Following the
parallel-world cross-over TV shows Crisis
On Earth-X (2017) and Elseworlds
(2018), now it’s multi-verse apocalypse time, from Big Bang to an ultimate
cosmological annihilation by anti-matter. Defence of DCEU depends on seven
Paragons. Core TV series cleverly mixed together include variably-powered fighters and capes in -
Arrow
The Flash
Legends Of Tomorrow
Supergirl
Black Lightning
Batwoman
But that’s not
all, of course. This comprehensive story-line also draws in -
The Flash (1990)
Smallville
(2001-11)
Birds Of Prey
(2002)
Constantine
(2014)
Lucifer (2015)
Titans (2018)
Swamp Thing
(2019)
Doom Patrol
(2019)
Stargirl (2020)
Movies cited for
key scenes, then often sourced (some more than others) for themes re-visited and re-mixed into clever riffs -
Batman (1966)
Batman (1966)
Superman III (1983)
Batman (1989)
Superman Returns
(2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Jonah Hex (2010)
Green Lantern (2011)
Batman v
Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Although some of
these links and references only amount to little more than in-jokes, or cameo
appearances, the sheer wealth of material here adds up to the greatest TV
cross-over event, about genre comic-books and franchise shows, while folding
its truly epic sci-fi and fantasy narrative into many-worlds theory. This
story is big enough for amusing Easter eggs leading to a ret-con finale.
So, although TV
event-series Crisis... obviously
lacks production values of mega-budget movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame,
this DC effort manages to catch up and overtake Marvel’s grandest
nightmare with the wish-fulfilment of even greater utopian fan-fiction dreams, emerging
from a chaos of corporate media (competitive studios, TV networks) plus episodic adventures within multi-verse complexity. Doing its best with a hectic pace and tightly-corralled repertory-style cast, COIE brings cumulative mythology (that includes iconic images from DC book Kingdom Come), fused with a pure comicbook joy, creating this new
Age of Heroes.
