Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two has been released, and with it have come a slew of new Easter Eggs and references from DC comics and beyond. The latest film in DC’s Tomorrowverse series, the animated movie picks up after the ending of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One, with heroes from across dimensions struggling to keep up with the threat of the antimatter waves. With such a wide breadth of heroes, villains, and alternate universes on display, it’s no wonder that the film is jam-packed with clever nods and niche references.
Some of these callbacks are simply ways to tie in the crossover event into the previous films of the Tomorrowverse, with Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two acting as a sort of focal point for the entire series. Others are more obscure callbacks to lesser-known comics, non-superhero media, or even other animated DC properties, like the DCAMU. All things considered, the film managed to cram plenty of Easter Eggs and references into a modest 130-minute runtime.
The first animated appearance of Terry McGinnis’ Batman since his appearance in Justice League Unlimited in 2005, the return of Batman Beyond was greatly anticipated. All the better that the Tomorrowverse was actually able to retrieve the voice talents of Will Friedle as Terry, who voiced the Batman successor way back in the original Batman Beyond series. Even though Terry only has a couple of lines throughout the entire film, already crowded with important characters, seeing Friedle return to the role was a nice touch.
That being said, Terry’s appearance seemed to have replaced another member of the Batfamily, Jason Todd. As the vigilante Red Hood, Jason Todd was initially hotly anticipated to appear in the Tomorrowverse for the first time in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two, just as he does in the original comic, albeit as Robin rather than Red Hood. Wether Terry took Red Hood’s spot on the team is up for debate, but there’s no denying that it can be impossible to please every fan at once.
At one point in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two, special focus is put on Wonder Woman’s supposed immortality when she speaks with an alternate Hippolyta from an Amazon-ruled Earth. Diana describes immortality as a curse, having to watch each of her loved ones die one by one. Yet by the end of the film, it seems Wonder Woman was just one of many heroes to perish in the antimatter waves.
A lingering shot of Wonder Woman’s tiara, somehow surviving the event, may imply otherwise. Combined with the earlier conversation regarding Diana’s immortality, the Tomorrowverse may be gearing up to reference the DC Comic Future State: Wonder Woman, in which Diana is the last living being in all of creation, only to restart the universe with a new big bang. This could be the direction the animated series goes in for resetting the animated DC continuity once again, but it’ll remain a mystery until Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three releases.
Following the climactic final film of the DCAMU that preceded the Tomorrowverse, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, John Constantine got a special short film in the animated DC showcase Constantine: The House of Mystery. By the end of the short, taking place within a strange interdimensional space, it was heavily implied that John Constantine would survive the change in continuity from the DCAMU to the Tomorrowverse, being the last living hero from the old universe. Two years later, this seems to have been the case.
In Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two, John Constantine makes a surprise guest appearance. Though initially having lost his memory and original appearance after centuries of multi-dimensional wandering, Constantine is able to remember his identity after a conversation with John Stewart, returning to his old self. As DCAMU voice actor for Constantine, Matt Ryan, reprises his role as the cocky British sorcerer, it’s all but directly confirmed that this Constantine is indeed the same one from the previous animated universe.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two takes the time to put the spotlight on some lesser-known DC characters, including Dr. Light and The Question, who are both part of the main group of heroes coordinating the interdimensional efforts to stop the antimatter waves. Clearly sharing inspiration with Rorschach of Seemen fame, The Question is a libertarian-coded conspiracy theorist that easily gets on other heroes’ nerves with his incessant questioning. One of the heroes he rubs the wrong way is the sassy Dr. Light, who calls him out with a cheeky reference.
Among the cross-talk and bickering within the heroes’ main headquarters following The Question’s assertions that the antimatter waves might be coming from a hostile entity, Dr. Light can be heard dismissing the faceless detective, quipping “I bet you read Ayn Rand unironically.” Ayn Rand is an infamous libertarian writer best known for her book Atlas Shrugged, which has become a sacred text to outspoken anti-establishment beliefs likely held by the likes of Rorschach and The Question. It’s easy to miss, but this reference is one of the best jokes in the film.
Among the roster of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two, the lesser-known villain Psycho Pirate gets a shocking amount of screentime. The emotion-controlling supervillain ends up being one of the most fascinating characters in the film’s cast, getting an origin story as well as an explanation behind his ridiculous name. Charles is revealed to have had a fascination with pirates ever since being a kid, and even lives out his high-seas fantasies for a time in World War II, commanding a ship on behalf of Nazi Germany.
Later on, Supergirl meets Psycho Pirate on the Satellite, and ends up unintentionally giving him his name, guessing at the theme of his outlandish costume, which was apparently designed with no conscious motif. Psycho Pirate thanks Supergirl for the clarification of his persona by emotionally manipulating her, leaving her vulnerable in the comic fight. He makes his exit with a quote from Long John Silver of Treasure Island, undoubtedly one of his favorite books; “Thems that die will be the lucky ones.” He even takes the time to put on a fun, pirate accent.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two is a true who’s who of DC’s great cosmic mythology, with some of the most powerful characters from the comics rearing their heads. Towards the end of the film, The Spectre speaks to the Monitor, who had apparently dismissed him long ago as a figment of his imagination brought on by untold millennia of isolation. Despite his relatively unassuming appearance, The Spectre is the agent of The Presence, the closest thing to an all-encompassing god in the DC universe.
In his conversation with the Monitor, The Spectre directly mentions his master’s name. This could be big news for Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three, as in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths comic, an aspect of The Presence, known simply as The Hand, does make an appearance. How big of a role this traditional incarnation of an Abrahamic God will play in the final act of the Tomorrowverse remains to be seen.
Alongside Psycho Pirate, Supergirl is a prominent character of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two, getting an explanation for the time discrepancy in her age and arrival on Earth compared to Kal-El. Supergirl is also the one to become the Harbinger, a separate character in the original crossover comic, explained as the result of her tutorship under the Monitor. With so much focus on Kara, it’s only natural that the events of Legion of Super-Heroes, which starred her as the protagonist, would get a mention.
Scenes from the film directly play out on one of the Monitor’s monitors as the curious A.I. Satellite continues to observe her long after she leaves the interdimensional being’s stewardship. The lingering trauma of the erasure of Brainiac 5 and the rest of her friends from her first film in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is also a recurring sticking point, dragging down Kara’s fighting spirit. Using Supergirl as a focal point, the sequel has managed to directly tie in the events of Legion Of Super-Heroes.
While ensuring the safety of one tower, Supergirl and Superman come across an incredibly strange sight — A convoy of futuristic knights riding giant, horse-sized dalmatians. Kara later describes the Earth they’ve just saved as scarred by radiation, implying that this Earth in particular is a lost cause anyway. The subtitles and credits introduce one of the dog-riders as an Atomic Knight, confirming the appearance of one of the most obscure DC properties for the Tomorrowverse to incorporate yet.
While Atomic Knight later became the name of a single DC hero, it was originally simply a title given to a group of gallant post-apocalyptic crusaders in a run of Strange Adventures way back in the 60s. Sure enough, the story featured armored heroes in an irradiated wasteland galavanting around on giant dogs, dead ringers for the Atomic Knights that appear in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two. This deep cut just goes to show the commitment the Tomorrowverse has to exploring some of the most unearthed sides of DC’s comics.
Psycho Pirate is revealed to be a very old supervillain, having hopped from alternate Earth to alternate Earth for possibly hundreds of years after being given the ability to do so by Dr. Fate. Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle recognizes the empath from one of his failed attempts at taking over a world. Psycho Pirate explains that he uses a new name that matches the reality he occupies for each attempt, including Dr. Spectro and Rainbow Warrior.
Both of these names reference real DC villains. Dr. Spectro was a light-based villain with a polka-dot costume, though he was originally an enemy of Captain Atom rather than Blue Beetle. Rainbow Warrior doesn’t line up exactly, but the name clearly references Rainbow Raider of the Flash’s old rogue’s gallery, a similarly campy villain with a multicolor streak. Sure enough, Rainbow Raider’s real name was indeed “Roy G. Bivolo”, which Psycho Pirate gives up on explaining is a nod to the common acronym for the colors of the rainbow, ROY G. BIV — Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.