Elseworlds was one of the cooler projects DC Comics did. The idea was to let their writers off the leash and imagine new and bizarre versions of their universe. As such, it gave us classic stories like Batman: Red Rain, Kingdom Come and Superman: Red Son, before being left dormant in 2003 (there was a brief resurrection in 2010, but that only saw one title released under the imprint). It seems that The CW’s producers haven’t forgotten about it, though, as it’s now being used for what’s described as their biggest crossover event yet.
As you surely know, the storyline will see the introduction of Ruby Rose’s Batwoman to the Arrowverse, but also really neat is that Grant Gustin’s Flash and Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow are going to be swapping superhero identities – and costumes! The poster for the event showed us a promo picture of the pair swapped over, but now you can see them on set trying out each other’s duds (there’s a few shots of Supergirl looking cool in there, too).
Now, while Gustin looks pretty great in the Green Arrow outfit, you can’t deny that Amell seems pretty damn uncomfortable in the somewhat more revealing Flash suit. Given that he’s spent much of the last decade inside the (relatively speaking) plausible leathers of Green Arrow, he might be feeling a bit self-conscious in a bright red superhero costume, even if it comes complete with muscle padding. I guess he should just be happy he didn’t have to turn up on set in Supergirl’s skirt.
From what we know, it’s looking like Elseworlds is going to be a new level of ambition for the Arrowverse. The synopsis explains that Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl have to head to Gotham City to deal with someone at Arkham Asylum who’s messing with reality. My hope is that the character turns out to be the Psycho Pirate, an Arkham resident who famously messed with the fabric of the DC Universe in Grant Morrison’s classic run on Animal Man. Either way, let’s hope they find the time to show us some weird and wacky versions of the characters or to bring back some very obscure DC heroes and villains.
Elseworlds begins on The Flash on Sunday, December 9th, continues with Arrow on Monday, December 10th and concludes in Supergirl on Tuesday, December 11th.
