If you’re a producer working on a movie or TV show, then you know you’ve done your job once people can’t stop speculating on what’ll happen in your production – and this goes doubly so for the superhero genre because there’s so much source material from which to draw inspiration. Suffice it to say, I’m using this notion to segue into today’s discussion pertaining to “Elseworlds,” which could very well be the most highly anticipated Arrowverse crossover to date.
As we learn more about what’ll unfold during this three-night event, it’s become apparent that not one particular tale published by DC Comics will be adapted, but it’s more so applying the concept of drastically alternate realities inhabited by otherwise familiar heroes. Still, we can’t overlook how the epic could portend the future of the Arrowverse as a whole.
By that, I’m referring to the latest trailer unveiled just last night. In it, one particular tease was sure to grab the attention of comic book readers, that being John Wesley Shipp’s Flash from Earth-90 mentioning the coming of “a Crisis.” Of course, he could just be referring to the battle at hand, but we don’t know if he’s cautioning Earth-1’s heroes of something even more threatening.
To be more specific, I’m talking about Crisis on Infinite Earths, the mega DC Comics crossover published in the mid-1980’s. Already, The Flash has done its share of teasing some sort of adaptation of Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s masterwork, so that’s why the name-drop can’t be ignored.
In the past, I’d said such a thing couldn’t arrive until The Flash‘s tenth season – unless a time jump were to occur (don’t forget, the newspaper headline continuously being referenced is dated for 2024). Regardless, that doesn’t restrict Greg Berlanti and company from using the name “Crisis” for other crossovers before then.
Yes, “Crisis on Earth-X” may still be fresh in our memories, but DC did release other tales such as Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis and the currently ongoing Heroes in Crisis, so there’d really be no harm done. Basically, DC loves using the word “Crisis” every bit as Marvel does “Secret” in its events.
Needless to say, we’ll find out for sure what Earth-90’s Scarlet Speedster is talking about once “Elseworlds” begins on Sunday, December 9 with The Flash, continues on Monday, December 10 with Arrow, and wraps up on Tuesday, December 11 with Supergirl.