'Elseworlds' Crossover Trailer: What's The Monitor's Deal?

Evil doctors are plentiful in comic books, and this year's Arrowverse crossover event, dubbed "Elseworlds," is no different. The first official trailer for the three-night event, which runs from Dec. 9-11, is the first concrete explanation of what this thing's actually going to be about. Let's breakdown this trailer.

"Something's wrong with reality. Everyone on Earth thinks we're each other." Barry and Oliver investigate the wife-swap issue on their own first. That's how they encounter Arkham Asylum's Dr. John Deegan (played by Jeremy Davies), who appears to have no interest in fixing things. "Why would I want to?" knock-off Loki, err Deegan, says cunningly.

deegan dc elseworlds crossover arrowverse trailer
Who is Dr. Deegan and what does he want? CW

The trailer cuts to Supergirl, and Oliver reveals this isn't the first time Deegan has rewritten reality. That's when John Wesley Shipp, donning his suit from the 1990's Flash show, suggests Deegan did the same thing on his Earth. "You are not doing to this Earth what you did to mine."

Shipp plays Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick from Earth-3 on The Flash. In the 90's series of the same name, he played Barry Allen. The suit change is just a loaded callback, and it will be exciting to see how they explain that on the show.

After the obligatory group shot of Supergirl, the two Flashes and Green Arrow is perhaps the most thrilling part of the trailer: the first look at The Monitor (played by LaMonica Garrett). "I offered you godhood," Monitor tells Deegan. Here's where it gets confusing. When Monitor says, "Show them what a real god can do," Superman appears in his all-black costume... which isn't ever a very a good sign.

elseworlds crossover trailer
Oliver Queen is just as confused as we are heading into the "Elseworlds" crossover. CW

The black suit from the comics was designed to help Superman heal after his battle with Doomsday. The battle left him presumed dead, but in the context of "Elseworlds," the costume could signify an alternate universe or another world where there may be an "evil" Superman. Also, in Supergirl, the mind-controlling effects of Red Kryptonite gave Kara a black costume when she turned evil. Perhaps Clark's black costume borrows from that established precedent.

Since the Monitor is working with an evil doctor doing bad things to the universe, his origins may have changed form the comic books. There, he was made up of the universe's positive matter, therefore a wise, expert on the multiverse and inherently an adversary of Anti-Monitor, who attempted to destroy the balance of the multiverse. The only description of The Monitor's character in "Elseworlds" is "an extraterrestrial being of infinite power known as The Monitor."

the monitor lamonica garret arrowverse elseworld crossover
It's really not clear if The Monitor is good or bad. CW

Not seen (aside from a Batarang) in the trailer is Batwoman, Gotham City itself, Lois Lane or Nora Fries (the wife of Mr. Freeze in the comics). Played by Ruby Rose, Batwoman will not appear in until the second episode of the crossover event, which falls in the Arrow Monday-night timeslot. Previous teasers showed the Fortress of Solitude, which is certainly exciting.

What that huge, intimidatingly old and spooky book passed from The Monitor to Deegan has inside remains unclear, but it's probably going to be important. Very exciting to see there's a scheduled visit to the Kent family farm. Who doesn't love catching up with the Kents?

That's all we spotted in the trailer. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Autumn Noel Kelly started as a staff writer for Newsweek in 2015. She covers anything in the comic book world—TV ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go