With Crisis on Infinite Earths finally wrapping up its half-way point, I couldn't help but notice that one specific thing that I've been eager to see since the event's announcement hasn't come to fruition yet. That being an epic jaw dropping action scene (the biggest of the franchise) featuring all of our heroes fighting some incredible threat worthy of geeking out over. And although Part 3 doesn't give us this gift, it does offer up something that I felt has been slightly lacking within Part 1 and 2 being a strong sense of character progression. The majority of what I feel works very well within this particular episode is the way in which it singles out certain characters and position them in interesting new areas to further their development and/or the overarching story arc. Here are my personal highlights from the 3rd entry in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.
An Awesome Use of Flashtime
-I thought it was awesome how Barry Allens immediately step into Flashtime so they can engage in a strategic discussion without sacrificing the already limited time that they have. It's such an awesome tool that only speedsters can use thereby showing how resourceful and progressive our hero has become since the first season of The Flash. What's also great about this moment is how Earth-90's' Barry is able to mentor him about reversing his perspective at times to see the bigger picture in things. I just love the idea that John Wesley Ship, in all of his various roles on the show, has always been a father/teacher figure to Barry no matter what Earth he's from.
This leads to his ultimate heroic sacrifice which we get to see flashbacks from the 90's Flash TV series brilliantly confirming the character's history and some powerful imagery with the Flash emblem being the final item left in the rubble. For such a short lived character in this crossover, the writers managed to do a pretty impressive job at giving his death a sense of dramatic weight to both the overall story itself as well as Barry's arc throughout the series. Remember, this is the 2nd time our Barry had to watch John Wesley Ship die after Henry Allen's death. This is also following the news of all the other Earths which means, you guessed it, Jay Garrick (Barry's other mentor figure played by John) is dead. The stakes are definitely high and not even speedsters from other Earths are safe with their powers. Well...there is one speedster that I've been excitingly waiting for who hasn't shown up yet.
Black Lightning Is Here!
-This is probably the worst kept secret of the crossover considering fan speculation since the Black Lightning series announcement, but it's still great getting to finally see him interact with our Earth-1 heroes. It was cool to see him immediately referencing Freeland and his family when he first gets teleported to our Earth as it ties into his solo show's current conflicts. Then of course the news about his Earth being wiped out was pretty insane considering that I literally just watched the most recent episode of Black Lightning minutes before this Crisis crossover episode. Because of the timing, I was able to feel the weight of his family and town's destruction much more deeply. It also helps that Cress Williams is a fantastic actor perfectly conveying the emotions of a parent and hero who just lost everything while being sucked into a completely foreign setting and conflict.
Getting to see the crossover utilize his powers to great use by absorbing the Anti-Monitor's weapon energy (or fail safe energy?) was awesome, and as icing on the cake, we hear Jefferson reciting his famous motto from the show while doing so. In addition to him using his powers, Part 3 offers up my favorite Black Lighting related scene in quite a long time which was his tender moment with Barry being able to relate to each other upon reflecting on their family. The idea of them honoring their fathers who were both murdered by their arch nemesis was such a great way to tie the two heroes together. With this, they made Black Lightning fit in perfectly with our ensemble, or at the very least, with The Flash. I'm not entirely sure what will happen next for the Black Lighting series, but I'm 100% sold on having the character back in future crossovers with our heroes. His power set's formidability is well displayed and so is the character's dynamic with Barry.
Pariah Is A Brilliant Visual Storytelling Tool
-The title of this one says it all really. The concept of having a character being solely designed to bare witness to an upcoming tragedy is absolutely brilliant as their presence alone immediately plants a subconscious seed of tension building into the audience's mind. He may feel understated compared to other characters, but he's honestly my favorite character of the entire crossover specifically regarding storytelling.
Honorable Mentions
More Cool Cameos
-I personally don't watch the Lucifer series, but it was great to have that cameo for fans of the show. The same can be said for the Birds of Prey opening character appearance. Each episode seems to be servicing a particular fanbase with cast appearances, so I'm constantly psyched to see who shows up even if its from a property that I have no connections to.
The Spectre's Involvement
-I was caught off guard when I realized that Oliver was speaking to the Spectre who I remembered being introduced on the Constantine NBC series (before his show got canceled). I'm not sure if this is the same actor, but it's pretty cool getting to see another supernatural DC character show up with a key role to play. Wait a minute, does that mean that Oliver might be taking on that role? I feel the implications of Spectre specifically telling Oliver that he has an important role to play leads me into that arena of speculation. That would be very intriguing to say the least. Oliver would be going from one green suit to another I suppose which would boldly progress the character forward into new grounds. Now, there is another character in that very same scene who I'd also love to see step into a specific new green suit, but I'll patiently wait to see if they execute that fan dream during this crossover. For now, I'm just going to celebrate the fact that Spectre is officially part of the Arrowverse and is a part of the Crisis crossover no less.
-Batwoman and Kara's scene was interesting pushing their characters towards the worthiness of their paragon symbol. Admittedly, the Batwoman series has been the least interesting for me currently as well as the character herself. However, her scenes with Supergirl here showed an interesting new side to her. This human being who is still fresh in the costumed vigilante path is now standing up to an experienced Kryptonian superhero in order to stop her from potentially making a catastrophic selfish decision. If that doesn't spell out "courage" then I don't know what does. For that, I say Batwoman just went up a notch or two on the badass scale in my book. Despite not being completely satisfied with the idea of not having Kevin Conroy be our Bat hero for the crossover, I am becoming more open minded to Kate Kane's progression as a hero in her own right. That's sort of the main theme with this episode in regards to personal highlights for me. Characters being placed in interesting new places to further their development.
Overall Thoughts
Part 3 of the Crisis crossover event was without a doubt my favorite of the 3 episodes thus far due to its furthering of the story. There are a few nitpicks such as the lack of lore building behind the Monitor and Anti-Monitor (although I'm hoping that we get to see them developed much deeper in the final episodes). I also wasn't the biggest fan of the Harbinger twist scene for its slightly anticlimactic visual direction. Perhaps, I'm just eager to see the actual Anti-Monitor in action and not just a costumed Lyla flipping around with white eyes shooting beams from her hands. I also would've loved to see the Barry Allen sacrifice stretched out a bit more as this was a very crucial moment for the Flash series. What does this mean considering all of the build up of Barry's death that we've dealt with for quite a while now. Such an significant scene should've been extended, but I'll take what I got as John Wesley Shipp still killed it in the role.
On the more positive side of the spectrum, I absolutely loved the Black Lightning debut here, the Flash sequences between the two Barry Allens, and the way Pariah is being handled. I hate that we have to wait a month following that cliffhanger with Lex and our last remaining heroes, but I gotta say, things are definitely getting interesting. The stakes are truly at its highest point right now. So, what comes next?
Episode Rating: 9/10
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