For the fourth crossover of the CW’s line of superhero shows, writers and producers are focusing on both story and character for this year’s arc.
This year, besides the overarching story spanning Supergirl, Arrow, and The Flash, but excluding DC Legends of Tomorrow, the crossover will introduce Batwoman (played by Ruby Rose) into the Arrowverse. Kat Kane is a former military officer and lesbian character, which adds to the LGBT list established by Sarah Lance (Caity Lotz) and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh). While her introduction in Supergirl’s dimension and how these two ultimately clash is part of the story, Arrow star Stephen Amell exercises Oliver Queen’s trademark willpower to keep mum:
“I can’t say sh*t! But I do know that when it got pitched to me, when Greg [Berlanti, executive producer] pitched it to me, I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s awesome! Really?!’…Â Because we went so big with the crossover last year, you can’t go bigger, so you have to go more about the characters and the story.”
From the Dominator invasion to last year’s assault from the Neo-Nazis of Earth-X, Arrowverse writers and producers have been successful in interweaving essential events that fans have been clamoring for and making relevant plot points for certain shows that carry over after the end of the crossover events. The death of Professor Martin Stein last year, for example, saw the end of Firestorm on Legends, while the ramifications of Barry’s creation of “Flashpoint” the year before became the catalyst for the Dominators invading Earth. The wedding of Barry and Iris last year, besides being disrupted by Earth-X, also introduced the as-yet-unrevealed Nora West-Allen aka XS into The Flash.
While fans are clueless as to how to top the past two years, especially since one series will not be participating, Amell’s assertion of its level of awesomeness both provides relief and motivation to tune in, especially since Batwoman is in development for her own series. Further, since she exists in Supergirl’s corner of the Multiverse, this allows for mini-crossovers like Arrow and Flash participate in from time to time. In fact, it was the success of their first crossover that inspired writers to attempt the first four-parter involving all Arrowverse shows. The formula works when the writers respect the material, and everyone gets mutual exposure, not letting one thing overshadowing the other.
Stay tuned, Arrowverse fans.
