TV Review: Elseworlds - Fun Beginning and End, Messy Middle (SPOILERS)

While DC may have its troubles on the film front, they've had a lot of major success when it comes to TV, particularly the shows airing on the CW collectively known as the Arrowverse. While it wasn't the original intent, Arrow was the launching pad for a DC TV multiverse, spinning off shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Even Supergirl and Constantine, shows that were originally on other networks, became connected in one way or another. And much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are crossovers aplenty. Aside from cameos sprinkled here and there, it's become a yearly tradition for a major event to bring the shows together, much like in the comics.
The first crossover was between Arrow and Flash in 2014. The episodes involved were standalone with the main hero and some supporting character travelling to the other hero's city to help with the villains of the week. Team Arrow traveled to Central City to help against Prism, while Team Flash went to Starling and fought Captain Boomerang. Both episodes did a great job of showcasing just how different the heroes and shows were, very akin to the World's Finest crossover between the Batman and Superman animated series of the 90's.
2015's crossover was a true two parter connecting the two shows with the heroes helping Hawkman and Hawkgirl from being killed by the immortal Vandal Savage. It wasn't as good as the previous crossover, but what I liked was how they made the Flash segment feel like an Arrow episode and vice versa. This crossover also acted a prequel to the then-upcoming Legends of Tomorrow show.
2016's crossover was the most ambitious yet, as Legends had started while Supergirl had moved from CBS to the CW. In a week long event, the heroes of all four shows fight off an alien race known as the Dominators in the aptly titled "Invasion" crossover. I felt it was very similar to the first Avengers movie, where it was a slow build up before a very exciting finish.
The cream of the crop though came with 2017's crossover, "Crisis on Earth-X"; as the casts come together for Barry and Iris' wedding, Earth-1 is invaded by a parallel Earth where the Nazis won World War II, currently led by dark versions of Arrow and Supergirl. While in the previous crossovers, each episode still felt like the show that was involved, "Crisis on Earth-X" was practically a 4 hour long movie (including commercials) where if you didn't know beforehand, you couldn't tell which show you were watching. If felt like a true comic event for the Arrowverse like "Avengers: Infinity War" was to the MCU.
If I have one complaint, it's that the crossovers, particularly "Invasion" and "Crisis on Earth-X", aren't collected on a single DVD/Blu-Ray; you'd basically have to switch out the disc from one show's season set to put in another.

That brings us to this year's crossover, "Elseworlds". Only Arrow, Flash and Supergirl were involved this year, which isn't a bad thing. When it comes to the Legends and their involved episodes, it almost felt like they were guest stars in their own show. There was a lot of hype going into this crossover, introducing major DC characters into the Arrowverse like the Monitor, Batwoman, and Lois Lane, as well as featuring the Superman from Supergirl's show and John Wesley Shipp once again suiting up as the Flash from the short lived 90's show. Between the Elseworlds title and Monitor's and 90's Flash's involvement, there were implications of a Crisis brewing; DC fans should know the implications of that capital "C". So does Elseworlds live up to expectations?

Part one begins with the Monitor giving Dr. John Deegan, a psychologist with questionable methods (meaning he fits right in at Arkham Asylum), the Book of Destiny, which he can use to rewrite reality as he wishes. What he does first is switch Oliver and Barry's lives...in a way. Basically, everyone believes Oliver is Barry and Barry is Oliver, where their lives played out the same, but they just look different. That means Oliver is Barry/Flash and Barry is Oliver/Green Arrow. I'm really hoping I explained that well, because it does get confusing just watching sometimes. Only Barry and Oliver are aware of the change and at first, everyone thinks they're crazy. The two go to Earth-38 where Kara recognizes them as their proper selves; they also meet Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The four heroes all travel back to Earth-1 where they work together to take down the Amazo robot and convince everyone of the body switch.
Part one was a really fun episode, watching Oliver and Barry react to being in the others' shoes and having to get used to the others' powers and or skills. The two do a good job acting like the other, seeing Barry act a little more gritty and Oliver having a much cheerier disposition. If anything though, I wish they could have done more to make their lives different other than looking like each other. Well, that and Oliver just looks so uncomfortable in the Flash suit while Barry looks pretty damn good as Green Arrow. Amazo's live action debut is also a highlight, seeing the robot copy the powers of the heroes, and his battle against Superman, Supergirl, Barry, and Oliver was very entertaining. And speaking of Superman, while Tyler Hoechlin has only had a handful of appearances as the character, he does a very good job in the role. I still think it's unfair to compare him to Henry Cavill in the DCEU though, as Hoechlin's Superman has been active for well over a decade compared to Cavill. Lois Lane's debut was also a treat, and I love the chemistry between her and Clark. There have been talks recently of a new Superman show being developed with this version of the character, and I would be all for it.

Part two, in my opinion, was a real mess. While Clark heads back to Earth-38 to make sure everything is fine (since he and Kara are the only major heroes of their Earth), Oliver, Barry, and Kara are able to pick up on a trail to Gotham City after Cisco gets a vibe. It's in this episode where it's confirmed that Batman does indeed exist on Earth-1 in the Arrowverse. Personally, I think this was a bad idea. Arrow has always been a pseudo-Batman show, with major Batman villains appearing including Firefly, Prometheus, and Ra's al Ghul, and his relationship with Barry is very similar to that of Batman and Superman, making Arrow and Flash essentially the World's Finest of Earth-1. It's also worth mentioning that years ago on Supergirl, it was confirmed that Batman does exist on Earth-38, where the show takes place. While I think it was a mistake to keep Batman off of Earth-1, there's a way it could have worked. Compared to the other heroes of Arrowverse's Earth-1, Batman is still considered by some to be an urban legend, with Barry and Oliver even arguing if he actually exists. If they simply not even run into Batman, it would have been fine. The problem is that they say both Batman and Bruce Wayne haven't been seen in Gotham for three years (and nobody makes that connection apparently). It's basically "Oh yeah, Batman exists, but he's just not around anymore".
This part of the crossover is where we're introduced to Kate Kane, Bruce Wayne's cousin, new head of Wayne Enterprises, and of course, Batwoman. Her involvement here is mostly to set up her own show next year, and while she does have a pretty entertaining debut, her appearance has very little bearing on the main plot. Let's compare her debut to Barry's back season two of Arrow: Barry's past and motivations were properly explained and he even helped Oliver after he had been poisoned during a battle with Cyrus Gold; that season had also had build up with news reports about the Particle Accelerator leading up to the scene where Barry was struck by lightning. Batwoman's appearance here feels like an afterthought, especially considering she was hyped up so much. And as for Batman's disappearance, I'm sure this is a mystery that will be explored once we get to Batwoman's own show, and hopefully we will get to see Bruce and Alfred appear at some point. Part of me worries though that they'll try too hard to make it like a Batman show, especially since Arrow already does that. Admittedly, I may be biased about all this being a huge Batman fan, but there's a bit of frustration when it seems like they want to do a Batman show so bad but won't or can't.
But speaking of wasted potential, remember how I said John Wesley Shipp's Flash was involved in this crossover? He's only there for about five minutes, and it's mostly to exposit about the Monitor and the Book of Destiny before he gets transported back to his own Earth. Not only that, but we also see the debut of the villain Psycho Pirate, and if not for the fact that I knew he would appear beforehand, I might not have even noticed; he didn't even use his powers.
If it's not clear, I really didn't like part two.

Part three was able to rope me back in though. Deegan once again uses the Book of Destiny, this time to a greater scale. Oliver and Barry are depowered and turned into criminals called the Trigger Twins, Kara is incarcerated in the Pipeline, Deegan turns himself into a dark suited version of Superman, and multiple supporting characters are either turned into criminals or lackeys of Deegan. While Deegan in the comics is the villain known as Dr. Destiny, the way he acts as Superman is very similar to Superboy-Prime, essentially a whiney version of the original character who feels entitled to be a hero, even though he doesn't act like one.
Barry and Oliver are met by the Monitor, who reveals he has been testing heroes on multiple Earths to find ones strong enough to fight an even bigger threat coming. The two are then able to convince a mob boss version of Cisco to breach them to Earth-38 to get Superman's help. With some additional help from Earth-1's Alex Danvers (Kara's adoptive sister on Earth-38), Kara is able to escape and they find the Book of Destiny while the two Supermen battle. Kara gets the book to Clark, who is only able to use it long enough to restore Kara as Supergirl, Barry as the Flash, and Oliver as Green Arrow before Deegan steals it back. Deegan then uses the book on a scale that could very well destroy the Earth. Thanks to the combined efforts of our heroes, including some back-up from Lois, Brainiac-5, and Martian Manhunter from Earth-38, and a special arrow given to Oliver by the Monitor after some persuasion, the book is destroyed, reverting reality back to normal. This leaves Deegan deformed though to match his villainous appearance in the comics.
There's quite a few epilogues scenes, my favorites being Clark and Lois revealing to Kara that they're pregnant and Clark proposing to Lois. But the biggest tease is at Arkham Asylum with Psycho Pirate talking to Deegan is the cell next to his, saying "worlds will live, worlds will die, and nothing will be the same". This is followed by a title card teasing next year's crossover will be an adaptation of what may very well be the biggest DC story of all time, "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Considering the magnitude of that story, it's very likely that all the DC shows will be involved next year; they might even finally bring Black Lightning into the fold.

Overall, "Elseworlds" is a mixed bag for me. It had a lot of good ideas, some that were executed well, some that could have been done better, and some that really went off the rails. It started off strong, dropped the ball in the middle, but was able to pick things back up in the end. Comic fans like myself will certainly enjoy all the references and easter eggs thrown in (my favorites being John Diggle is Green Lantern John Stewart on Earth-90 and the appearance of Superman's cosmic anvil). This being a prelude to next year's crossover is a double edged sword though; on one hand, it's just set-up for a bigger story, but on the other, it gives fans and the writers of the shows ample time to get ready, much like the year-long wait between "Infinity War" and "Endgame". The only wrench I could see being thrown in is if one of the shows get cancelled.
Between all the crossovers, this is how I rank them:
1. Crisis on Earth-X (2017: Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow)
2. Invasion (2016: The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow)
3. Flash vs. Arrow/The Brave and the Bold (2014: The Flash, Arrow)
4. Elseworlds (2018: The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl)
5. Legends of Yesterday/Legends of Today (2015: The Flash, Arrow)