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Legends of Tomorrow season 3, episode 8 review: Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4

By Kevin Smith

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Legends of Tomorrow closed the four-part “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover event.

After Legends of Tomorrow, the fourth review to go up in order, I’m sure my esteemed colleagues have said a lot about this crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X”. But although this is the conclusion of that story, I think it bears repeating, so here goes: Its amazing and insane that there is a four-hour multiverse-hopping, Nazi-smashing crossover on television, in prime time. It speaks to how lucky we as a fan base are to have not just a few shows about stuff we love, but enough to sustain a universe, with dozens of moving parts. We can get involved in picking on shows that are better or worse, but damn, what a time to be a superhero fan, right?

That said, its hard to review this as an episode of Legends of Tomorrow, because it isn’t, really. For two nights, all Arrowverse shows have become one single super-show, with an ensemble cast of over 30, including everyone from Arrow to Vibe, from Supergirl to Steel. So I’m going to adjust the review accordingly, putting a bit more focus on the Legends and their storylines when I can.

Opening where The Flash left off, the heroes are attempting to defeat the Nazi forces of Earth-X on their home turf, and disarm the Nazi war machine. While most of the team is pinned down, Martin Stein, already injured, manages to deactivate the Nazi’s device, although he is critically wounded in the attempt. Meanwhile, The Ray (who has one of the goofiest helmets in a whole Arrowverse of goofy helmets) and the Flash catch Nazi Red Tornado with a neat lightning trick and stop him, After quickly regrouping, all the good guys escape back to our Earth.

Elsewhere, Nazi Wells and Nazi Ollie are attempting to dissect Supergirl to collect her heart for an ailing Overgirl, the leader of the Nazi invaders, only to be disrupted by The Atom, who, along with Iris, Felicity, and the Legends, bust the imprisoned heroes (including Wild Dog and Heat Wave) out of the Pipeline prison. The Legends and company are confronted by Metallo, while Dark Arrow takes out Ray Palmer, leaving him to confront Felicity and an injured Kara. The Nazi Ollie is in turn confronted by our Ollie, who holds Overgirl hostage (which specifically hurts Nazi Ollie, who is married to Overgirl). The Legends, now including Firestorm, the Flash and The Ray, battle Metallo and win with the help of Killer Frost and Vibe.

The Nazi Flash removes the villains from the situation and Ollie and Felicity resolve their relationship drama from previous installments, and Ollie admits that he doesn’t need to marry Felicity as he had wanted to earlier, he just wants to be with her. Meanwhile, the Legends get Martin and Jax into the Waverider, where they find that Jax’s life is in danger because of their connection, as Martin is near death, and his connection with Jax is the only thing keeping him alive.  Barry and Iris get a very quick, sweet moment, and Kara and Alex reunite and talk about how Nazi doppelgangers put their issues in perspective. Mick Rory chats with the good-guy doppelganger of his former partner and Season-1 Legend Citizen Cold.

Amaya, Zari, and Mr. Terrific team up with Ray to track the Nazis, and also find out that Overgirl’s condition will create a supernova that will consume the whole Midwest. While they discover this, Martin Stein, realizing that he is dying, asks Jax to take the drug (created by Cisco from The Flash) that separates their biology, allowing him to die and freeing Jax from his wounds. Martin and Jax have a heartfelt goodbye, one again calling each other father and son, and Martin takes the drug, asking only that Jax stays with him as he passes. The Professor’s passing hits the whole ensemble of heroes hard, but it is Jax who shoulders the heaviest burden, bringing the news to Martin’s widow and their daughter.

The heroes prepare for battle, as do the Nazi Arrow/Overgirl power couple. Our Ollie gives a bit of a rallying speech, only to be interrupted by Nazi Ollie, who offers to leave if Supergirl goes with him. The full roster of superheroes agrees this isn’t acceptable, and roll out as a unit to, in Sara Lance’s words, kick some ass. As the Nazis storm the streets of Central City, the full team (16 in all) engage in a full-scale war with the Nazi invaders, supported by Felicity, Vibe and Wells in the Waverider. Supergirl flies to challenge Overgirl directly, and Vixen, Amaya, and Killer Frost infiltrate the Nazi ship to deactivate the shields from the inside, allowing Vibe to take them off the ship and destroy it.

As the battle rages, the three solo leads face off with their Nazi doppelgangers. Barry defeats the Dark Flash (Nazi Wells/Thawne) but allows him to go free. Supergirl and Overgirl battle, and Overgirl begins to melt down. Unable to stop it, Supergirl flies her out of the atmosphere to detonate, and is caught by Steel when she falls. This distracts Nazi Ollie, allowing our Ollie to shoot him in the heart, ending the threat of the Nazis.

The Ray goes home to Earth-X, leaving his boyfriend, Citizen Cold in our world. Jax delivers a eulogy at the Professor’s funeral, memorializing him as a teacher, friend, and loved one. He expresses his guilt to the Professor’s wife and daughter, who say Jax was Martin’s family was family, and to carry their loved one with him as he goes on. Sara and Alex Danvers (Supergirl’s sister) go their separate ways, ending their brief fling and helping each other decide they are ready for love again. The Legends then depart.

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Barry and Iris decide they want a simple ceremony, to avoid any more issues. Ollie and Felicity suggest a pre-ordained Diggle, who they collect (he still vomits when he gets super-sped places). With Ollie and Felicity as best man/maid of honor, the pair exchange vows. During those vows, Felicity jumps in and asks Ollie to marry her. Ollie agrees, and the two share brief vows. The two couples are married by Diggle.

So, crossover stuff first: I was a big supporter of this crossover to begin with. The “Crisis on Earth” whatever hearkens back to some of the most fun crossovers of the Silver Age of DC comics, when the JLA and the JSA used to meet up and fight each other’s villains. The concept of fighting Nazi doppelgangers was a fun twist, and it was inspired and frankly pretty bold to have several actors pulling double duty. This added burden didn’t slow down any of the main talents, either. Melissa Benoist was fun as an evil General, and Stephen Amell’s evil Arrow was pretty much just a pissed off and implicitly more racist version of his normal self. And really, can you ask for much more than the 16-hero, 3-villain, Nazi Army, and 3 spaceship battle royale you got in this episode? I submit that you cannot. This was an absolute blast, and sets a new bar for what the shows on this channel can achieve when working together.

On to the Legends: RIP Martin Stein. While the Legends themselves were mostly foot soldiers in the battle, as the heroes faced off against Nazi doppelgangers, the loss of Martin Stein will be felt on this show for a while. His final scene with Jax was heartbreaking, as was the shots of each of the Legends coming to grips with the loss in their own way, each remembering the way they connected with the man. Sara also got a bit of growth here, as her fling with Alex Danvers ended amicably and both were left ready to pursue new romances (still betting that its Agent Sharpe).

Like I said at the beginning, its hard to review this as an episode of Legends, because it isn’t. But what it was was a jam-packed conclusion to a really amazing four-part crossover, that juggled major status quo shifts for all four shows while managing to give almost every character something to do. I would have liked to have seen more done by the Legends, but hey, I’m biased. Overall, I was impressed by how well this insane project got pulled off, and really look forward not only to the future crossovers, but also to how the battle effects the Legends going forward.

Legend of the Week: Martin Stein

This one was a rare no-brainer. IIt’snot often that the CW shows give us a genuinely affecting death scene. Even major deaths, like Barry’s dad, Laurel Lance, and Tommy Merlyn were plot relevant and motivating, but not especially effective in and of themselves. But this scene, between Victor Garber and Franz Drameh is genuinely sweet. Jax’s misery and heartbreak, and Martin’s soft astrophysics lecture are a good last look at a relationship that has really grown on this show. That relationship is solidified when Martin calls Jax his son again, and wishes that Jax have a life filled with love and happiness. These are the warm, human moments that are melodramatic without being overwrought. Legends, like all the CW superhero shows, has a tendency to lose the reality of moments like these, and it was really nice to see them find it here, even as the heartbreak of losing the Professor hits us as viewers.

Notes from the Waverider (the Earth-1 Waverider, not the Nazi one)

  • “It Embiggens.” Someone who writes this show has been reading Ms. Marvel. If you haven’t, check it out. It overlaps with the vibe of the CW super-shows really nicely.
  • I know we are spoiled with super action these days, but they need to spend a bit of the money and love that made Gorilla Grodd look so good, on Metallo. the fight was cool but Metallo himself can look much cooler without looking like something from the old terminator show at Universal Studios. The best example of this is probably the Metallo from Superman: The Animated Series, where he was a half-human hybrid, and was pretty creepy.
  • OK, so I don’t get a chance to say this much, so allow me to geek out: Supergirl, as portrayed by Melissa Benoist, is perfect. She’s a ray of sunshine that busts up the gloom a lot of other characters can get into. She manages to be human and vulnerable while still being a functional god, and her comedic timing is great. End of rant.
  • Mick Rory calling doppelgangers “gangbangers” is great. So is his disgust at his doppelganger dying saving policemen.
  • Zari debuts what I assume will be her standard costume, which looks in large part like Vixens, but instead of brown is a dark shimmery gold. It’s fine, but not super interesting.
  • Jax and Martin’s goodbye scene really was quite something. I’m not crying. You’re crying.
  • Citizen Cold’s impromptu Civics lesson to Heat Wave was well-meaning, but apparently Heat Wave has never heard of Due Process.
  • OK, maybe one more thing about how great Supergirl is: Her delivery of the “general, care to step outside?” line, made famous in Superman II by Christopher Reeve, has the same winning balance of “Aww, she’s really this polite!” and “OHHHH its on now!” that Chris Reeve nailed in that scene. She is the best, you guys. Like, Sara Lance-quality amazing.
  • Award for most groan-worthy joke in the whole show, and maybe the history of time: Wells telling Supergirl to fly Overgirl “up, up and away!” I don’t know why that stuck me so badly, but holy cow.
  • So I know that Barry being pretty dumb for a super-genius is a mime at this point, but I feel like there has to be an option that fulfills his need not to kill that doesn’t involve letting an actual Nazi who performs sick experiments on people free. Like, they have two different super-prisons in The Flash alone, and the brig of the Waverider.
  • I want a whole show about Citizen Cold and Heat Wave. 7 seasons, a movie, then three more seasons in some kind of reboot. The banter between the two of them is too good to waste.
  • Barry and Iris decide to get married by a justice of the peace because there are “fewer Nazis that way.” Probably a good decision.
  • I’m not a wedding planner or anything but isn’t deciding to horn in on someone else’s wedding DURING THEIR VOWS kind of a dick move? I’m one of like three people on the planet who still likes Felicity as a character, so when I’m calling that B.S. you know I mean it.

Next: 50 greatest super heroes in comic book history

Legends of Tomorrow returns on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

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