Arrowverse Crossover Vs. Justice League

PROLOGUE

Justice League checked in on Batman and Wonder Woman's latest bits of crimefighting — the former of which, we would realize, was battling one of the to-be-revealed Big Bad's parademons — as well as those Clark Kent left behind and who are still hurting. "Crisis on Earth-X" meanwhile had the luxury if spending a good, leisurely 30 minutes on the ramp-up to Barry and Iris' (doomed) church wedding — mani/pedis, tux fittings and tearjerker rehearsal dinner toast included.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

INCITING INCIDENT

Justice League's Steppenwolf materialized inside a temple on Themiscyra, where in the course of claiming the first of three powerful mother boxes he and his parademons slayed many an Amazonian warrior. Grave stakes, indeed.

In "Crisis in Earth-X," the WestAllen wedding was brutally crashed by Overgirl's vaporization of the priest, followed by a group fight that involved flight, fisticuffs, arrows, heat and cold blasts, and vibing. The Arrowverse clash was more personal and less CGI'd, but Steppenwolf actually took many lives.

WINNER: JUSTICE LEAGUE

HEROES

The "Crisis on Earth-X" was largely dealt with by Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, White Canary, Firestorm and DEO Agent Alex Danvers, though Killer Frost, Heat Wave, The Ray, Citizen Cold, Black Canary, Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, Nate, Vixen, Zari and The Atom (at a critical moment!) also suited up; on the "civilian" side, you had Felicity and Iris offering support (and the occasional KO).

The big screen's Justice League was comprised of Batman, Wonder Woman, new recruits The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, plus, eventually, Superman, while Alfred and (if we're being really generous) Commissioner Gordon played supporting roles.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE (and the leather industry thanks you)

VILLAINS

The Justice League went up against the boorish, all-CGI Steppenwolf and his cannon fodder army of CGI'd parademons (plus, for a hot minute there, Supes himself).

The "Crisis on Earth-X" was brought about by evil, Nazi versions of Green Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash and Prometheus (all played by human beings), supported by a cannon fodder army of stormtroopers.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

GADGETS

Batman does love his toys, and Cyborg was an ever-evolving array of robotic appendages and upgrades. Simply said, a Night Crawler trumps a cold gun every time.

WINNER: JUSTICE LEAGUE

FLASHIEST FLASH

Justice League's scarlet speedster shares many of the personality traits as TV's own, though on the big screen he acts a bit more manic, less confident — which is understandable given the nascent stage of his hero-dom. But for that same reason, TV's Flash gets to unleash other tricks, such as the hurled lightning bolt used to unwind Red Tornado.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

BROMANCE

Batman bro-ing it out with Aquaman and mentoring The Flash... versus Barry and Oliver's tuxedo shop heart-to-heart and the sob!-tastic Firestorm "break-up"? This one is a super-draw.

WINNER: (TIE)

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Arrowverse accomplishes greatly impressive things with its TV budget — the first Supergirl/Overgirl airborne slugfest was pretty nifty, and Caitlin's on-the-fly transformations into Killer Frost are, well, cool. But at the end of the day (and even though we can still see Superman's "erased" mustache), the fact is that $300 million buys you big splashes of CGI.

WINNER: JUSTICE LEAGUE

THE VILLAIN'S END GAME

Steppenwolf sought to round up the three mother boxes to trigger "The Unity" and thus terraform Earth into his latest conquered planet.

The Earth-Xers aimed to 1) cure dying Overgirl with a  transplant and then 2) turn Earth-One into the Fatherland's latest dominion, by using... an ill-defined weapon of some sort. All told, at least part of their plan had more... heart.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

EPILOGUE

Once the dust settled on the big screen, Bruce and Diana scouted out the Justice League's future HQ (big enough for six "or more"), while a bonus scene teased the return of Lex Luthor, who now has Deathstroke at his side!

After payings its respects to dearly departed Martin, the Arrowverse rushed into what was ultimately a double wedding (sorry, Iris!) officiated by Diggle (thanks, Felicity!).

WINNER: JUSTICE LEAGUE

CLIMAX

The Justice League faced off against Steppenwolf and his minions in a massively CGI'd brawl held inside a defunct and drab nuclear reactor, pausing now and again to (amusingly) let Supes and Flash keep locals out of harm's way. The Big Bad was ultimately(/seemingly) vanquished when his own fear triggered the parademons to feed on him, until they all fizzled away into a shaft of light.

The Arrowverse showdown was similarly hectic, pitting time ship against time ship, airborne Supergirl vs. Overgirl, and Oliver and Barry against their evil selves, while the myriad other heroes dealt with the stormtroopers. But when all was said and done, Overgirl and Dark Arrow were truly and sincerely bested.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

BIG DEATHS

Justice League went out of its way to limit civilian causalities once things began running amok, plus no hero was felled. (Even Steppenwolf possibly survived in some form, somehow.)

The "Crisis on Earth-X" however claimed the life of the beloved Martin Stein, as well as unarguably removed evil versions of Kara and Oliver from the chessboard.

'WINNER': ARROWVERSE :(

BIG RETURNS

Superman's return from the dead was quite iconic, as well as integral to the Justice League's triumph. Conversely, seeing "a" Tommy Merlyn, another Snart and the return of Eobard Thawne was neat... but ultimately only that.

WINNER: JUSTICE LEAGUE

GIRL POWER

Wonder Woman is a force of nature, to be sure, and Lois proved critical to Supes joining the fight against Steppenwolf. But stacked up against Supergirl, White Canary and Killer Frost... Alex, Felicity and Iris... and Vixen and Zari?

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

ROMANCE

Justice League's Bruce and Diana had some mildly flirty moments, while Lois Lane was able to talk down resurrected Clark from his brooding ledge. But that's small potatoes compared to a beautiful (if interrupted) church wedding, Alex and Sara's combustible meeting and the sweetness between Ray Tiller and Leo, all capped by the marrying of not one but two supercouples.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

HUMOR

Via reshoots and Joss Whedon punch-ups, Justice League aimed to capitalize on the success of Wonder Woman's lighter touch. But no amount of overexcited big-screen Barry Allen and bro-tastic Arthur Curry can beat the banter exchanged on the regular by the well-defined Arrowverse denizens.

WINNER: ARROWVERSE

WARNING: FULL SPOILERS FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE and the ARROWVERSE 'CRISIS ON EARTH-X' CROSSOVER AHEAD!

OVERALL WINNER: ARROWVERSE 'CRISIS ON EARTH-X'

Building off a better-established, seasons-long continuity across multiple shows (and thus enjoying the benefit of existing "shorthand" between characters)... populated by a far wider array of distinct (and diverse) heroes... and by utilizing villains that had a clear and personal resonance for Oliver, Barry, Kara at el, TV's "Crisis on Earth-X" delivered an engaging saga that boasted steady momentum, abundant fights, compelling performances, hearty laughs and a lotta heart.