Hello, my friends. For every beginning, there is an end. For every start, there is a finish. For every Alpha, there is an Omega. Just when something has formed and has made some traction, it could all be wiped away in an instant. For a certain Scarlet Speedster and the rest of our vast lineup of heroes, their greatest challenge is about to unfold within said area. On that note, I welcome you all to the return of a long-time review series known as…
As we’ve made our way through the TomorrowVerse, we’ve seen various noble figures fight in various battles within their own realms, different dimensions, on ground-level, over in outer space and even in the future. While those clashes each provided their own hurdles to overcome, those were all just a warm-up to the true terror that’s about to unfold over the entirety of existence. However, this situation is so massive that one review isn’t going to be able to cover it all. In the past, I’ve tackled certain stories that’ve required multiple movies in order for their narrative to get completely told. I have made an exception for a two-part tale that was all about the demise and reemergence of a certain Man of Steel, but this condition has presented itself with an opportunity to bring that kind of coverage back in order for the tale’s full scale to receive the proper attention that it needs. As such, we begin this winding and twisting turn with an animated entry called…
Released in the U.S. on January 9, 2024, for Digital Download before coming out on Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD Bly-Ray on January 23, this is based on the twelve-issue crossover series simply known as “Crisis On Infinite Earths” which ran from (at least based on its publication dates) April 1985 to March 1986 while being originally written by Marv Wolfman, drawn by the late George Pérez and inked by Jerry Ordway, Mike DeCarlo & the late Dick Giordano. With Jeff Wamester in the director’s chair once again and Jim Krieg returning to write the script, how will the first-third of this massive tale play out within this critical landscape? Let’s make a mad dash while avoiding a sinister surge in order to find out.
Following the opening credits, we open with Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash (voiced by Matt Bomer) super speeding his way through an otherworldly area before we ultimately see the end result of the fateful lab accident that gave him his signature power. Suddenly, he hears & sees somebody in shadow saying “The Flash”, “It’s the beginning” and “He said, Before the beginning” before the figure disappears. Barry then realizes that he’s in his lab before he becomes hungry as we then shift to a restaurant.
Before he can tell the waitress his order, she soon reveals that he’s already given it and that it consists of sausage, peas, French fries, white toast, apple pie and coffee. With his server being Iris West (voiced by Ashleigh LaThrop), she suddenly trips and loses her grip upon his order. Thankfully, his super speed allowed him to easily obtain every single piece of food along with every drop of coffee without losing any of its contents before she gets stunned by what’s just occurred.
He then mentions how this is where they first met each other before allowing her to join him at his table, to which she brings up how this is actually her last day working in this establishment since she’s getting a job at the news station known as the Galaxy Broadcasting System a.k.a. GBS and will actually be starting off as a news writer. Barry then introduces himself to her and asks her out on for lunch before they ultimately agree to share his current meal. Just then, he hears and sees a disheveled man (voiced by Nolan North) outside calling out to his superhero persona before telling him to “get up”.
Following a shift through the same uncanny plane, we transition to him in Metropolis as some bystanders are telling him to get up since he just got knocked down during a confrontation. As a weary man with a cane tells the opposing figure that he wasn’t “programmed to harm”, the robotic adversary stands over Allen and prepares to reengage him. Fortunately, he gets swiftly saved by Kal-El a.k.a. Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman (voiced by Darren Criss). Before the Man of Steel heads out to take their foe on, Flash recognizes the being as an android named Amazo (also voiced by Nolan North). Kal-El then asks him how he knows this, to which Barry says that he doesn’t know.
Despite Allen telling him not to do so, Superman proceeds to engage his opponent. However, Amazo is able to swiftly dodge the attacks before capturing him within his technological grasp. Fortunately, Flash was able to recover just enough in order to swiftly save his comrade. Kal-El then mentions how the android has just drained him of his power similar to how Parasite did so, to which Barry mentions that he also met the same turn of fate before Amazo uses its newly acquired strength to resist the police’s gunfire and threaten the cops.
Despite Clark’s worry for him, Allen offers to lure him away. Even though he begins to carry out his plan, Amazo immediately spots the weary Superman while easily fending off Flash’s attempts to distract him. Just as the android begins to loom large over the weakened heroes, it suddenly gets hit by some arrows which explodes and releases some smokescreen as Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow (voiced by Jimmi Simpson) helps them into his car before they drive off.
As they escape, Oliver mentions how Kal-El is in need of medical attention and suggests S.T.A.R. Labs. However, Clark turns the facility down as even Barry mentions how they’re “too alien dissection-y”. Fortunately, Superman knows someone who can help him out.
We then shift over to Wayne Manor where it turns out to be Halloween night as Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan) answers the door and immediately recognizes who they’re here to see. From there, Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (voiced by Jensen Ackles) approaches them and immediately recognizes Queen & Allen despite their costumed faces. Green Arrow then informs him of a friend who helped them reach his house before Wayne spots Kal-El lying wounded and tells them to bring him in.
Just then, Flash speeds through the same higher plane as we then transition to him in his civilian form where he walks with Iris while she asks him about the flowers that they’ll use in the reception following their upcoming wedding. He mentions about them having irises on every table before she then tells him that he was “time tripping” again, to which he agrees to doing so slightly before the Justice League was created. She then says that there’re other ways to help people without him putting his life on the line before they come across a familiar homeless man and has her fiancée offer the guy some money. Barry then attempts to give some cash to the figure in order for him to have something to eat, but the same disheveled man from earlier tells him how every world is ending as he grabs Allen’s head and mystically affects him.
As a result, Barry speeds away into the same otherworldly plane before we then shift to him being back in his home where he’s met upon by Bruce along with a newly orphaned young boy named Dick Grayson (voiced by Zach Callison). After he’s allowed to go play some video games with Allen’s nephew Wally in the basement, Wayne mentions how the boy had just lost his parents in a circus accident outside of Gotham City that wasn’t actually an accident. He then tells Barry that because of his volunteer connections to the Central City Orphanage, Bruce would like to place Dick there since he doesn’t trust Gotham’s own social services system. Despite Wayne assuring him that he thought this all out, Allen then asks him if he would be willing to adopt Grayson instead since the kid seems to be comfortable around him. Bruce doesn’t want to take up the responsibility due to the high levels of commitment that comes with his crime-fighting venture, yet Barry says that making time will help both the young boy as well as him. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Wayne is willing to take up the task.
Following another time trip transition, we then shift over to the Bat Cave where Kal-El is being examined before Batman assures Green Arrow and Flash that Superman’s cells are able “to bank energy”, thus allowing him to recover. Oliver then asks Bruce how long it took for him to recognize his secret identity, to which Wayne simply shows him some hidden footage of Queen stumbling in an alley before revealing his personal information.
Bruce then mentions how being within a certain range of the opposing android allowed it “to absorb and store supernormal energy”, thus it’ll be tough for them to destroy the being. Barry then mentions how it didn’t seem to know that it was truly causing any wrongful acts and that it looked sad when an elderly man talked to it. Wayne then looks over the footage from the fight and recognizes the guy as Dr. Anthony Ivo (voiced by Ike Amadi) who specializes in Quantum Energy Mechanics, artificial intelligence and robotics. Green Arrow then mentions that he came across him before and even tried to hire him, yet Luthor got to him first. Batman then mentions how LexCorp listed him as missing three weeks earlier before Allen notices that the guy has a twitch that usually stems from a nerve cell degeneration. Oliver then brings them back to how they’re going to handle a powerful android, to which Bruce guesses that the Metropolis-based incident was meant to serve as a distraction from something else. Until they know what it is, they’ll have to wait.
Once morning arrives, Superman has continued his recovery within the dining room before Flash says that they should share their secret identities with each other if they’re going to form a team. Kal-El elaborates on how Barry has spent several months trying to encourage him into creating such a group, to which Allen mentions how he saw it work on an alternate Earth. Despite Queen being against it due to his “loner” status and even Wayne agreeing with him, the latter says that it’s what they need to do and that it won’t be just the four of them.
From there, we have a montage of them recruiting a few more heroes into their ranks. Specifically, they managed to bring in fashion model Mari McCabe a.k.a. Vixen (voiced by Keesha Sharp) along with Private Investigator John Jones a.k.a. J’onn J’onzz a.k.a. Martian Manhunter (also voiced by Ike Amadi). From there, we have a pair of fleeing thugs that’re stopped by Hal Jordan a.k.a. Green Lantern (also voiced by Nolan North). After the criminals get arrested, he’s soon met upon by the budding team and gets offered to join them. However, he rudely turns them down by mentioning that he’s already on a team called the Green Lantern Corps before he flies off. Despite them not being able to recruit the Emerald Knight, Batman assures the group that they have enough members.
Just then, the same homeless man approaches Flash and tells him that he must “bear witness” in order to “believe” before touching the speedster’s head & mystically affects him.
As a result, Barry ends up time tripping before he finds himself in a rundown city where its citizens are frightened of his mere appearance. He then realizes that it’s Central City and that the disheveled guy somehow sent him to this alternate world that he decides to personally call Earth-3.
Just then, he notices a bank robbery and that its resident speedster is at the scene before he speeds over to deal with the incident. However, he soon discovers that this world’s speedster is the robber as the man tells him that it’s just how things are done around here due to the “Syndicate” taking control over the government. They then proceed to run around the bank as the opposing agile mentions how his connection to the Speed Force has been cut in half due to Allen also having access to it. Flash mentions how he’s actually feeling a little faster in this realm, to which the opposing speedster says that he’s killed every other super-fast individual on this world with some help from the Crime Syndicate and that they’re the planet’s “absolute government”. From there, his teammates arrive as Barry gets introduced to Power Ring (voiced by Aldis Hodge), Owlman (voiced by Lou Diamond Phillips), Superwoman (voiced by Stana Katic) and Ultraman (voiced by Matt Lanter) before the team’s speedster properly introduces himself as Johnny Quick (voiced by Liam McIntyre).
From there, the rest of the Crime Syndicate engages Barry before he’s ultimately captured by Superwoman.
Following a time trip transition, we then have our gathered superhero team holding an event for the press where Superman announces that the former Metropolis Terminal Station will be renovated into becoming their new headquarters. Batman then mentions to Vixen that he was able to purchase the building along with the surrounding courtyard, just before Kal-El mentions how the team’s formation is in due part to their super-speeding comrade.
From there, Allen gets introduced to the podium before Superman convinces him into sharing the name of their team as he nervously calls them the Justice League. Afterwards, he sees a news van getting lifted up and thrown towards him as he and Kal-El easily evade it.
Superman then spots another thrown news van before he prevents it from landing onto some reporters and cameramen. Just as he spots yet another news van hurtling towards him, it’s soon revealed that it was a distraction and that Amazo was able to capture him within his power-absorbing grasp. As the rest of the heroes evade the tossed news van, it smashes into the stage and causes part of its structure to falls towards the crowd. Fortunately, Flash is able to zip around and get the civilians out of harm’s way.
While he’s doing this, Amazo actually calls out to him about a shard of wood that’s heading for Green Arrow’s head. Barry is able to save Oliver’s life before learning that Amazo was able to absorb enough of Kal-El’s energy in order to properly communicate with him at this high level of speed. As Amazo points out a fatal projectile that’s hurtling towards Batman, Allen manages to protect the Dark Knight’s life as a result while asking the android why he’s being concerned with their safety even though he’s also attacking him and his teammates. Amazo says that this attack is part of his primary function, which he claims to have come from Dr. Ivo himself in that he must “prolong and improve human life”. Flash tells him that he’s doing the exact opposite to Superman, yet Amazo says that his mission parameters have informed him that Kal-El isn’t human. During this, he’s able to absorb Vixen’s energy while fending off Martian Manhunter.
Barry then tells him that he’s acting far-more reckless and dangerously different from their last encounter, to which he wants to know what Anthony has told his creation. Amazo mentions that his mission parameters were amended by his “new best friend” as he continues to fend off the Justice League’s attempted attacks. Suddenly, a robotic being enters the fray as this “friend” turns out to be Lex Luthor (voiced by Zachary Quinto) inside of it before he orders Amazo to absorb Superman’s energy as his primary motive. Despite the android sensing Kal-El’s waning vitals and even mentioning how it’s going against his own programming, Lex tells him that his orders are in line with the newly provided code.
Fortunately, Bruce intervenes and is able to carry Superman away from them. While Allen provides a distraction, the rest of the team are in hiding as Wayne is able to summon a weaponized drone from the team’s Watchtower.
Green Arrow expresses his shocked feeling over this incoming airstrike, to which even Mari shares her concern on turning the city “into a war zone” as a result of this action. Superman also expresses his own worries over the upcoming bombing, to which Batman assures them that this must be carried out against the battle suited-Luthor while their speedy comrade is still ticking and that the civilians will be evacuated from the area. Not only that, but he says that the android must be taken down before it becomes too powerful. Vixen tells him that he’s confused between brutality and what’s actually strength as Flash overheard enough of their conversation in order to realize that Amazo is confused itself. Knowing what the android truly needs, he runs off to take care of it.
Following another time-tripping transition, he soon sees himself within an otherworldly satellite that’s overlooking several Earths much to his stunned amazement. Following yet another time trip transition, we cut back to Earth-3 where Superwoman is attacking Barry within the Crime Syndicate’s base known as the Hall of Crime. Ultraman asks him who he is & where he comes from as Allen gives his superhero codename and says that he’s a crime-fighter from a different world.
Johnny Quick assures his teammates that he’s a fellow speedster since Flash’s arrival has caused him to lose half of his connection to the Speed Force, yet the rest of the gang isn’t swayed by Barry’s explanation as Superwoman uses her Lasso of Submission to painfully make him tell the truth despite it confirming to them that he was being legit. Even though Power Ring doesn’t take Allen’s explanation seriously, Owlman mentions how their foe named Alexander Luthor did theorize about alternate realities. Despite their world’s Luthor actually being an opposing hero, they already murdered him and mounted his head onto their arsenal wall.
Flash then says that it doesn’t make sense for them to be both the government as well as miserable criminals, to which Ultraman essentially agrees in that they’ve become stagnant. However, Barry’s arrival has given them a chance to invade another world and conquer it before Superwoman begins to strangle him while demanding that he helps them reach his reality. Johnny then mentions how he may not be able to do so due to both of them accessing the same Speed Force, to which Owlman says that they’ll simply kill one in order for the other to get back up to full speed.
Suddenly, the same mystical man arrives and magically forces Superwoman to let Allen go as Power Ring mentions how they’re also used to this “beggar” constantly rambling about the world’s end. Ultraman then orders his teammates to kill the guy, yet he’s magically able to subdue both Power Ring and Johnny Quick. Ultraman then tries to attack him, yet the figure magically presents him with images of different worlds facing their own apocalyptic fates.
One time trip transition later, Barry is with a fellow Green Lantern named John Stewart (also voiced by Aldis Hodge) and Wallace “Ace” West. Allen soon realizes that he’s moments away from his own marriage and that a few of his teammates are away on another planet. He then decides to go talk to Iris, even though John (who’s his Best Man) reminds him that it’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the actual wedding. Despite that, he reaches the dressing room where he’s met by the Maid of Honor who turns out to be Lois Lane (voiced by Alexandra Daddario) and says that he has to talk with his eventual wife. Ultimately, Iris agrees as Lois leaves them to their private conversation. Allen then mentions how ever since he arrived back from Earth-3, his entire life has been constantly flashing before his own eyes. As such, it’s been causing him to bounce between several moments from his own life while ultimately giving him a strong feeling that something big is about to occur. While he’s not entirely sure what’s on the horizon, he does mention that it happens on their wedding day.
From there, another time trip occurs as we then find Flash dashing into LexCorp before coming across Dr. Ivo within a holding cell. Anthony says that he must be taken to Amazo since his own creation has become a dangerous threat to him and his teammates. Barry then frees him from his cell before wondering why he’s in such horrid shape even though he’s only 39 years old as he realizes that the doctor is suffering from Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome as Ivo assures him that it’s causing his accelerated ageing. Allen then says that he’s not able to super-speed him to the incident due to his condition, yet Anthony says that his own plight is the main reason behind it all.
He then explains how he was working on “quantum energy absorption technology” within LexCorp for several years before he discovered that he was dying from his specific illness. Through Luthor’s encouragement, he was convinced into using his own intellect in order to prolong his own life and share his miraculous result with other people. As Dr. Ivo was building his android, Lex provided his “access to extraterrestrial technology” in order to create his own Parasite and combine it with his creation in order for the new being to absorb energy off of “newly appearing metahumans”, thus allowing them to enhance regular humans’ own immune systems. From there, Amazo was constructed and came to be.
As Flash zips through the streets while carrying the good doctor, Barry asks him if he ever thought hard about making a near-indestructible android as Anthony mentions that he printed his own engrams within the being’s A.I. neural network, thus preventing his creation from knowingly harming anyone. As such, he believes that Luthor has managed to reprogram his creation.
We then time trip our way back to Earth-3 as Allen sees the mystical man’s images of several doomed worlds before the present plane begins to get struck by several powerful lightning bolts. As Ultraman & Superwoman observe all of this, a pair of nearby buildings gets struck as they proceed to deal with them. Even though Ultraman is able to prop his stricken skyscraper back up, it’s soon revealed that he only did this in order to save his team’s statues as he ultimately lets it fall over in the opposite side with several unfortunate people still inside it.
However, Superwoman is struggling to hold her building up before it manages to crush the aforementioned statues. Back inside the Hall of Crime, Flash decides to go help this world. However, the raggedy man tells him that it’s already dead. Barry then tells him that he’s seen him back on his plane of existence, to which the guy simply mentions how he walks upon “all worlds that are doomed to die” since it’s part of his punishment. Even though he’s not able to recall what he did to receive this, he tells Allen that he shares this “guilt”.
We then time trip transition back to Earth-1 where Lex continues to fend off the Justice League’s attempts at stopping him. Amazo then tells him that their opposing beings are getting severely low on energy, to which Luthor tells him not to worry. With things getting dire, Batman’s drone is approaching the area and is about to launch its airstrike onto Amazo. However, Lex is immediately able to shoot it down while gloating over his intellectual prowess on knowing that potential back-up plan. While he continues to fend off Bruce & Ollie, he orders Amazo to drain every last ounce of energy from their fallen foes.
The android then mentions how this goes against his main function, yet Luthor gives it a Priority Override as Amazo proceeds to drain Superman, Vixen and Martian Manhunter of their energies. J’onn then asks the android for its primary function, to which it exclaims that it’s to siphon the metahumans’ own surplus powers and redistribute it onto ailing humans in order to preserve their lives. Lex then mentions how it’s all for his own personal benefit before he then orders Amazo to finish both Wayne and Queen off.
Fortunately, Flash arrives as Dr. Ivo tells his creation that what he’s doing is wrong. Amazo then mentions how their “friend” informed him that Anthony was “too ill” to be out of the infirmary and that he needs the energy in order for his life to get extended, to which Dr. Ivo says that Luthor isn’t their friend and that he lied to them since the android is only able to take life away from others. Lex then gives another Priority Override and orders Amazo to smite them, yet Green Arrow & Batman are able to take advantage of this distraction in order to briefly subdue and remove Luthor from the area.
While the android then mentions that he’s not able to disobey an order from its “designated user”, Anthony then says that there’s one order that tops all others in that he wants the acquired meta-energy in order for his life to get extended. Amazo proceeds to transfer this excess energy into his creator, but it winds up taking Dr. Ivo’s life instead as the android is stunned by this outcome. Martian Manhunter then tells him that Lex had no intention of preserving life and only used him for his power. Just then, Luthor returns and orders Amazo to drain their energies while smiting anyone who tries to stop them. Fortunately, Batman helps the android realize that Lex infected his creator with Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome in order to create him in the first place, especially since the disease is incredibly rare for anyone to get.
As such, Amazo is able to disable the opposing war suit and defeat Luthor. Afterwards, Barry is able to prevent him from harming Lex as he reminds the android of Anthony’s value towards all human lives. Realizing that his creator valued metahuman lives as well, he manages to give Kal-El, Mari and J’onn their energies back before cradling Dr. Ivo’s lifeless body and ultimately shuts down.
Later, the proper authorities arrive to take Anthony’s corpse and Luthor’s war suit away while he gets sent back to prison. During this, Allen tells his teammates how this entire Justice League seems to have been created upon a ruse. Fortunately, Batman assures him that there’s still strength in numbers and thus, they all decide to keep the team formed.
We then time trip into the future where an older Barry has woken up to the sound of his wife even though the outside world is moving at a far slower speed. He soon discovers that Iris has prepared him with the exact same food order that he gave her as it’s the anniversary of their first meeting. With both of them having no regrets due to it leading them towards their happy unionship, she then tells him to eat it up before they both get to work. We then transition back to the day of their marriage as she asks him what they’re going to do once this major event goes down, to which he tells her that they’ll be fine and that they’ll spend their lives together.
Later at the reception, Vixen gives a speech to the newly-married couple and the guests. Suddenly, a portal forms before the being known as Harbinger (voiced by Meg Donnolly) emerges and tells Allen that he’s needed since the world is in peril, especially since she’s been sent to collect Earth’s best champions. With her husband letting her know that this is the major event, Iris tells her that she can take Flash along with his present teammates as well.
From there, they get brought up to a familiar satellite where they discover several other gathered heroes that’ve been assembled as well. Shortly afterwards, Barry meets up with the familiar Black Canary and Hourman that he previously worked with, though they’re now much older. He then comes a spear-handed Aquaman (also voiced by Liam McIntyre), though it’s not the same Earth-2 iteration that worked with the Nazis since this version of Arthur Curry comes from Earth-146 which is almost entirely covered by water.
Meanwhile, Bruce is met upon Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin (also voiced by Zach Callison) who mentions how his version of Wayne took him in following his parents’ murder and trained him into becoming his crime-fighting partner. After it gets implied that Earth-1’s Bruce didn’t commit to adopting his world’s version of Grayson, Dick mentions how he and his version of Wayne helped loads of people before bringing up how there’s somebody who would like to meet him which turns out to be Helena Wayne a.k.a. Huntress (voiced by Erika Ishii). Bruce quickly realizes that she’s the daughter of her world’s Batman and Catwoman before she tells him that she lost her dad a few years ago, thus she finds it nice seeing her father’s face.
Elsewhere on the satellite, Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (also voiced by Stana Katic) comes across a certain Superman before they share a kiss. Afterwards, the Earth-1 Superman meets up with them as she introduces him to her world’s version of Kal-El (also voiced by Darren Criss). After we briefly shift over to a certain man in a suit, we then have Will Evertt a.k.a. Amazing Man (also voiced by Ike Amadi) introducing himself to Ted Kord a.k.a. Blue Beetle (also voiced by Matt Lanter) and his teammate Eve Eden a.k.a. Nightshade. Just then, Vic Sage a.k.a. Question (voiced by David Kaye) comes in and says that he’s concerned with Ted openly sharing his secret identity with someone they’ve just met yet Will counterargues by mentioning how they’re not even from the same Earths.
Shortly afterwards, Harbinger returns with a photonics expert named Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi (also voiced by Erika Ishii) who was brought to this station even though she wasn’t even properly dressed. Fortunately, Harbinger presents her with a machine called the Fabricator which allows its user to be dressed within whatever outfit they’re able to imagine, in addition to basing it on their “needs and designs”. Kimiyo then enters the device before it dresses her as Doctor Light before Harbinger then imbues her with her powers as Dr. Hoshi is stunned by her newfound ability to see the whole light spectrum. Afterwards, Harbinger informs her that she now has the same powers that the criminal version of the same name has.
From there, the same man in the suit decides to use the Fabricator in order to get his own outfit. Once the process becomes complete, it’s soon revealed that he’s actually Charles Halstead a.k.a. Psycho-Pirate (voiced by Geoffrey Arend).
Afterwards, Harbinger approaches Dawnstar (voiced by Cynthia Hamidi) after having recently brought her from the 31st Century for this mission before revealing that she’s actually her fellow teammate Kara Zor-El a.k.a. Supergirl. Dawnstar then asks her how she wound up in her current state before Kara promises to share those details.
Afterwards, the space station’s main host makes his presence known to the gathered heroes where he reveals himself as a Monitor (voiced by Jonathan Adams) and that he’s part of an ancient race that’s existed long before their worlds even came to be. He and his people have mainly lived “to observe and document” while also preventing themselves from interfering with every single event within the various universes. This time around, he’s been forced to break several of his people’s vows due to an impending peril that threatens to wipe out all of their worlds. He then presents the multiverse to our heroes and explains how they all live within a reality that exists in parallel to their own planets and that the Monitor’s own people came to realize this a long time ago. From there, he warns them about a massive anti-matter wave that’s capable of wiping out anything and everything within its path. He mentions how several realities have been completely erased from existence and that he’s assembled all of them here in the hopes that they’ll be able to come up with a way to avert this grand disaster and save their respective worlds.
We then cut to an even older version of Barry and Iris as they finish up their house-based chores before they each get prepped for their respective work and share a tender moment with each other.
Following a time trip transition, we shift back to Earth-3 as Ultraman gets summoned to his teammates via the emergency beacon before Power Ring points out the approaching anti-matter wave. Ultraman then tells his comrades that even though they look down upon their world, they’re still going to fight on. From there, Flash arrives and asks him what their strategy is going to be. However, Ultraman says that his only plan is to punch the incoming wave before he flies off to engage it with the rest of the Syndicate following suit.
With the civilians getting wiped away, Power Ring proceeds to create a massive dam with his ring. However, the anti-matter wave is easily able to disintegrate it. He then finds himself cornered as he creates a few barriers, only for it to easily pass through them before eradicating him as well.
Superwoman tries to throw several vehicles at the opposing wave, only to ultimately realize how fruitless her attempt is as she simply stays put and lets the anti-matter wave wipe her away.
Over with Owlman, he fires several missiles at it to no avail. Ultimately, he activates his plane’s nuclear-based self-destruct sequence before flying right towards it. Despite going out within a major explosion, it doesn’t remotely affect the anti-matter wave. As for Johnny Quick, he realizes how dire things have gotten and simply retreats.
Back on the Monitor’s space satellite, he concludes his explanation before Question asks him why they should all believe this especially since they’re potentially giving up their own freedoms just to help him go up against “an insurmountable threat”. Batman then joins in and asks why only their Earths are in danger despite the massive spaces of their own cosmoses, to which the Monitor says that said planet is the first one that gets destroyed within every universe and that once their worlds get wiped away, those universes will follow suit.
While Michael Holt a.k.a. Mister Terrific (voiced by Ato Essandoh) mentions how this anti-matter wave can be “theoretically possible”, Psycho-Pirate interjects on how the Monitor hasn’t given them any proof of its existence and that they could all potentially take control over this spaceship in order to learn how they can all go home. Fortunately, Flash tells them that it’s all true before allowing Wonder Woman to use her Lasso of Truth on him. Once his wrist gets bound by it, he says that he was on an Earth that got consumed by the opposing wave and that it’s a genuine threat.
From there, both Supermans use their super-vision to spot the anti-matter wave as it wipes out an entire world before the Earth-2 Kal-El says that it’s coming towards them. Doctor Light then mentions how they’re all doomed due to the massive amount of approaching anti-matter before Hawkman (also voiced by Geoffrey Arend) says that they don’t have anyone to go up against despite their own gathered figures. Bruce then mentions how they’re not going to be able to regularly fight their way through this situation.
From there, he mentions how Mister Terrific, Doctor Light and Blue Beetle are their “genius-level scientists”. As for Shayera Hol a.k.a. Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman and the Earth-146 Aquaman, they each have extensive knowledge on “exoterrene technology”. As such, they have everyone they need for their “think tank”.
Amazing Man mentions how they have to physically take care of this anti-matter wave, to which the Monitor says that everyone else has the necessary “skills, strength and speed” to help build whatever kind of defense their scientific allies will be able to come up with. Dawnstar then decides to recruit some fellow geniuses from the 31st Century, specifically Brainiac 5. However, her Time Bubble doesn’t work as the Monitor explains that the anti-matter waves are somehow canceling any attempt at time travel. Fortunately, they’ll still be able to communicate with others. As such, it’s up to all of the recruited heroes to prevent the multiverse from ceasing to exist.
From there, Barry proceeds to time trip back to Earth-3 as he sees Ultraman flying right towards the anti-matter wave in order to punch it. As expected, he ends up getting consumed by it and wiped away as a result.
Afterwards, Johnny Quick runs past him as Allen super-speeds away with him. As they attempt to dodge several incoming objects, Johnny gets hit and distracted by some rocks before winding up impaled by a flying piece of rebar. Flash tells him to hurry up in order for both of them to escape, yet Quick reminds him that he doesn’t have enough access to the Speed Force along with him being in dire physical shape. From there, he gets hit by an incoming car before Barry time trips away from the doomed world.
We then transition to the elderly Allen entering his basement where it’s revealed that he managed to save just enough of Amazo. From there, he uses his super-speed on his Cosmic Treadmill to charge the android up before it informs him that their project is almost complete while providing him & Iris with some instructions. Amazo then mentions how Allen has had memory lapses throughout his life and that they’re not a sign of any “deteriorating mental state” before the Scarlet Speedster heads out.
Over on the Monitor’s station, Brainiac 5 (voiced by Harry Shum, Jr.) communicates with Blue Beetle & Mister Terrific on how no amount of shielding would be sufficient enough against the anti-matter wave with even Aquaman and Doctor Light joining on the argument over how much shielding power they would need to pull this off.
Wonder Woman tries to cool the rising tension between the group, yet Flash manages to return and give the group some coffee. All of them are impressed with how wonderful it tastes, to which Barry mentions how he combined different ingredients from their different worlds and that he was able to reach those realities with his super speed by vibrating himself at the precise rate in order to pass through the dimensional planes.
He then mentions how he managed to absorb all of Earth-3’s Speed Force shortly upon its demise and that it’s also what’s causing him to get knocked out of his own “linear time experience”. Thankfully, this allows Monitor and his group to realize that they can use massive vibrational generators on their worlds. With one of them being powered up, its vibrations will reverberate onto the rest of the devices. Despite Diana’s initial worry about the massive amount of organization that would be needed to properly help their “superpowered construction team”, Michael assures her that the Dark Knight will be able to handle that duty.
From there, the operation gets under way as the vibrational generators proceed to get built upon the featured Earths.
During the construction on one of the vibrational generators, the Earth-1 Superman learns about his Earth-2 counterpart being previously married to his world’s Lois for a good amount of time before she passed away from old age. Despite being heartbroken, he was able to hook up with Wonder Woman since they’ve both lost someone they’ve previously cared for. Just then, they notice that the anti-matter wave has arrived much sooner than they expected.
Back on the space station, Batman communicates with Doctor Light as she says that any wave isn’t capable of accelerating. Even the Monitor mentions how throughout his millennia-spanning watch over the universe, he’s never seen anything like this. Bruce explains that the anomaly has become aware of their own plans and managed to adapt, to which the Monitor says that the anti-matter wave is natural & not remotely sentient.
Meanwhile, Flash tries to hook a cable up to its vibrational generator. However, he’s met upon by the ragged man and realizes that this world is already doomed. From there, he tells Allen to “run to her” before we find Iris reporting on this apocalyptic event. Suddenly, lightning strikes a building and causes some debris to fall towards her. Fortunately, Flash is able to reach her in time and super-speed her to safety.
He then apologizes for not being there for her, yet she says that despite him being late for certain couple-based events, he was still able to be on time when she needs him the most as they share a kiss. From there, the anti-matter wave closes in on them as they tearfully embrace before he proceeds to vibrate them to safety.
We then time trip transition to their elderly selves where they prep a vibrational generator while existing outside of the normal flow of time thanks to Barry. Suddenly, she gets a heart attack and collapses. Fortunately, she was able to get her husband’s attention as he tells her that he’ll get her home, yet she says that she’ll always be home wherever he’s at. She then mentions how they’ve managed to spend several years together in this state, but she can feel that it’s her time as she tells him to not “be late” before she passes on.
Meanwhile, Batman is observing the anti-matter wave’s incoming destruction from the Batwing before he decides to contact Earth-2’s Robin and Huntress. With the imminent doom about to befall this world, he wants to tell them an important message, yet Helena essentially assures him that she understands his intention.
Back with Allen, he meets up with Amazo who’s connected to the main vibrational generator and offers his sympathy towards his recent loss. He then says that despite them being in their current state, the anti-matter wave is still approaching them. With the machine completely built and the android being used to help power it, Amazo informs him that he’ll have to return to the regular time flow in order for the towers to work. Afterwards, it even thanks Flash for helping him reach his main function of prolonging human life.
Once he drops back to regular time, the main tower becomes completely built before Barry uses his Cosmic Treadmill to power up Amazo along with the primary vibrational generator.
From there, the rest of the towers proceed to function as our heroes along with Earth-1, 2, 4, 146 and X are finally ready to withstand the anti-matter wave. It then proceeds to engulf all five of those worlds as Allen’s Cosmic Treadmill ultimately overloads and explodes. Fortunately, the vibrational generators have all the power they needed as the anti-matter wave passes through the aforementioned planets with all of them coming out unscathed. As such, the civilians and all of our heroes are able to enjoy surviving this grave threat.
Back on his satellite, it informs the Monitor about his plan succeeding. Suddenly, he’s approached by the Spectre (also voiced by Lou Diamond Phillips) who tells him that he didn’t believe it could get accomplished. While the Monitor admits to this notion, Spectre mentions that he still went through with it and “hoped”. Afterwards, Flash takes in the success of the overall plan before discovering that the mechanical explosion has finally destroyed Amazo. Just then, he’s approached by the Spectre who assures him that the android knew that he helped protect humanity during its final moments. He then tells Barry that he’s partly responsible for this massive crisis since it kicked off “before the beginning”, yet he’s already paid enough of a price due to “being unmoored in time”. While Allen is ready to accept his fate, Spectre informs him that the Speed Force has claimed him as its own and will allow him to make his “farewells” before his time finally comes. Afterwards, the Spectre vanishes before the Speed Force takes Barry away.
He then proceeds to time trip back to the lab incident that gave him his super-speed in the first place as he observes his younger self while speaking the familiar remarks within the shadows before vanishing. Afterwards, we shift over to the Warlord scene from “Justice League: Warworld” where he comes across Bruce and tells him that he has to “go back to before the beginning” & “stop it” before the Speed Force finally claims Allen and makes him fade away.
We then flashback to the moment at the wedding reception where Harbinger was attempting to recruit Barry as she informs him and his teammates that she’s already recruited the Trinity onto their cause. From there, Allen gives her a proposition before we transition into a montage where he and Iris are able to have their reception with friends & family as they all enjoy the wondrous occasion.
Over on the Monitor’s satellite, the present heroes are able to relish in triumph over the successful plan just as Psycho-Pirate starts developing a massive headache. At the same time, Kara and Dawnstar meet up with each other before the latter starts feeling “weird”. Kara tries to call out to the Monitor, but he’s not present at the moment. Dawnstar then starts to vanish as Kara contacts Brainiac 5 and informs him of this situation. Unfortunately, he’s also dissipating from existence. Shortly after Dawnstar gets wiped away, Brainiac 5 says that history has been somehow changed and created a “chrono-anomaly” that’s prevented his world from ever existing. He then admits that he’s always loved her before he completely fazes out as Part 1 ends with Kara sobbing over this newfound loss.
Due to how massive this entire story’s scope is, we’ll be seeing our focal protagonists shifting throughout each chapter. For my character analysis within this initial part, we’ll put the spotlight on our featured character for the first third of this overall journey. As such, allow me to share my thoughts upon Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash. Through a somewhat non-linear story device that was ultimately imparted onto him via the signature lab accident that gave him his powers in the first place, his major ability for this series (aside from his otherworldly swiftness) allows us to see key points of his life. Through his initial meeting with Iris West followed by their blossoming relationship, he has someone who can personally help him be his best self both in and out of costume. Within their shared scenes, he’s had to deal with his constant inability to make regular time to be with her yet he’s been able to save her day when it mattered the most. There was a mention of him being allowed to make a difference outside of costume, but nothing is really done with that outside of the only scene that it’s brought up. Aside from those moments, their scenes are humble and wholesome while being nicely foundational at the same time. Through the interconnected scenes involving the Justice League’s formation, the announcement of their headquarters and his pivotal encounters with Amazo, it explains how Green Arrow, Vixen & Martian Manhunter were brought together by the time that “Green Lantern: Beware My Power” came along (along with explaining Green Arrow & Flash’s appearance at the very end of “Batman: The Long Halloween”), neatly handles the team going through their first major challenge as a unit due to Lex Luthor & his manipulation-filled revenge scheme and Barry ultimately forming an unlikely partnership with Dr. Ivo’s robotic creation. Throughout all of his appearances within this line, he’s been constantly developing his ability to effectively work alongside other heroes while he displays helpful traits of caring, quick-thinking and an ever-present drive to solve whatever major dilemma is going down. Once he manages to speed up Iris’ molecules as well as his own, they’re able to share a full lifetime as a couple while also having plenty of extra borrowed time to help prevent their world from getting wiped from existence. It also ties into his teamwork skills since they’re able to work on the vibrational generator together while Amazo’s remains is able to properly guide them towards this ultimate goal. All of this calm and effective teamwork is easily able to show off its effectiveness when compared to how the Crime Syndicate tried to deal with their world’s impending destruction, which displayed a severe lack of coordination and planning along with each of them solely depending on their intimidating brute strength to help solve this dire situation aside from Johnny Quick who almost instantly realizes how futile their so-called battle strategy has become. Thankfully, Barry’s Earth-3 experience and even a power upgrade from absorbing its Speed Force upon its demise is able to be utilized towards helping his world along with four others be allowed to withstand the incoming anti-matter wave. While it mainly seems like his actions have ultimately helped things out for the better, it’s possible that this late game convincing at his own wedding may have somehow led to the future getting altered in a negative way. As we ultimately unravel how this newfound turn of events came to be, the Scarlet Speedster served as an effective central protagonist amongst this large-scale cast of characters with Matt Bomer displaying a veteran humbleness to his part as he deals with everything that’s urgent on both a personal and larger scale. His character arc may be initially tricky to follow due to the non-linear storytelling that’s occurring because of his time tripping, but everything comes together to make his journey feel as complete as it can be by the end of it all. As such, he once again helped Barry Allen shine within this tale.
The comic-based contents that originally concerned our featured Flash did help influence how he would be handled in this featured tale. Originally though, he was living in Earth-1’s future for about a month with his wife Iris when a pair of occurring natural disasters (a torrential downpour and an active volcano) are taking place in Central City and he comes out of retirement in order to deal with them. While he struggles to handle things, he suddenly spots (what appears to be) approaching anti-matter as he winds up relaxing his “internal vibrations” in order to reach the then-present time of 1985. He begins to tell Batman about what’s going on back in the future, while the latter wants to asks him about something that he just saw about his speedy comrade (which I’ll get to). Suddenly, he would get captured by an ominous light and vanished. When we eventually catch up to him again, he’s then placed under Psycho-Pirate’s emotionally-swaying controls (so expect Psycho-Pirate to start playing a bigger role in these films if you’re already familiar with the 12-part event comic) before eventually seeing the true antagonist’s face. Eventually, Barry is being held within some constraining gel before he’s taken to the distant planet of Qward where the fiend’s anti-matter cannon is being constructed and its formation is mainly being overlooked by his aggressive team known as the Thunderers who’re forcing several slaves to build the devious device that will wipe out the remaining universes. Fortunately, Barry breaks out and defeats Psycho-Pirate before forcing him into his plan. Specifically, Allen makes him use his emotion-manipulating powers on the Thunderers to cause a massive distraction. Afterwards, he reaches the anti-matter cannon’s main power source and destroys it by making his own speed-based vortex around it in order to absorb its deadly power. However, this winds up killing him where it ultimately bookends with his actual first appearance in the event mini-series as he pops up in front of Batman during his confrontation with the Joker and tells the Caped Crusader to “save us” since “the world is dying” before he truly dies. I soon discovered more elements from the source material ranging from the most obvious to minor reworkings that makes sense giving the reasoning for how this particular line ultimately came to be in the first place, but we’ll get there as the presented story progresses. As previously mentioned, Allen’s constant time-tripping is used as this film’s way to break free from a traditional narrative and allows for a progressive construction of events that occurred much earlier in the line to actually play a part within its central story. In a similar fashion to both “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” and the aforementioned “Justice Society: World War II”, this is a large-scale setting with a fairly big cast of characters for the movie to play with while the Flash serves as our primary protagonist. In some shared capacity, reality is in grave danger and it’s up to our Scarlet Speedster to handle this conflict. This opening third to the overall tale provided enough of an engaging piece to allow Flash enough space to make a good amount of impact upon this chapter, allowing his strengths and faults to shine the screen while allowing several co-stars to also make their presence felt. As mentioned earlier, the non-linear storytelling that’s caused by his time tripping can make for a somewhat disorienting first impression. Fortunately, it never got too jarring and all of its present elements are allowed to come together in order for its story elements to become whole. The animation was also very solid throughout as character movements flowed in an effective fashion while the more-computer generated effect of the anti-matter wave blended with its surroundings to a stellar degree. Finally, the action scenes are few yet effective. The only true fight comes in the form of the Justice League’s struggle against Amazo and Lex Luthor in front of their new headquarters, yet that struggle felt tense and fierce throughout. There was a fair amount of tension throughout the major scenes where various superpowered beings displayed their abilities in some capacity, thus allowing its pacing to flow the most effectively during these parts. Yes, it does somewhat feel a bit jumbled when the non-linear narrative plays out, but all important elements from this part does converge into one whole by the end and it feels satisfying when it does. On that note, it ultimately allows the initial part of this final chapter to get off to a good start and leaves its audience with a feeling of what else can come from this grand event.
Overall, this entry kicks off its major crisis within a confidentially good place. The characters are likable throughout, the action can be a joy to watch and the pacing may be exhausting at times (especially to newcomers), but allows its story to still make sense when all is said-and-done. If you’ve already completed your TomorrowVerse journey by this point, then gives this your attention to check out how things can escalate within a flash.
Next Time: One massive battle has been won, but the grand dilemma is far from over. What key moments in history have been altered in order for certain figures to get eternally vanquished? What’s behind the creation of these anti-matter waves? How could things get even more dire than they are now? Our gathered beings will need to figure these problems out fairly soon since things are about to escalate to a bigger and even massively grave level. As for how the mightiest heroes of multiple Earths deal with all of this, come back next time as we explore all of this within the next chapter called “Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part Two”.
Justice League (created by Gardner Fox) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
