CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS has been nothing short of amazing in the first three nights of the crossover event. While we wait for the conclusion in January, we still have a lot of CRISIS to discuss. Let’s go back to the original comic – CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1-12 to see what has stayed the same in the Arrowverse – and what has changed!

SPOILER ALERT! THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS PARTS 1-3 THROUGHOUT THIS ARTICLE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

SAME: The opening narrative of the Monitor in Part One of the crossover event comes straight from the opening of the comic itself. “In the beginning there was only one, a single black infinitude…”.

also…SAME: As in the comics of the time, canon was that there were HUNDREDS of Earths, not just 52. That idea of 52 Earths came along much later in the comics. As we see in the Arrowverse, there are several hundred Earths…or there used to be, before the anti-matter wave. In the comics Pariah has witnessed “hundreds of Earths die”, though he was able to save one character (Lady Quark) from the ending of her world.

and…SAME: Pariah is doomed to see tragedy after tragedy in both the comics version and the TV crossover.

DIFFERENT: In the comics we see Pariah from the beginning, a person from another universe but not one of the famous Wells doppelgangers.

SAME: Both Pariah’s comics and TV versions committed the sin of freeing the Anti-Monitor, and as a result are cursed to watch tragedy after tragedy unfold.

DIFFERENT: The comic’s Pariah’s sin was attempting to peer into the dawn of time, in the process freeing both the Monitor and Anti-Monitor. The Arrowverse Pariah was Harrison Nash Wells, an explorer who found the portal to the Anti-Monitor underneath Central City.

SAME: Earths die very quickly at the beginning of this story.

DIFFERENT: In the comics, both Earth-1 and Earth-2 are considered “prime”. Both survive until near the conclusion, when five remaining Earths merge into one. In the Arrowverse, Earth-2 is one of the very first to go.

SAME: In both iterations, Lyla is also Harbinger. But, that’s where a lot of things diverge…

DIFFERENT: In the comics, Lyla is a young girl saved and raised by the Monitor. In the Arrowverse she is Diggle’s former wife and the Director of A.R.G.U.S.

And…DIFFERENT: In the TV crossover, Harbinger brings only heroes together. Keep in mind that it was the Monitor himself that brings Lex into the fray. In the comics, Harbinger is tasked with bringing both heroes and villains together, using their various talents and powers to save the worlds.

Also…DIFFERENT: The comics Harbinger is infected during some of her earliest searches for heroes and villains to aid in the fight. The Arrowverse Harbinger is captured and reprogrammed much later in the crossover event.

SAME: There is an Anti-Matter Cannon that the Flash has to destroy. Barry Allen dies, sacrificing himself to save what is left of the universes.

DIFFERENT: In the Arrowverse crossover, the Anti-Matter Cannon is the device powering all of the Anti-Matter wave. In the comics, the Anti-Matter wave has been destroying universes on it’s own. The Anti-Matter Cannon does not appear until issue #8, and it is built on Qward (the Anti-Monitor’s home planet) instead of underneath Central City.

Also DIFFERENT (AND SPOILER): In the TV version it is Earth-90 Barry Allen who sacrifices himself to destroy the Anti-Matter Cannon.

…and also DIFFERENT: Earth-90 Barry steals some of Earth-1 Barry’s Speed Force connection, allowing him to run faster and save the day. In the comics, the Speed Force will not be even mentioned until Mark Waid’s iconic run with Wally West Flash in the 1990s, specifically 1994 in the arc known as “Terminal Velocity”.

SAME: A Luthor plays a major role in the CRISIS.

DIFFERENT: In the comics, it is Alexander Luthor, the sole survivor of Earth-3. THIS Luthor is a good guy, comprised of both positive and negative matter. He is one of the keys to saving Earth. In the Arrowverse, of course, it is our lying, scheming Lex who is putting a fly into the ointment. That does lead me to…

SAME: Lex Luthor of Earth-1 is a truly bad guy.

DIFFERENT: The Lex Luthor of the comics doesn’t play as big a role until later in the series. He kills his Earth-2 counterpart and gets with other villains to attempt to take over Earth-1 and Earth-2. In the Arrowverse he is playing a much bigger role, using the Book of Destiny as his weapon.

SAME: Shadow Demons are everywhere.

DIFFERENT: In the Arrowverse, the Shadow Demons come as the towers have stopped the anti-matter wave. In the comics, the Shadow Demons attack as soon as the heroes and villains have been brought together.

SAME: There are towers meant to play a key role in stopping the threat.

DIFFERENT: In the TV version, there are key Earths that have each of the towers, including Earth-1. In the comics version, the towers are placed in different “eras”, and Earth-1 is the only Earth without a tower. And…

Also DIFFERENT: The Arrowverse towers are meant to hold off the anti-matter wave. The comics version of the towers was meant to slow the vibrational rates of the five remaining Earths, to bring them together into one.

SAME: There are key heroes specially called, who may be the real key to winning this fight.

DIFFERENT: In the Arrowverse, there are seven “Paragons” who represent “beings of the purest will” (Hope, Love, Truth, Courage, Honor, Destiny, and Humanity). The Paragons are Supergirl, Flash, Kingdom Come Superman, Batwoman, Martian Manhunter, White Canary, and Ryan Choi. In the comics there are 6 heroes without a special title, five of whom represent the five remaining Earths. They are Superman of Earth-1, Superman of Earth-2, Uncle Sam of Earth X, Captain Marvel (Shazam) of Earth-S, Blue Beetle of Earth-4, and Lady Quark (whose Earth-6 was destroyed earlier in the story).

SAME: Hope is all but gone at many points in the story.

DIFFERENT (and SPOILER): At the conclusion of the third night of the crossover, ALL of the Earths are gone. In the comics version, all but five Earths are destroyed, with those worlds eventually merging into one.

also DIFFERENT: (and SPOILER): In the Arrowverse, the remaining characters find themselves at Vanishing Point, a place outside of space and time. It appears to be abandoned, though that may change when we return to the show in January 2020. The comics version did not mention Vanishing Point, as that was not introduced into DC Comics until 1991.

and finally…

SAME: The world of DC Heroes will never be the same. In the comics, this was the start of a new era of stories. It also changed the comics publishing world. This (and Marvel’s SECRET WARS) began that never-ending list of “major event” stories that persist to this day with various levels of critical and sales success. We’ve already seen that impact the Arrowverse with their previous crossover events. January 2020 will see significant changes for our heroes, and we will see new shows spinning out of the conclusion of CRISIS. Hopefully we will see many more hits than misses.

We will likely add to this list as the crossover on the CW network ends in January. And, there are so many additional notes we could add, like…

Constantine appears in both the Arrowverse and comics versions, though his role in the comics is limited to only a few panels.

Jonah Hex also appears in both, though not specifically by name in the Arrowverse (He’s the one who gets his cheek sliced by Sara Lance while they try to revive Oliver Queen. THAT is the TV version of how Hex got that hole in his face).

Vibe appears in both versions, though in a very limited role in the comics.

We see both the present and future Atoms (Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi) in the Arrowverse crossover. Ryan Choi was not in the comics version, as he was not introduced to DC Comics until 2006.

The Spectre appears in both versions, though we have yet to see the role this character will play in the conclusion of the TV crossover.

And yes, we could add FAR more info if you want to get into the nuances of both the show and the comic. Keep in mind that the comics version of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS was far more than just the twelve issue run of that title. There were tie-ins all across the DC publishing line. I guess you could add a SAME here, in that the TV version also goes across the Arrowverse and more. It even grabbed the Titans of Earth-9, whom you will see if you subscribe to DC Universe.

Let’s just say that this is NOT an exhaustive list (even though it’s a long one already). Please add your SAME and DIFFERENT notes in the comments below. And…we will see how things end in the Arrowverse in January 2020!

