“Worlds will live, worlds will die. And the universe will never be the same.” So said Psycho-Pirate in the final moments of last year’s crossover “Elseworlds,” as a tease for the next big Arrowverse event. And apparently he meant it, too, as Supergirl star David Harewood has promised that “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will truly change everything.
Ahead of the five-part extravaganza kicking off this weekend, Harewood spoke to ComicBook.com and, though he was careful not to give anything away, he was on hand to tease that “Crisis” will prove highly important to the development of his character, the Martian Manhunter.
“I’ll say there’s an important change that’s coming for me as an actor. It’s going to come as a result of ‘Crisis,’ which is important for me as an actor, and for me playing the character. So I’m actually really looking forward to that, for the audience getting to see that.”
Continuing to focus on how the Crisis will alter things for J’onn J’onzz, the British actor hinted that whatever happens in the crossover will affect him in a very “fundamental” way.
“The Crisis affects everything, and it’s going to affect J’onn. One of the wonderful things about playing J’onn, and playing the Martian Manhunter, is understanding how deeply the philosophy of the character runs. It really is a deep character. It’s been great fun to kind of explore it as an actor. One of his fundamental abilities, one of the Martian’s fundamental capabilities, plays a very, very important role in the Crisis. It is specifically because he is the Martian Manhunter, that he’s able to sit to survive the Crisis. But it will affect him in a fundamental way.”
Well, this is pretty dang intriguing. A predominant fan theory surrounding “Crisis” is that it will see Supergirl move over to Earth-1 from now on. This has been heavily suggested by the trailers which show Earth-38 coming under threat from the Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter wave. However, it’s unclear how this would have such a huge affect on Harewood’s performance as J’onn. It may well happen, but Harewood appears to be alluding to something else here.
The star seems to be saying that one of J’onn’s powers will be of paramount importance in the event. The Monitor did tell the Manhunter in the last Supergirl episode that he’s been testing him to play a key role in the Crisis. But what ability is it that’s most needed? His shapeshifting? His phasing? His telepathy? Or perhaps his kindness or bravery?
We’ll find out as “Crisis on Infinite Earths” unfolds, beginning this Sunday, December 8th.