Smallville Season 11 Considered Canon For Crisis On Infinite Earths

The Smallville Season 11 comics, published by DC and featuring Clark Kent's years as Superman and [...]

By Russ Burlingame

The Smallville Season 11 comics, published by DC and featuring Clark Kent's years as Superman and an expansive group of Smallville-universe versions of DC heroes and villains, will be considered canonical for The CW's adaptation of "Crisis on Infinite Earths," according to executive producer Marc Guggenheim, who is overseeing the mega-crossover. The story will include guest appearances by Tom Welling's Clark Kent and Erica Durance's Lois Lane, the latter of whom will appear in more than one episode of the five-part crossover event. When Welling's appearance was announced, The CW said that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" would cover what had happened to the characters since the events of Smallville.

The comics were of a grander scope and had bigger visuals than TV could have managed, and they also included characters who were "off-limits" to The CW, including Batman. You can see Guggenheim's tweet below.

"For eight years, Arrow has stood on the shoulders of Smallville," Guggenheim said when Welling joined the crossover. "Simply put, there would be no Arrow, and no Arrowverse, without it. So when we first started talking about Crisis on Infinite Earths, our first, second and third priorities were getting Tom to reprise his iconic role as Clark Kent. To say that we're thrilled would be a Superman-sized understatement."

Plot details for The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" -- which is being showrun by Guggenheim -- are still fairly sketchy, outside of the fact that Oliver Queen and Barry Allen have both been prophesied to die. Still, it is likely we will start to get more details -- especially as casting is concerned -- as we draw closer to the crossover going into production, which is likely to happen in October.

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 even Black Lightning to Earth-1, where the rest of the series take place. The crossover will also feature guest appearances by Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex, Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne, and Brandon Routh as Superman.

"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. Are you excited for the Crisis? Chime in below or tweet your thoughts to @russburlingame.

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