There’s a Spider-Man Reference in “Crisis on Earth-X”

The Arrowverse crossover “Crisis on Earth-X” kicked off tonight and amidst the action-packed first was a very specific Marvel Comics reference.

Spoilers for the first hour of “Crisis on Earth-X” below!

In the Supergirl hour of “Crisis on Earth-X” tonight, Jax (Franz Drameh) and Stein (Victor Garber) were offered the cure for Firestorm — a serum that would allow the pair to separate and render them both without powers — by Harry (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes). However, while Stein was very excited about the possibility of being able to just pack up and go home to his family, something seemed to be bothering Jax. Presuming that it was the idea that Jax would be left powerless, Stein came up with his own solution to that side effect of the cure.

The solution? Stein created a smart virus to rewrite Jax’s DNA and give him superpowers, and those powers came from a specific kind of spider. Jax immediately wanted to know if Stein was trying to make him Spider-Man, name-dropping the beloved Marvel Comics character. This is the second time in as many weeks that The CW‘s DC Comics shows have referenced Spider-Man. Last week on The Flash, Barry mentioned that Clifford DeVoe made his “Spidey sense” tingle.

Tonight’s reference, however, is more than just a name drop or a pass at one of the more commonly referenced of the webslinger’s powers. Stein goes on to explain that his virus won’t give Jax super strength, the ability to lift ten times his body weight, the ability to shoot webs, or even “Spidey sense.” What it would let Jax do is stick to things. That’s right, Stein would give Jax sticky powers. While it was a noble effort on Stein’s part, as he is clearly trying to honor what he thinks is Jax’s desires, Jax clearly isn’t thrilled.

But what does Jax want? Audiences will have to stay tuned to the remaining hours of “Crisis on Earth-X” to find out.

“Crisis on Earth-X” is a four-hour event that will air on November 27th and 28th beginning at 8 p.m. and running for two hours each day; Supergirl (8 p.m. Monday), The Flash (8 p.m. Tuesday) and Legends of Tomorrow (9 p.m. Tuesday) will remain in their normal time slots but Arrow will move from Thursday to a 9 p.m. Monday placement for the week.