'Crisis on Infinite Earths' starts with the perfect tribute to DC's storied history
The 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' is finally here, and the road towards it has been long, and storied. The Crisis on Infinite Earths is not just a celebration of everything that the Arrowverse has brought to the small screen, but of ALL that DC has done in bringing superheroes to life, from old to new, and the Crisis could not have started better, with references to DC's proud history. The Crisis has started strong, giving fans just the kinds of moments they've been waiting for.
Part 1 of the Crisis begins with a voiceover from the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) explaining the concept of the Multiverse to those unfamiliar with the concept after all, the crossover contains a lot of tricky concepts for people coming into the Arrowverse just to watch the Crisis. Quickly, we're caught up on everything we need to know - there is a multiverse of varying worlds, and a wave of red anti-matter is destroying them all. We're given quick moments of scenes from all the Arroweverse shows, but in no time at all, we're given looks into other worlds not seen before, but still familiar to longtime DC fans.
On Earth-89, we see Rubert Whul reprising his role as Alexander Knox from the 1989 'Batman' film, reading a newspaper whose headline reads "Batman captures Joker," as Danny Elfman's theme plays in the background. The theme was the basis for the theme song for 'Batman: The Animated Series' and for many, it's the theme that defines Batman himself.
Of course, others are more familiar with the groovier, 1960s version of Batman's theme, which the Crisis also featured a version of as it cuts to Earth-66, with Burt Ward (who played Robin on the show) is featured walking his dog, wearing a shirt emblematic of the red, green, yellow and black of his Robin costume, looking to the skies and crying out his variable catchphrase with, "Holy crimson skies of death!"
A glimpse of DC Universe's' 'Titans' world is seen as well, on Earth-9, and Earth-X from the 2017 crisis is given a nod as well with a shot of The Ray (Russell Tovey). Even 'Watchmen' - a property only tangentially related to DC Comics - is given a nod as Wil Wheaton makes a cameo with a sign similar to Rorschach's, declaring the end of the world that's upon everyone.
The episode goes further in its tribute to the history that brought it here, as Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), when they realize their Kryptonian home on Argo City is about to be destroyed, send their son away on a rocket ship for his own survival. Their words echo those uttered by Jor-El's (Marlon Brandon) farewell to his son in the 1978 'Superman' movie, starring Chris Reeves. It's also notable that the comic book version of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' also featured a twist on the Superman origin, as Lex Luthor of Earth-3 sends his son away on a rocket up to save him from the Anti-Matter Wave. It's references on top of references, and a great nod to DC's complicated history.
Decades of storytelling all revolving around DC Comics characters have brought us all to this point, and it's wonderful to see that history acknowledged as the biggest comics crossover since Endgame begins.
The next episode of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' is on 'Batwoman,' airing December 9 on the CW.
