The Arrowverse’s next crossover is getting biblical. IGN reports that actor Stephen Lobo (Snowpiercer, The X-Files) has been added to the cast for The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths in the role of Jim Corrigan, the human host for The Spectre.
In the DC Comics, Corrigan was a policeman who was murdered in the line of duty. Recruited by God to act as the host for the embodiment of His wrath, Corrigan became The Spectre, first avenging his own murder, then meting out vengeance on the worst criminals humanity had to offer, often in the form of an ironic punishment.
In Marv Wolfman‘s and George Pérez‘s original Crisis on Infinite Earths series, The Spectre joined in the battle against the Anti-Monitor following the death of The Flash (Barry Allen). During a confrontation at the dawn of time in which a team of heroes attempted to stop the Anti-Monitor for remaking creation in his own image, The Spectre directly engaged the being in a struggle that resulted in the birth of a new universe—and a new earth—that combined elements of Earths 1, 2, 4, S, and X, the five remaining earths of the multiverse.
Lobo joins a Crisis on Infinite Earths cast that’s already pretty huge to begin with. The crossover will include not only the series regulars from the five Arrowverse shows (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow), but also appearances by the heroes from non-Arrowverse series Black Lightning, as well as returning actors Tom Welling and Erica Durance from Smallville and Ashley Scott from Birds of Prey. Actor Brandon Routh will also reprise the role of Superman, which he originally played in 2006’s Superman Returns, and voice actor Kevin Conroy will make his live-action debut as Bruce Wayne during the crossover. The addition of a character like The Spectre to this roster takes an event that’s already large in scale and elevates it to a truly cosmic level.
(It’s worth pointing out that, in the DC Universe, there have been multiple Jim Corrigans. The first and most prominent was the human host for The Spectre; the second was a minor player in the Gotham Central series, a crooked cop who murdered Detective Crispus Allen, who would himself go on to become the host for The Spectre. It seems unlikely that Lobo will be playing the latter version of Corrigan, but anything could happen.)
Just what role will The Spectre play in the upcoming crossover? We’ll find out when Crisis on Infinite Earths begins on Sunday, December 8th, on The CW.
