The CW is the place to be on the small screen for superhero team-up action every fall as the good guys of multiple DC Comics-based shows join forces to fight the forces of evil. Although the 2018 crossover is still months away (and will leave out one of the four Arrow-verse shows), big news about the event has been breaking all summer, and most of it has been batty. Now, there's a big development on the Super front. Not only will Superman return to the Arrow-verse for the first time in more than a full TV season, but he'll bring his legendary lady love Lois Lane with him. Check out the announcement for yourself!
The news (courtesy of DC Comics' official Twitter account) confirms earlier hints that Tyler Hoechlin could reprise his role as Superman in the 2018-2019 season, although all signs at that point only indicated that he could drop by Supergirl shortly after it returns in the fall. Now we may be able to count on him on multiple Arrow-verse shows this year instead of just Supergirl, with the exception of Legends of Tomorrow. Given that DC's announcement seems to indicate that Lois Lane won't debut until the crossover in December, Superman will likely pop up on his own in his early Supergirl appearance. Superman hasn't appeared in the flesh on any Arrow-verse show since the end of Supergirl Season 2; the Man of Steel's return should be welcomed by man fans.
As for Lois Lane, there was never any guarantee that she would turn up. She's been referred to on Supergirl as the woman Superman loves, and that show introduced Lois' sister and father. Still, she's kept busy with the Daily Planet on Metropolis and can't just zoom over to National City as easily as Superman. News of her arrival in the crossover is sure to delight viewers who have had their fingers crossed that the classic character would someday appear on The CW's superhero shows. Personally, I'm hoping Lois has some reason to cross paths with Alura. The current Lois Lane interacting with a previous Lois Lane would be fun for sure. It's only too bad Rhea died and took yet another former Lois Lane out of the running for an appearance.
All of that said, the announcement of the lovebirds' arrival in the crossover doesn't specify what Earth they're from, and the previous crossover revolved around a whole bunch of Nazi villains from Earth-X. Could the 2018 Arrow-verse crossover feature mostly good guys from another Earth this time around? After all, The CW hasn't yet confirmed that Batwoman is based out of Earth-1, and none of the Earth-1 heroes has even mentioned a Bat-Signal shining in the skies over Gotham. We shouldn't necessarily rule out meeting a Batwoman, Lois Lane, and/or Superman from an world other than Supergirl's Earth-38 and Earth-1. If other Earths are in play, maybe Rhea is still alive and we could have three Lois Lane actresses sharing a scene!
Okay, that's not particularly likely, but the sky is the limit at this point, and we have plenty of time to speculate about how these characters will fit into the crossover action. We have a major theory about how Batwoman should be introduced into the Arrow-verse, and we have until December to come up with some ways for Superman and Lois Lane to drop by as well. Maybe it's a good thing that Legends of Tomorrow won't get a crossover episode like The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl with so many characters dropping in!
The dates for the big three-part crossover have been announced, and we have a bit of a wait for it to debut. For your viewing options in the meantime, take a look at our fall TV premiere guide.
