The CW's Batwoman and Supergirl premiere Sunday, October 6; while The Flash premieres Tuesday, October 8, with Arrow joining them on October 15. Black Lightning premieres the following week, on Monday, October 21.
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"Crisis" Management: 9 Arrowverse Crossover Event "Guarantees" for "Arrow," "The Flash" & More [OPINION]
We're T-minus two weeks from the start of the new seasons in The CW's Arrowverse, and as we get closer and closer to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover mayhem this December, it's time to break out ye olde prognostication stick and "divine" for you exactly what will happen.
To be clear, these aren't spoilers. If I'm right it's because I'm smart and I know how to figure some things out – or I may have just gotten lucky. (If only I'd published this a week ago and said, "Smallville crossover! Tom Welling will show up!" I'd look pretty smart right now, wouldn't I?")
Some of these are pretty much a sure thing. Some are maybe a little far-fetched. But these are all definitely things we can look forward to in the "Crisis" crossover.
1. "Smallville"/"Crisis" Crossover! Tom Welling Will Be Superman! Justin Hartley Mania!!
No, but seriously. We're too late to catch the Welling and Erica Durance wave, but even more importantly, I predict Justin Hartley will be in the crossover– in a dual role!
We already know Justin's costume showed up on a corpse in the Elseworlds tease, and both Hartley and Steven Amell have expressed interest in Hartley making a cameo. With only a few episodes of Arrow left, it's now or never.
But if you're going to get Hartley, and you've got Welling, you may as well go for broke and put Hartley in a double role as both Oliver Queen and. . . Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. Now I know…I know… Smallville's "AC" was played by Alan Ritchson – but Hartley also shot a pilot for an Aquaman series that never took off. This might be a fun in-joke for super fans, and an easy way to bring in a very different powerset to the super-team they're assembling.
The only thing getting in the way of this is Hartley is currently on a little show you might have heard of called This is Us. Shooting a television series is a giant time commitment so if Hartley does show up, it will be for little more than a cameo – but it would be an amazing cameo.
You know who else should show up? Lara Vandervoort as Smallville's Kara Zor El. Talk about a double take for our Supergirl – since Vandervoort has shown up on Supergirl several times as baddie Indigo. This seems to make an appearance pretty likely.
You know who won't be in the crossover from Smallville? Allison Mack – and probably Kristen Kreuk.
Why? Might want to Google for the answer – or maybe it's better you don't know.
2. World's Finest Redux
The moments in "Elseworlds" that made chills go up my spine more than anything were the interactions between Ruby Rose as Batwoman and Melissa Benoist as Supergirl. That's why the CW will double-down on this and give us the Gotham x Krytpon collab we all deserve. Sure to drive all the haters mad, it will be amazing otherwise and these two feminist titans prove exactly how girls rule the world.
Truth? I wouldn't be sad to see some of the Lance sisters or the Pierce sisters in there, as well as maybe Killer Frost. If they can deliver on something similar to Avengers' Endgame "She's got help" moment I will melt into my couch and never need anything more from life.
And that is exactly why it has to happen.
Also, because Supergirl and Batwoman are separated by different dimensions they only get to do stuff together once every year or so, and who knows what will happen by next year? So the time is now…
Speaking of…
3. Supergirl Learns a Lesson about Privilege
Given the crossover with Black Lightning, I can't wait to see the entire Pierce family join in this battle royale outside of what they're used to dealing with at the street level in Freeland. But methinks one of the best things we could have happen would be for the Girl of Steel to have a heart to heart with Jenifer and Anissa about everything happening in their town.
Ever the hero, Kara could offer to swoop in and save the day and fix all the problems in Freeland. (Because she could, too. Tobias Whale is formidable, but he's nothing against a Kryptonian.) Then Anissa would, gently but firmly, say "No, thank you" and talk about the problem of white saviorism that assumes you can just swoop in and "fix" things.
Kara will take a moment to reflect, and think about how she's always so quick to act when there's trouble, and maybe she just needs to listen first before trying to be the hero. It's a good lesson for all of us, especially as we confront issues like white supremacy and misogyny. This is a small character moment that would mean a lot to the development of both the Pierce sisters and Kara. Let's make it happen.
4. Captain Cold is back – and bad – in "Crisis"
Who doesn't want, nay, need more Wentworth Miller in their life? Having one of the most interesting villain to savior-of-the-universe turns in the CW-verse, and also an amazing doppleganger on Earth-X just waiting to hero up, it's 100% logical that this needs to happen.
Assuming Mick Rory will also be involved, and since Barry Allen will definitely be involved in the crossover, it only makes sense to bring him back one more time. Even more interesting would be if we Make Cold a Villain Again. Which leads us to. . .
5. Lex Isn't Dead… and He's Not Alone
Last we saw of Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer), he was dead from a double gunshot wound inflicted by his sister Lena. (You go, girl!) But soon after we saw The Monitor yeet his body through one of his portals, presumably to help in the coming "Crisis" fight. This is one of the predictions you can pretty much take to the bank, but here's how they're going to use it.
Just like in the original comics, Lex Luthor will use the chaos of the "Crisis" to organize a team of interdimensional baddies to take advantage of the chaos. Predictions for who will be on the team? Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Leonard Snart (see above), Mick Rory, Eobard Thawne, and. . . (drumroll). . . Lex Luthor! Given the Smallville craze, let's have both Cryer and Michael Rosenbaum in some hot Lex-on-Lex action.
Maybe then we can really see who the best Lex is?
And please please please let them have a base in the swamp that looks like a weird mushroom skull…
6. Felicity is Back!
Last we saw Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), she joined The Monitor as they jumped into a portal. They were supposedly going someplace to help Oliver, and she wasn't coming back.
But in all likelihood, we're going to need Felicity – or more specifically, Overwatch – to coordinate this massive team of heroes. Who doesn't want, nay, need to see this to send Oliver and Arrow off into the great beyond? This fanboy sure does.
7. John Diggle is John Stewart
During last year's "Elseworlds" event, The Flash (John Wesley Shipp) said to Diggle (David Ramsey), "John, what happened to your ring?" This is a reference to the fact that John Stewart is a Green Lantern. John Stewart is also the brother of Lynn Stewart, ex-wife of Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning) and mother to Anissa (Thunder) and Jenifer (Lightning).
The original idea that Diggle might become John Stewart (or Ramsey could play Stewart in a dual role) makes a lot of sense, especially given the place the Green Lantern Corps has at the center of dealing with Anti-Monitor.
This was even further solidified when it was announced Black Lightning would be a part of the crossover. All of this adds up to John Stewart showing up as part of the "Crisis."
8. The Council of Wells Will Be Key to "Crisis"
When we're dealing with trying to pull in heroes from across the multiverse, who better to help do that than a group of people who already communicate across said multiverse. Enter some other members of the Council of Wells– versions of Harrison Wells who exist on every Earth and are generally quite intelligent. And that means lots more of Tom Cavanaugh in varied (and potentially silly) characters, which is always welcome.
Given that Eobard Thawne – wearing the face of Wells – will be part of The Flash this season (and likely, as predicted above, part of a Legion of Doom-esque organization), it will be up to the rest of the Wells to use their combined brainpower to find all the heroes needed to confront the Anti-Monitor.
9. "Crisis" Will End with a GIANT Bodycount
This is somewhat of a no-brainer, but also an unfortunately reality we're going to have to confront.
We already know Oliver is dead. This is the deal he made with The Monitor. We also know Barry Allen is going to disappear in "Crisis" with red skies over Central City. He's likely not dead, but he's going to be gone for a bit. Especially given the futures that Thawne, Barry and Iris's daughter, and others have come back from, it seems like in most timelines that disappearance is permanent.
But while we know The Flash will go on as a show (so odds are good they'll rescue him out of this), there's a good bet that "Crisis" is going to wrack up an even bigger body count.
We reported earlier that series regulars Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes might be negotiating their way out of future seasons. If I was going to leave a show, I'd want to do it in the most heroic way possible. I'd put $10 on Caitlin and Cisco not making it out of Crisis alive.
However, I do hope Panabaker sticks around as part of the creative team. Her directing on last season's "Godspeed" was some of the best of the entire season. And as much as I feel like Caitlin's/Killer Frost's stories have run their course, we need more women in our writers rooms and behind the camera. Would love to see her direct a half dozen episodes on the back end of the season, which is hard if you're also playing a major role.
Other people who might bite the big one? James Olson, Superman's best friend. Mehcad Brooks has announced he's leaving the show. Again, if you're going to go out then why not go out a hero? With multiple Supermen in the show, the death of Jimmy Olson would be pretty rough.
At least one of the Lance sisters will die. Maybe both. Except for John Constantine, I feel like every single one of the Legends of Tomorrow is possible cannon fodder. But if they bring back Wally West or Jefferson Jackson just to kill them off, they are truly evil.
That's about it for my predictions. What about yours? What else do you think will happen in "Crisis" – and what do you want to happen? Let us know in the Comments section below…
The Road to "Crisis on Infinite Earths"
Supergirl – Sunday, December 8th (8/7c)
Batwoman – Monday, December 9th (8/7c)
The Flash – Tuesday, December 10th (8/7c)
Arrow – Tuesday, January 14, 2020 (8/7c)
DC's Legends of Tomorrow – Tuesday, January 14, 2020 (9/8c)
Black Lightning will also be represented during the crossover event.