Clark Kent meet… Clark Kent?
Brandon Routh shared a new set photo from The CW’s upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, where his older, grizzled Superman meets up with Tyler Hoechlin’s version of the Man of Steel.
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Routh previously portrayed the DC Comics hero in the 2006 film “Superman Returns.” However, the version Routh will play on the crossover is different. It’s based on the “Kingdom Come” version of Superman that starred in a four-issue series DC published under its Elseworlds imprint. It’s set in the year 2020 and follows an older Man of Steel.
Along with Hoechlin, Routh will be joined by Tom Welling, who is reprising his version of Clark Kent from “Smallville.”
Routh already plays a character in the CW universe, starring on “Legends of Tomorrow” as Ray Palmer aka The Atom, which he will play in the crossover as well.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” has an ever-growing roster of past and present DC Comics superheroes. These include the entire “Arrowverse” casts from “Supergirl,” “Arrow,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” newcomer “Batwoman,” and for the first time, “Black Lightning.” Erica Durance reprising her version of Lois Lane from “Smallville,” and “Batman” fan favorites Burt Ward and Kevin Conroy will appear as well. Ward is taking on an undisclosed role and Conroy will play an older Bruce Wayne from the future.
Ashley Scott is also bringing back her role as Helena Kyle, aka The Huntress, which she played in the short-lived WB series, “Birds of Prey.”
The “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, one of DC Comics most famous storylines, will be The CW’s biggest. It will span five hours across all five “Arrowverse” shows, including newcomer “Batwoman,” and carry over the midseason break. The crossover begins Dec. 8 with “Supergirl.” That will be followed by “Batwoman” and “The Flash” on Dec. 9 and 10, respectively. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will wrap up on Jan. 14 with “Arrow” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” going back-to-back.
Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” was a best-selling 12-issue series running from 1985 to 1986 that replaced the DC multiverse, which since 1961’s “The Flash of Two Worlds” had explained the company’s varying and contradictory continuities, with a single streamlined universe and a complete reboot of most DC characters. It was a critical hit and a best-seller for DC and is credited with popularizing the idea of large-scale crossovers in comics.
In the series, The Anti-Monitor, the evil counterpart of The Monitor (played by LaMonica Garrett in the “Arrowverse”), attempts to destroy all of the different universes with the goal of becoming the sole ruler of whatever is left. He’s eventually foiled but at a staggering cost: The surviving five universes are merged into one, and a huge number of classic DC characters are killed off, seemingly for good — including both Supergirl and Barry Allen/The Flash.