The puzzle pieces are starting to fit together for the four-way DC TV crossover this fall. The heroes of Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends will all team up together to face The Dominators -- a high-tech, yellow alien race best known for attacking Earth seeking to eliminate the threat of the metagene in ‘Invasion,’ a three-issue series crossover event published in the late 80s. Here’s everything we know for sure about The CW’s take on ‘Invasion.’
- The event will start in Central City and make it’s way through each show, ending with Supergirl. “We’re telling one cohesive story; Supergirl will participate, but the storyline doesn’t actively begin there,” Executive Producer Greg Berlanti explained in an interview last month.
- Black Canary, Robert and Moira Queen, and a mystery guest teased by Stephen Amell will also appear in Arrow’s 100th episode, which could land in crossover week. Alex Zahara (who played Anthony Venza in Season 1) was also rumored to be at the table read with Robert Queen. Deathstroke, seen in a photo with Amell, is also rumored to return. Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim tweeted Robert Queen isn’t back for flashbacks or flashpoint.
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) September 26, 2016
- According Guggenheim, the ‘Invasion’ arc is “very, very faithful to the comics and “it does have to do with metahumans.”
- A Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 trailer contained the first crossover footage of characters from Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and Legends standing on a rooftop together. This happens after The Flash contacts Rip Hunter on the Waverider from the year 2056. “Sorry to contact you like this Captain Hunter, but I can’t risk putting any more lives in danger,” The Flash says.
- The crossover plot weaves in with The Flash and Legends most, according to Guggenheim. “There’s a lot of plot lines, particularly I would say in Flash and Legends, that come to fruition in the crossover. 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 dynamic between Arrow and Supergirl will be interesting, Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg told EW. “He’s had Mirakuru soldiers, the Lazarus Pit, magic, and Damien Darhk, but flying aliens who can incinerate you with their eyes is one beyond the pale for him. He’s keeping his distance, which is a very Oliver thing to do.” We briefly saw the two interact in “ Superhero Fight Club 2.0. ” Kara says she ‘let’ Flash and Arrow kidnap her and Oliver insists he and The Flash could have taken her.
- Kevin Smith directed The Flash Season 3 episode 7, which he confirms is the episode before the crossover event. This means Season 3 episode 8 is where the crossover begins. Smith describes it as “the calm before the storm that is the forthcoming crossovers.”
- Supergirl isn’t in the same dimension as the Arrowverse. When Entertainment Weekly asked Kreisberg if he’s planning on bringing Supergirl into our universe (meaning the Arrowverse), Kreisberg said “Not for her entire world, but Kara will be traveling from her dimension to our dimension, ‘our’ being the world that The Flash, Arrow and Legends lives in. ”
The most is at stake for Legends and The Flash in the crossover episodes. It sounds like Barry is the one in the most trouble initially, probably because Central City has the most metahumans and that’s who The Dominators are after. Arrow is more of a street-level hero -- the first two seasons barley featured any metahumans, and after Damien Darhk last year, Arrow is going back to its roots of being the superpowerless superhero show. Supergirl has mostly fought alien threats, not metahumans. As far as the time-traveling aspect, the Legends are the heroes most in tune to what’s happening in other dimensions and worlds. That’s probably why Barry contacts Rip from 2056.
One of the biggest questions remaining is whether or not we’ll see JSA in the mix. It also seems like Supergirl will be on the periphery of all this, especially since she will be the last hero to fit in the picture. However, considering the only heroes familiar with aliens are on Supergirl -- Miss Martian, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Mon-El - The Flash and Arrow could really use Team Supergirl’s help.
