When The CW first announced that “Crisis on Infinite Earths” would be the title of the next major Arrowverse crossover, those familiar with the comic book of the same name knew we’d be in for a treat. But now that everything’s actually coming together, we’re finding out just how cool this prime time adaptation will be.
By now, you’ve probably heard about how Brandon Routh will once again suit up as Superman for “Crisis.” Long story short, he may not actually be playing the Man of Steel we originally knew him as. Instead, it looks like he and Supergirl‘s Tyler Hoechlin could play the Earth-38 iteration from “different time frames,” though Deadline‘s wording leaves some room for speculation. Hopefully we’ll get more specifics during Arrowverse panels at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.
What makes this situation doubly intriguing is that Routh already plays Ray Palmer AKA the Atom for The CW. Originally introduced during Arrow season 3, it didn’t take long for the tech genius to guest star on The Flash, before later finding a new home in the form of Legends of Tomorrow.
Believe it or not, Routh’s return to the Superman role could have actually been teased a few years ago though during the “Invasion!” crossover. If you’ll recall, he did make a casual remark that Supergirl looked like his cousin. This, of course, was made in jest, but you have to wonder if the producers began planting the seeds that far back.
Given that, you have to wonder if the other heroes will say something like “Superman looks a whole lot like Ray,” but we really can’t complain. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing if Brandon will dust off his Superman Returns costume, receive one identical to Hoechlin’s, or a new one altogether. Funny enough, the Returns suit was used on Smallville during its final season, so it wouldn’t be the first time it popped up on a CW show.
Now, if we could just get Dean Cain and Tom Welling to participate as well…