Last week, I commented I didn’t expect “Crisis on Infinite Earths” to be acknowledged by Black Lightning despite Jefferson’s presence in the crossover. Boy am I glad to be wrong: it was all over this episode, using it to bring Jennifer back into the spotlight, as the antimatter wave consuming the multiverse caused her to meet alternate versions of herself.
1. Book of What Now?
I think I’m supposed to still care about the ASA’s occupation of Freeland, but honestly this demonstrated how much a little crossover goes a long way to freshing things up – and best of all, it’s still relevant to what’s been going on this little bubble in the DC multiverse, with Jen’s visions of her alternate selves providing an It’s a Wonderful Life-esque insight into what life would be like if she opposed the ASA, or if she fully embraced being their weapon. It’s almost like a bottle episode, with Jen fading in and out of consciousness and reality inside Anissa’s apartment, while her worried family reunites to watch over her.
2. Some Worldbuilding Before It Ends
Let’s talk about the resistance though: early on, we see Jamillah’s broadcast has seemingly been tampered with, with the video the public receive apparently stating “liberal anti-vaxxers” are the ones causing trouble in Freeland. (It’s a pretty obvious swipe at Fox News, with the blond anchorwoman.) I thought it was interesting the ticker tape revealed the President on this Earth is named Shaw, and that they’re a Republican – makes you wonder if they’ll show themselves.
3. Confused Terminologies
The two other Jens we meet in this episode are Gen, from Earth One, and Jinn, from Earth Two. Gen is good, clad in a white jumpsuit and power-inducing collar after she manipulated Freeland’s water supply to cure all the metahumans of their powers: we see during Christmas, when a much more ruthless Odell executes her father and Reverend Holt for organizing the resistance, giving her a glimpse into her reality’s version’s true nature. Jinn on the other hand, is a black-clad rebel who has given into her lust for Markovian blood, and violently turns on her family.
Despite the captions for which Earth they came from, I think it’s highly unlikely that the ASA would be as powerful as they seem here on Green Arrow and the Flash’s reality – likewise, Arrow already depicted Earth Two as being destroyed, so unless the time on each Earth is out of sync, it’s highly unlikely these are the Earths we know, but just another couple of Earths. (Using the phrase Earth A and B might’ve cleared things up.)
4. More Telling, Not Showing
Back to the resistance again, Odell informs Major Gray Black Lightning has destroyed the ASA’s headquarters, leaving the Pit and their camp their only facilities left in the city. It’s another major action moment left offscreen in this story arc, and I’m really starting to feel the corners being cut by the producers – still, if they had to choose between watching Jefferson lighting up more goons and the complex imagery of Jen vs. Jinn, then I’m glad they chose the latter.
5. Did This Spoil “Crisis”?
Sure, we see Black Lightning being teleported away and Anissa, Gambi and Lynn evaporating with the rest of the universe as the tide rolls in, but do we really believe next month will pick up with Jefferson being dropped off on Earth One with doppelgangers of his loved ones? It raises a lot of questions over the true fate of Supergirl‘s Earth-38 – well, I guess we’ll find out in January.
‘Til then – Lightning out.
