Crisis On Infinite Earths May Have Made Super Friends Arrowverse Canon

The final scene of Crisis on Infinite Earths may have actually added Super Friends to Arrowverse canon. First premiering in 1973 as a part of ABC’s Saturday morning lineup, Super Friends was an animated series based on characters from DC Comics. Every week, viewers would tune in to the latest adventures of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and — following the soft reboot, The All-New Super Friends Hour — the Wonder Twins, and their pet monkey, Gleek.

Following the battle with the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) in Crisis “Part 4,” the universe is reborn. In the final installment of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the seven Paragons discover that the remade Earth-1 has merged with Supergirl‘s Earth-38 and Black Lightning‘s Earth to create Earth-Prime. At the end of the episode, Barry (Grant Gustin) and several other heroes honor Oliver (Stephen Amell) at the STAR Labs hangar from the 2016’s Invasion! crossover. Without using the name, Barry forms the Justice League and unveils the classic JLA conference table, complete with their emblems on the chairs. The establishing shot that shows the outside of the building reveals that it looks just like the Hall of Justice from DC Comics.

After the Justice League is seated, a monkey can be heard from offscreen. The last shot of “Part 5” reveals a monkey’s broken cage that confirms his name is “Gleek”. This scene could indicate that Super Friends are now part of the Arrowverse. Gleek was a blue alien monkey and sort of an unofficial mascot of the Super Friends in the cartoon series. He was always seen in the company of the Wonder Twins. Like the Wonder Twins, Gleek isn’t original to the comics. He made his debut in Super Friends, but he has since appeared in the comics as well. But for the most part, Gleek and the Wonder Twins are associated primarily with Super Friends. The trio are widely regarded as some of DC’s wackiest characters.

It was previously understood that the new multiverse had Earths reserved for shows like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Stargirl, and that Earth-Prime included the five Arrowverse shows and Black Lightning, but it was never specified that Earth-Prime was limited to just these six shows. Other shows not mentioned in Crisis could have merged into Earth-Prime. Smallville may have been one of them, but even stronger evidence exists for Super Friends. Gleek and the Hall of Justice were fixtures of the series, and both are represented in that final shot.

Prior to the Crisis, Super Friends may have had its own Earth, just like several other DC shows. When worlds merged, parts of Super Friends‘ Earth may have blended with Earth-Prime. This means that its versions of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman may not exist anymore, but the Hall of Justice, Gleek, and potentially the Wonder Twins may have bled over to Earth-Prime.

Will the Wonder Twins and Gleek ever officially appear in the Arrowverse? According to Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim, there’s no plans for the Wonder Twins right now (via Variety), so for the time being, the Super Friends connection will remain as just a fun way to end the crossover, but considering that the CW shows have now done a giant-sized Beebo — twice — nothing seems too crazy for the Arrowverse at this point.

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