TV Review - Crisis on Infinite Earths

If you liked the super-hero, mega team-up that was Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) in theaters, this series on the CW is the equivalent of a super-hero, mega team-up on the small screen. It's probably the biggest crossover on television that has been envisioned or executed. It involves characters from six TV shows that are currently on the air, but it also includes characters from two TV shows that aren't on the air anymore. Those shows that are currently on the air include Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. Those shows that aren't on the air anymore include Lucifer and Birds of Prey. I don't think any crossover has involved more than six TV shows. The CW has been doing these super-hero crossovers since 2014 and none of them have involved more than four shows. This event is tremendous. The action and the visual effects aren't as incredible as Avengers: Infinity War but the story and the stakes are way more incredible. Of course, this team-up has a lot of the same issues or narrative problems that Infinity War had in terms of how it ends and sets up the conclusion.

Overall, this series consists of five episodes. Three episodes aired in December 2019. The next two will air in January 2020. The gap between Infinity War and Endgame was a whole year. Fans of the CW superheroes only have to wait a month. Strangely, if you know how Infinity War ended, then it'll be no surprise that the December episodes end in pretty much the same way, although the body count is considerably higher and the destruction much more apocalyptic. Yet, it leaves many with the same feeling as Infinity War did. The death and destruction is so high that it feels unbelievable and it's obvious that the January episodes will reverse most of it.

Melissa Benoist stars as Supergirl, the alien from the planet Krypton who was brought to Earth only to realize that she has powers of flight, super-strength, super-senses and heat vision. She's one of several aliens who have come to Earth. She uses her powers for good and to help humanity. Anytime, there is a threat from outer space, she's there to defend the Earth. A couple of years ago, Supergirl learned that there are in fact multiple universes in what's called the "multiverse." Each universe has an Earth with people dealing with different timelines. In some of those timelines, she never came to Earth or she never existed at all. In universes where she doesn't exist, she'll go to that universe to help out.

Each universe is given a number in relation to the home planet. For example, Supergirl lives on what's known as Earth-38. One of the universes where she doesn't exist is Earth-1. However, Earth-1 is where most of the superheroes of these TV shows live. Supergirl has befriended most of the heroes on Earth-1, so she goes there the most. In fact, a lot of problems have originated on Earth-1, so she's had to go there several times. This time, unfortunately, the problem is originating on Earth-38 or at least the problem is affecting Earth-38 first, so Supergirl is the first to deal with it, which makes her the de facto leader to stop the problem.

LaMonica Garrett (Designated Survivor and Sons of Anarchy) plays Mar Novu aka The Monitor, a being that is very mysterious. He knows a lot about the multiverse. He also knows a lot about the timelines. He's this tall, black, imposing figure. He often speaks as if he's a robot with not much emotion, but he does seem to care about helping the heroes to stop the coming apocalypse, which in this case is a massive antimatter wave that is big enough to destroy all of planet Earth, but also all the Earths in the multiverse.

In order to stop the antimatter wave, Mar Novu says the heroes need to find seven Paragons. It's not sure what the Paragons have to do, but the heroes need to find all seven. Each Paragon is identified with one defining trait. Supergirl is luckily the Paragon of Hope.

Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black and The Meg) co-stars as Batwoman, another resident of Earth-1 who is the cousin of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, the masked crime fighter at night. Batwoman takes up the same mantle when Batman mysteriously disappears. She's deemed the Paragon of Courage.

There are other Paragons. Only one of whom is a character whom the TV shows hasn't already introduced. That one person is also the only Paragon who isn't a super-hero or crime fighter. He's simply called the Paragon of Humanity. His name is Ryan Choi, played by Osric Chau (Supernatural). The other Paragon who isn't a main character is J'onn J'onzz aka the Martian Manhunter, played by David Harewood (Supergirl). J'onn is the Paragon of Honor.

Grant Gustin also stars as The Flash, the man who dresses up in all-red and is the speedster who can run really fast. In fact, he's the fastest man alive. He and his friends are the ones that discovered the multiverse. He was the one who first traveled to different universes. He's the one who met Supergirl on Earth-38 and befriended her. He's the one who has been inadvertently messing with the timelines, so it makes sense that a lot the craziness boils down to him.

A lot of ridiculous, nonsensical stuff occurs. There's a whole subplot involving the Arrow, played by Stephen Amell, which I don't want to address because it feels the most like padding in this whole thing. For fans of these shows and DC Comics in general, going back at least two decades, there are a couple of moments that will be the most nerdy. The first is that these shows finally give us Batman in the flesh or at least a grown-up Bruce Wayne. Most of the CW shows have referenced Bruce Wayne, but this is the first time we've seen him as far as I know. Here, Bruce Wayne in the flesh is played by Kevin Conroy. True fans of DC Comics and the TV adaptations will know that Conroy has played the voice of Batman, going all the way back to Batman: The Animated Series (1992), which means he has played Batman for over 25 years but only in voice form. This series allows him to play Batman or Bruce Wayne in the flesh.

The other really nerdy moments involve the other popular DC Comics hero, that of Superman. This series gives us not one, not two but three Superman characters, portrayed by three different actors. The first is Tyler Hoechlin who has played Superman since 2016, having first appeared in Supergirl. The second is Tom Welling who has played Superman aka Clark Kent since 2001, having first appeared in the series Smallville. The third is Brandon Routh who played Superman back in the film Superman Returns (2006). Routh has played Superman for the least amount of time, but his appearance here is a sequel to that 2006 film. It's a bit confusing because Routh also plays another character in this series. Routh plays Ray Palmer aka The Atom, a scientist who has a mechanical suit that can shrink his size or grow his size. But having all three of these Superman characters is pretty fantastic. The only person missing is Dean Cain who played Superman back in 1993 in the series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. It's odd because Cain was featured in the series Supergirl as Supergirl's adopted father. Why Cain isn't present in this crossover is a missed opportunity.

Rated TV-PG.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 5 eps.

Available on the CW.