Marc Guggenheim Shares Iris West-Allen’s Role in Crisis on Infinite Earths

As fans of The CW’s Arrowverse well know, a Crisis is coming. The long-teased “Crisis on Infinite Earths” mega event is coming to the network’s DC Comics-based shows in just a few weeks with the small-screen adaptation of the iconic comic book story bringing together not just the heroes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman, but their allies as well. For fans of The Flash, that means Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) is likely to have a role to play in “Crisis” and now, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim is giving fans an idea of what at least part of Iris’ role will be.

On Friday, Guggenheim did a kind of impromptu Twitter Q&A answering some fan questions about “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. Among the questions that fans asked was one requesting a tease of “anything for Flash and Iris fans”. While Guggenheim didn’t give any major details away, what he did reveal about Iris has fans not only excited, but also trying to sort out for themselves exactly what it means — and who it includes. According to Guggenheim, Iris recruits the seventh Paragon.

In the opening scene of Arrow‘s Season 8 finale, the idea of “paragons” was introduced into the Arrowverse. In that scene, The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) has the opening voiceover and in it explains that the idea that human beings are created equally is a fallacy. He goes on to explain that some rise above and are heroes, but even among heroes there are those who go even higher with the highest echelon of heroes being known as Paragons — and they are the only hope of all creation.

It’s not exactly clear who these Paragons are, though given a few of the other things The Monitor has said, it’s probably safe to assume that Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) and Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) are among them. The Monitor has been clear that Oliver — and his death — are key to saving the universe and The Monitor said something similar to Barry this season on The Flash as well. But who else could be on that list of top tier heroes standing between all of creation and certain doom? Thanks to Guggenheim, we know there are at least seven and it’s likely that some of them come from the impressive and exciting list of guest appearances in “Crisis”.

Over recent weeks and months, there have been multiple exciting announcements about various guest appearances for “Crisis”. Smallville stars Tom Welling and Erica Durance are set to appear as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, John Wesley Shipp will reprise his role as The Flash of Earth-90, Jonathon Schaech will appear as Jonah Hex, Ashely Scott as The Huntress, and Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne. It’s possible that any or all of those characters could end up being Paragons and when it comes to Iris recruiting? It wouldn’t be too difficult to see Durance’s Lois Lane being that recruit. Not all heroes wear capes or fight bad guys with fists and superpowers, after all.

Whoever the Paragons end up being, fans won’t have too much longer to wait. We are now under a month away from “Crisis on Infinite Earths” hitting The CW and changing the Arrowverse forever.

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” kicks off on Sunday, December 8 on Supergirl, runs through a Monday episode of Batwoman and that Tuesday’s episode of The Flash. That will be the midseason cliffhanger, as the shows go on hiatus for the holidays and return on January 14 to finish out the event with the midseason premiere of Arrow and a “special episode” of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, which launches as a midseason series this year and so will not have an episode on air prior to “Crisis”.

Who do you think Iris will recruit as a Paragon? Let us know your thoughts and your best “Crisis on Infinite Earths” theories in the comments below.