In case you’ve been locked in the Pipeline over at S.T.A.R. Labs and haven’t heard, there’s a 4-night crossover happening on The CW this week. If you already knew that, I assume your reaction is the same as mine:
This crossover is basically a week-long party for Arrowverse fans, and every party needs a pregame. I’m starting this one off with seven sober predictions, and one that will definitely make you drink if it comes true.
CBS
1. The Justice Society of America Officially Re-forms
While fans have been unofficially referring to the trio of The Flash, Green Arrow and Supergirl as the CW’s Justice League since Supergirl hopped through an inter-channel breach way back in May, the group (along with their respective supporting casts and the Legends) will finally be given an official title in-universe by the United States government (of Earth-1) due to the events of the crossover.
In the Heroes v Aliens preview trailers and images that have currently been released by The CW, we’ve been given two major clues hinting towards the official naming of the team. The first, and most obvious, came from the four promotional images that were shared on the shows’ social media channels. When connected, these images reveal a building whose appearance is very obviously patterned after the Hall of Justice, which has served as the on-earth base of operations for both the Super Friends and the Justice League in comics and animation.
The CW / Warner Bros. Animation
The second clue was revealed via trailer, where we can see the squad (along with what appears to be the Earth-1 POTUS, based on the podium’s seal) standing on a stage before a group of military personnel:
Operation: Put the Dudes With Ridiculous Helmets as Far Away From the President as Possible | The CW
Now, while the inclusion of the Hall of Justice in the promo images hints towards the formation of the Justice League, the above screenshot coupled with events of Legends of Tomorrow indicates that we’re much more likely to see the re-formation of the Justice Society. In Legends, it’s made clear that the JSA functions as an agent of the US government; as the newly formed team is being introduced by the POTUS, in front of the military with US flags everywhere, it’s safe to say that our CW crew is being officially sponsored and endorsed by the government. And, with the JSA being as prominent as it is in the Legends storyline (not to mention the JSA version of Vixen being present), it’s only fitting that this team will carry on the JSA’s legacy.
Also, it looks like Oliver is standing in front of everyone else, which most likely means that the unofficial leader of the Arrowverse will be functioning as the official leader of the new JSA. Much deserved.
2. Kara and Sara Have a Heart to Heart About Alex’s Sexuality
For those unfortunate souls who don’t watch Supergirl, Alex Danvers (Kara’s sister) recently came out as a lesbian in what has unquestionably been one of the most well-written and well-acted coming out stories ever portrayed on network television. Sara Lance, by comparison, has been helping women come to terms with the truth about their sexualities for, well…centuries, if we’re being technically correct. And, while Alex doesn’t appear to be making the jump to Earth-1 with her sister, there’s a very strong possibility that we’ll see her come up as a topic of conversation between Kara and Sara (saying their names back to back this many times is reeeeally screwing with my pronunciations; do not try this at home).
How exactly Sara’s bisexuality will be revealed to Kara still remains to be seen, but we can probably assume that Barry will hear about it when he and Cisco pick her up from Earth-S, and then suggest that Kara talk to Sara about how to best be an ally to Alex during her coming out process. While this wouldn’t have any real impact on the Heroes v Aliens plot, it would fit very nicely with the CW’s commitment to creating an incredibly progressive and inclusive on-screen universe, one of its absolute greatest strengths from a cultural-impact standpoint.
This would also set up a hilarious scene in which Kara innocently says something like, “so…Barry tells me you like girls,” after which Sara puts on her “let’s go corrupt some virgins” face only to be awkwardly shut down by someone who literally shoots lasers out of her eyes.
Krypton-alright alright alriiiiiiight | The CW
3. This Was All Barry’s Fault
“Local Speedster Ruins Everything” is pretty much the theme of The Flash this season, and we have no reason to believe that the crossover will be any different. The first allusion to Heroes v Aliens even came on Legends of Tomorrow, where Sara breaks up the Ray/Nate bromance to tell them that their friends back in 2016 need their help. And, unless AT&T put up a cell tower in the time stream and Thea sent Sara one of Arrow’s classic 911 texts, that means that the Dominators are arriving in 2016 as some form of time aberration (or Stein/Jax finally revealed the contents of Barry’s secret message and it was about the Dominators, but that’s highly unlikely).
Additionally, we can see Barry and Ollie in Wellsobard’s super secret time vault at S.T.A.R. Labs in this trailer, and they’re very clearly looking at the wall where Gideon would project future newspapers when Barry says that “things just got so much worse.” Unless something has replaced Gideon in the vault due to the events of Flashpoint, this hints strongly that Heroes v Aliens was the result of a time travel snafu.
“Patty Spivot is Savitar? I have the weirdest speed-boner right now.” | The CW
4. Mick Hates Aliens
The Dominators kinda look like sprouts, and Mick hates sprouts. By the transitive property (right?), we can thus deduce that Mick also hates aliens. We can similarly deduce that “I hate aliens” will be the best line in the entire crossover.
Look, he’s even trying to make sure they don’t reproduce! Bob Barker would be proud | The CW
5. Joe and Diggle Bond Over Being the Only People Who Realize How Ridiculous This All Is
Joe West and John Diggle are literally the only two main characters in the Arrowverse who are still remotely sane. Everyone else has just kind of accepted that things like time travel, speedsters, and giant, anthropomorphic sharks exist in the world. When a new meta with ridiculous powers bursts onto the scene, the bulk of Team Flash reacts the way you would when finding out that you have to suffer through a Hawaiian pizza because your friends are uncultured neanderthals. Compare that to Digg’s reaction to learning that Barry is The Flash (and Diggle has to be reaaally freaked out to waste Big Belly Burger), or Joe when literally anyone talks:
“How is wanting to bang your adoptive sister not the weirdest thing about you?” | The CW
These two are finally going to have someone to talk to that isn’t insane, and their scenes together are going to be glorious. We are all #Jiggle, my friends. And yes, that’s their official bro-ship name. Please do not use without the express written consent of the National Football League.
6. The Only Way to Defeat the Dominators Is to Hack Their Mothership With Tech Created by Ray, Curtis, Felicity and Cisco
Does this really need explaining? This is pretty much the trope of every alien invasion movie ever. Or at least Independence Day, which is the only one that really matters. Anyway, there’s literally no other logical way for the new-look JSA to defeat an army of aliens that has a fleet of flying warships. The Nerd Herd will be the “real heroes” of the crossover. Bank on it.
20th Century Fox
7. Cisco Recites the Iconic “Independence Day” Speech and Wells Interrupts
Speaking of aliens getting blown up, Cisco “EXPECTO PATRONUM” Ramon loves pop culture references, and none will be more apropos than the pre-battle speech from Independence Day. However, in true Flash Season 3 fashion, the scene played out differently on H.R. Wells’ Earth:
CISCO: “We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today, we celebrate—”
WELLS: “INTERNATIONAL BLOW UP THE ALIENS DAY!”
CISCO: “…what!?”
WELLS: “Yeah, International Blow Up the Aliens Day. I know, I still can’t believe they just said the name of the movie in the speech like that, either.”
CISCO: “…”
DIGGLE: “How did you get a third Harrison Wells again?”
JOE: “This is technically the fourth.”
DIGGLE: “What?”
JOE: “I have no idea.”
“I better have my criminal record cleared for putting up with this bullshit.” | The CW
8. Thea Queen Dies
My gut is telling me that someone isn’t making it out of this crossover alive. I mean, this is a literal alien invasion, and only like 5 good guys on the entire planet actually have superpowers. I don’t really understand math (like, at all), but even I can figure out that the numbers don’t look good for our non-superpowered heroes. Now, I don’t think that any particular character is definitely marked for death, but if any major character is biting the arrowhead, one does stand out above the rest.
This is my (very) bold prediction, and making it feels like being stabbed in the stomach non-fatally with an arrow that will still somehow magically kill me despite being told that I’m fine by doctors. I’ve been in love with Willa Holland since I first saw her however many years ago as Kaitlin Cooper on The OC, but her character has recently been given the Arrowverse kiss of death.
Only three things are guaranteed in this universe: Diggle showing off his biceps, Barry fucking up the timeline and Quentin Lance’s daughters dying. Like, I’m pretty sure that Papa Lance had some kind of Greek mythology-style curse put on him that gives him a long life, but the trade off is being constantly tortured by watching the people he loves die. And then come back. And then die again. And then he gets shot or has a heart attack or something but miraculously survives. That’s the only way I can logically explain his heart having not literally exploded after all of this. Anyway, in the past few episodes of Arrow, Thea and Quentin have become very close — with both of his actual daughters either off galavanting through time or dead, she’s basically taken up the mantle of the living Lance daughter (Quentin is basically like a Sith Lord: he must always have an apprentice). That is, well, not good.
To make matters worse, her personal arc came full circle last week in”Vigilante,” as she went from almost losing her life to substance abuse back in Season 1, to making Quentin check into rehab to help save his life in Season 5. While there’s still plenty more that can be done with her character (ideally replacing Ollie as mayor), this is, from a narrative standpoint, an unfortunately feasible time for her character to be axed if the writers want to put more emphasis on the Recruits. Episode 9 is even titled “What We Leave Behind,” which could be a reference to Prometheus, but could also be referring to Thea; she’s shown in neither the promotional photos, nor mentioned in the episode synopsis (while the synopsis doesn’t mention Oliver dealing with a loss, this omission could be a misdirect).
Willa also posted the following photo on Instagram from the Arrow 100 celebration. Note the caption — confirmation bias on my part, or a cheeky way to hint that she’s dying in the crossover, which overlaps with the 100th episode (probably confirmation bias, but humor me)?
If I were a betting man, would I put my money on Thea dying? No. But has her character arc made her the most likely candidate to not survive the invasion? Yes. I’m 100% hedging my prediction here, but deal with it. Realistically, Thea’s death would take a TREMENDOUS emotional toll on Oliver, and drastically change the tone of the rest of the season. He’d probably take responsibility for her death, and disband Team Arrow to prevent any further loss in the name of his crusade before calling Prometheus out to fight one on one, no items, Fox only, Final Destination. Thea’s death would also mean the second death of an important piece of Green Arrow comic book lore in as many seasons, as she is Arrow’s adaptation of Mia Dearden, minus the HIV (her full name is even Thea Dearden Queen). After the backlash the writers received for killing Laurel, killing Thea would be, well, ballsy as hell.
The Heroes v Aliens crossover kicks off with Supergirl, Monday at 8/7 Central on The CW. Dare to Defy and all that.
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