Every Arrowverse Crossover Ranked From Worst To Best
They've fought aliens, shadow demons and even each other, but which crossover stands tall?
It's hard to believe that there was once a time when the Arrowverse simply consisted of one show, but that was the way things were between 2012 and 2014, as Arrow flew the flag for superhero television. But with its success, spin-offs soon followed and before we knew it, the Emerald Archer had spawned a universe full of shows that were headlined by other iconic DC heroes.
The CW's Arrowverse crossover has become an annual tradition now, as the originator yearly crosses paths with some of his peers in a bid to take down the biggest baddies they've ever faced. Once little more than a fun team-up with The Flash, it has evolved into main event-level television featuring almost all of the Arrowverse's characters, with heroes from Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and now Batwoman joining the original duo.
With the long-awaited Crisis On Infinite Earths spanning across five TV episodes, it's safe to say the-powers-that-be at The CW saved the biggest crossover for last - well, last for Arrow at least - but was it the best? With that in mind, let's take a look back at all the super-powered team-ups and, while we're at it, rank them.
Note: While characters from multiple shows have crossed over countless times through cameos and references, this list will be looking at every official crossover episode in the Arrowverse.
8. Heroes Join Forces
The second-annual Arrowverse crossover only consisted of its two flagship shows (Arrow and The Flash), but it may as well have been a backdoor pilot for soon-to-arrive spin-off DC's Legends of Tomorrow as it introduced heroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl, villain Vandal Savage and a large portion of the first season's plot.
It once again felt like cutting-edge television seeing both Teams Arrow and Flash unite to take on an unstoppable threat and this one was pivotal in changing the crossover format so that both episodes covered the same adventure - as opposed to two standalone offerings like the first. It also contained some great character work, particularly in regards to Barry and Oliver's relationship, and even introduced the latter's son William into the fray.
In spite of this, and that truly jaw-dropping sequence in which The Flash runs back in time, this crossover struggled to match the heights of the others. It didn't have that notoriously light-hearted sheen that we'd come to expect from superhero team-ups, as it was bogged down with a lot of plot threads that took themselves far too seriously. Moreover, important characters like Laurel Lance, Thea Queen and Iris West were given very little to do while the contrived Oliver and Felicity conflict was nothing short of mind-numbing - a particular reminder of why Arrow's fourth season was, by far, its worst.