“Black Lightning” is finally joining the “Arrowverse.”
The upcoming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover will feature characters from “Black Lightning,” making their first appearance as part The CW’s larger shared universe that includes “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Supergirl,” the network announced Sunday morning during the Television Critics Association press tour.
Additionally, Kevin Conroy will make an appearance on the five-hour event as Batman himself: Bruce Wayne. Conroy, who is well known for providing the voice for the Caped Crusader in “Batman: The Animated Series” and “Batman Beyond,” will appear as Bruce Wayne from the future.
As previously announced, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will also feature Brandon Routh as an alternative version of Superman (along with his “Legends of Tomorrow” role as Ray Palmer/The Atom) and Burt Ward in an unknown role. Ward played Robin in the 1960s “Batman” TV show with Adam West.
The network also unveiled the rollout schedule, which will begin Dec. 8 with “Supergirl.” That will be followed by “Batwoman” and “The Flash” on Dec. 9 and 10, respectively. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will wrap up on Jan. 14 with “Arrow” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” going back-to-back.
The “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, one of DC Comics most famous storylines, will be The CW’s biggest. It will span five hours across all five “Arrowverse” shows, including newcomer “Batwoman,” and carry over the midseason break. It’s expected to be the last appearance for Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen/Arrow, whose own series is ending its run after eight seasons.
Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” was a best-selling 12-issue series running from 1985 to 1986 that replaced the DC multiverse, which since 1961’s “The Flash of Two Worlds” had explained the company’s varying and contradictory continuities, with a single streamlined universe and a complete reboot of most DC characters. It was a critical hit and a best-seller for DC and is credited with popularizing the idea of large-scale crossovers in comics.
In the series, The Anti-Monitor, the evil counterpart of The Monitor (played by LaMonica Garrett in the “Arrowverse”), attempts to destroy all of the different universes with the goal of becoming the sole ruler of whatever is left. He’s eventually foiled but at a staggering cost: The surviving five universes are merged into one, and a huge number of classic DC characters are killed off, seemingly for good — including both Supergirl and Barry Allen/The Flash.