is unable to go back, as he has more to do, which begins by taking up a new mantle: Spectre. 

      Meanwhile, Pariah reveals the location of the antimatter device to Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco, where it's revealed that the machine is powered by a treadmill with the Earth-90 version of Barry running on it. Unfortunately, the Anti-Monitor added a failsafe that would wipe out what remained of the multiverse in an instant. Pariah brings in assistance in the form of Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning. And, both versions of Barry have an idea to run the treadmill backwards, reversing the antimatter device and destroying it, saving what remains of the multiverse, which turns out to just be Earth-1, as Jefferson's Earth was destroyed, as was Earth-203, where Helena Kyle/Huntress loses communication with Barbara Gordon/Oracle before the antimatter wave destroys the world. 

       Everyone gathers on the Waverider, where it's revealed that both J'onn and Barry are the Paragons of Honor and Love, respectively, and a final Paragon, the Paragon of Humanity, is discovered in the form of Ryan Choi. All the Paragons are gathered, and Harbinger rejoins the crew. But, it turns out that she's been turned by the Anti-Monitor, who we learn is planning to wipe out the multiverse to replace it with an antimatter universe. Pariah, realizing what he must do, sends the seven Paragons to the Vanishing Point, a place that exists outside of time and space. 

        Unfortunately, with the multiverse gone, there's only one way back. With help from Oliver, who is now Spectre, the Paragons use the Speed Force to travel to the Dawn of Time. Oh, and it's in the Speed Force that Earth-1 Barry meets his DC Extended Universe counterpart. But, everyone makes it to the Dawn of Time, and Oliver and the Paragons thwart the Anti-Monitor and create a new universe. The main Earth of this new universe, Earth-Prime, is a combination of Earth-1, Earth-38, and Jefferson's Earth. But, while all Paragons and their allies and loved ones are restored,.Oliver is still gone, his purpose served. Also, because he used the Book of Destiny to make himself Paragon of Truth, Lex Luthor is now seen as a public hero. 

       However, the Anti-Monitor is back, and the heroes need to defeat him once and for all. Remembering that matter can't be destroyed, only reshaped, a plan is put in motion to create a device that can cause the Anti-Monitor to shrink for all eternity. The plan works, and the Anti-Monitor and his shadow demon force is no more. The President addresses the events, and acknowledges Oliver's sacrifice in saving the world from the Anti-Monitor. It's then revealed that a whole new multiverse came into being, made up of familiar Earths, such as one for streaming shows like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing, and other Earths for the likes of the then-upcoming Stargirl series and a Green Lantern title that was never to be. Oh, and Earth-96 was restored, as well. Back on Earth-Prime, Barry, Sara, Kara, Clark, Jefferson, Kate, and J'onn hold a private memorial for Oliver, and sit down at a circular table as the heroes and protectors of this new world. But, a monkey noise from somewhere in the building gets their attention, and we cut to an empty cage, with the name Gleek on the cage door. Remember Gleek? The little purple space monkey hanging around with the Wonder Twins? No? Ah, forget it. 

       Crisis on Infinite Earths was an absolute love letter to DC fans, and not just Arrowverse fans. The fact that we got to see so many returning faces from past DC films and television shows, and have them being portrayed by their original actors, was something truly special. As I have said before, fan service done with reverence to the fans and the history of these characters is absolutely fantastic, and the creative team that worked on Crisis on Infinite Earths truly had that reverence and love in spades. By bringing back Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox from the 1989 film Batman, Burt Ward as Dick Grayson from the 1966 Batman show, Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle from the short lived Birds of Prey series, Tom Welling and Erica Durance as Clark Kent and Lois Lane from the show Smallville, Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne, Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar from the show Lucifer, and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen from the DCEU, yes it was fan service, but it was done as a loving tribute to decades of DC film and television.

       But, it wasn't just paying tribute to DC's past. Crisis on Infinite Earths also did well in being a point of culmination for many of the characters in the Arrowverse we all knew and loved. This marked the end of a journey for Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, and seeing him make the ultimate sacrifice for his friends, for the entire multiverse in fact, is such a great way for him to go out. And it's seeing the interactions he's had through the years with the likes of Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, Caity Lotz as Sara Lance, David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer, and adding to that the likes of Ruby Rose as Kate Kane and Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent. It was just fantastic. Also, I loved seeing the Arrowverse heroes be joined by Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, and how he interacted with the likes of Barry, J'onn, and so forth. And, of course, Matt Ryan is always a joy to see as John Constantine. 

        Four performers I really want to highlight, though, are as follows: Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels/Harbinger, Tom Cavanaugh as Nash Wells/Pariah, Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor, and LaMonica Garrett as both The Monitor and the Anti-Monitor. LaMonica Garrett portrays The Monitor and the Anti-Monitor as absolute polar opposites, and looks like something from a nightmare as the Anti-Monitor. Audrey Marie Anderson, whose performance as Lyla throughout the many seasons of Arrow was fantastic, took to the role of the Harbinger with genuine reserved brilliance. And, Tom Cavanaugh really added a sense of believability to Nash Wells, who inadvertently unleashed the Anti-Monitor and now his penance is to witness the Crisis unfold as the Pariah. Lastly, there's Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor, who uses his restoration to life as a means to accomplish his own nefarious goals, including trying to destroy every Superman in the multiverse. Yeesh. 

        But, to me, it isn't just the familiar faces or the fan service. It's the interactions that, prior to the production of Crisis on Infinite Earths, would have been considered impossible outside the dreams of DC fans. Seeing Matt Ryan and Tom Ellis come face-to-face as their specific versions of Constantine and Lucifer, or seeing Ruby Rose as Kate meet Kevin Conroy as Bruce, and so forth was genuinely something that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. And, something else that was clever was that, in the event that actors from specific parts of the multiverse were unavailable, stock footage was used to showcase their place in the multiverse, with shots from such shows as Titans, Doom Patrol, Stargirl, and Swamp Thing, shots from the 2011 movie Green Lantern, or even a shot from a previous crossover, Crisis on Earth-X. It's clear that Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and their creative team really wanted to assemble a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime love letter to the DC fandom, and I think they succeeded. And, I do mean that this was once in a lifetime, as nothing of this scale is likely to happen any time soon. I'm giving the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths a rating of 5/5. 

       And, yes, I am aware that DC Animation made a three-part animated adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths that's more true to the comics. But, to be honest, I think that I recommend this version of Crisis, because it pays off on years of buildup across multiple superhero shows. Giving that kind of love and dedication to DC fans, in my mind, is better than simply trying to adapt the original comic storyline more accurately. But, that's coming from a guy who geeked out seeing Ruby Rose as Kate Kane share several scenes with Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne. 

       But, that's gonna do it for me today. Join me next time as I take a look at the road comedy RV.