DC TV Roundup: The “Invasion!” Commences

While Marvel and DC battle to see who wins at the box office, it’s virtually inarguable that it's the latter who dominates the small screen. Now having taken over four nights of the week when it comes to prime time programming, serialized superhero storytelling has swiftly become a cornerstone in the lives of many a geek these days. And who could blame any of us? Twenty-some episodes afford more character development and make room for introductions of heroes and villains that you would never be able to see in a two-hour movie. Multiply those possibilities due to a handful of these shows now existing and we’re being treated to a Golden Age of Superhero TV that we hope doesn’t end any time soon. Given that, we've started this new column to recap the most memorable moments in DC TV each week, analyzing all the unforgettable developments to occur on Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, provided a new episode airs. Check it all out on the next page and be sure to comment down below letting us know what your favorite moment was this week from DC's TV universe. 5) Mother, There Is No Other This past Monday’s fall finale of Gotham, “Mad City: Beware The Green Eyed Monster,” contained many major developments, but the most surprising one of all had to be Selina Kyle being reunited with her estranged mother. After Selina and Bruce Wayne pilfered a prized possession from the Court of Owls, they were rescued from certain death at the hands of Talon by a mysterious figure who had been tailing them for much of the episode. Aside from having an apparent affinity for the classic pulp vigilante The Shadow, the future Catwoman’s mother sure did make an impact with a reveal much more dramatic than knocking on someone’s door in the final five minutes (how many times has that been done in the history of television?). With Selina having been a street kid for most of her life, it should be interesting to see how she adjusts to her mom’s return. Not only that, but we can’t wait to see if the producers incorporate some pre-New 52 comic book lore and reveal that the absentee parent once had an affair with Carmine Falcone that led to Selina’s conception. Doing so would add another dimension to the show and complicate matters in a good way. 4) Cyborg Superman Goes Viral Cadmus finally made their big play this week on Supergirl as they attempted to snuff out all alien life on Earth with the Medusa virus, ironically created by Kara’s father, Zor-El. And notwithstanding their obvious and eventual failure – despite the best efforts of Cyborg Superman – attempted genocide is one of the highest forms of supervillainy, so it comes as no surprise that this was the brainchild of one Lillian Luthor. On that note, we got to see Lena Luthor’s true colors when she successfully duped her mother into thinking she was going along with her maniacal scheme only to sabotage the missile. “Good guy” or not, duplicity seems to be a trait inherent in all Luthors. With the introduction of such a devastating biological weapon, we can’t help but ask why a virus that could wipe out any alien species would be introduced Monday on Supergirl, yet not be utilized at the end of the “Heroes v Aliens” crossover? The simple answer may be that the producers didn’t want the heroes to be mass murderers, but it remains a massive plot hole regardless. That aside, if the threat of Cadmus is truly behind us, what kind of menace awaits Supergirl and her friends for the remainder of this season? 3) Versus The World The massive DC TV crossover officially kicked off Tuesday on The Flash with “Invasion!,” a title shared with the other series participating. Containing a boatload of fan service, it was very cool to see pretty much every major hero in the Arrowverse unite against a common threat, including having Supergirl cross a dimensional barrier to get a piece of the action. After all the expected pleasantries concluded, this installment played on the classic trope of having heroes go toe-to-toe with several others who are being mind-controlled. In this case, it was headliners The Flash and Green Arrow being pitted against pretty much everyone else. And despite this not being a new concept in the slightest, the execution was tremendously well done with some excellent choreography being displayed as well as some gorgeous visual effects. 2) Perchance To Dream Conveniently enough, this week’s outing of Arrow not only served as the middle of the crossover, but it also marked the series’ 100th episode aired. As such, a delicate balance had to be found to not only make it tie into the bigger picture, but also honor what had come before in the previous 99 installments. This was achieved by placing Oliver Queen, Thea, John Diggle, Ray Palmer, and Sara Lance in a shared hallucination caused by the Dominators. Being somewhat reminiscent of the classic Batman: The Animated Series episode, “Perchance to Dream,” it immersed each member of the Arrow principal cast – as well as the two the Legends who originated on this series – in a fantasy wherein most of them lived seemingly normal lives with Oliver’s parents being still among the living. In the midst of all this, fans were treated to the returns of Malcolm Merlyn/The Dark Archer, Deathstroke, and Damien Darhk, each of whom served as the big bads for seasons 1, 2, and 4, respectively. Seeing our heroes fight such formidable villains on a beautiful set was indeed a sight to behold. Despite the science fiction elements, this more so felt like it would have worked best as a standalone episode of Arrow, as it didn’t have the same crossover feel as the two shows it was sandwiched in between. But, then again, each series participating in the crossover retained its own identity a little too much, ultimately making it feel like three shows that intermingled with each other instead of telling one fluid story that should have seemed like a mini-series or made for TV movie. 1) Destroy All Metahumans The crossover reached its conclusion on Thursday night with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, as the heroes learned the scope of the Dominators’ plan: To extinguish all metahuman life on Earth! But, thanks to the combined efforts of the Arrowverse heroes – and Firestorm’s mad transmuting skills in particular – the invaders were left with no choice but to retreat. In addition to even more Easter Eggs delighting fans, one specific nod that stood out was the one given to the graphic novel Justice League: Origin (later adapted to the animated film Justice League: War) that saw the various heroes being acknowledged by the President of the United States. It’s the little things such as that that get turned into Facebook memes. When next fall rolls around, however, it may be time for The CW to think smaller. Yes, it’s perfectly fine to use as many heroes as possible, but you must consider the limitations of a TV budget. While the Dominators looked great aesthetically, a full scale alien invasion is best left to the big screen. Last year’s battle with Vandal Savage had high stakes, yet wasn’t too grandiose and had better execution. Perhaps the producers should take that into consideration when hopefully scaling things back.