The OtherArena

[Bob Morris]

Figured I'd keep my thoughts about the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover here, so as not to spoil it for anyone who is still catching up on Arrowverse shows.

I thought it's been handled well for the most part. There are a couple of complaints I will get out of the way first.

* I don't like how they introduced Ryan Choi out of nowhere in the third part. We get hardly any time to know what Choi is like or why we should care about him. He's a character that should have at least been referenced in Flash earlier this season, and then it becomes a bigger surprise to everyone when he's revealed as a Paragon.

* They introduced Jim Corrigan in the short-lived Constantine series on NBC, but it's a different actor playing him. Also, people who aren't familiar with that series -- even if they've been won over by Matt Ryan's portrayal of Constantine in the Arrowverse -- aren't going to have much reason to care about Corrigan. He kind of gets dropped into the picture for a moment and then we're done with him.

So... those are two issues I have.

However, the rest of it has been really good.

* Oliver Queen's death was made a big deal building up to the crossover, but I never expected they'd kill him off in the first part. Of course, they tease the idea that he might be brought back, but now, you know he's going to be done as the Green Arrow but taking up a new mantle as The Spectre. This works because now Stephen Amell can be a guest star on series, rather than having a full-time series gig in Canada (I know a major reason he wanted to be done with Arrow was so he could spend more time with his family in California, rather than travel to Canada all the time for filming shows).

* Some will think the Barry Allen "swerve" was cheap, but it actually works because they figure a way to give the 1990's version of Barry Allen a big moment. I can understand that it wouldn't work for people who weren't familiar with the 1990's show, though, but I suspect there's fewer who don't know about it given John Wesley Shipp's involvement with the Arrowverse.

Anyway, I loved that moment and how they even managed to work in a clip from the 90's show, the idea that the last thing Barry sees is the love of his life.

* I'm really enjoying the interaction between Supergirl and Batwoman. They've done a great job setting those two up for future crossovers. Melissa Benoist and Ruby Rose have great chemistry and can play off each other whether it's a casual friendship or tense moments of not seeing eye to eye.

Also, the character arcs Supergirl and Batwoman have been put on have been great and, for Batwoman, it does a good job tying into her character arc on her own series.

* Seeing Brandon Routh in the Superman costume again is great. I'm also reminded about how great he is in the role of Clark Kent.

* Jon Cryer is awesome as Lex Luthor. I know some fans were wondering why the guy from Two and a Half Men got the role, but he is so much fun to watch. Cryer really gets the idea of "Lex the egotistical megalomaniac" and chews up every scene he's in. I suspect Lex is gonna die for good by the end of the crossover, but you have to wonder if the writers will figure some way to get him worked into series in the future, given how terrific he is in the role.

* The cameos have been fun -- there's enough in there that people will notice to understand that they are tying in as many DC TV shows and past movies (aside from the current DC Cinematic entries) into the multiverse.

* They've also done a good job dropping in comic book one-liners and interactions, even with such high stakes.

They also managed to one-up Infinity War with its "holy shit, the villain won, and he nearly destroyed everything!" Yes, you know much of it will be undone, but as with Endgame, it's the journey to how they undo it that matters -- though getting it done in two episodes will be a challenge.

Regardless, I enjoyed the heck out of this crossover.

[Bob Morris]

So the rest of the crossover was pretty fun, too.

The final two parts really required a second viewing, particularly the Arrow episode. They're basically paying tribute to the show while trying to advance the plot, but when I watched the Arrow episode again, more of the elements worked for me.

I did have mixed feelings about Oliver dying again -- or, at least, it appeared to be that way -- but it's possible they have an out for the final episode of the season. They alluded to Oliver, in his guise as the Spectre, as being more of a ghost than a person.

But, as far as him actually being around on the earth -- yeah, he's gone.

The Legends episode gets into some stuff that's typical of the show (more goofiness and weirdness) but still allows for the more serious stuff to be addressed along the way.

I really thought Caity Lotz and Grant Gustin had a great scene together. I had been hoping to see some interaction between the two, because both of them had relationships with Oliver but never really interacted with one another before.

Melissa Benoist was chewing up every scene she was in. She knew exactly what beats to hit, whether it was meant to be fun, weird, serious or a "holy shit" moment (and she gets one that will have implications for the Supergirl show).

They did some nice fan service to tie everything up at the end -- though it's never referred to as such, the implication is they're forming the Justice League.

The Anti-Monitor was one-dimensional and that's my main complaint about the crossover. Then again, he was one-dimensional in the Crisis comic, so it's par for the course, I suppose.

Oh, and when talking about "holy shit" moments...

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7U6tWFFqHB/?utm_source=ig_embed

They actually pulled this off! I'm not a big fan of the Justice League film (it's merely OK in my eyes), but still...

HOLY SHIT, THEY PULLED THIS OFF!

Also, the scene they shared works... they just both acted like this was so strange, yet this is so cool.

Overall, a very good effort, despite a few flaws.

[Steve Yohe]

I actually watched some of this during the week.---Yohe

[Bob Morris]