CW’s Arrowverse pulled off the unthinkable with their adaptation of the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline in the eponymous crossover event. It was the sixth crossover event in the franchise and the storyline ran for over five episodes on the shows Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman.
The crossover event also saw a clash of two classic iterations of DC characters. It saw Brandon Routh coming back as Superman and there were hints to Michael Keaton’s Batman. The epic crossover still has fans excited as a new viral fan art imagined a meet-up between the two characters.
Did Michael Keaton Appear In Crisis On Infinite Earths?
Earlier this year, many fans saw their dream come true as Michael Keaton reprised his role as Bruce Wayne a.k.a Batman in the DCU film The Flash. He starred alongside Ezra Miller as Barry Allen and the film even saw Ben Affleck’s Batman making an appearance. Other cameos from actors as the classic superheroes were also present.
However, fans still consider the lack of Keaton on the Arrowverse’s crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths as a missed opportunity. The show featured many variants of classic superheroes across the multiverse, including Ezra Miller as the Flash.
The show also gave a nod to Tim Burton’s Batman films when they included a cameo from Robert Wuhl, who played Alexander Knox in Batman. There is also a reference to Keaton’s Batman in the newspaper Wuhl’s character is reading.
However, the references to Michael Keaton’s Batman were not limited to these wink-winks and nudges. According to MovieWeb, there were teases from the production sets of Crisis, which indicated that CW was very keen on approaching the actor to make a cameo appearance. The production photos revealed a newspaper headline that featured Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, indicating that he was marrying Selina Kyle. However, in the final episode, the headline was changed to that of Batman in the suit capturing Joker.
Fan Art Reveals The Ultimate Crossover Between Batman And Superman
Many cameos were teased for CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, including an appearance by Smallville’s Tom Welling in his Superman suit (he appeared only as Clark Kent). While the event did do its share of fan service by bringing in DCAU and Batman: The Animated Series star Kevin Conroy, and John Wesley Shipp from the 90s The Flash show, fans are still hoping for a meet-up between Michael Keaton’s Batman and Brandon Routh’s Superman.
Routh, who starred as Ray Palmer a.k.a Atom in Arroverse’s Legends of Tomorrow, appeared as Kingdom Come Superman, a variant of Earth-96. He had previously played the role of Clark Kent in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. The film was supposed to be a direct sequel to Richard Donner’s series of Superman films. Hence, Routh essentially was replacing the late actor Christopher Reeves as Superman.
An Instagram content creator by the handle ‘skull101ify’ recently shared an artwork of his which went viral. The artist depicted Brandon Routh’s Kingdom Come Superman interacting with Michael Keaton’s Batman in the Batcave. His caption expressed his excitement at the hypothetical event. He also urged James Gunn to try to make the crossover happen in his version of the DCU.
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The artist also made another artwork showing both the superheroes in their suits. The artworks have excited fans as it would be the only way in which the classic iterations of the 80s would be featured together. Tim Burton’s Batman films and Richard Donner’s Superman films are often regarded as some of the best superhero films, essentially taking the comic book film genre to new heights.
