Arrow Crossover: Everything We Know About Crisis On Infinite Earths

It's the most significant crossover the Arrow-verse has tried to pull off yet. Crisis on Infinite Earths is such a massive moment for The CW's DC Entertainment shows that it was first announced a year ago during 2018's Elseworlds crossover. What's more, it's impending arrival was teased throughout the most recent seasons of Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash.

Crisis will include the most TV episodes of an Arrow-verse crossover yet, and manage to integrate six different shows, along with some very exciting cameo appearances. While not everything about the event has been announced just yet, we already know quite a bit about what to expect.

Take a look below at everything we've learned so far about Crisis on Infinite Earths. Then get ready because the massive event is going to be here quicker than you realize and will help fans say goodbye to Arrow, which will end its final season shortly after the crossover.

Before diving into Crisis, it's important to understand what kicked it all off in the first place. In the 2018 Elseworlds crossover, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) made a deal with the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) to save The Flash (Grant Gustin) and Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) from dying. The Monitor said he'd return to Oliver when it was time and fans were led to believe the Green Arrow would have to sacrifice his own life to save the universe from an impending "crisis."

Then, in the Arrow Season 7 finale, the Monitor came calling, and Oliver went with him. That's the last we saw of Oliver, so there's no telling where he will be in the new season of Arrow.

The multiverse, it seems, is imploding. The idea of different Earths first appeared on The Flash and has become a regular piece of the Arrow-verse puzzle. Now those Earths are colliding.

The event is based on the Crisis on Infinite Earths comics, a 12-issue limited series--along with several tie-ins--that essentially rebooted the DC Comics universe in 1986. The result was the end of the multiverse, with everything consolidated into one single universe--which didn't last forever because...comics. Along the way, many characters died.

How this will work in the Arrow-verse may be tricky. For instance, while Green Arrow and The Flash exist on Earth-1, Superman and Supergirl call Earth-38 home. While the shows haven't visited every universe in the multiverse, there are well over 100 Earths. Sherloque Wells (Tom Cavanagh), for instance, is from Earth-221,

Collapsing these universes into one another is going to be tricky, but it will also mean crossovers are simplified in the future. For example, Supergirl won't have to jump in a portal to visit Team Flash.

That said, Crisis on Infinite Earths is likely going to see certain characters we love not make it out alive, which could be particularly emotional.

In all, there are six shows involved in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

• Arrow
• The Flash
• Supergirl
• DC's Legends of Tomorrow
• Batwoman
• Black Lightning

Legends of Tomorrow is back in the mix after sitting out the Elseworlds crossover in 2018. More importantly, though, Black Lightning being involved finally brings it into the Arrow-verse, after its first two seasons kept it separated from the rest of the DC TV offerings.

Most of those shows have rather large casts, which makes for tricky storytelling. We know for sure Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Batwoman (Ruby Rose) will be involved. Black Lightning (Cress Williams) will also be getting into the mix. While various members of their respective teams might also play a role, chances are it will have to be in a supporting capacity.

As for Legends of Tomorrow, that's a bit trickier. Expect to see, at the very least, White Canary (Caity Lotz) in Crisis. Leaving her out would be a mistake. As for the rest of the team, it's too soon to tell.

However, there is one Legends actor playing an interesting part. Brandon Routh, who stars on Legends as the Atom, will appear in Crisis as a version of Superman. The actor played the role initially in 2006's Superman Returns, though it doesn't seem like he's playing that same take on Superman. Instead, he teased at San Diego Comic-Con that he will play a version of the Man of Steel based on the Kingdom Come comic book story, which follows an older version of the hero.

Routh isn't the only Arrow-verse actor playing a new role. In addition to the Monitor, Garrett will play the evil Anti-Monitor. Meanwhile, Cavanagh will appear as Pariah. In the comics, Pariah is an evil scientist that lets the Anti-Monitor loose, resulting in the destruction of universes.

This one's going to be tough. After taking her final bow as Felicity Smoak in the Arrow Season 7 finale, Emily Bett Rickards has moved on from the show. So those expecting her to pop up in the crossover magically are likely to be disappointed. That said, perhaps she could still appear in the Arrow series finale.

While combining six shows worth of characters is sure to be difficult, Crisis will also feature some exciting guest stars. There are still several that have yet to be announced, but here's who we know are appearing thus far.

• Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl) as Superman
• Elizabeth Tullock (Supergirl) as Lois Lane
• Tom Welling (Smallville) as Superman
• Erica Durance (Smallville) as Superman
• Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as an old version of Bruce Wayne
• Burt Ward (Batman) in a cameo role

That's right, Welling, Routh, and Hoechlin will be playing versions of Superman--which is what happens when Earths collide. Time will tell if we see doubles or triples of other Arrow-verse characters.

The final two episodes of Arrow will air after the conclusion of Crisis. While executive producer Marc Guggenheim confirmed to GameSpot that the Arrow finale would stand on its own, rather than be a continuation of the crossover, you can get it will certainly deal with the aftermath of however this is going to end.

While death in comics rarely actually means death, chances are we'll see some heroes killed off in Crisis. The most likely is Green Arrow. With Arrow coming to a close and Oliver making a deal with the Monitor to sacrifice himself, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he'll die. Of course, it remains to be seen how Arrow would wrap up its final two episodes, in that case.

With the multiverse being consolidated into one singular universe, it's likely that doubles of heroes will also be killed off. After all, there can't be two Supermen flying around permanently, right?

The idea that Arrow's Diggle (David Ramsey) could be the Green Lantern was first given credence during the Elseworlds crossover. That said, don't expect the Lantern to show up during Crisis. Instead, Guggenheim promised there would be some mention of it in the Arrow finale.

For the first time, the entire crossover won't air on consecutive nights. Instead, it'll be split up into two blocks. Here's when you'll be able to watch the events unfold on The CW:

• Supergirl, December 8 at 8 PM PT
• Batwoman, December 9 at 8 PM PT
• The Flash, December 10 at 8 PM PT
• Arrow, January 14 at 8 PM PT
• DC's Legends of Tomorrow, January 14 at 9 PM PT