Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow review: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Parts 4 & 5

“Are you Oliver Queen?” “Yes.” “Then I trust you with every cell of my body.” Spoilers for Crisis on Infinite Earths, Parts 4 & 5 follow.

The Multiverse has been destroyed and only seven heroes remain to stave off the threat of the Anti-Monitor and bring the Multiverse back from extinction in the finale of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

With nowhere else to go, the Paragons of the Multiverse must fight back against their every urge to give up.

Memories and connections

Probably the most significant development to come out of the first three episodes of Crisis on Infinite Earths has to be Oliver becoming the Spectre, other than the destruction of the Multiverse that is. Now, with the destruction having already occurred, where is there to go? Obviously, it’s the speed force and time travel. Of the two though, the speed force is absolutely the more interesting of the two. It’s fun to see Lex Luthor, even after an apocalypse, still acting selfishly and screwing over everyone, but that’s about it. There’re also some great moments with Osiric Chau’s Ryan Choi in this section as well, which really helps to endear him incredibly well.

Once the rest of the team enters the speed force though, that’s where Part 4 of Crisis on Infinite Earths gets extremely interesting. Starting off with the character work, stranding the team in the speed force gives ample opportunity to bring out some solid character moments throughout. It reminds you why you are rooting for these characters and why their struggle to save the Multiverse matters. By showing so many life-changing moments throughout the run of the Arrowverse, all from different points, it brings every trial that these beloved characters have endured and choice they’ve made full circle, making their final fight all the more impactful. The inclusion of these moments heightens the emotional connection excellently making every heavy emotional moment later in both parts hit even harder.

Arguably, the most shocking moment of Part 4 though is the appearance of Ezra Miller’s Flash. This isn’t just some repurposed footage either, like the appearance of Hawk and Robin from Titans, it’s a completely new interaction, thus bringing the DCEU into the Arrowverse. It’s a great, fun moment between two Flashes that also brings some levity into this incredibly heavy, dark crossover.

The ultimate fight

What comes after these great character moments though comes the ultimate fight against the Anti-Monitor. Every superhero story has to have that final fight and Crisis on Infinite Earths is no exception to that. That said though, it’s hard not to compare it to the Avengers: Endgame because, in theory, they are very similar in premise, and many people will be left disappointed by the fact that it’s not as a grand. However, the Arrowverse has a drastically smaller budget than Endgame and despite that, it manages to make an emotionally rousing fight against the Anti-Monitor that stays true to the universe.

The emotion of the fight comes entirely down to the relationship between Oliver and Barry. These are the two emotionally resonant characters in the Arrowverse, so to have them be able to say goodbye to each other after Oliver defeats the Anti-Monitor is as emotional as any show on the Arrowverse has gotten. Then, once the rest of Team Arrow and Sara discover than Oliver is truly gone in Part 5, this is when the waterworks and tears truly start. Part 5 really paints a picture about how Barry and Sara will be the torchbearers of the Arrowverse without Oliver there.

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Where the emotion of the fight excels though, the actual fight itself kind of falters. As mentioned, there are budgetary issues when making these larger fights, and that’s fine and understandable, but how it was executed here makes it very noticeable. Some of the directing is a bit bland and the end comes down to the heroes looking really hard at Oliver. It’s a bit lacking in the action, which is a slightly disappointing.

Every death comes with a rebirth

Even though the Anti-Monitor is defeated, that doesn’t mean that the Multiverse immediately is fixed and everything is hunky dory. Now, just like in the comics, multiple Earths have been combined into one Earth, specifically Earth-1 and Earth-38, and none of the other Arrowverse shows is perfect enough to encapsulate the new status quo than Legends of Tomorrow.

Making Part 5 of Crisis on Infinite Earths the Legends of Tomorrow episode is honestly a genius move. Legends is the weirdest show in the Arrowverse, so it’s the perfect candidate to ease in the new status quo of combined Earths, as well as looking at the crossover in a slight bit of meta-textual lens. This provides a bit of the fun that the crossover desperately needed after the dour state of the last few episodes. That’s not to say that the final part of the crossover isn’t taken seriously, but it has a certain amount of fun that is fitting for a Legends of Tomorrow episode.

Just like the comics though, the Anti-Monitor is truly not dead after his first “death.” There’s one final, final fight that needs to occur for him to be truly defeated. Like the battle at the end of Part 4 though, it’s a bit lackluster in execution, but leads incredibly well into the future of the Arrowverse. The fight was pretty much a means to an end to truly finish out Crisis on Infinite Earths before getting to the true denouement.

Said denouement of Crisis on Infinite Earths does a really great job memorializing Oliver Queen, both in a speech by the President, as well as the main heroes of each show holding their own funeral for him. This leads to the most impactful thing about the ending, the true creation of the Arrowverse’s version of the Justice League. It’s been relatively informal up to this point, but now, in honor of Oliver, it’s come time to truly introduce the group, as well as the Hall of Justice, which is a fun inclusion.

And that’s not the only fun inclusion at the end of Part 5 though. The shows Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Superman Returns, Titans, and even Stargirl all make appearances on their respective Earths, thus establishing them in the Arrowverse. And, as a massive Swamp Thing fan, this gives a tiny bit of hope that we haven’t seen the last of the character, at least in some form. Honestly, there’s so much more to talk about that really can’t be fit into this review.

Crisis on Infinite Earths ends on several very emotional notes that establish a very exciting new status quo for the Arrowverse, even though it’s a bit lackluster in the action department.