Crisis on Infinite Earths isn’t just a multiversal crossover. It’s THE multiversal crossover. DC Comics had been crossing over their characters from different Earths since the 1960’s, but it wasn’t until 1985 when they had so many Earths with so many characters (and so many versions of the same character) that they ended up creating a maxi-series that was just as much about crossing over all their characters as it was about cleaning up their continuity. Since then, there have been crises and flashpoints and continuity shake-ups. Even Marvel Comics got in on the game with their incursions and spider-verses. Every multiverse superhero story owes its existence to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and nothing has had as big an impact since. Naturally, when there are so many different Earths in other mediums like movies, TV shows, and cartoons, fans have been begging for a Crisis movie.
The animated Crisis on Infinite Earths movie isn’t the first time a Crisis crossover has been made. The Arrowverse, a live action universe involving half a dozen TV shows, did their own Crisis in 2019. The Flash movie of 2023 was, essentially, Flashpoint with a dash of Crisis as well. There was a Crisis on Two Earths animated DTV in 2010 as well as Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013, but there hasn’t been a true and faithful animated Crisis on Infinite Earths movie. Probably because Crisis requires other Earths with their own history and continuity. DC has been slowly building up various continuities over the years. The Flashpoint Paradox served as a bridge from a previous reality to a new one that began with Justice League: War. The DC Animated Universe ended with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which then gave way to the Tomorrowverse with Superman: Man of Tomorrow. It’s the Tomorrowverse that has spent four years priming audiences for a true Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptation.
Just as the original Crisis on Infinite Earths had a prime Earth and continuity to anchor it, so does the animated adaptation. The Tomorrowverse is an interesting beast. There have been a handful of movies that haven’t been terribly connected but are still clearly part of the same continuity. There is some kind of rule with DC characters that a Crisis has to have a Flash at the center of it. As such, The Flash has been an essential part of the Tomorrowverse since Justice Society: World War II, which initially established Earth-1 and Earth-2. Sometime after that movie, a Justice League was formed, but we didn’t get enough of them in Green Lantern: Beware My Power. Both Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice League: War World seemed to lead right into Crisis, but this movie takes a few steps back to fill in the blanks.
Crisis on Infinite Earths is going to be three parts, so there are only small teases of fan 
service in the first part. Ultimately, it was a great decision to use this part to flesh out the Tomorrowverse. In a non-linear story, we follow Barry Allen, who himself is outside of time, and experience important moments in his life. We briefly see Barry first getting his powers, heroes coming together, the founding of the Justice League, and lots of Barry and Iris. The Tomorrowverse has its own unique continuity, something that may surprise even longtime DC fans. The way the Justice League comes together isn’t something we’ve seen before, as Vixen gets in on the ground floor and Hal Jordan refuses to join them. Barry and his relationship with Iris is the heart of this movie. His love for her and wanting a life with her humanizes him, even among the time skips and break down of reality itself.
The DCAMU, which owed a lot to Jim Lee’s new 52 reboot, began with the violent Flashpoint Paradox and got even more violent as it went on. The Tomorrowverse, with its more streamlined designs, offers an alternative. Some may see it as a downgrade, but it’s important that it has its own feel. At the same time, it doesn’t feel as large and cohesive as the DCAMU, which was able to weave in a lot of Batman Family Drama between its Justice League and Teen Titans movies.
The Earth-2 Justice Society shows up for this movie, but the best showing may belong to Earth-3 and the Crime Syndicate. Flash finds himself on an Earth where the heroes are villains, and they are cruel to him. However, their attitude changes in the face of their Earth being destroyed by an anti-matter wave.
When the movie finally does bring in many heroes from multiple Earths, it feels too little too late. We aren’t familiar with any of these other heroes or their continuities. There’s a bit where the Charlton characters come together, which is fun and harkens back to the original Crisis, but it doesn’t mean much to the audience because they haven’t been seen before. Likewise, they prepare the board for characters like Kimiyo Hoshi becoming Dr. Light and Psycho Pirate, but they don’t end up doing much. These are just teases, and set ups, so there’s no payoff in this movie.
There’s the bit with Batman meeting Earth-2 Robin. The Tomorrowverse established that 
Batman never trained Dick Grayson as Robin, but Batman gets to meet Robin and Huntress, his Earth-2 counterpart’s daughter. It’s odd for us to even contemplate a Dick Grayson who never followed in Batman’s footsteps, but this movie poses the question of how a Robin-less Batman would react to seeing Dick become Robin and having a daughter with Catwoman. They unfortunately breeze through this plot point too quickly. Superman learns that Earth-2 Superman and Wonder Woman have gotten together, but not a lot comes from that either.
The movie trilogy is going to include more versions of heroes fans are familiar with, but what we were given in the first part just feels like window dressing. A bunch of scientist heroes get together, and there are the likes of The Metal Men, The Freedom Fighters, and the Shazam Family in the background. It’s all fun, but there’s not enough substance.
There have been so many beloved animated continuities that have yet to be shown. Naturally, fans want to see the DCAU, the first DC Universe that felt like a true universe because it spanned half a dozen TV shows. The Super Friends and the 2003 Teen Titans are just begging to have their Earths visited. Teen Titans Go!, of all things, has been the only real project to cross over with other animated DC universes. They met both their ’03 counterparts and the Super Hero Girls in animated movies. Seeing as how it’s Teen Titans Go!, it was all played for laughs. What longtime fans of DC animation want is to see their favorite characters meet other versions of themselves, team up, and contrast methods.
The hook at this movie can’t be understated. The Monitor believed that the anti-matter wave was a force of nature more like natural disaster, but Batman pointed out there seems to be a mind behind it. And when that mind is revealed, a much bigger problem can unfold. They also teased Harbinger’s backstory and the mysterious Pariah, whose identity will probably be a bit different than his comic book counterpart. While this movie did a great job telling a story about Barry Allen, it merely set up the pieces for a movie with a much wider scope. With two more parts left, I hope these movies get bigger and better.
