DC's Elseworlds, Arrowverse Crossover

Started by Shogunn2517, December 10, 2018, 05:16:23 AM

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Shogunn2517

If anyone's paying attention, the Arrowverse has just started their fifth annual crossover.

If you haven't been paying attention, this crossover will not feature "Legends of Tomorrow", but will only be with characters from "Supergirl", "The Flash" and "Arrow". And without revealing too much of the plot, what's been in the news is there will be a new character featured in the crossover as well...

Spoiler

BATWOMAN.

And this is where the first part ended. They switched timeslots of the shows(at least for me it is), Supergirl airs on sundays, but this was The Flash. Starts off with Oliver Queen waking up in Barry Allen's apartment with Barry's wife, Barry's life and Barry's powers. Iris tells him there's a heist going on at Ivo Labs... my first thought was of the android, didn't think I'd see it, but the "Anti-Metahuman Adaptive Zutomic Organism" was the villain of the episode. They even connected it to the Arrow's AMAZO and Ivo. Professor Ivo apparently made a hybrid of the mirakuru that's able to copy metahuman abilities.  Which kinda sucked when Oliver and Barry went to Smallville and recruited Superman and Supergirl to help them and A.M.A.Z.O. copied all of their powers. They eventually won by shooting a trick arrow into his eye that destroyed it.

During the episode when Cisco had a vibe that made him believe that Barry/Oliver had switched lives he saw. When he co-vibed the vision with Oliver and Barry and Oliver drew a sketch of what he saw and there was Wayne Tower in the background.

To be continued...

Overall, I found it enjoyable, seeing the universe extended bringing Superman, the Flash(sorta) and the Green Arrow(sorta) together for the first time. Also putting in AMAZO(who looked more like a simple android, seemingly like his JLU version) in it was also. They kinda glossed over his origin and made a little convenience of his powers, but it was believable enough. The villain, that's yet to be fully revealed is the Monitor who gives a book to a professor John Deegan.

Again, enjoyable and without the "Legends" it seems as if they're making a more personal and compact story, which I don't think is a bad idea.

What I am getting a little weary of is the separate Earths. Right now Superman and Supergirl are on different Earths than the Flash and Arrow. Their Earth(Earth 1) has established there will be a Justice League. I don't know what's going on with Supergirl/Supergirl's timeline. I figured it was pretty advanced to a certain point, but Lois and Clark are in a relationship.

At some point I'd like to see a "Crisis on Earth 1/Two Earths" or something to merge the two realities. I suppose it could be problematic, but I've thought it was kinda silly for her to be on a different Earth altogether to begin with.

Anyone else watching?

Silver Shocker

Yep, I knew about this crossover. It got quite a bit of promotion. There are apparently 6 different trailers for it (most of which was composed of a lot of the same footage) and the episodes leading in to it all had the same little teaser added to the end.

Spoiler
We've got the Monitor, who looks spot on (my copy of Crisis on Infinite Earths came in just just this past week, and so I was able to look through and go "Wow he looks just like him." We got to see that same scene 4 times since they showed it at the beginning of pt 1 as well.

Supposedly Pyscho Pirate has been cast as well. The actor playing him was in the reboot of Reboot, specifically the live action segments, where he played a kinda weird, unkempt hacker villain, so he think I could do Psycho Pirate.

We also have Jeremy Davies, (Daniel Faraday from Lost, and also from Constantine) playing "John Deegan" who may or may not be John Dee aka Doctor Destiny.

But you didn't mention one of the best parts of the episode....the Smallville theme song when they cut to Smallville! That got a laugh out of me. I was not prepared for that (even though Amell had been teasing people about it online.

Honestly, the most fun of the episode is just seeing Amell in the Flash costume. He looks so different than you're used to that it's funny all on its before they even add any actual jokes.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Shogunn2517

Lol I could feel the weird look on my face when it played. My nose crinkled up with this goofy arse grin on my face like "What the hell is going on?!"

Yeah, that was pretty awesome, SS!

catwhowalksbyhimself

Yup, enjoying this one.  Episode two confirmed a few things and was overall fun.

Spoiler

Batman apparently exists in both universes, although I am confused how Batwoman knows who Kara is if she's in another universe.  Did the writers just forget which one they were in?

John Diggle confirmed to be an ulternate reality version of John Stewart.

Lots of Batman villain cameos.

Crisis on Infinite Earths definitely coming.  The crossover is apparently the Monitor's way of looking for champions able to withstand the merger of worlds and fight back.

All in all really enjoying it.  The smaller cast and more inidividual episodes have really paid off, I think.

Also Legends made a joke about missing the crossover.  Apparently the cast of it called them, but they ignored it.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Silver Shocker

#4
Ahh, part two was soooo goood!!!

Spoiler
So many little moments to go over:

-Ruby Rose killed it as Kate Kane/Batwoman. Admittedly, she was more "punk" than "goth", but it's Ruby Rose as Batwoman so it was pretty much what I was expected.

-Man, that hotel is a real dump. Even the abandoned hotel Angel moved into looked nicer.

-An elevator that leads to the Batcave. I'm surprised we don't see that more often, seems like a no brainier.

-Loved Oliver Queen insisting Batman doesn't exist, and that The Hood/Green Arrow was the "original" vigilante, instead of, you know, a rippoff of Batman.

-PSYCHO PIRATE!! Admittedly, he was only in like two scenes and we never got to see him in full costume, but still, Psycho Pirate!

-Oswalt Cobblepot aka Penguin was one of the inmates Oliver threw back in his cell. You can see his name on the cell.

-Killer Frost vs Nora Fries!  Nora Fries is played by Stephen Amell's wife.

-Wells/Thawn and Malcolm Merlyn cameo!

-Batwoman landing on the roof of a car Batman style! Awesome!

-Remix of the 90's Flash music playing when John Wesley Ship's Flash shows up!

-In 90's Flash's universe John Diggle is John Stewart!  That's great!

-Batwoman flirting with Supergirl as a homage to the "World's Finest" team-up. They even use the term "World's Finest".

-Oliver and Barry as the Trigger Twins, and they get arrested by a cop, who turns out to be Diaz. Awesome! I laughed for a good 2 or 3 minutes straight.

-And then black suit Superman shows up! I guess he's not evil after all?

And there's probably stuff I forgot.

[EDIT]: Indeed: Here'es some stuff I forgot:

-We see Diggle fighting Slade Wilson's son at the beginning of the episode.

-We see the Tom Hardy Bane mask in the room in Arkham where they keep supervillain's equipment.

-Also, me during the episode: Who keeps the freeze gun in a case At Arkham in perfect working condition? That's like an evidence locker in prison leaving all the guns still loaded with the ammo inside (Someone's about to tell me they actually do that, aren't they?)

Legends on the other hand, apparently looked at all the people online saying "This show sure is getting silly these days!" and said [in Mick's voice] "Hold my beer."

Spoiler
"You missed a call from Barry Allen, Oliver Queen and Kara Danvers."

"Must be the annual crossover." Ha Ha.

Also, "Custodians of the Chronology". What is even.  :mellow:

And of course....CAAAAT!

This is basically the Legends' version of that X-Files Mandala Effect episode from last year. I think I liked that one better though.

[edit] I got ninja'd!
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Shogunn2517

#5
Yeah, finally saw Part II and it seemed to confirm a few things.

Spoiler

First thing first, this seems like it should be bigger than just three parts.

But I had to rewind to try to catch all of Kara's tells when they're talking about Batman/Bruce Wayne since on her Earth she knows he exist and the same person, which kinda makes me wonder that if a Batman exist in Supergirl's Earth then why wouldn't Supergirl's Earth have a Flash and Green Arrow? She was also the one that purposely connected the dots between Batman and Bruce Wayne disappearing at the same time.  The whole different realities and characters existing on each other realities could get very confusing very fast.

But it was fun to see all the named cameos in Arkham. Clayface, Poison Ivy, Scarcrow, Mr. Freeze, Riddler and Penguin. Also saw Bane's mask from the Nolan trilogy and boomerang which I assume was for Captain Boomerang.

But the wrap up confrontation with the Monitor was very revealing.  He's giving Deegan the ability to reshape and rewrite reality, trying to find a universe to stand up against a greater foe, the Anti-Monitor I assume. This could end up in a number of different ways, but with the Superman showing up at the end, I'm thinking they'll take it in a "Justice Lords" version of Superman.

But altogether it seems as if they're looking to make quite a bigger canvas for all these shows and giving them a story-related element to make it all make sense.

FYI, good catch on the John Stewart connection.

Lastly anyone able to solve the riddle on Nigma's door? Want to think it's supposed to tell us something...

What's blue and gray and red all over?

BTW, odd coincidence but this being the official Arrow Episode, there have been two actors from this show that were also in the video game Fight Night Champion.

Silver Shocker

#6
Good catches. I was pretty sure I'd missed stuff but Have not rewinded to catch more stuff (or read about it online) I may have to rewind and check again sometime.

The thing I keep thinking about this crossover is how much it reminds me of an MCU movie. All the callbacks, the easter egg references for the fans, expanding the lore, doing a story you really could only do after all the stuff you've built up over the years.  I mean, yeah, the last two crossovers were kinda like that, but I think it's the easter eggs and the multiverse skullduggery that has me thinking this. Speaking of which...

Spoiler


I do actually agree that it should be more than just a three parter. I mean, yes, Legends got left out, but we're just now getting into the Monitor stuff proper. It just doesn't feel like one more episode is going to be enough to resolve what feels like a "mini Crisis" (that's Crisis with a capital C, as in Crisis on Infinite Earths/Infinite Crisis).

I have a crazy person fan theory on that. Every one of the shows is going on a break right after this, with Legends being the only one with one extra episode (by which I mean this week's episode), and Arrow, Flash and Supergirl all having sufficient mid-season finale twists (Barry's naturally involving time travel, Oliver's naturally involving local vigilantes and family skullduggery, and Supergirl's involving the Children of Liberty and intrigue with the DEO, which got referenced during the crossover) What if this isn't the whole story, and they're pulling an Infinity War? I know it sounds insane, and surely there'd be some leaks, but what if it's done in a way that they can return to the Flash/Supergirl/Arrow plot in January but have some kinda Marvel -esque sequel hook as if to say "hey, look forward to part two in the future?" Like maybe the villain (Anti-Monitor, as you suggested?) gets away (or, as seen in DC Universe Online, gets flung into the future to be a "next year" problem) or maybe we only see the Anti-Monitor right at the end Thanos-style? I dunno, all I know is that if none of this happens, part three has the potential to be very anti-climatic. But we'll find out Tuesday night!  :thumbup:

Yeah, other people online noticed that Kara knew the Bruce Wayne/Batman connection, and was trying to hint at it to Barry and Ollie, but they didn't seem to draw the connection. That plus the "Batman's disappeared" part is very curious. It seems like the creators are trying to spackle over some of the inherent plot holes of all this multiverse stuff they've built up over the years.

Now to be fair, Batman DID get referenced in Supergirl in the past. You can do a Youtube search for "All Batman references in Arrowverse" or somesuch and a compilation video will pop up, but I know there was a line along the lines of Superman: TAS' "That nut in Gotham". Maybe there was some adventure with Batman we never saw? I'd joke that it was in the tie-in comic but Arrow apparently retconned what happened to Bronze Tiger in those so never mind.

The Monitor being billed as the villain in this crossover was always kinda an eyebrow-raiser for me. Like yeah, he looks spot on, but I was like "aren't the Monitors mostly supposed to be good guys? Hence the (admittedly cheesy) name "Anti-Monitor"?

As for Justice Lords Superman, I was thinking that too, but Ollie and Flash being mistaken for criminals made me think maybe not? I'm not sure, gotta wait for pt 3 I guess.

QuoteWhat's blue and gray and red all over?

Well, if Batman wore a blue and grey costume, like he used to in older iterations (before he started to work exclusively in black and very dark grey, to quote the Lego Movie), then Batman's red all over because he's dead?  :blink:

And/or maybe...

Monitor: Who are you?

Anti-Monitor: I'm Batman.  :o
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

catwhowalksbyhimself

Spoiler
I should point out that from the beginning of the show, it's been stated that Flash will disappear in the Crisis a few years in the future (strongly hinted to be THAT crisis) and this season's story with Nora has only strongly reinforced that. We are now about halfway to that date, so this is further referencing that I think.  People behind the show have already talked about the possibility of the show actually lasting that long.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

catwhowalksbyhimself

This is now my favorite of all the crossovers so far.  It was focused, it was fun, and it was filled to easter eggs and references.

That ending though!

Spoiler
Crisis in Infinite Earths is next year's crossover!
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Silver Shocker

#9
I know right?

Spoiler

Cisco as a crime boss! (He actually did a pretty decent job). James Olsen as a mob enforcer. And most amusing of all, Gary from Legends as the bartender, who fanboys out over Oliver and Barry. As soon as I saw his name in the guest stars, I was like, "Huh. What's he doing in this?" And then he showed up and I was like "That's great."

Anyway,

For most of part 3, I was like "This is pretty good, but if this is really the wrap up, it's a little rushed, a little anticlimactic". But things were starting to add up. What happened to 90's Flash? Where were Ruby Rose and Bob Fraser? What was the deal Ollie made with The Monitor? We never found out about the other threat the Monitor was talking about...Then those last two scenes happened, and once it panned over to Psycho Pirate's cell I just lost it. That was awesome.

Oh, man, Fall 2019 can't come soon enough!
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Shogunn2517

Yeah, it was pretty exciting... But I can't help but to wonder.

Spoiler

My immediate impressions were that I thought they were wrapping this up pretty fast, but I dug it. Thought it was awesome to see Jonn, Superman, the Flash and Green Arrow all in one scene. Gave me a minor Justice League team. FINALLY. Also thought it was a pretty cool Easter Egg when Superman said "You both die!" when he said he saw it in the book, which does kinda sorta match what happens in CoIE.  They certainly glossed over a lot of parts, like the deal Oliver made and where'd he get that special arrow from and what happened to Deegan's face?

But the thing I'm really curious about is the timeline. Originally, the Flash was supposed to disappear in a "Crisis" in 2024, but Crisis on Infinite Earths is to happen in 2019? I would have imagined they'd do like a Crisis on Earth One first or something to rather introduce more characters or set up the crossover more, but I'll take it. Also have to imagine by the end of the 2019 crossover, timelines will have to be comingled in some sort of way.

catwhowalksbyhimself

Spoiler
Some have speculated that whatever deal Oliver made has resulted in the Crisis happening 5 years sooner than it should have.  I would also point out that Nora, while not appearing in this crossover, seems like she wants to keep Barry from dissapearing in the Crisis too and may change things as well.  In fact, the writing in the Book of Destiny looks exactly like the writing in her notebook. . .
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Tomato

So I'm seeing a lot of speculation here about stuff being a bit confusing, and I feel like the writers know that and there's a solution coming.

Spoiler
The reason Supergirl was set in an alternate reality in the first place is because, at the time, it was at another network being filmed in another location. Neither of those things is true anymore, and I think the stage is set for the crisis to ultimately bring together both universes once and for all.

MikeB7

 :thumbup: Thought it was great this year, looking forward to the Crisis and how they use it. 

Silver Shocker

So I was rewatching Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, and the same riddle appears in that movie. The answer was that the Riddler would beat a security guard black and blue if he didn't do what he wanted. I wonder if they were specifically referencing that movie when they put that riddle in the crossover, or it was just a coincidence.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

HarryTrotter

Seeing that the Arrow thread is buried somewhere...
3 part Downfall of Arrow on YT.Summing up how things went wrong.Nothing I havent said myself,but an interesting watch.
I hear season 5 tried to return to its roots,but I doubt that worked out.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

catwhowalksbyhimself

Quote from: HarryTrotter on January 31, 2019, 11:38:31 AM
Seeing that the Arrow thread is buried somewhere...
3 part Downfall of Arrow on YT.Summing up how things went wrong.Nothing I havent said myself,but an interesting watch.
I hear season 5 tried to return to its roots,but I doubt that worked out.

The last few seasons have all tried to return to it's roots, but it doesn't help that much.

This season, they have abandoned that completely--and the show is actually a bit better now.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

Being better then season 4 shouldnt be that hard.
Well,first two seasons are great tv,after that it went downhill to be honest.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer