The Arrowverse probably won’t be considered one of the best superhero franchises ever. While it has some great moments, it’s hard to compete with established giants, even considering some recent missteps by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the Arrowverse excels in one area: its crossover events. The Avengers films, including the hugely popular Avengers: Endgame, do bring heroes together, but the CW shows have a unique and appealing quality. The Arrowverse builds up to these crossovers over long seasons—often with more than 20 episodes—allowing characters to develop and grow before teaming up for the annual event.
As a huge fan of the Arrowverse, I have to say some of those crossovers were truly epic. Like, traveling to Earth-X to fight evil Nazi versions of our heroes? Amazing! And Oliver becoming the Spectre during “Crisis on Infinite Earths” to save everything? Goosebumps! But let’s be real, there were definitely some misses too. There’s one event, which just celebrated its tenth anniversary, that really stands out as… not good. And honestly, it’s not just that it was the worst crossover; it also reminds me of a pretty major bait-and-switch the showrunners pulled on us back then.
The Arrowverse Loses the Plot in Its Second-Ever Crossover
The initial Arrowverse crossover, “Flash vs. Arrow,” had a straightforward plot: villains attacked both Central City and Starling City, forcing The Flash and Arrow to team up and protect their cities. The next season introduced a bigger threat: the villain Vandal Savage, who was pursuing Kendra Saunders—a woman Cisco Ramon from The Flash had feelings for. Recognizing they couldn’t handle Savage alone, Team Flash asked Team Arrow for assistance. However, despite looking good on paper, this team-up didn’t go as smoothly as planned.
The ‘Heroes Join Forces’ crossover suffers because it focuses too much on a storyline that really belongs on Arrow: Oliver Queen’s possible son. While visiting Central City, Oliver spots an old girlfriend with a child and wonders if he’s the father. He enlists Barry’s help to investigate, but Felicity finds out, which distracts Oliver. When the crossover isn’t preoccupied with Oliver’s personal life, it awkwardly tries to build up Hawkgirl and Hawkman, seemingly to set them up for future appearances. Unfortunately, none of this works, and the promotional trailer promised a story the crossover couldn’t deliver.
Legends of Tomorrow Pulled the Rug Out From the Jump
Before “Heroes Join Forces” aired, The CW announced a new spin-off series called Legends of Tomorrow. Instead of introducing brand new heroes, the show would feature familiar supporting characters from The Flash and Arrow, giving them the opportunity to become central figures. The main villain would be Vandal Savage, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl would also have significant roles, which is why they appeared in the crossover event. The CW was very confident in this new show and even released a trailer to build excitement for the next big superhero team.
Okay, so I just rewatched the first trailer for Legends of Tomorrow, and man, did it get me hyped! It showed Arrow and The Flash bringing together this awesome team – Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, the Firestorm guys, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave – to help Rip Hunter, a time traveler, stop Vandal Savage. They even teased The Flash fighting with the team against some pretty cool baddies, including a giant robot! Honestly, it looked like a blast. But looking back, the show didn’t quite deliver on that initial promise. Barry actually doesn’t fight with the Legends for much of the first season, and there were a few other things that didn’t quite line up with what the trailer showed. It took a while for Legends of Tomorrow to really find its groove, and I think that big “Heroes Join Forces” crossover event might have actually held it back a little at the start.
The Arrowverse shows are streaming on Netflix.
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2025-12-02 21:46