‘Supergirl’-‘Flash’-‘Arrow’-‘Legends’ Crossover Review: CW’s Latest Team-Up Strongest & Most Ambitious Yet
Starting tonight on the midseason finale of Supergirl and continuing for most of the week on The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the latest and biggest superhero crossover yet on the CW is its best so far.
Now part of that is the sheer scale of so many caped, masked and speedy pals together, but it is also a sign of the deep bench and maturation of the Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg- produced series and Supergirl’s new home on the Mark Pedowitz-run net this season. As I say in my video review above and with Arrow hitting its 100th episode on November 30th, the aim is high on the ‘Invasion’ titled mega-meet-up.
Without any spoilers, it is more than fair to say that after two fruitful Flash/Arrow crossovers over the years and one Supergirl/Flash team-up, such ambition and its execution this year also proves in a number of ways once again that the DC Universe is more vigorous, more creative and just more fun on the small screen than the big one.
As things really kick into high gear tomorrow on Flash, another big part of this crossover’s success is the smooth chemistry between the Scarlet Speedster, Arrow and Supergirl leads Grant Gustin, Stephen Amell and Melissa Benoist – though I did find the Krypton native oddly under used through portions of the crossover. Add to that quips and in-jokes by the bucket full, an alien invasion with some very good visual effects and very good source material, a nod to the Hall of Justice from the Super Friends cartoon of the 1970s, a whole lot of twisted timelines and the deadpan malcontent of Legends‘ Heat Wave, played by Dominic Purcell – and you’ve got yourself something in sight of big and bold to watch – and watch you should.
There’s a lot to recommend in this crossover, and I recommend you checkout my video review for more on ‘Invasion’.
However, I would be remiss in not spotlighting the exceptional work on the Arrow 100th episode that airs on Wednesday. A pivotal part of the crossover and also featuring a lot of familiar faces from the five seasons of the Emerald archer show, the Guggenheim & Wendy Mericle- written episode manages the surprising feat of being a solid stand-alone in the big wave of the multi-night extravaganza. The first of the DC properties to hit the CW, the Amell-led Arrow has found new gritty focus this season while expanding its own range narratively and dramatically – to which this 100th episode is a worthy tribute to a trailblazer of sorts.
In that spirit, full marks to everyone behind and in front of the camera in Vancouver, where all these CW shows are made along with sometimes half of everything else in Hollywood. Saltwater City hasn’t rocked this hard since Deadpool was in town – when Flash and Supergirl race, you see what I mean as one of a number of examples.
So, click on my review above of the Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow crossover and see how much the heroes and their shows have truly grown up to team up.
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