Much like the comic book series that inspired it, Crisis on Infinite Earths has ushered in huge changes for the Arrowverse. Some of these changes were expected, such as
the creation of a new Earth-Prime where the casts of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow, and Black Lightning all coexist. But other changes have come out of left-field. And with the dust of Crisis only beginning to settle, these shows have only begun to scratch the surface of the crossover’s ramifications.
From Earth-Prime to superhero doppelgangers, here are all the Crisis-related changes we’ve discovered so far. We’ll continue to update this article as more twists are revealed. Check out our slideshow or scroll down to learn more.
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The Creation of Earth-Prime
Many fans predicted Crisis would end with all of The CW’s DC shows being rolled into one universe, and the crossover didn’t disappoint. Where once Supergirl and Black Lightning existed on their own parallel Earths, now these heroes coexist with the rest on the new, unified Earth-Prime.
Because Earth-Prime was created at the dawn of time and became the foundation on which the renewed multiverse was built, most of its citizens have no memory of their old existence. As far as they’re concerned, Flash, Supergirl, and Black Lightning have always coexisted. Whereas most DC heroes existed as fictional comic book characters on Black Lightning’s Earth, now they’re a living reality.
Only the seven Paragons retained their memories of the old multiverse, along with the handful of heroes who have had their memories unlocked by Martian Manhunter’s powers or Cisco Ramon’s tech. The rest of Earth-Prime will continue to live on, blissfully unaware of how close they came to being permanently wiped out of existence.
The Missing Multiverse
Unlike the Crisis comic, The CW’s Crisis crossover ends with the multiverse being almost completely restored. Apart from the creation of Earth-Prime, the only difference we’ve seen so far is that the old Earth-2 (which was destroyed in Arrow’s Season 8 premiere) has seemingly been replaced by a new version that will serve as the setting of DC Universe’s Stargirl series. But all the other live-action DC universes – including those of Titans, Doom Patrol, and, judging by Ezra Miller’s Flash cameo, even the DC movie universe – are still around.
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However, it seems the heroes of Earth-Prime don’t know that. As far as anyone on that world is concerned, the multiverse is gone. They can no longer detect alternate worlds moving at different vibrational frequencies, suggesting Earth-Prime has somehow become isolated from the rest of the multiverse. It may be up to a future crossover to explore the significance of this change, or it could simply be that The CW wants the Arrowverse to become more simple and accessible by eliminating the many alternate universe doppelgangers running around.
Star City 2040’s Rebirth
The past three seasons of Arrow have explored the dark future of Star City, as the children of the present-day Team Arrow carry on their parents’ crusade. Several of these futuristic heroes were dragged into 2019 shortly before the events of Crisis, allowing Oliver Queen a valuable chance to connect with his children before his death.
Mia Queen and the others have returned to 2040, but their city is a very different place now. Ollie’s heroic sacrifice has reverberated across time, transforming his once hellish city into a crime-free utopia in 2040. Where once Mia and John Diggle, Jr. were deadly enemies, they’re now engaged to be married.
Unfortunately, that utopia isn’t set to last. Both Mia and JJ have since had their memories restored, an act that threatens to reopen their old rivalry even as a new enemy threatens to destroy the city in 2041.
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Dinah Drake Forgotten
Life is never easy for the various women who have worn the mantle of Black Canary. Dinah Drake was given a painful reminder of that fact thanks to Crisis. Dinah returned home to Star City to find that no record of her remains on Earth-Prime. She seems to have slipped through the cracks of the new multiverse. In response, Dinah has traveled to 2040 and established a new life as a jazz singer/vigilante.
We doubt Dinah will turn out to be the only example of a hero whose life is erased by Crisis. And perhaps not all of these forgotten souls will take the shock as well as she does.
John Jr. and Sara Diggle Both Exist, But What About Connor?
For a guy who hates super-powers, alternate universes, and all the other larger-than-life trappings of the DCU, John Diggle sure does have a knack for getting caught up in these matters. After Barry Allen created the Flashpoint timeline, Diggle’s daughter Sara was transformed into his son, John, Jr. Then Diggle found out his wife Lyla has been collaborating with the Monitor as the mighty Harbinger.
Luckily, the Diggle family got a happy ending out of Crisis. In the new world of Earth-Prime, John, Jr. and Sara both exist as twin siblings.
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That does seem to have had one negative consequence, however. Arrow’s flash-forwards previously established that the Diggles adopted Brock Turner’s son Connor, raising him alongside John, Jr. But in the new 2040 timeline, Connor is a very bitter and troubled man, suggesting he was never brought into the Diggle family and never learned to follow Diggle’s strong example.
Lex Luthor: Nobel Prize Winner
Lex Luthor was given a second lease on life thanks to Crisis, and he took full advantage of that opportunity. Lex used the Book of Destiny to rewrite reality so he could become one of the seven Paragons. And when Earth-Prime was reborn, Lex used his ill-gotten power to ensure his new life would be more to his liking.
Thanks to Lex’s meddling, he’s transformed himself from one of Earth-38’s most hated criminals to Earth-Prime’s favorite son. In this new reality, he’s a respected businessman who owns the DEO and can’t seem to walk outside without being showered in awards. Supergirl and her sister have no choice but to work alongside Lex and hope they can catch him in his next act of supervillainy.
However, Lex has been more affected by his death and resurrection than Supergirl realizes. He seems determined to prevent a second death at all costs, even if it means working with heroes, aliens, and even his own mother. And because Leviathan has survived the death and rebirth of the multiverse, Lex may be just the ally Supergirl needs right now.
Multiverse Doppelgangers
The events of Crisis raise some significant questions about how the populations of three Earths can be consolidated into one, but it appears that all parallel universe doppelgangers have been condensed to form a single person on Earth-Prime. Though as we’ve already seen, there are exceptions to that rule.
Supergirl’s first post-Crisis episode introduced several doppelgangers of Brainiac-5, all of whom survived the Crisis even as their worlds were destroyed or bottled up.
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On Batwoman, Kate Kane has been confronted by what appears to be a doppelganger of her twin sister Beth. Where Earth-1’s Beth went insane and became the villainous Alice, this Beth is a carefree college student on holiday. She seems entirely unaware of her other self, suggesting she still has the memories from whatever Earth she originally hails. This could be the first example of a larger problem for the Arrowverse, where some doppelgangers still exist and not everyone’s life has properly synced up to this new reality.
For more on Crisis, check out our full review of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, then find out how Ezra Miller’s Flash cameo came to be and why Arrow is flashing back to Season 1 for its series finale.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
