6 reasons Crisis on Earth-X improved on the Invasion crossover

[Credit: The CW]

The Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Earth-X crossover improved on what the CW put together in 2016.

The CW’s recent Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X” was a triumph, successfully merging all four of their DC shows into one two-night event. There were so many highlights during the 4-hour event, but perhaps the most joyous of all was the fact that it actually worked.

It was no mean feat combining four shows into one huge spectacle; factoring in actor’s schedules, crew and set availability and the logistics of coordinating more than 20 superheroes in one scene would prove a challenge to any Hollywood film crew, never mind a TV production team.

But manage it they did, and the end result was truly magical. It would have taken a lot to top last years “Invasion!” crossover event, but thankfully, the CW managed to produce something even better – perhaps even topping the DCEU’s superhero crossover, Justice League – and here’s why:

6. It was a standalone event

If you’d never watched Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or Supergirl before, you might think that it’d be a little confusing jumping into the crossover, but actually, the CW made the wise choice to allow Crisis on Earth-X to stand on its own. Unlike last year, when each episode wove in plot threads from their individual shows, this year’s crossover was its own story. Though there were some continuing elements, Jax and Stein’s attempts to separate Firestorm, for example, you didn’t need to have watched all of the shows to follow the storyline.

There was no need to shoehorn in unnecessary plots or characters, which is why characters like Thea were totally absent and the majority of Supergirl’s supporting cast appeared fleetingly. There even was written as one continuing story, and this was proven by the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West technically taking place in the Supergirl episode of the crossover.

5. It was a true four-show crossover

While last year’s crossover was billed as a four-show event, realistically, it was a crossover of Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow with special guest star, Supergirl. The crossover element of Supergirl was actually repeated in The Flash anyway, so it wasn’t necessary to watch Supergirl, despite what the CW advertised last year.

This year, however, things were different. We were treated to a marriage of four shows that featured characters interacting outside of their usual teams and combining in a truly effective way. We even got some interesting side stories like Sara and Alex’s one-night stand and Mick Rory’s crush on Killer Frost. It had never been done before on television really and the CW deserves a lot of credit for managing to combine the four shows so seamlessly.