It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman! More like two Supermen. According to Deadline, in this year’s annual Arrowverse crossover, titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” both Brandon Routh and Tyler Hoechlin will suit up as Superman.
Tyler Hoechlin first appeared in the Arrowverse in Supergirl’s season two premiere “The Adventures of Supergirl,” and has continued to wear the suit in seasons two and four of Supergirl.
Brandon Routh on the other hand, first appeared in the Arrowverse on season three of Arrow as Ray Palmer, also known by his superhero alias The Atom.
Routh has been a member of the Arrowverse since 2014, appearing in Arrow, The Flash, Vixen, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but back in 2006 Routh was wearing the Superman suit. Routh starred in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns as the famous Superman/Clark Kent. It’s still unclear as to which episodes of the crossover Superman will be in and which actor will be portraying the famous superhero.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” has been developed throughout Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl’s past seasons. This includes the seventh season finale of Arrow when Oliver, played by Stephen Amell, learned that he would have to die in order to save Barry Allen/The Flash, played by Grant Gustin, and Kara Danvers/Supergirl, played by Melissa Benoist, setting up his death for the crossover.
The crossover shares the same name as the DC Comics miniseries published in 1985-1986 that destroyed the DC multiverse, hence the multiple versions of Superman.
The multiverse is prominent in the Arrowverse as the show Supergirl takes place on Earth-38 due to its first season being on CBS before it was moved to The CW for its second season. While the other shows, Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman, are all set on Earth-1. If The CW follows the comic books then it will reset the multiverse timeline and put all the heroes on one Earth thus bringing Supergirl to the same Earth as all the other heroes.
This upcoming mega-crossover will unite all of the Arrowverse including Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and the new addition Batwoman in an epic five-episode crossover that will be aired over two quarters with three episodes airing in December and the other two airing in January.
Season 8 of Arrow premieres on Tuesday October 15.
Season 6 of The Flash premieres on Tuesday October 8.
Season 5 of Supergirl premieres Sunday October 6.
Series premiere of Batwoman is on Sunday October 6.
Season 5 of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow premieres in January of 2020.