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Superman Returns! Brandon Routh is back in the supersuit for the Arrowverse crossover
The Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover is, like its comic inspiration, generating tons of strange super-happenings that fans never could’ve anticipated. A Smallville reunion? Check. Longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy’s live-action debut as Bruce Wayne? Check. And now The CW event — which spans Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow — has even gotten Brandon Routh to suit back up as Superman.
Take a look:
The curl! The silver! The Shazam-like musculature! Routh, who starred as the Man of Steel in 2006's Superman Returns, has been playing Ray Palmer, aka the Atom, in the Arrowverse since 2014. Now the actor will play Palmer and Clark Kent in the crossover before leaving Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular later this season.
The actor playing an older, wiser Superman (seemingly from a universe inspired by the Kingdom Come comic, at least judging by his suit) may make the comic resonate for fans of the Crisis, especially considering his imminent departure. Things end up a little complicated for that reality’s Superman, at least in Marv Wolfman’s original tale. Smallville’s Tom Welling and the Arrowverse’s Tyler Hoechlin will also play versions of Superman, however, so there’s no telling what fate awaits any of the Kryptonians in this modern TV take on the run.
As Arrow comes to an end as the Crisis winds down — and it tries to launch its future-set Canaries spinoff—the Arrowverse itself is in a minor crisis. But not to fear, comic fans: There’re plenty of supershows and Supermen to pick up the slack. Burt Ward and the Black Lightning crew are showing up, for crying out loud.
The Crisis begins with Supergirl on Dec. 8.
