Crisis on Infinite Earths: How Marv Wolfman Fit Into the TV Crossover

There are no new episodes of the Arrowverse shows for another few weeks while The CW and other TV networks wind their way through holiday hiatus scheduling. But when the fan-favorite superhero universe returns on January 14, it will be with a double-header of new episodes (Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow), which will bring a close to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event. Originally teased in the very first episode of The Flash, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is the crossover everyone knew was coming. At the close of last year's "Elseworlds" event, a title card even announced it.

"Crisis on Infinite Earths," an adaptation of DC's biggest-ever crossover event, has been without a doubt the biggest thing that the Arrowverse has done to date. And one of the coolest things happening for comic fans? Crisis on Infinite Earths writer Marv Wolfman, who penned the original 12-issue maxiseries with artist George Perez, will step in to co-write the Arrow episode with "Crisis" showrunner and Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim.

"I gotta tell you, Marv writes an incredible Jon Cryer Lex Luthor," Guggenheim recently teased while talking to ComicBook.com about the Crisis on Infinite Earths 100-Page Giant comics. "He just has his voice completely nailed, and you'll see that also in the live action version as well."

For his part, Wolfman said that being a longtime watcher of the Arrowverse shows helped, but more than that, he was happy to have a safety net in the form of all the other people involved with "Crisis."

"As a writer trying to capture other people's styles, it was perfect knowing that everybody was there to back me up," Wolfman explained. "Marc could correct it, Marc could make it work, and also tie it in completely with the shows themselves. I had a great time doing it. It was scary, suddenly to have to write these characters, especially characters like Felicity Smoak, who had specific speech patterns."

Guggenheim said that Wolfman had done the job, though, and that both the comic and the TV episode had very little that needed to be changed after Marv got through his part. He was glad to have Wolfman on board for the Crisis, though, since he knows how important it is to fans to see it done well.

"I was incredibly anxious and had a whole series of fears and neuroses about tackling this," Guggenheim admitted. "None of them were centered around the fear that Marv wouldn't like what we were doing, and that's honestly a testament to how open nd collaborative and generous he has been with his baby. That said, I was terrified that we might screw it up. There's only one 'Crisis on Infinite Earths,' and for right now, there's only one opportunity to adapt it into live action. I laid awake many a night worried that we wouldn't do a good job of it."

The first part of the two-part Crisis on Infinite Earths 100-Page Giant microseries is available at Walmart stores now. Next month, the second issue will be available at Walmarts and the story itself will make its way to the comics direct market. The final two episodes of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event, including the one co-written with Wolfman, will hit the airwaves on January 14, 2020, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.