We’re into the second half of the Crisis on Earth-X crossover event and they don’t let us the majority of our heroes are trapped on Earth-X while Supergirl is going under the knife of Eobard Thawne.

Stakes are high and we catch-up with our heroes in a concentration camp which is surprising given that the Nazis have won… I imagine there’d be some resistance but I thought they would have a less WWII-y mindset and be more akin to The Empire from Star Wars. Those purely Empire worlds are pretty idyllic from what I remember but hey, it’s Nazis, gotta have ze camps. Surprisingly, Earth-X’s Quentin Lance is in charge with an accent that can’t decide if it’s going full-Nazi-stereotype or British-people-playing-Germans-in-war-films.

There we meet Ray Terrill, Earth-X’s exclusive hero – The Ray. Russell Tovey, who you may remember from Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Being Human, is kind of an odd duck since he’s from Earth-1 but somehow got transported to Earth-X and is in a relationship with Leo Snart (Earth-X’s Captain Cold). That’s pretty much it in terms of character. Unfortunately, with everything else going on and with bigger character moments, Ray comes up short.

Leo Snart is a much more jovial rendition of the Snart we’re used tobut is every bit the hero ours was. Wentworth Miller is always welcome to come back in my eyes but with this being his swansong (though he seems to be staying on The Flash until the mid-season finale apparently), he does a fair amount ingratiating himself with the Earth-1 heroes and even sharing a scene with Mick, where we find both have lost their partners.

In terms of action, we get a fight to secure our heroes’ way home with Flash and Ray fighting Red Tornado, a weapon unleashed by Resistance Leader Winn Schott, which is weird because the poster had Tornado on the Nazis’ side and I thought that would be a connecting point to Freedom Fighters: The Ray but I guess not? Odd. Still, the design they use is a marked improvement to the awful suit used in Supergirl’s first season.

There’s also fight between the captured Team Arrow, Cisco, the Legends and Metallo while they rescue Kara which is pretty cool and then we have the final battle which I marked out for super-hard because this kind of line-up is rarely seen in the West but is a staple of Japanese Super Sentai/Kamen Rider shows. It tickled me just right. Sure, it devolves into a schmoz immediately but we have several key points to cover.

Flash Fact: The Gideon equivalent on Earth-X’s Wellenreiter is voiced by Susanna Thompson, who long-time Arrow viewers will recognise as Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother!

Barry. Lets. Thawne. GO! This is why you get all the bad things happen to you, Barry! Because you’re god damn idiot!

This moment right here? Perfect. Melissa Benoist continues to prove that she is worthy to wear the S-Shield and that a “Super” character can shine bright even when having inner turmoil, something the movies seem to be struggling with.

And then I have to talk about the thing that broke me. Two characters I’ve neglected to mention until now has been Jax and Stein, the two halves of Firestorm. Throughout the crossover, they’ve been butting heads about their upcoming break-up. The dissolution of Firestorm would leave them both pwerless but Stein could return to his family but it’s not that simple. These two have been, figuratively and literally, inseperable for the better part of two years (give or take, time travel’s weird, yo) and they have grown closer than even Ronnie and Stein did.

Jax became more confident in his own skills and ingenuity thanks to Stein and Stein became a more accepting and warmer person because of Jax’s influence. They’re so close as to consider each other family and admit to it during this event, but during the siege on the Nazi’s breach building, Stein is mortally wounded. Fusing into Firestorm to keep his partner alive, Jax starts to cough up blood back on the Waverider. The two are linked, body and soul, and if one dies…

It was after this scene that I had to stop. I don’t know how to explain it because I’m usually not overly-mushy when it comes to father-son talks (growing up sans-father will do that) but the performances of Victor Garber and Franz Dremah were powerful, heartbreaking and I genuinely cried as Stein sacrificed his life to save Jax, the son he wished he’d always had.

Martin Stein died a Legend and that sticks with the team even to the end of the crossover as it hits each of the Legends who knew him personally and to the others who have their unique goodbyes at his funeral. It was a tough sit through both those scenes, I’ll admit but they’d never end this on a down note and the story ends off with Barry and Iris.

Since they were rudely interrupted by invading Nazis, the pair decide on a simpler ceremony just to make it legally binding. Felicity points out that Diggle is ordained and Barry wastes no time messing with his day (because it’s a crossover tradition at this point) so, amongst the scenic park and Diggle’s puke wafting in the air, Barry and Iris get married. And then Felicitiy ruins the moment by spontaneously deciding to marry Oliver despite spending the last four hours not wanting to FUCK THIS IS WHY NO ONE LIKES YOU FELICITY FUCK! But yes, the crossover ends with the big two ships of Flarrow tying the knot and it’s all hunky-dory. So what is my final verdict on Crisis on Earth-X?

I loved it! Strong character dynamics, lots of action, lore-building and genuine fun makes for a fantastic four-hour superhero movie that even DC’s big budget outings can’t match. If I had to nitpick then I’d have to say that a lot of the ropey CGI, The Ray’s lack of development, alongside Kid Flash’s absence and Felicity being Felicity are some of the weakest parts of this crossover but the rest more than makes up for it.

I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and be sure to let me know your favourite moments down in the comments but next week we see the return of Amunet Black as Barry and Cailtin are both trapped in desperate situations in Don’t Run.

I’m not even kidding; as good as last year’s Invasion crossover was cool, this year’s kicks off it’s two-night spectacular in style with Supergirl and Arrow, even if the casts are so meshed that you can’t even really tell which episode is which.

They don’t bury the lead either as we open on Earth-X itself, with crimson, lightning filled skies that bring to mind the Dark Multiverse worlds from the recent DC Comics event, Dark Nights: Metal. Black and crimson banners fill the skyline along with strange architecture and zeppelins. Oh yeah, we’re in Nazi Country.

A resistance warehouse is attacked and decimated by one lone archer, showing that Earth X’s Dark Arrow is not to be trifled with and he proves that by taking on that Earth’s James Olsen aka Guardian, in a way more beat-up patriotic version of his suit. He unfortunately dies but assures DA that there are more like him, nicely hinting at the upcoming animated Freedom Fighters: The Ray, which serves as a prequel to this crossover.

We catch-up with our main heroes as they’re all discussing the upcoming wedding, with nice location titles using the font of each respective series. It’s a neat little sequence, overall and serves as an introduction to the majority of the players for these first two parts.

During the build-up to the event, we get quite a lot of information dumped on us for those who may not watch every show and to show how all these disparate groups interact and it’s nice to see Barry catch up with Ollie and Kara again. They built up a real bond over the past couple of years and it’s paid off here as Ollie is best man and Kara does a beautiful rendition of Runnin’ Home To You, an original song from the musical team-up, Duet.

Kara’s adoptive sister, Alex, and Sara Lance hook-up the night before the wedding! Alex, rebounding from a recent break-up, and Sara, a notorious puss-hound, make for some nice, awkward comic relief but given how funny this collective cast is, there’s plenty to go around…

Like Mick! Dominic Purcell is frequently the funniest cast member on Legends of Tomorrow and is used to decent effect here, partnering up with Caitlin, most likely as a Snart surrogate. Get the whole fire and ice motif rocking again. They even have a go at Dark Arrow before being jobbed out (along with the rest of Team Arrow).

Back to the wedding where Nazis invade! It makes sense in hindsight since nearly every CW hero is gathered together but this gives the show the ample opportunity to have everyone show off what they do best and it gives one notable absence a real highlight…

While Kid Flash won’t be partaking in the event proper, Wally does get a really slick moment that made me smile and then made me sad because he’s amongst the three other black heroes that are sadly missing from this team-up.

OH! I should make mention of another odd attendant besides the assemblage of heroes and the Nazi gate-grashers. This odd little moment between Grant Gustin and a rather excitable Jessica Parker-Kennedy who is playing an unnamed character but my Spidey-Sense is tingling and I think she’s going to be important. There’s two theories I can offer but I’ll keep them under my hat for now.

Now, I guess I should talk about some of our villains and while Dark Arrow and Overgirl are just married versions of Ollie and Kara (gross, I know), they do make a menacing power couple and there’s a fair amount of affection between the two. The real odd-balls are Metallo, with some of the ropiest CGI this poor stretched production could muster and Eobard Thawne. Our Eobard Thawne. Wearing Wells’ face. I know they make mention of time shenanigans but this is ridiculous. I know they’re only doing the Wells-face again because they’re burning through their budget like no tomorrow and Tom Cavanaugh is up for literally anything but it’s still super weird.

Not as weird as Tommy Merlyn being Prometheus though! Holy shit! This was a swerve and a half and I applaud the writing team for bringing Colin Donnell back to Arrow after 5 seasons of his character being dead! Though I will admit that I didn’t recognise him immediately and only marked out when I heard his name.

I know there’s still a lot I haven’t covered and I’m already pushing 800 words but rest assured, I loved every second of the Supergirl and Arrow parts of this crossover and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s episodes when we’ll see Overgirl try to steal Kara’s heart and the rest of our heroes try to escape from Earth-X alive! Are you enjoying this year’s event so far? Let me know your favourite moment in the comments and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow for The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow!

But I kinda got what I should have. The ongoing problem, as I’ve stated before, with these crossovers is that they are always severely limited by a TV budget and that sadly rears its ugly head in the final part of what has been an otherwise stellar crossover event.

Hell, the fact that four shows can interweave a narrative on consecutive nights in the week is accomplishment enough but when it came to the big punch up at the end, it kind of fizzles out.

Logically, I knew it would but in my heart I secretly wanted this to turn into an Avengers moment. Which leads me to wonder how the CW expects to get away with letting Kara can call them ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’. Kiiiiiinda Marvel’s schtick, DC. Stay in your lane.

But for what it was, it was awe-inspiring to see the S-shield, lightning bolt, green quiver and assorted other gimmicks, weapons and powers stand shoulder to shoulder. It’s the kind of thing I watch Super Sentai and Kamen Rider for, the big-ass group shot and, oddly, that’s what this fight reminds me of. Just a mindless brawl with the assembled heroes to satisfy those who care about that sort of thing.

What these shows really excel at during crossovers are character moments and humour and this certainly delivers in spades. The ensemble cats of Legends had been relatively quiet in the preceding episodes but here they get the spotlight for some genuinely funny bits.

Like Steel debuting his goofy costume that makes no sense in terms of his power set and is just there to reference the comics!

Or that sly Superman Returns nod we all hoped would be in there!

If there’s one genuine misstep for me, it’s the resolution for Diggle and Cisco in terms of the Flashpoint Fuckery. I don’t feel it’s really earned. Cisco’s especially because he’s with the Legends when he fucks with time and we all know that the Legends get a mulligan on any time shenanigans. But like the shows said: it’s illegal to hate Barry Allen.

But when’s all said and done, we got a Justice League on TV that doesn’t look terrible and with a diverse and dynamic roster who are all genuinely likeable so I can only clap my hands at this momentous miniseries for bringing us something that is very much in the spirit of DC Comics.

We get the promise that this certainly won’t be the last time these characters interacts and that’s a great thing because the more this group of shows manage to one-up the movies, the more money will be thrown at them and that can only be a good thing.

I don’t think that’s hyperbole because while this episode is pulling double duty as the penultimate episode of the crossover and as Arrow’s 100th episode; it pulls it off with aplomb. It’s very much an episode of two halves though so I’ll kick off with the B-plot that continues tying into the Heroes vs. Aliens plot.

While Oliver and Company (nice little reference there, Cisco!) are missing, Team Arrow, and Cisco, rushes to find them by chasing down a piece of tech they need that was recently stolen by one Laura Washington. Not a character I recognise but has more than a passing resemblance to Cyborgirl —  a villainous distaff counterpart to the Teen Titan, Cyborg.

Something they make a big deal out of is Wild Dog’s aversion to metas and aliens, which I find odd because Ragman is essentially a meta though it could be argued he’s just enhanced by the mystical rags soooo… I dunno, it’s resolved by the end of the episode but I figured it was worth mentioning as character growth for Rene.

The most interesting part of the episode is with Ollie, Sara, Thea, Diggle and Ray; all of whom are trapped in a shared hallucination, a seeming perfect world for them. It’s all very For The Man Who Has Everything, a seminal Superman story from Alan Moore, and I love it! It’s so much like that story that I expected the Black Mercy to be involved, much like it was on the Supergirl episode that also homaged that story.

It’s interesting how each person’s ideal life is adapted into this shared dream. Ollie and Thea obviously want their family back (nicely foreshadowed by Ollie’s speech to Barry last episode) but Ollie and Sara also want Laurel back. Ray is engaged to Felicity, who is helping Diggle who is The Hood.

That was an odd branching path until I really thought about it and Diggle wants to be punished/redeemed for what he did to his brother and who does he know that pisses and moans and acts like a grumpy edgelord all the time because he makes piss-poor decisions? Ollie as Green Arrow. It’s funny in it’s own little way.

Flash Fa—Wait, am I allowed to do this for non-Flash shows? Screw it! Arrow Admin: Tommy Merlyn is mentioned explicitly as being absent because he’s a doctor in Chicago. This is a reference to the scheduling conflict Colin Donnell had filming Chicago Med.

Just like For The Man Who Has Everything, eventually our heroes have to break out and it’s a lot less breaking the world and more breaking hearts. There is a nice bit of catharsis for our heroes though, as they face down the projections of those responsible for their traumas and deal with them each in a darkly ironic fashion.

Ollie has Deathstroke, Sara has Darhk, Thea and Merlyn, Diggle and a Ghost representing his brother and Ray with a Deathstroke soldier like the one who killed his fiancée, Anna.

They escape on a stolen Dominator fighter and are picked up by the Waverider and ends on a menacing shot of the Dominator mothership on a direct course with Earth.

This episode is fascinating from a character perspective and does a decent job of continuing the crossover plot line so I’m pretty happy with it but be sure to come back tomorrow as Legends of Tomorrow tags in for the final part of Invasion!

And I feel confident in that opinion because while the movies have been struggling after diving in at the deep end, the CW tv shows have had years to build up a solid roster of characters with unique relationships to each other and we see all of that on display in the first part of Heroes vs Aliens!

I was going to cover the Supergirl episode as well because she’s a major part of the crossover but the crossover plot was the focus of the episode for all of a minute at the end of the episode. A scene they repeat here because it’s the only part that mattered but still a nice connecting point.

Meanwhile at the Hall of Justice! Wait, what? Yeah this is kind of an odd thing to just throw out there. Barry owns a STAR Labs facility that looks like the Hall of Justice? That’s dumb and I’m someone who loves how dumb these comic shows can be. Why introduce this now and not at the end of the crossover?

Because guess what? I don’t buy for a second that shitty aircraft hangar is out back of this immense place. Even the regular STAR Labs looks like a stadium so they can have decent exterior shots but this place is so unreal that I can see it being destroyed.

What does look pretty decent are the Dominators. Yeah, they mostly look like every alien menace ever but they’re competently animated and have the nasty teeth and big dumb red circle on their forehead that defines their race.

Naturally, having all of our heroes in one place has tons of potential for comedy and we get plenty of it from David Ramsey and Dominic Purcell, especially. But one of Diggle’s lines has a rather poignant double-meaning and leads into what I consider to be the primary conflict of the episode.

Barry’s fuck-ups are finally brought out into the open and, naturally, it causes a whole lot of problems with the team dynamic. We see the full extent of the Flashpoint fuckery with Stein’s daughter being revealed, the future news article being written by someone other than Iris and Diggle’s daughter being erased from history and it disillusions most of the assembled heroes. I do like that Kara and Ollie are the only ones to side with Barry, but for vastly different reasons.

The prerequisite heroes vs. heroes fight is a pretty spectacle but nothing truly amazing but this does mark the first time in over four years that Ollie has run out of arrows in a fight.

This first part was exactly what I wanted from it and the other parts promise to deliver on similar amounts of fun, action and drama so be sure to come back tomorrow when we see what happened to the abducted heroes as Invasion Week covers Arrow!