Felicity said it best when she declared The Flash’s superhero super-gathering the “best team-up ever!” The CW’s much-hyped four-show DCTV crossover did not disappoint in the first installment of the three part “Invasion!” It was action-packed and full of fun interactions among characters from The Flash, Supergirl, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.

With so many characters on the scene, it would have been easy for the show to get overwhelmed by them all and lose The Flash’s unique look and tone. But the writers effectively incorporated the other DC series’ characters into the episode while keeping the show’s light-hearted and funny demeanor.

Aliens! Barry’s initial reaction to the Dominators arrival was hilarious. After everything that’s happened with Flashpoint, Alchemy and Savitar, what could possibly be worse? Aliens, of course! Barry’s initial reaction to get help from Supergirl, an alien herself, made perfect sense. It’s too bad that she’s from Earth-38, so it’s unlikely we’ll see others from National City show up in crossovers.

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Image via The CW

If there was one weakness of the hour, it was that the Dominators’ motivations weren’t clear at all. They mentioned the device they had and used the President to lure the superheroes, but they couldn’t have known that Barry and his band of super friends existed, right? And, they used the device to control the super friends to turn against Barry and Oliver. Why? Perhaps we’ll find out there’s more to these aliens and their plan during tomorrow’s Arrow.

Despite that small issue, the hour was brilliant. Barry was forced to face Flashpoint and the damage that he caused to many people’s lives. Plus, the recording found on the Waverider makes his actions even more damaging. Future Barry warned that “A war is coming,” that he “made a choice which altered the timeline,” and he shouldn’t be trusted.

What’s unclear is whether or not he’s actually referring to Flashpoint, or if Barry could have altered the timeline again some time over the next 40 years (Barry being Barry, he probably does). Regardless, Cisco confronted Barry about the message and forced the truth out into the open. Acting out of anger, he caused a rift among the team, which forced Oliver and Barry to stay behind while everyone else left to save the President.

That ended up being fortuitous when the Dominators’ device took control of Supergirl and the rest of the superheroes later on. Oliver and Barry were, however, able to save them with some quick thinking. The speed race between Barry and Kara was visually stunning to see. He was then able to brilliantly execute his plan to get Supergirl to destroy the very device controlling her and the others.

The standard has been set high for the Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow's “Invasion!” hours. With Team Arrow mostly under the control of the Dominators, it will be interesting to see how the writers incorporate the real-life fight against the Dominators with what’s happening in the minds of those being kept in the pods.

 

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Image via The CW

There were too many fun and memorable moments to mention them all, but check out some of the highlights below. What was your favorite?

Rating: ★★★★★ Excellent

Miscellanea: 

-- Cisco: “I think we might have a little prodigy on our hands. Like a Wizard of Whiz.”

-- What is up with Iris discouraging Wally? She wants to protect him, but she’s over the top protective. She’s not his mother! It’s a little creepy.

-- Barry: Oh, come on. Aliens?!?

-- Barry: “Aliens.”

Oliver: “Aliens?”

Barry: “Aliens.”

-- Felicity: “Best.Team-up.Ever.”

-- The Star Labs facade sure had a “Hall of Justice” look about it. Nice!

-- Iris: “Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow?”

Barry: “Yeah.”

Iris: “Oh, my God. He just got so much hotter.”

Barry: *sigh*

-- Oliver: “One sci-fi problem at a time. Please.”

-- Stein’s daughter? Did he change his history when he interacted with his younger self again? Or is that another Flashpoint change? Does it matter?

-- Heatwave: “Oh. You can see everyone’s bits with those little peepers, huh?.”

-- Who is Julie Greer? Iris West-Allen doesn’t write the future Flash missing article anymore. Instead Julie writes the April 25, 2024 article. [Editor's Comment: It's not like Iris is ever actually working at the newspaper anymore anyway!]

-- Oliver ran out of arrows? Is that the first time that’s ever happened? I guess on The Flash he has a limited supply unlike on Arrow.

-- Wally and HR working together? This is not going to end well!

-- Heat Wave contiunes to get some of the best lines, like when he called Supergirl "Skirt".

-- The Dominators captured most of Team Arrow. Should be interesting....

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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW