The CW has released a statement and a piece of promotional artwork for this season’s upcoming four-way crossover between ‘Supergirl’, ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’ and ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, which will air over two consecutive nights in November.
The crossover went into production on Friday, September 22nd and we now know that it will be entitled ‘Crisis on Earth-X’. As fans of DC Comics know, Earth-X is a parallel reality where the Nazis won World War II. The only force standing up against these conquerors are the Freedom Fighters, a small group of scrappy superheroes, who find themselves overwhelmed by sheer numbers and must operate in the shadows.
Also revealed is the set-up for this ‘Crisis’. The various heroes are gathered in one place in order to attend the wedding of Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Iris West (Candice Patton). But the festivities are cut short when they are attacked by a cabal of villains from Earth-X. (Why? That part is still a mystery.)
In a statement, executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg said:
“We conceived this year’s crossover to be evocative of the annual Justice League/Justice Society crossovers we grew up with and looked forward to as kids.”
Beginning in 1963, the ‘Justice League of America’ comic book series would once a year feature multiple issues in which the heroes of Earth-1 were joined by their predecessors, the Justice Society of America from Earth-2. Often, these crossovers were beefed up with other groups of heroes from different universes or timelines, including the Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Shazam! Family, Infinity Inc. and, yes, the Freedom Fighters.
Artist Phil Jiminez was asked to create a mock cover to promote The CW’s crossover and he based his design on the cover of ‘Justice League of America’ #207, the first chapter of the five-part ‘JLA’/JSA’ mashup, which that year guest-starred the World War II era All-Star Squadron.
Below is the original cover drawn by Jiminez’s idol George Perez:
It’s no surprise that Jiminez chose to pay tribute to Perez in the Arrowverse cover below:
If you haven’t seen the short preview of the animated series ‘Freedom Fighters: The Ray’, you can watch it here. On Earth-X, the Freedom Fighters are opposed by the Reichsmen, Nazi versions of Green Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. You can see them on the right in the central image, so we know they will appear in live action as well. Does that mean that Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist will be pulling a “Patty Duke” and playing their regular character and their evil twins? (Bonus: We know that Supergirl’s doppelganger is known as Overgirl.)
Obviously, in the foreground, Barry and Iris were just moments away from their “I dos” before the villains materialized.
Circling the larger illustration are the shocked visages of the heroes from various shows. The artwork reveals a few clues regarding the episodes. First, Caitlin is once more in possession of her ice powers but is labeled KILLER Frost, like her previously seen evil double. What could that mean for “our” Caitlin?
Vixen appears but based only on the drawing, it’s unclear if this is Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) or Mari (Megalyn Echikunwoke). The Legends are joined by new recruit Zari (Tala Ashe), a character who was originally named Isis, but that was changed for obvious reasons. Also, if you look closely at the group shot, Captain Cold is present.
And finally, these heroes are joined by Earth-X’s The Ray, who will be played by Russell Tovey. In the animated shorts, The Ray is joined by Phantom Lady, Dollman, Red Tornado and the Black Condor, but it doesn’t appear that they will be part of this story.
The producers said:
“Phil was the perfect choice to bring the comic book cover iteration of this idea to life. You can count on one hand the number of artists who could compellingly represent so many characters in a single image. Phil is one of them. And his design invokes the cover of Justice League #207, which was the 20th Annual JLA/JSA crossover. Our 10-year-old selves are in heaven.”
Jiminez discussed working on this promo piece, saying:
“Some of the first DC Comics I ever read were those insane crossovers with a dozen characters from alternate earths and dimensions — the kind of stuff I later became known for! So when CW asked me to do an homage cover inspired by those amazing team-up covers, I couldn’t resist the chance to draw all of The CW’s DC superheroes in one crazy action sequence.”
This crossover begins on Monday, November 27th, with ‘Supergirl’ at 8pm EST, followed by ‘Arrow’ at 9pm, airing on a special night. Parts three and four air the following night, on Tuesday, November 28th, with ‘The Flash’ at 8pm, then ‘Legends’ at 9pm.
How does this year’s crossover look to you?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
