When it was announced that Supergirl would be transitioning over in its second season from CBS to The CW, a move many had speculated about in the months prior to the announcement, it was basically assumed by all fans that meant Melissa Benoist’s Kara Danvers would be involved in the next Arrowverse crossover event. The DC TV creative team didn’t take long to confirm the news either, promising fans that they would be delivering their most ambitious crossover event to date, when the characters of Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash all intersect for a one-week special team-up later this year.
Several weeks ago as well, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive, Marc Guggenheim, announced that this year’s crossover would be a loose adaptation of the Invasion! storyline from DC comics, which featured the DC heroes facing off against an alien species known as The Dominators, who had formed an alien alliance together in order to invade Earth, with the intention of harnessing the power of the planet’s metahumans to create their own superpowered army. The characters will reportedly be created using state-of-the-art prosthetics and computer effects, to not only make sure that the crossover feels as big as it needs to, but also that it looks as good as possible too.
While speaking on EW’s radio show, Superhero Insider, Guggenheim teased The Dominators more when asked about the crossover, promising that it will be a “very faithful” adaptation of the Invasion! storyline from the comics:
“I will say that their goal is very closely related to what was established in the comics, and it does have to do with metahumans. It’s very, very faithful to the comics.”
Guggenheim continued by comparing it to the crossovers they’ve done in the Arrowverse so far over the past several years, and why this year’s will feel different, structurally speaking, than the previous two:
“The first crossover we did was two separate storylines that had a slight tangential connection to each other. Then last year, the crossover we did was a two-parter that told one complete story with a beginning, middle, and end across Flash and Arrow, but it also had the work of setting up Legends of Tomorrow.
This year, we’re doing by far the most ambitious crossover we’ve ever done. It’s basically a huge three-part story that also brings in Supergirl, so it’s crossing over all four shows. It’s telling one big epic movie of a story. It’s not setting up any other spin-offs, it’s just big, bombastic, huge action. There’s also some really poignant character moments. There’s a lot of plot lines, particularly I would say in Flash and Legends, that come to fruition in the crossover. It’s by far the most ambitious thing we’ve ever attempted. I want to say it’s by far one of the most ambitious things anyone in network television has ever attempted. It’s completely insane.”
The ambitious nature of the new crossover was apparent from the number of major characters it’d be featuring alone, and the added in component of the Invasion! storyline just makes it clear that the creative teams behind each of the DC TV shows won’t be pulling any punches this time around. Though, dating all the way back to the very first time that Grant Gustin’s Flash and Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow shared the screen together, the showrunners’ nonchalant attitude towards budgetary restrictions and television norms has always emerged as one of the DC TV universe’s most admirable traits.
It’s still unknown how exactly The Dominators will be introduced into the crossover, or how Kara Danvers will wind up on the same Earth as her fellow DC TV heroes. Right now, the leading theory amongst fans is that Barry’s altering of the timeline in ‘Flashpoint’ likely melded their two worlds together, but until confirmation comes from the actual writers, everything remains speculation for the time being.
Nonetheless, the character’s transition from CBS to The CW has been virtually seamless so far, and judging by the fan and critical reception that the Supergirl and Flash crossover received last season, it’ll be interesting to see what Kara’s dynamic ends up being with the rest of the Arrowverse characters. With The Dominators on their way now though, there’s no denying that the Kryptonian hero will be needed if Arrow, The Flash, or the Legends of Tomorrow have any chance of surviving, especially if it ends up being as faithful as Guggenheim promises.
Supergirl season 2 airs Mondays at 8pm on The CW, The Flash season 3 airs Tuesdays in the same timeslot, Arrow season 5 on Wednesdays, and Legends of Tomorrow season 2 airs on Thursdays.
