Following a few brief teasers filled with snippets of superhero group shots, The CW has assembled all of its DC Comics heroes (plus a few others) in the final trailer for next week’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.
The video above includes the first looks at Kevin Conroy’s Bruce Wayne, Tom Welling’s Clark Kent and a chance meeting between Black Lightning and The Flash.
The “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, one of DC Comics’ most famous storylines, is The CW’s biggest and will span the midseason break. The crossover begins on Dec. 8 with “Supergirl,” which 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” airing back-to-back.
The five-part event will include three different versions of Superman and two separate Lois Lanes, including “Smallville’s” Welling and Erica Durance. Brandon Routh is also returning as the Man of Steel (he’ll play the “Kingdom Come” version, not the same character he played in the 2006 film “Superman Returns”).
Additionally, Burt Ward will appear in an unknown role — Ward played Robin in the 1960s “Batman” TV show with Adam West. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will also mark the first time “Black Lightning” characters will appear as part of The CW’s larger shared universe.
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.