Now that the sheer awesomeness that was the "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover is behind us, we're almost ready to go about business as usual. But when you factor in that next week will see each Arrowverse series air their midseason finales, it may take us a little more time to catch our breath.
At the risk of completely throwing my sense of professionalism out the window by filling this article with expletives, I'll just keep calm and say that this year's Arrowverse crossover satisfied in every way imaginable. In short, it was everything a DC TV mashup should be, and completely trounced last year's effort. And after bearing witness to last night's big reveals, tonight's conclusion knocked our socks off with a superpowered donnybrook normally reserved for summertime blockbusters, as well as a few emotional game-changers.
As is the case with any genre or subgenre, the key to allowing it to live on is to examine it from different perspectives and hopefully break some new ground. For the past fifteen years or so, zombies - and, to a lesser extent, vampires that sparkle - have been all the rage. But after digesting them in countless movies, video games and TV shows, even this longtime Resident Evil fan has admittedly experienced fatigue.
Although pretty much everybody and their mother is frothing at the mouth waiting to see the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War later this week - and rightfully so - it's important we not forget that Marvel Studios have one more stop on the road before arriving at the next big team-up flick. We are, of course, talking about Black Panther.
Last night, we were treated to the opening two chapters of "Crisis on Earth-X" and, quite frankly, I was blown away. Not only did the latest Arrowverse crossover feature a new level of comic book-like craziness and fight choreography that was off the charts, but the writers hit all the right beats with the many characters involved, giving this mashup much heart. Seriously, they should be applauded for managing to make this thing coherent. But I guess one advantage that comes with producing something like this for television means much less studio interference than you'd get on the motion picture side of things.
By now, many of you probably agree that one element which has allowed Injustice 2 to flourish is the addictive gameplay that it shares with its predecessor. And much like the original, it spotlights a DC Universe much different from the one we've come to know. As such, it's given both developers and comic book creators much room to craft some truly riveting tales.
So far, this year's Arrowverse crossover, "Crisis on Earth-X," is making its bid at being the best DC TV mashup to date. Really, it's utilizing the major players from each of the four shows making up this constellation, and flows like a true miniseries - not three distinct parts as was the case last year.
When we think of the most recognizable superheroes, we undoubtedly think of their accessories as helping identify them. Batman has his batarangs, Captain America has his shield, and Thor has his trusted hammer, Mjolnir. Of course, we've come to take his right eye for granted over the years, but he recently found himself as being estranged from both it and his hammer during the third act of Ragnarok.
Even though no one can be entirely certain about what WB's post-Justice League plans may be due to it under-performing at the United States box office and the divide between critics and casual moviegoers being larger than ever, many DC devotees such as myself are crossing our fingers hoping that Green Lantern Corps sees the light of (Brightest) day.
As both a moviegoer and a fan of superheroes, something I've long admired about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that while it's yielded some pretty great individual flicks along the way, the creative minds behind it have also managed to tell this massive overarching story that will culminate with 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and its followup, the as-yet-untitled film that we're currently referring to as Avengers 4 for all intents and purposes.
