5 Questions Raised by New “Crisis on Earth-X” Crossover Poster

The CW released an epic new poster for the upcoming two-night Arrowverse crossover event, “Crisis on Earth-X,” giving us the best look yet at the invaders from Earth-X, the previously unrevealed fifty-third Earth in the multiverse where the Nazis won World War II.

However, while the new poster includes new looks at some of the villains we expect to see in the crossover, such as evil versions of Supergirl, Green Arrow, and Reverse Flash, this latest poster includes some new villains and raises some new questions about what fans can expect to see in “Crisis on Earth-X.” And it’s not just the villains that are leaving us with questions. We have some questions about the heroes, too.

Read on for 5 questions raised by the latest “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover poster.

Does the fight take place on Earth-X?

One of the larger questions the new poster raises is the location of the fight between the Arrowverse heroes and their evil Earth-X counterparts. While the name of the crossover event, “Crisis on Earth-X,” would seem to hint that the heroes travel to Earth-X, promos for the event seems to indicate otherwise. In the recently released trailers and promos, it’s the Nazi villains who show up on Earth-1. Specifically, we see them crash Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris’ (Candice Patton) wedding in Central City. Also lending to the idea that the fight takes place on Earth-1 is that what footage we’ve seen of Earth-X has been dark, bleak and involved either what looked like a concentration camp or a firing squad.

However, the new poster shows a much less dismal setting, complete with skyscrapers in daylight. But the skyscrapers are draped in Nazi flags so either the heroes adventure to Earth-X or things just got really scary for the inhabitants of Earth-1.

What side is Earth-X Red Tornado on?

Set in the Arrowverse, the upcoming CW Seed animated web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray is set on Earth-X and the titular Ray, Raymond “Ray” Terrill, will appear in “Crisis on Earth-X” (he can be seen in the big group photo on the Waverider that was released last week). In promos for Freedom Fighters: The Ray, one of the heroes fighting the Nazis is Red Tornado. However, in this new poster for the crossover not only are we getting our first look at Red Tornado for the Crisis, he appears to be on the side of the Earth-X Nazis. The character can be seen emerging from a tornado on the right side of the poster — the side the Nazi’s are on.

Could this be a possible origin for the Freedom Fighters team with Red Tornado joining the Ray after this “Crisis on Earth-X” conflict? Or could it just be random position on the poster, as White Canary/Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) also seems to have a bit of odd positioning as well, with her facing straight ahead with her blade instead of taking on the Earth-X invaders.

How do Red Tornado and Metallo factor in?

While we’re trying to figure out the Red Tornado issue, it’s worth noting that Red Tornado isn’t the only new character we’re seeing on the poster. Near Red Tornado is a new, more robotic version of Metallo.

The last time we saw any version of Metallo was on Supergirl’s Earth where he literally exploded while fighting Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. The Earth-X version seems to be more machine and less human than his deceased counterpart, but it also looks like he’s at least retained his evil alignment. But if Metallo is still evil, again, why is Red Tornado on the Earth-X bad guy side? And what are either of them doing as part of this evil, alternate Earth team? Is it possible that their unmasked identities aren’t something we’re expecting?

Also? Up until his appearance on this poster, Metallo was unconfirmed for the crossover.

What role does Curtis/Mr. Terrific and Rene/Wild Dog have in the crossover?

There are a lot of heroes involved in the crossover event, but not all of them appear on this new poster. While we expect to see Supergirl, Green Arrow, and The Flash as well as a few representatives from Legends, like White Canary there are two heroes featured that makes us wonder what part they have to play — Mr. Terrific and Wild Dog.

In the grand scheme of things Nazi invaders from a really dystopian Earth showing up would be something that constituted an all hands-on deck event. It makes sense that any hero available would suit up and come defend the world, but featuring Mr. Terrific and Wild Dog specifically feels like a deliberate choice. Neither of them are people likely to be on Barry and Iris’s wedding guest list so their appearance on the poster may hint to the characters having a larger purpose — such as maybe the invasion has further reaches than just Central City.

Who is Earth-X Prometheus?

However, when it comes to Earth-X villains, Prometheus and Dark Arrow are on the same side and we already know that the face under the mask isn’t Adrian Chase. Instead, someone else will have the Prometheus mantle over on the Nazi-controlled parallel Earth and while there’s some speculation that it could be Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) there are plenty of other options that would be quite a shock to the heroes should that mask come off. Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) would be a significant choice to be fighting alongside Dark Arrow, especially since Haynes has indicated that he would return to the Arrowverse sooner rather than later. Thea Queen (Willa Holland) would also make a shocking choice. Of course, if the show really wanted to punch Oliver Queen — and fans — right in the gut, having Tommy Merlyn be Earth-X Prometheus would be one way to do it.

“Crisis on Earth-X” is a four-hour event that will air on November 27 and 28 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.