Arrowverse Crossover: Everything You Need To Know About Elseworlds
Batwoman and Superman join Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl, but for what reason?
The DC superhero crossover has become a staple of The CW's fall schedule. Though all four Arrowverse shows are huge successes in their own right, the crossovers are usually a ratings juggernaut for the network - so it's easy to see why they turned it into an annual thing.
In the past, the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow have taken on each other, stopped an immortal tyrant, battled aliens and even defeated Nazi versions of themselves from a parallel dimension. Upon hearing that, you might be forgiven for thinking that you've seen it all, but given that anything can happen on these shows, it's likely that the best is yet to come.
On that note, this year's crossover certainly looks like it could be this collection of superheroes' most unusual adventure yet. The upcoming special, titled Elseworlds, is undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated TV events of the year - and for good reason.
Though the Legends won't be taking part this time around, there will be some other iconic characters to make up for their absence. With returning superheroes, major wardrobe changes and ground-breaking debuts, let's take a look at everything we know about this year's Arrowverse crossover so far.
5. The Meaning Behind Elseworlds
This year's crossover is subtitled Elseworlds. Now, if you're a DC Comics fan, then there's a good chance that you already know what that means, but for anyone unaware: Elseworlds was the title given to certain comics produced by DC that took place outside the DC Universe canon, and it often featured superheroes (or supervillains) taken from their usual environment and placed in a different time or universe.
The iconic 1989 Batman arc Gotham By Gaslight, which reimagined The Dark Knight as a Victorian protector of Gotham City, is considered the first Elseworlds story. Since then, there have been countless titles published under the Elseworlds banner, including Superman: Red Son and the Gothic trilogy of tales revolving around Batman's bloody battle with Dracula.
The full explanation behind the Arrowverse crossover's Elseworlds title has yet to be revealed, but given the recent poster that portrays Barry Allen as Green Arrow and Oliver Queen as The Flash, it's looking likely that some of the TV event will not take place on Earth-1. As the Arrowverse introduced the multiverse a few years back, the costume-swapping versions of Barry and Oliver could very well be from a parallel dimension - an Elseworld, if you will.