"While in a hard-fought battle, loss is expected. It never gets any easier. So it is with great sadness that I must inform you that Oliver Queen sacrificed his life for our world's survival. He is known to us as the first of our heroes, and while this is a devastating loss, we can take solace in knowing that he lived as he died: with honor."
— The Earth-Prime United States President
Considering that Crisis on Infinite Earths deals with the possible loss of planets and heroes we all know and love, tears are definitely a given.
WARNING: Spoilers are unmarked.
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Hour One (Supergirl)
- The event starts off with the annihilation of multiple worlds by the antimatter wave. That was to be expected from this event, but we probably weren't prepared to see worlds we were so familiar with destroyed. It begins with the annihilation of the universe of the classic Batman film series, where Alexander Knox hopes in vain for Batman to save the day, then the wave destroys the Titans (2018) universe, then the Arrowverse's own Earth-X as the Ray is unable to do anything to save it, and finally, the universe of the Adam West Batman series. Seeing a world normally so lighthearted and wholesome get erased from existence is unsettling enough, but then we see the reaction of that world's Dick Grayson as, like the Ray, he can't do anything to save the day and set things right. In this situation, there may be no "Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel". "Holy Crimson Skies of Death" indeed.
- The destruction of Argo.
- Having no time to evacuate, Clark and Lois are forced to send their infant son away to safety in a vehicle as the antimatter wave engulfs them. The parallel with Jor-El and Lara is not lost on anyone. Thankfully, it turns out that the Monitor manages to teleport them to Earth right before the wave hits the planet.
- Clark and Lois manage to escape, yes, but everyone else is not so lucky. The surviving Kryptonians, who barely escaped a calamity a few decades ago, are caught up in another apocalypse. This time, there's no escaping.
- Kara's reaction after Argo is completely wiped out, as she tries to come to terms that she has become (apparently) the last surviving Kryptonian.
- Kara finding out that Alura did not make it out of Argo. Which means she loses her mother once more.
- Lena is stubborn in not forgiving Kara and Alex about hiding that Kara is Supergirl. Even after Alex saves her from a hazard, she still refuses to forgive her.
- Clark's Survivor Guilt over Argo's destruction.
- The unexpected death of Oliver. Not only does it leave the assembled heroes shocked and without a leader, but Oliver's own team and son aren't even there by his side when it happens. Making things worse are final words to Mia.
- Everyone's reaction to his death. Barry and Kara are silently crying, and who knows what's going on in their heads right now; they just learned that Oliver cut a deal with the Monitor to save them at the cost of his life. Even Kate, who spent the least amount of time with Oliver, is looking more somber than usual.
- Even The Monitor is affected by this. There's a quiver in his voice when he says, "This is not the ending for him I foresaw."
- There's one moment that makes this worse: as he kept continuing his Last Stand, he reaches for more arrows, only to find his quiver empty, leading to him dropping his bow and charging at the Anti-Monitor's army empty-handed. It's just sad to see that the weapon that defined who Oliver was, from Lian Yu to this moment, is now rendered useless.
- Earth-66 has Dick Grayson old, retired from super-heroism and happily giving his dog a walk until he sees the red skies. He grew up to have a quiet life and now there's nothing he can do to stop the end of the world. Granted, he and his universe get restored once Oliver sacrifices himself, but still.
- Speaking of Earth-66, while we see an older Dick Grayson, we never get to see an older Bruce Wayne. Understandably, the reason for his absence is because of Adam West's death, but this isn't directly acknowledged in-universe. Assuming that Bruce lived in-universe the same Adam West did in the real world, then we can assume that Bruce passed away at some point prior, leaving Dick without his crime-fighting partner. For that matter, most of the supporting cast and rogues gallery from Batman 66 have likely passed away at this point.
Hour Two (Batwoman)
- While Sara, Kara, and Kate toast in the wake of Oliver's death, Barry does not. Sara muses that he is too in grief over Oliver's death to even consider recovering.
- Barry acts meaner in this episode than usual, and it's not until Mia suggests the idea of the Lazarus Pit (with some prodding from Iris) that he regains hope.
- Unable to deal with losing Oliver, Barry and Mia decide to search for a universe with a functioning Lazarus Pit even though they know full well that it will not end well. In fact, Sara, who knows firsthand how devastating the effects of the Pit are and opposed to the very idea of resurrecting people (having decided not to bring Laurel with the Spear of Destiny two years ago), is still conflicted over Oliver's sudden death enough that she agrees to seek out Constantine to at least mitigate the Pit's side effects.
- In a devastating Happy Ending Override, Lois, Jimmy, and Perry from the Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh film series were all killed by the Joker just for not writing about him enough.
- Kate has to deal with a version of her cousin Bruce who's become a twisted monster and the complete opposite of all he stood for who then dies at her hands.
- Kara finds a picture of Earth-99 Kate and Beth smiling happily together, and gives it to Earth-1 Kate. The picture provides a stark contrast to Earth-1 Kate and Beth's current relationship. And Earth-99 Kate is long dead.
Hour Three (The Flash)
- Hour Three opens on Earth-203 with New Gotham being completely obliterated by the antimatter as Helena Kyle/Huntress tries desperately to contact Barbara Gordon/Oracle. Hearing the normally tough-as-nails Huntress begging her friend to answer her is extremely hard to hear...
- Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning has to suddenly deal with being yanked from all his own problems, only to learn his entire world has been destroyed. When Pariah says he's the one who got Jefferson here but not his wife and daughters:Black Lightning: You should have saved my family, not me! NOT ME!
- Mia's Anguished Declaration of Love at Oliver is rudely interrupted by the Spectre, who sends her back to the Waverider.
- The death of Earth-90 Barry Allen. First, we hear him tell Earth-1 Barry that he finally ended up with his world's Tina McGee after his series ended, marrying her, only to hear him mention her in past tense, implying she presumably died when the Monitor devastated Earth-90 in Elseworlds. Then, just like his comic book counterpart, he runs himself out of existence to save everyone, his last thought being a flashback to him and the love of his life:Earth-90 Barry: I have faith in you, Tina.
Earth-90 Tina McGee: Well, the truth is I have faith in you.- Gets worse when you learn specifically why that scene aired: Per John Wesley Shipp himself, the scene represented him and Tina Together in Death, what he was running towards.
- Once again, Earth-1 Barry has to watch a doppelganger of his father make a Heroic Sacrifice. Unlike Jay, this one is implied to be irreversible.
- The antimatter wave destroying Earth-1, which means the heroes' efforts to stop it from destroying everything is All for Nothing. And everyone who's not on the Waverider is presumably dead as a result.
- This means that Oliver's Heroic Sacrifice to save a billion more people from Earth-38 is meaningless in the end, because everyone from that Earth except for Kara and J'onn J'onzz (both of whom survived without Oliver's help) ultimately die from the antimatter. At the very least, it did pave the way for his transformation into the Spectre.
- The result of Earth-90 Barry's Heroic Sacrifice, which happened minutes ago, is also cruelly reversed, because it turns out the Anti-Monitor is able to restart the antimatter wave without the generator after all.
- Speaking of people on the Waverider, they get vaporized a few moments after Earth-1 is destroyed as well. The Pariah manages to send Barry, Kara, Sara, Kate, J'onn, Earth-96 Clark, and Ryan Choi to the Vanishing Point. As for everyone else? Nothing to do but Face Death with Dignity.
- Iris' brief terrified reaction at Clark, who responds with a reassuring look as the two get vaporized.
- Barry is horrified when he learns that Iris was vaporized by antimatter along with almost anyone else. Before being teleported away, the last thing he did was call Iris' name and reach for her hand.
- Fridge Horror: Sooner or later, it will dawn on Barry that he not only lost Iris; he lost everyone, including Ralph (who was also on the Waverider when the antimatter hit) and likely Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe as well.
- Oh Barry. He spent the last five years coming to terms with his death. He didn't expect to not only survive, but watch as everyone dear to him died in his place.
- Lex selfishly switching himself for Earth-96 Clark. Watching Superman die is hard enough, but when it's revealed that bastard took his place...
- And let's not forget: this isn't just any Superman we're seeing die. This is the same Superman once played by Christopher Reeve. After all of his adventures that entertained and inspired us, one of the classic Supermen is brutally erased from what's left of existence. Lex Luthor finally got it done...and it wasn't even his own.
Hour Four (Arrow)
- Ryan Choi's narration is very pessimistic.
- Barry has gone somewhat mad after failing to use the Speed Force to undo the antimatter destruction. He went to the Speed Force for months (although from his perspective, it only took him seconds) to try to undo the antimatter wave, but found out that he couldn't do it no matter what he did.
- Sure, Ezra Miller's cameo is awesome and entertaining...but it also means that the DC Extended Universe is gone, too. Cavill's Superman, Affleck's Batman, Gadot's Wonder Woman, Momoa's Aquaman, Fisher's Cyborg, Adams's Lois, Irons' Alfred, Smith's Deadshot, Robbie's Harley Quinn, and Levi's Shazam? They're all gone. Even worse, Movie!Flash fades away during the conversation, implying that he's about to go the same way...
- It is revealed that Mar Novu was in a loving marriage and his wife dying after he goes to see the Dawn of Time makes him go to face Mobius.
- It's easy to miss but when Barry retrieves Sara, she looks at Earth-1 Laurel with slight confusion, now knowing that is the very last time she’ll see her older sister. Yes, there’s still her Earth-2 counterpart but she's not the same Laurel.
- Sara and Barry see Oliver's soul dying. Both took inspiration and strength from him, and they had to see him die.Oliver: (Coughs) I...I need both of you to watch over my family.
Sara: Hey, Ollie. They're gonna be fine, all right? You're gonna be fine.
Oliver: You did it. You all did...you all did it. It's almost time, almost time. There. You did it.
Sara: No, Ollie, you did it, ok, and that's why you got to come back with us, so we need you to hang on, ok?
Oliver: Sara, this is just what the Monitor said would happen. (Coughs)
Sara: No.
Barry: What?
Oliver: There was an end...and there's a beginning. You remember what I told you?
Barry: "Dying is the easy part".
Oliver: I'm at peace. The real heroes...
Barry: They're the ones that have to keep going.
Oliver: So keep...going. And don't ever stop. This world...this new...world. It needs both of you.- Sara and Barry are openly crying, unlike in the first hour, where they only silently sobbed at Oliver's first death due to how abrupt it was.
- Oliver dies so the multiverse can be saved. That includes his family and friends, who, barring Sara and Barry, aren't even there besides him on his deathbed.
- Oliver's Single Tear before he finally passes away.
Hour Five (Legends of Tomorrow)
- Sara finds out that the multiverse is reconstructed and everyone is brought back...everyone except for Oliver Queen, who dies for good.
- Diggle is devastated that he wasn't there for his brother Oliver, and even says that he failed him—twice.
- Sara is at first in denial over the issue and tries to think of anything that can bring him back, only for J'onn to point out that Oliver's body and soul were destroyed during the universe's recreation. Nothing can bring him back; he is Deader than Dead. He is gone.
- Barry and Kara are ecstatic upon finding out that they share the same Earth and visit the Arrowcave bunker to announce Sara the news, exclaiming that they managed to save everyone. Only for Sara to tell them that, no, they didn't save everyone. The realization hits them like a ton of bricks as they learn that they couldn't save the remaining member of the Trinity, the one who started it all.
- Nash wakes up in Star Labs having forgotten that he was the idiot that freed the Anti-Monitor, since he wasn't a Paragon and was subjected to Death Amnesia. However, J'onn, the Paragon of Honor, is there. J'onn starts to chew him out for causing a multiversal genocide, and restores his memories upon realizing he isn't aware of his apocalyptic fuckup. Nash immediately goes from annoyed at this random "government suit" giving him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech that doesn't make sense to nearly collapsing in horror at the horrible mistake he made and apologizing repeatedly. And this is before he learns that Oliver didn't survive the Crisis he caused.Nash: God...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...
J'onn: And so you should be. This is ALL your fault! - Supergirl flies to risk her life for Superman. It is saddening even when the Atom saves her and Superman. It's even sadder if you know the original comic, because this was the moment when the comic's Kara sacrificed herself to save Clark.
- The moment of silence the President asks the nation to honor Oliver Queen is a mix of this and heartwarming, because the world finally vindicates the Green Arrow when he is no longer there to see it.
Tie-in comics
- Wally West dies to save Barry.
- Felicity learns about Oliver's death and is understandably angry.
- Among the other universes based on DC media destroyed by the Anti-Monitor are the old Superman animated shorts and Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman series. Both of them hit pretty hard because the former was the first onscreen appearance of the Man of Steel that set the stage for much of the Superman media to come, while the latter was the definitive portrayal of Diana for many people.
