Marv Wolfman, who wrote the original Crisis on Infinite Earths series for DC Comics, will contribute to the writers’ room of the upcoming crossover event on The CW based on his story. Wolfman, who created The Monitor with George Perez before launching into the crossover that would etch the character’s name into DC history, has a long resume filled with Hollywood animation work. Among other things, he wrote the two-part Batman: The Animated Series episode “Feats of Clay.” He also wrote the two-part Transformers special “The Return of Optimus Prime,” which presumably was to make amends with ’80s kids for killing off Supergirl and The Flash in Crisis.
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During Arrow‘s final season panel at the Television Critics Association press tour, “Crisis” showrunner Marc Guggenheim revealed that he co-wrote the story with Wolfman (although it is likely that they will share screen credits with writers from each individual show, although that kind of thing probably won’t be openly discussed until the title pages start leaking out). This not only gives Wolfman active participation in the live-action adaptation of his best-known story but also may help some fans cope with changes made to the Crisis narrative on TV (such as the fact that Green Arrow will be the story’s big sacrifice instead of The Flash). On a more grounded level, it also likely means that Wolfman will make some extra money off the project, which is always nice for the comics creators. When The CW did their “Invasion!” crossover in 2016, Guggenheim donated a scriptbook for the event, signed by numerous producers from the Arrowverse shows, to ComicBook.com and we auctioned it to benefit Bill Mantlo, who wrote the Invasion! comics and who has had serious medical problems since the ’90s, when he was nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver.
In the comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths centered on a battle between the combined superheroes (and even some villains) of the DC multiverse and an immortal, cosmic threat known as the Anti-Monitor. Like The Monitor, the Anti-Monitor will be played by LaMonica Garrett in the Arrowverse. As the Anti-Monitor destroys realities, he replaces their positive matter energy with antimatter, growing his own power and sphere of influence. He was eventually stopped by the sacrifices of several heroes, including The Flash and Supergirl, as well as the merging of multiple universes to save reality by becoming a single, unified timeline. Fans have long wondered whether the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” might bring Supergirl and possibly even Black Lightning to Earth-1, where the rest of the series take place.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” will air on The CW this winter, taking place on five episodes of TV over two quarters — one each of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. Check back throughout the day for updates from the network’s TCA panels. Are you excited that Marv Wolfman will have a hand in shaping the Crisis? Chime in below or tweet your thoughts to @russburlingame.
