Post-Crisis Arrowverse: Where Do We Go Frome Here?

SPOILERS FOR CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

The Arrowverse’s epic 5-episode crossover had its finale last week. Over the course of the crossover, we saw the multiverse die and be reborn. Most of the deaths of the crossover were undone by the universe being saved, but there were a couple deaths (Oliver and Barry-90 to be specific) that were a bit more permanent. With all that happened over the Arrowverse in the course of five episodes, there are a lot of implications for where the CW will go from here.

Earth-Prime

Based on the little I knew of the Crisis comics, I wasn’t surprised that this happened. It made sense for them to consolidate our CW shows into one universe, instead of three. This could lead to more crossovers (I’ll cover that later), but it could also lead to some continuity concerns. For example, before Crisis, Lena was antagonistic towards Kara. Now apparently she and Lex are one of Supergirl’s biggest supporters? Does that mean that the course of Supergirl’s season will be abruptly changed? Is it part of Lex’s schemes? Or will it just be disregarded? It also effectively changes the backstory of many of our heroes. Like how did Barry and Kara meet, if he didn’t accidentally break into her universe? I’m guessing questions like these will be mostly ignored, but it’s just one thing that comes to mind.

Smallville, Birds of Prey, and Superman Returns

These series have been off the air for 10+ years, but as of this crossover all three of them are now officially part of the Arrowverse. It’s unlikely that we’ll have crossovers between these series and the current Arrowverse (especially since Smallville’s Clark Kent has given up his powers--though I’d love to see Tom Welling return again), but you never know. I watched Birds of Prey in preparation for the crossover and I would love to see more of them (assuming they exist in the new multiverse). On the other hand, Superman from Earth-96 could easily come back (especially for an episode of Legends); that’d be fun.

Titans, Doom Patrol, and Stargirl

In addition to the series that have ended, DC has its own streaming service with original shows, like Titan, Doom Patrol, and (coming soon) Stargirl. All of these were officially added to the Arrowverse during the prologue to the Crisis and the epilogue of the finale. I’ve never watched these shows (as the DC Universe streaming service requires a subscription that I can’t afford right now). It’s unlikely that Titan or Doom Patrol will cross over with the others later on, but it’s possible that Stargirl could cross over, as it’ll appear on both DC Universe and CW. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Justice League and Crossovers 

As the crossover drew to a close, Barry brought the main heroes from each show to the STAR Labs warehouse from the Invasion crossover and he unveiled a Justice League-like round-table. With everyone on the same Earth now and with a central base, besides the DEO or Star Labs, it seemed like they were prepping for more crossovers. We can definitely expect more crossovers to happen on an annual basis, as is tradition. However, the way Barry talked I wondered if we might get more mini-crossovers, like when Ray and Felicity visited STAR Labs in The Flash Season 1. Having Jefferson or his girls leave Freeland for an episode to help with an electricity-powered meta in National City could be a very easy thing to do now. Plus, I miss those kinds of crossovers. It made the universe feel more cohesive, instead of only getting together for world-ending scenarios.

DCEU

Ever since Man of Steel, DC has been trying to create a cinematic universe akin to Marvel. They haven’t been as successful (and honestly I haven’t seen their movies), but with Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen showing up for his Crisis cameo, it’s now possible for movies and TV characters to cross over. Will they cross over? Probably not. DC likes to compartmentalize. But they could! And honestly THIS is the thing that could get me to watch all those DCEU movies. They have seven movies so far and with eight more on the way, tying it into the established, successful Arrowverse could be beneficial for them.

What were your takeaways from Crisis on Infinite Earths? I’m looking forward to seeing how the aftermath will play out on each show. I guess we'll find out the start of it with this week’s Batwoman and Supergirl.