The first two installments of ELSEWORLDS have been absolutely stellar! We’ve seen reality twisted with Barry and Oliver switching heroic roles. We’ve seen the 1990’s Flash in full costume. We’ve been to Smallville, with even the Kent Farm from that series. And, we’ve met Batwoman and learned whether Bruce Wayne exists in the Arroverse! Believe it or not, that doesn’t give half the things we’ve seen and learned in this crossover. It’s almost a shame to end it tonight…but will ELSEWORLDS go out with a bang or whimper? What major developments will we find that could impact FLASH, SUPERGIRL and ARROW for years to come? Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

NOTE: This review is posting prior to ELSEWORLDS airing in the Pacific Time Zone USA. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, STOP HERE and come back after you’ve seen the show. You’ll be glad you did!

When we left Part 2, Barry and Oliver were transformed into the Trigger Twins, hunted by the CCPD! Neither one of them has any powers now, and as they flee they run into the Dark Superman, in full black uniform.  Looks like Deegan is using the Book of Destiny to really mess up things this time.

As we start Part 3, Dr. John Deegan gets the intro to the show. Why not, he’s the hero now…he turned himself into the Dark Superman! Yes, the Superman in black is actually Deegan! He has rewritten everyone and everything in the universe. Good guys are now bad, S.T.A.R. Labs is now the Superman HQ, Killer Frost, Alex Danvers, and John Diggle are all henchmen for Deegan…and that’s not all, but we’ll get to more of that later.

Barry and Oliver try to track down Cisco Ramon, but when they get to an apartment door and burst in, they find a strange platform with no walls and…the Monitor himself! He tells them that if they are to win, they need to find their true selves, and with that they are back outside the apartment.

They do track down Cisco, who is now the biggest crime boss in Central City. “Superman’s Worst Friend” Jimmy Olsen is his enforcer. Barry and Oliver are about to be in BIG trouble when Barry brings up the name Dante Ramon – and they get an audience with Cisco.

Cisco can still vibe – he just uses it to steal from bank vaults.  He is interested in how to stop “Superman” and agrees to help Barry and Oliver…especially when Barry offers to teach Cisco how to breach to other worlds.

They reach the Fortress of Solitude on Earth 38 and tell the real Superman what’s happening.  Supes accompanies them back to Earth 1.

While all that is happening we see Deegan/Supes back at S.T.A.R., with Kara in the pipeline. Over time, she convinces Alex to free her. But, just as the two are about to get away they are confronted by Deegan/Supes! Just in time, we get the real Superman with Barry, Oliver and Cisco…and the fight is on!

While that fight is happening, Kara, Alex and Barry get to Deegan/Supes’ “Fortress” (actually the time vault) and grab the Book of Destiny.  It’s too much for Kara to operate, but she knows that Clark has encountered these types of books before. She gets the book to Clark, who starts to rewrite everything. He gets far enough to restore Kara, Barry and Oliver…but then Deegan/Supes reappears and threatens to kill Barry.

Oliver has a Kryptonite arrow (where from, who knows?). But, Barry talks him out of it, saying that this may actually be the test that the Monitor has given them, to see if they are the better people.  With that delay, Deegan/Supes grabs the book and flies away.

Deegan is changing reality seemingly hundreds of times, all at once.  S.T.A.R. briefly becomes the Earth-X version before changing several times to become the Dark Superman HQ again. He changes cop cars into taxi cabs…you get the idea.

There is a way to stop this, but it is very risky.  Tell me if you’ve heard something that is somewhat similar to this before…

If Flash and Supergirl run/fly around the world very, very fast but in opposite directions, they can slow down time. That will give Clark a chance to grab the book. It could work, but Clark saw while he had the Book of Destiny that this would kill both Kara and Barry.  They want to risk it anyway. Clark is very worried, but Oliver has an idea that he wants to try…

Oliver goes back to the Monitor and calls him out.  Oliver knows who he is, about the darkness that is still inside him. He also knows that Barry and Kara are symbols of hope, of the best in all of them…and he’s willing to deal. What will Oliver be willing to exchange?

Meanwhile, Lois, Braniac 5 and the Martian Manhunter show up. It’s a good thing they did, because Deegan/Supes is winning. He’s even brought A.M.A.Z.O. back to fight on his side. Brainy takes that on while Lois uses a strange hammer (any ideas folks?) to give them a chance. Deegan/Supes blasts Lois into the air, and as she is falling to her doom…

Time. Slows. Down.

Now, does Superman save the universe by grabbing the book, or does he save Lois? (Have we seen this type of choice before? Yes, we have!).  But, he doesn’t have to make that choice because…

Oliver shows up with an arrow that glows with a blue light. He fires directly at the Book of Destiny…

…and the world returns to normal, while the Book loses it’s power.  What we don’t know for sure at this point is what Oliver was willing to exchange.  Was it giving up the Book? Was it something far more personal? That’s probably something we may find out when ARROW returns from the mid-season break.

As for Deegan, he is no longer the Dark Superman. His face is withered and quite zombie-fied in appearance.  He’s still alive, but no longer a threat…for now.

The Earth 38 crowd returns home, where we learn that Superman and Lois are expecting! To be safe, they will return to Argo City so that the baby’s kicking won’t kill Lois. More than that, they probably will raise their child there, at least for a few years…maybe for good? Clark is confident that he can leave the world safely in Kara’s hands. What a BIG change for Earth 38!

One more Earth 38 note – Superman proposes to Lois!

Back on Earth 1, Barry and Oliver are sharing a drink and talking about all the events that happened, when Oliver gets a call…from Gotham City…

Yes, it’s Batwoman. She lets Oliver know that Deegan has made a new friend at Arkham, and that may not be a good idea. That friend?

The Psycho Pirate!

And the Psycho Pirate says some very familiar words…“Worlds will live. Worlds will die. And the universe will never be the same.”

That’s when we get the graphic that in the Fall of 2019 we will get…

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS!

NOTES:

• How many Richard Donner Superman movie references can you load into one episode? Apparently a lot – and I have no complaints. I haven’t listed every instance in this article, so go back and add any extras in the comments below.
• What was that hammer Lois used? I’m not the definitive expert, so I could be missing something. Any theories are much appreciated here.

MORE NOTES:

• Getting to the show itself – It is always hard in comics and comic-based TV to have a finale that matches the intensity of the prior chapters.  ELSEWORLDS manages to have a credible end to the show that wraps things up in a satisfying way.
• I was a bit worried before the show that we would see multiple versions of Earth played out with everyone playing 15 different parts in one show. That didn’t happen here, and even the part where Deegan was changing reality hundreds of times a minute seems to work.
• The CG of the Supes vs. Supes fight was good overall, though some of the flying sequences were a little off in the CG department.  Still, I enjoyed the fight.
• Finally, it’s good to see that this isn’t a “let’s forget it ever happened and all is perfectly back to normal” ending. Supergirl will have to take on protecting the whole world by herself.  Oliver will likely have some repercussions – though that may be a mystery in the short run. As for Barry? Well, those red skies will be coming back a LOT sooner than 2024! And it looks like that will involve EVERYONE, including our new Batwoman!
• Which brings me to the BIG announcement at the end. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS is what we seem to have been aiming for since the start of THE FLASH on CW.  I’m hoping that doesn’t mean anything for the life of the series – certainly they don’t have to follow the comic script and write our Barry…and that may be the purpose of this season’s plot with Nora, to change that part of history. Still, I’m looking very much forward to the Fall of 2019 and what we will get then!

SUMMARY: I was about to give a 9 or 9.5 to this episode until the very last moment of the show…but the wrap up of the episode gives it some extra credit. We’ll give this AND the overall crossover a 10/10. That’s just my opinion, of course – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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