Part Two of Crisis on Infinite Earths Is About The Power of Hope

In the absence of Oliver Queen, the new lead of the Arrowverse is Kara Danvers. Kara is the central piece of this multiverse team as soon as Arrow ends. She’s Barry Allen’s friend. Same for Kate Kane. There’s going to be a Superman show? Her cousin is the star. That’s not the only sign though. Who could possibly inspire Superman of all people to keep hope alive when everything appears lost? Kara Zor-El. Who has taken a leadership role since her arrival? Supergirl. Who, in this very episode, is declared the Paragon of Hope? Kara Danvers.

Kara has lost Krypton, again. She’s lost her mother, again. She’s lost her Earth. She’s lost her friend Oliver. She’s lost hope. Her friend(?) Kate decides to drag her along on a trip to Earth-99 hoping it will get Kara out of her funk. They go to search for the 'Bat of the Future' to serve as the Paragon of Courage (More on the Paragons in a bit). What they find is a version of Bruce Wayne that acts like The Dark Returns version of the character but whose armor is more reminiscent of Kingdom Come's armor.

This Bruce has lost all hope in humanity. He does not believe his Earth or any other deserves to service. He tells Kate that his version to her died about five years ago when she put on the cape and cowl. Kate is Keen to remind her cousin that she is not his version of Kate Kane. They must not give up and this Bruce’s chance at redemption.

While Bruce and Kate speak, Kara hangs out in Bruce’s foyer/trophy room with Luke Fox (Whom she correctly notes is looking good in this universe). While examining Bruce’s trophies, Kara notices Clark’s glasses, broken and bloody. This causes her to begin to distrust to Bruce. And this is where she begins to realize what losing hope does to a person.

Down in the Batcave, Bruce pulls out Kryptonite and attacks Kara. Kate moves to protect Kara and accidentally (Apparently) kills Bruce. Dejected, the women return to the Waverider. The Monitor declares Kate the 'Bat of the Future’ and Paragon of Courage as she is the future of this legacy. This has Kate extremely stressed out. As she and Kara talk about what has happened, Kara presents her with a photo of Earth-99 Kate and her sister smiling and happy. They then decide that the only way forward is to choose hope. They refuse to become what they saw on Earth-99.

Other Important Notes:

Mia, Sarah, and Barry call in Constantine so he can help them find a Lazarus Pit to revive Oliver. They’re successful, but now comes the hard part: Returning Oliver’s soul to his body. This excursion allows Sarah and Mia to have some scenes together and butt heads over whether they should revive Oliver. Ultimately, Sarah relents because she realizes once Mia makes up her mind, there’s no stopping her. Like father, like daughter.

Lois, Clark, and Iris (Who’s here now, I guess?) head to various Earths looking for the Paragon of Truth, who is a Superman, and clashing with Lex Luthor. Lex (Earth-38 flavor) gets a hold of the Book of Destiny and begins traversing the multiverse killing Supermen. On one Earth he recreates a version of the iconic “Death of Superman” story. On another, Lex meets the Clark Kent of Smallville. But he doesn’t kill him because this Superman is Superman no more. He gave up his powers for his daughters. Such a good ending for this version or the character.

Our heroes find their target on Earth-96: The future of the Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh version. Lex appears and uses the Book of Destiny to force Superman-86 and Superman-38 to battle. Lois and Iris are able to get the Book from Lex but are unable to use it. Lois returns Supes-86 by reminding him what his deceased family would want.

The Monitor says there are seven Paragons that will be instrumental in saving the multiverse. Clark Kent of Earth-96 is the Paragon of Truth. Kate Kane of Earth-1 is the Paragon of Courage. Kara Danvers of Earth-38 is the Paragon of Hope (I told y’all last night she was the ultimate Hope). Sarah Lance of Earth-1 is the Paragon of Destiny. This one was mildly surprising, but she is a master of time travel and changing destiny, so it seems legit. The other three Paragons are unknown with no hint of who they are.

My guesses for the remaining Paragons: Barry Allen of Earth-90, John Diggle of some Earth where he’s a Green Lantern, and either Cisco Ramon of Earth-1 or another fan favorite. It’d be amazing if Joe West was the final Paragon.

This week saw some truly awesome cameos. Most notably Brandon Routh reprising his role of Superman and Kevin Conroy as a live action (!) version of Batman. Tom Welling gets a sizable role as well. Erica Durance also makes a short appearance as Smallville's Lois Lane. Wentworth Miller lends his vocals for one line inside alternate Mick Rory’s head. Johnathon Schaech returns as Jonah Hex.