Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One Review – A Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths is not just a multiversal crossover. It’s THE multiversal crossover. DC Comics had been crossing their characters from different Earths since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 1985, when they had so many Earths with so many characters (and so many versions of the same character), that they finally created a maxi-series that was just as much about crossing over all their characters as about clearing up their continuity. Since then there have been crises, flashpoints and disruptions to continuity. Even Marvel Comics got in on the game with their raids and spider-verses. Every multiverse superhero story owes its existence to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and nothing since has had such a big impact. Now that there are so many different Earths in other media like movies, TV shows, and cartoons, fans are naturally begging for one Crisis movie.

The animated one Crisis on Infinite Earths film is not the first time a Crisis crossover has been made. The Arrowverse, a live-action universe with six TV shows, did its own Crisis in 2019. The flash 2023 movie was essentially Flash point with a hint Crisis also. There was a Crisis on two earths animated DTV in 2010 and also Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013, but there has been no true and faithful animated film Crisis on Infinite Earths movie. Probably because Crisis requires other Earths with their own history and continuity. DC has slowly built up several continuities over the years. The flashpoint paradox served as a bridge from a previous reality to a new one that began Justice League: War. The DC Animated Universe ended with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which then gave way to the Morning verse of Superman: Man of Tomorrow. It’s the Tomorrowverse that has been preparing audiences for a true-life movie for four years Crisis on Infinite Earths amendment.

Just like the original Crisis on Infinite Earths had excellent ground and continuity to anchor it, just like the animated adaptation. The Tomorrowverse is an interesting beast. There have been a handful of films that aren’t very connected, but are still clearly part of the same continuity. There’s a kind of rule for DC characters that a Crisis should have a flash in the middle of it. As such, The Flash has been an essential part of the Tomorrowverse ever since Justice Society: World War II, which initially founded Earth-1 and Earth-2. Sometime after that movie, a Justice League was formed, but we couldn’t get enough of it Green Lantern: Beware of my power. Both Legion of superheroes And Justice League: World of War seemed to lead straight inside Crisisbut this film takes a few steps back to fill in the blanks.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is in three parts, so there are only minor teases from fans service in the first part. Ultimately, using this part to flesh out the Tomorrowverse was a good decision. In a non-linear story we follow Barry Allen, who himself stands outside of time, and we experience important moments in his life. We briefly see how Barry first gets his powers, how heroes come together, the formation of the Justice League, and a lot of Barry and Iris. The Tomorrowverse has its own unique continuity, something that might surprise even long-time DC fans. The way the Justice League comes together isn’t something we’ve seen before, as Vixen comes in on the ground floor and Hal Jordan refuses to join them. Barry and his relationship with Iris are the heart of this film. His love for her and his desire for a life with her make him human, even as time skips and reality itself collapses.

The DCAMU, which owed a lot to Jim Lee’s New 52 reboot, started with the violent Flash point paradox and became even more violent as it progressed. The Tomorrowverse offers an alternative with its more streamlined designs. Some may see it as a downgrade, but it’s important that it has its own feel. At the same time, it doesn’t feel as big and cohesive as the DCAMU, which was able to weave in a lot of Batman Family Drama between the Justice League and Teen Titans films.

The Earth-2 Justice Society shows up for this film, but perhaps the best showing belongs to Earth-3 and the Crime Syndicate. Flash finds himself on an Earth where the heroes are villains, and they are cruel to him. However, their attitude changes when their Earth is destroyed by an antimatter wave.

When the film finally brings in many heroes from multiple Earths, it feels like too little too late. We are not familiar with these other heroes or their continuity. There’s a bit where the Charlton characters come together, which is fun and harkens back to the original Crisis, but it doesn’t mean much to the audience because they haven’t been seen before. Likewise, they prepare the board for characters like Kimiyo Hoshi playing Dr. Light and Psycho become Pirates, but in the end they don’t do much. These are just teases and setups, so there is no payoff in this film.

There’s the bit where Batman meets Earth-2 Robin. The Tomorrowverse has established that Batman never trained Dick Grayson to be Robin, but Batman meets Robin and Huntress, the daughter of his Earth-2 counterpart. It’s strange for us to even think of a Dick Grayson who never followed in Batman’s footsteps, but this film poses the question of how a Robin-less Batman would react if he saw Dick becoming Robin and having a daughter would get with Catwoman. Unfortunately, they pass this plot point too quickly. Superman discovers that Earth-2 Superman and Wonder Woman have gotten together, but not much comes of that either.

The film trilogy will feature more versions of heroes fans know, but what we got in the first part just feels like window dressing. A bunch of science heroes come together, and there are the likes of The Metal Men, The Freedom Fighters, and the Shazam Family in the background. It’s all fun, but there’s not enough substance to it.

There have been so many beloved animated continuities that have yet to be shown. Fans obviously want to see the DCAU, the first DC universe that felt like a real universe because it included half a dozen TV shows. The Super Friends and the Teen Titans from 2003 are just begging for a visit to their Earth. Teen Titans go!, of all things, has been the only real project that has crossed over with other animated DC universes. They met both their ’03 counterparts and the Super Hero Girls in animated films. Considering what it is Teen Titans go!, it was all played for laughs. What longtime fans of DC animation want is to see their favorite characters meet other versions of themselves, team up, and use methods of contrast.

The hook in this film cannot be understated. The Monitor believed that the antimatter wave was a force of nature more like a natural disaster, but Batman pointed out that there appears to be a ghost behind it. And when that spirit is revealed, a much bigger problem can arise. They also teased the backstory of Harbinger and the mysterious Pariah, whose identity will likely be a bit different from his comic book counterpart. While this film did an excellent job of telling a story about Barry Allen, it only set the stage for a film with a much broader scope. Now that there are two parts left, I hope these films get bigger and better.