SPOILER Dies in Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 4

Tonight saw the conclusion of The CW's epic, five-part "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event. The story, which saw the combined might of characters from Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Black Lightning, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow against the power of the Anti-Monitor, is based on the fan-favorite comic book storyline from writer Marv Wolfman (who actually co-wrote the Arrow hour of the crossover with executive producer Marc Guggenheim) and artist George Perez. In the original, both The Flash and Supergirl had to sacrifice their lives to bring the Anti-Monitor's reign of terror to its end. But what happened in live action?

Last year, we learned that the Book of Destiny had foretold the deaths of The Flash (Grant Gustin) and Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) offering himself up as a sacrifice to save them. Earlier in the crossover, the Earth-90 version of The Flash (John Wesley Shipp) took the figurative bullet for Barry, but what about Kara?

Spoilers ahead for the conclusion of The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

In the fourth hour of the Crisis, Oliver Queen -- now The Spectre as a result of his trip to purgatory and meeting with Jim Corrigan (Stephen Lobo) -- helped to rally the paragons at Vanishing Point against the Anti-Monitor. During the final battle, Oliver sacrificed himself to stop the villain and save the multiverse again, this time dying (we assume) for good, unlike his prior death in part one of the crossover, where he fell in battle as Green Arrow.

The battle was simple: the pair matched their energies and Oliver used the power of the Spectre to light the spark of reality, while the paragons "fanned the flames." And then he told Barry and Sara to keep fighting.

It is not especially surprising that if Oliver was going to die in the Crisis -- as has been foretold since last season's finale of Arrow -- that he would die on an episode of his own show. Killing off the lead character of another show would, at minimum, make for some potentially confusing viewing for fans who (for whatever reason) only watch one series.

There are only two episodes left of Arrow following the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" -- next week's backdoor pilot to the planned Green Arrow and the Canaries show, and the series finale one week later. It seems likely now that the series finale will be a retrospective in the truest sense of the word, with the episode taking place during Oliver's funeral or something like it.

The post-"Crisis on Infinite Earths" Arrowverse resumes next week with new episodes of Batwoman, Supergirl, and Arrow.