Supergirl review: Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One

It’s finally here! The Arrowverse crossover that we’ve been waiting for begins with Supergirl teaming up with all the other heroes to battle the end of the world.

The Monitor came to J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) in the previous episode of Supergirl and informed J’onn that he was being tested for the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths. Now the Crisis is here and it has enveloped every single Earth across the multiverse. And if anyone was wondering just how high the stakes are, the first wave hits the universe of Earth-38 and swallows Argo City.

Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) loses her mother once again, but Harbinger (Audrey Marie Anderson) is able to whisk Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) and Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) away to Earth before they, too, are lost.

Heroes from across the Arrowverse must now work together and prevent any more deaths.

Time to Team Up

Harbinger collects the main heroes of Crisis – The Flash (Grant Gustin), Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), White Canary (Caity Lotz), and The Atom (Brandon Routh) and brings them to the DEO. She’s been working with the Monitor to fight the Anti-Monitor, who is the bringer of Crisis.

The Anti-Monitor has sent an army of Shadow Demons to attack the Monitor’s defenses and the trillions of people across the multiverse. It’s up to the heroes to keep the army at bay but not everyone is on board. Kate Kane is unceremoniously pulled away mid-interrogation of some of Alice’s goons, and it takes some persuasion by the only hero she trusts – Supergirl – to ensure she stays on for the big fight. For those of us who have been watching Batwoman, we know why Kate so urgently needs to find out where her nemesis Alice is.

That’s not the only uneasy alliance we see in ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths: Part One’. With the universe at stake, Brainy (Jesse Rath) suggests to J’onn and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) that they should have a backup plan to evacuate the people of Earth. To succeed, Alex has to turn to her former friend, and current enemy – Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath).

Together, they work out a way to create a large enough interdimensional portal that will send the evacuating ships to Earth-1. If only Lena could look beyond her anger and embrace her friends again. But not even an Apocalypse will change her mind.

The Other Earths

Each Arrowverse crossover has been bigger than the last. And we’ve been introduced to more Earths with every subsequent one. On this week’s Supergirl, there were countless new Earths for fans to get excited about. The CW had already announced several cameos for the crossover, but it’s the Earths that are more interesting.

We see Earth-89, where Batman character Alexander Knox (played by Robert Whul) is seen reading news about Batman being active and capturing the Joker. This is the Earth from Tim Burton’s universe. On Earth-66, the future of the Batman ’66 show; we see Burt Ward’s Dick Grayson living a happy suburban life, and still exclaiming in ‘Holy’s.

Earth-16 is a future alternate reality that the Legends of Tomorrow had visited. In this episode, Sara, Brainy, and Lois briefly land there to rescue Jon Kent’s missing shuttle. This version of Oliver Queen has no knowledge of the multiverse or meta-powers, but given the amount of screen time he was given, could he play a more significant role in this crossover?

The biggest surprise for DC fans is going to be the confirmation that the Titans from DC Universe are part of the Arrowverse multiverse. They live on Earth-9, apparently. Who among us didn’t scream in joy seeing Alan Ritchson’s Hank Hall/ Hawk and Curran Walters’ Jason Rodd/ Robin 2.0 from Titans?

But, don’t hold out hope for any crossovers with the Titans, since it looks like Earth-9 was destroyed along with the others in the beginning. Wait, there’s a season three in the offing, how can the Titans be dead?

The Beginning of the End

Did we mention that the stakes were high in this crossover? Actually, the stakes are through the roof! While the heroes try their best to stops the demons, their main job is to buy time so that the denizens of Earth-38 can be evacuated to Earth-1. They do their best, but what can a few heroes do against an endless horde? The Monitor arrives and dispatches most of the heroes to the safety of Earth-1, but Oliver insists on staying behind so that the ships can portal out of this dying Earth. Though the Monitor manages to send Oliver back to Earth-1, he succumbs to his injuries, surrounded by his fellow heroes and his daughter, the new Green Arrow, Mia.

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Despite the heroes’ combined efforts, only 3 billion people make it to Earth-1, 1 billion of them thanks to Oliver sticking around to fight. It’s admittedly gobsmacking that the writers chose to kill Oliver off in the first part of the crossover. His sacrifice shocks even the Monitor.

Apparently, this was not the ending that the Monitor had foreseen for Oliver. Apparently, everyone and everything is doomed and nothing is going according to plan because Nash Wells (Tom Cavanagh) let the Anti-Monitor out and now he’s a Pariah paying penance by watching all these worlds get destroyed. We thought ‘Crisis’ would be a celebration of Oliver, but turns out the crossover will be about avenging him instead.

Super Sentiments

• For once, Supergirl and her Super-friends are given some credence in a crossover, and most of it revolves around coordinating the evacuation of humans and aliens from the Earth. The writers did a great job of ensuring every single main character had a significant role to play, irrespective of how little screen time the actors had.
• How fantastic is it to see that Nia Nal/ Dreamer (Nicole Maines) is the face of the Super-friends, allaying people’s fears as she directs them to the alien ships.
• Azie Tesfai’s Kelly Olsen helps Nia direct the evacuees, but more than that, she carries her brother James Olsen’s shield and protects people as well. Does this mean she could don the mantle of Guardian as well?
• The showrunners really drove home the hope and optimism that Supergirl and the Super-friends have. Supergirl may have lost her mother for a second time, but she’s the one consoling a despairing Superman.
• And then there’s J’onn – he doesn’t have to fight to make a difference. He has faith in the aliens on Earth that they will allow humans to board their ships despite the racism they faced in the previous episode of the show. And he’s right!
• Wil Wheaton’s surprise cameo adds to the geek cred of the Arrowverse. If you’re a geek, you love Wil and how he can always make fun of himself.
• Why was Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) among the ‘heroes’ that the Monitor is leaning on in the opening montage? What does the Monitor know that we don’t?

The hype surrounding Crisis on Infinite Earths has been palpable for over a year, and the creators do not falter with the first part. Admittedly, we could have done with more screen time for the Supergirl cast, but any fan of the show is going to say that. The major question we’re asking is about Oliver – is he really dead? His death seemed almost anti-climactic.

Does this mean we will see another Oliver during the rest of the crossover? We can’t imagine not seeing Stephen Amell at all in this finale. Also, now that the people from Earth-38 are on Earth-1, what happens to the lives of Supergirl and the Super-friends? Are Leviathan still going to be a problem? So many questions!