Next month, what is probably the
most earth-shaking – or perhaps “earths-shaking” – event to happen between all the
DC superhero TV series on The CW will finally play out after what may be
literally years of hype and foreshadowing. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will see
the main heroes that collectively make up the “Arrow” verse preparing to face
an existential threat against all parallel worlds. It will also feature guest
appearances from stars that have portrayed DC heroes in film and TV in the
past, either as straight reprisals or thematic variants. Burt Ward from the
1969 “Batman” series and Tom Welling from “Smallville” (2001-11) are just a few
of these.
Also included is Kevin Conroy,
the iconic primary voice actor for Batman since 1992’s animated series. His
reprisal of the Dark Knight for The CW’s “Crisis” was not much in doubt, but
the question is what variant of Batman he could play in live-action considering
his age (68). Initial teases hinted that he might play the aged Bruce Wayne of
the distant-future “B:TAS” sequel “Batman Beyond.” But Comic Book Resources now reveals that he might instead portray an
elderly retired Dark Knight from a famous DC Comics miniseries, “Kingdom Come.”
This was discerned when The CW
released its first promotional image of Conroy in character for his appearance
on “Crisis in Infinite Earths.” The photo shows the actor dressed in a business
suit over which is strapped a mechanical exoskeleton. This is similar to the
setup that an aged and physically battered Bruce Wayne wears in the “Kingdom
Come” DC mini from 1996. It also establishes the possibility that Conroy’s
character exists in the same in-universe parallel earth as the Clark Kent/Superman
portrayed by Brandon Routh. Though it was hinted that his character takes off
from his sole movie outing in “Superman Returns” Routh’s costume, complete with
red-and-black S-shield, is from “Kingdom Come” as well.
Kevin Conroy has been a shoo-in
for showing up in The CW’s latest crisis since as early as last August. That
left plenty of time for speculation to grow as to how his Batman role will be
interpreted. DC’s “Kingdom Come” miniseries took place in a world where the
rise of ultraviolent super-villains and vigilantes to fight them leads to
disillusionment from the classic heroes such as Superman and Batman, who take
opposite approaches to solving the problem before things can go out of control.
The “Crisis on Infinite Earths”
crossover event between The CW’s superhero shows will start on December 8 at “Supergirl”
season 5 – episode 9. This storyline is notable as it will be the last
crossover with the franchise-originating series “Arrow” involved, as their
current eighth season will be its last. Said show’s “Crisis” episode will be
the eighth in broadcast order.
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