Arrowverse Superhero Roundup
So the interlinked shows that make up what is sometimes called the Arrowverse (after Arrow, the first one), the Berlantiverse (Greg Berlanti oversees all of them) and the CWverse (they show on a channel called CW in America) came to an end for the year. They will start up again soon. We are left with the question – which of them was the most bonkers?
SPOILERS because the most bonkers stuff happens in the twists
Arrow
Arrow starts off with a strong start in the bonkers stakes. Oliver Queen was outed as The Green Arrow (for the third or fourth time) and sent to prison, where he stays for the first half of the season. (Interestingly this follows Barry Allen, The Flash, spending three episodes in prison last season; it’s often been Arrow that tries out new concepts before they get used on other shows). Meanwhile everyone on the outside is trying to give up being a vigilante (this is part of the deal Ollie cut). Meanwhile meanwhile there’s a new Green Arrow shooting bad guys with arrows and vigilanting. Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile there’s a 25 years in the future flashforward section in a dystopian Star City with some of the kid characters all grown up.
That’s not a bad start for being bonkers. But there’s still the crossover to come.
The Flash
The mysterious girl who turned up at Barry and Iris’s wedding during last year’s crossover is revealed to be Nora West-Allen, their daughter from the future. The show continues to throw wacky ideas out there – Groilla Grodd and King Shark both return, time travel shenanigans, Killer Frost and Caitlin Snow sharing the same body, coming to an arrangement, almost a friendship – but it’s not until the back half when the time stuff starts to build on top of other time stuff, and the running joke of Ralph Dibney trying to figure out multiverse and time travel stuff that the rest of the cast (and the audience) already know pays off when he works out something ahead of them.
Anyway, the baseline of The Flash – a man who can run fast enough that things freeze about him fighting psychic gorillas and time travellers – is about half a notch above the immortal ninjas and secret crime societies of Arrow, but it’s not trying as hard. Though the reveals and twists are much wackier. The last episode is very complete, finishing the season rather than offering more endings as the others do.
Supergirl
Bringing Brainiac on full time and other new heroes helped keep the bonkersness level high, but the series really wanted to dig in on issues – anti-alien sentiment, Alex’s relationship with Kara (including wiping her memory of Supergirl to protect them both), lots of other family stuff. It even had some time to think about how journalism works!
It really takes off when the Red Daughter, a Krasnian (standing in for Russia here) clone of Supergirl makes her appearance, followed by the reveal of Lex Luthor (who is behind the uptick in anti-alien violence). It’s bonkers all right – maybe bonkers enough to work?
The most bonkers thing is the final ten minutes of the season when they dive past Lena faking/accepting Kara as Kara (who she now knows is Supergirl), the Monitor returns from the crossover and talks to a mysterious figure, Jonn Jon’zz's brother comes to take revenge on him, Lex Luthor is resurrected and was there one more? Can’t remember. Basically they have the bad guy, the crossover bad guy, another bad guy and the bad guy behind the bad guy, also a dubious/betrayed friend for next season, all previewed.
Legends of Tomorrow
At some point the writers behind the Legends decided to lean in to being as bonkers as possible. And they don’t disappoint. After teaming up with John Constantine on an occasional basis, bringing the character and actor back from the cancelled show Constantine, he reveals that their shenanigans in the previous season have released magical creatures from hell all over time, and grudgingly joins the crew.
The softening of Constantine for TV continues (he hardly ever betrays anyone, the major one being when he tries to change time to save his lover, but half the crew have done that ahead of him), but he’s left as probably the hardest edged member with Mick Rory being a grumpy pyromaniac and Sara Lance growing up to be hard but fair as captain. Charlie the shapeshifter (stuck in the form of the actress who played Vixen in the last two seasons) gives him a run for his money, but her whole arc is about teaching the crew to give the magical creatures a chance, and maybe the redemption of Nora Darkh.
Anyway the ending has a superhero theme park (they pretend to be Supergirl, Green Arrow and The Flash for an advert, but of course they’re White Canary and Commander Steel when they put on the show – they’re legit, White Canary was part of the team that saved the world during the Invasion of the Dominators and Commander Steel was Kid Flash’s sidekick when The Flash disappeared), a time travel paradox, a dancing dragon, the Monitor in the crowd eating popcorn and a James Taylor song used to create love power for magic (after fear power was used to try and stabilise a portal to hell).
The Legends didn’t join in the crossover because that was the week Constantine tried to change the timeline and they were The Custodians of Chronology or The Sirens of Space-Time or DC’s Puppets of Tomorrow. Pretty Bonkers
The Crossover
Elseworlds. Barry Allen wakes up as Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen wakes up as Barry Allen. The Flash team take this on board and imprison them in the pipeline because what else are you going to do when your heroes say that kind of thing? Clearly this is a villain plot. They escape to Supergirl Earth where she gets them the right way round, and also meet Superman and Lois Lane.
The clues lead to Gotham City where it turns out that there’s a Book of Destiny being read by John Deegan that’s changing things. Also Batwoman. Also Oliver thinks Batman is a myth and he (Ollie) is the original vigilante (way to ignore Wildcat man).
Then Deegan reads the book again and the two of them become powerless villains known as the Trigger Twins, Deegan is an evil superman, Amazo the robot is back again and Oliver does a deal with the Monitor whose been lurking about being foreboding, offering to sacrifice himself in the crisis that’s coming, and they win.
The Monitor comes back at the end of Arrow (several months pass) to call Ollie for his end of the deal; his gravestone in future Star City says he dies in 2019. At the end of The Flash, the future newspaper that declares Flash Vanishes in a Crisis rewinds the year back to 2019.
I don’t know, maybe the Crisis is going to be later this year guys.
So Which Is The Most Bonkers
Well it’s Legends, but that’s their base level, so Honourable Mention to Arrow for coming up with a different way to do the show after six prior seasons.
SPOILERS because the most bonkers stuff happens in the twists
Arrow
Arrow starts off with a strong start in the bonkers stakes. Oliver Queen was outed as The Green Arrow (for the third or fourth time) and sent to prison, where he stays for the first half of the season. (Interestingly this follows Barry Allen, The Flash, spending three episodes in prison last season; it’s often been Arrow that tries out new concepts before they get used on other shows). Meanwhile everyone on the outside is trying to give up being a vigilante (this is part of the deal Ollie cut). Meanwhile meanwhile there’s a new Green Arrow shooting bad guys with arrows and vigilanting. Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile there’s a 25 years in the future flashforward section in a dystopian Star City with some of the kid characters all grown up.
That’s not a bad start for being bonkers. But there’s still the crossover to come.
The mysterious girl who turned up at Barry and Iris’s wedding during last year’s crossover is revealed to be Nora West-Allen, their daughter from the future. The show continues to throw wacky ideas out there – Groilla Grodd and King Shark both return, time travel shenanigans, Killer Frost and Caitlin Snow sharing the same body, coming to an arrangement, almost a friendship – but it’s not until the back half when the time stuff starts to build on top of other time stuff, and the running joke of Ralph Dibney trying to figure out multiverse and time travel stuff that the rest of the cast (and the audience) already know pays off when he works out something ahead of them.
Anyway, the baseline of The Flash – a man who can run fast enough that things freeze about him fighting psychic gorillas and time travellers – is about half a notch above the immortal ninjas and secret crime societies of Arrow, but it’s not trying as hard. Though the reveals and twists are much wackier. The last episode is very complete, finishing the season rather than offering more endings as the others do.
Bringing Brainiac on full time and other new heroes helped keep the bonkersness level high, but the series really wanted to dig in on issues – anti-alien sentiment, Alex’s relationship with Kara (including wiping her memory of Supergirl to protect them both), lots of other family stuff. It even had some time to think about how journalism works!
It really takes off when the Red Daughter, a Krasnian (standing in for Russia here) clone of Supergirl makes her appearance, followed by the reveal of Lex Luthor (who is behind the uptick in anti-alien violence). It’s bonkers all right – maybe bonkers enough to work?
The most bonkers thing is the final ten minutes of the season when they dive past Lena faking/accepting Kara as Kara (who she now knows is Supergirl), the Monitor returns from the crossover and talks to a mysterious figure, Jonn Jon’zz's brother comes to take revenge on him, Lex Luthor is resurrected and was there one more? Can’t remember. Basically they have the bad guy, the crossover bad guy, another bad guy and the bad guy behind the bad guy, also a dubious/betrayed friend for next season, all previewed.
At some point the writers behind the Legends decided to lean in to being as bonkers as possible. And they don’t disappoint. After teaming up with John Constantine on an occasional basis, bringing the character and actor back from the cancelled show Constantine, he reveals that their shenanigans in the previous season have released magical creatures from hell all over time, and grudgingly joins the crew.
The softening of Constantine for TV continues (he hardly ever betrays anyone, the major one being when he tries to change time to save his lover, but half the crew have done that ahead of him), but he’s left as probably the hardest edged member with Mick Rory being a grumpy pyromaniac and Sara Lance growing up to be hard but fair as captain. Charlie the shapeshifter (stuck in the form of the actress who played Vixen in the last two seasons) gives him a run for his money, but her whole arc is about teaching the crew to give the magical creatures a chance, and maybe the redemption of Nora Darkh.
Anyway the ending has a superhero theme park (they pretend to be Supergirl, Green Arrow and The Flash for an advert, but of course they’re White Canary and Commander Steel when they put on the show – they’re legit, White Canary was part of the team that saved the world during the Invasion of the Dominators and Commander Steel was Kid Flash’s sidekick when The Flash disappeared), a time travel paradox, a dancing dragon, the Monitor in the crowd eating popcorn and a James Taylor song used to create love power for magic (after fear power was used to try and stabilise a portal to hell).
The Legends didn’t join in the crossover because that was the week Constantine tried to change the timeline and they were The Custodians of Chronology or The Sirens of Space-Time or DC’s Puppets of Tomorrow. Pretty Bonkers
Elseworlds. Barry Allen wakes up as Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen wakes up as Barry Allen. The Flash team take this on board and imprison them in the pipeline because what else are you going to do when your heroes say that kind of thing? Clearly this is a villain plot. They escape to Supergirl Earth where she gets them the right way round, and also meet Superman and Lois Lane.
The clues lead to Gotham City where it turns out that there’s a Book of Destiny being read by John Deegan that’s changing things. Also Batwoman. Also Oliver thinks Batman is a myth and he (Ollie) is the original vigilante (way to ignore Wildcat man).
Then Deegan reads the book again and the two of them become powerless villains known as the Trigger Twins, Deegan is an evil superman, Amazo the robot is back again and Oliver does a deal with the Monitor whose been lurking about being foreboding, offering to sacrifice himself in the crisis that’s coming, and they win.
The Monitor comes back at the end of Arrow (several months pass) to call Ollie for his end of the deal; his gravestone in future Star City says he dies in 2019. At the end of The Flash, the future newspaper that declares Flash Vanishes in a Crisis rewinds the year back to 2019.
I don’t know, maybe the Crisis is going to be later this year guys.
So Which Is The Most Bonkers
Well it’s Legends, but that’s their base level, so Honourable Mention to Arrow for coming up with a different way to do the show after six prior seasons.
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