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"Crisis on Infinite Earths": Here's Who the Seven Paragons Are
By Jenna Anderson - December 10, 2019 10:19 pm EST
We're now more than halfway through the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, an event that is uniting the tapestry of DC Comics adaptations in a pretty epic way. The crossover, which draws inspiration from the comic event of the same name, sees the Arrowverse's heroes - as well as some surprising characters from past movies and TV shows - joining forces to fight The Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) from completely destroying the multiverse. As audiences learned in Part 2 of "Crisis", part of that fight would include the uniting of seven Paragons, heroes with a special purpose who are gathered throughout the multiverse.
Part 2 saw the heroes discovering more than half of these Paragons, and Part 3 provided the identity of the remaining three. So, who are the Arrowverse's Paragons (so far)? Read on to find out. Obviously, spoilers for the first three episodes of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" below! Only look if you want to know!
Slide 1 of 7Supergirl (Earth-38) - Paragon of Hope
(Photo: Warner Bros. TV/The CW)
The first Paragon revealed was none other than Kara Danvers/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), something that came as a surprise to the Girl of Steel. Granted, Kara being the "Paragon of Hope" comes as she's still reeling from the loss of Earth-38 and (seemingly) her family, which makes the whole ordeal a little bittersweet. But as fans have seen plenty of times, Kara is always willing to be hopeful, whether she's facing a villain of the week or the destruction of her homeworld.
Slide 2 of 7White Canary (Earth-1) - Paragon of Destiny
(Photo: The CW)
The second Paragon revealed was Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz), who was dubbed the "Paragon of Destiny". As Ray Palmer/The Atom (Brandon Routh) pointed out, Sara's journey over the years made this make sense, as she went from a seemingly-irredeemable member of the League of Assassins to a member of the Legends to the captain of the Waverider.
This notion of Sara's "destiny" has already been discussed throughout "Crisis", largely in the scene between her and Earth-16's Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell). "Old Man Oliver" clearly felt remorse and regret for his Sara dying on the Queen's Gambit, only for Earth-1 Sara to argue that, on her Earth, that event led to both of them finding their true destinies. (Which, while true, does not excuse the fact that Oliver was cheating on Sara's sister, Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), by bringing her on board the ship.)
Slide 3 of 7Lex Luthor (Earth-38) - Paragon of Truth
In Part 2, the remaining heroes learned that a Clark Kent/Superman from another Earth was the "Paragon of Truth", after he had endured a loss that no mortal man could. This sent Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) and Earth-38's Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) hunting across the multiverse for this Superman -- just as Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) decided to hop throughout the multiverse killing Supermen.
Ultimately, this led everyone to Earth-96, where they met a much older version of Superman Returns' Clark Kent (Brandon Routh). Clark, who was now the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, revealed that he had lost all of his family and loved ones in a gas attack from The Joker. This complicated things when Lex arrived and used the Book of Destiny to turn Earth-98 Clark evil, resulting in a fight between him and Earth-38 Clark. Ultimately, Lois got through to Earth-98 Clark by reminding him of the truth -- that the people he lost loved him and wanted him to carry on their legacy.
This was further complicated at the end of Part 3, once the Paragons were brought to the Vanishing Point by Pariah. Superman began to look ill, before morphing into Lex. As he revealed, he had written his name in the Book of Destiny, essentially cementing himself as a Paragon.
Slide 4 of 7Batwoman (Earth-1) - Paragon of Courage
At the same time, Part 2 saw Supergirl and Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose) visiting Earth-99, where Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) and a much older Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) were staying in a dilapidated mansion in Gotham City. Kara and Kate clearly disagreed with Bruce's bitter philosophy, and ultimately killed him in the resulting battle.
As The Monitor had told them at the beginning of the episode, visiting Earth-99's Bruce would lead them to the "Paragon of Courage" -- and it did just that. In standing up to Bruce, and understanding that the destiny of his Kate Kane wasn't the same as hers, Kate realized that she was actually the Paragon in question.
Slide 5 of 7Martian Manhunter (Earth-38) - Paragon of Honor
Early on in Part 3, Ray Palmer successfully engineered a "Paragon Hunter", which allowed them to identify the remaining three on the list. The first was J'onn J'onnz/Martian Manhunter (David Harewood), who was appropriately defined as the "Paragon of Honor".
While J'onn didn't play an incredibly-prominent role in Part 2 or 3, it's safe to assume that will change in the event's remaining episodes.
Slide 6 of 7The Flash (Earth-1) - Paragon of Love
The second Paragon was none other than Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin), who was dubbed the "Paragon of Love". Given the bittersweet nature of the crossover - namely, with Barry's consistent worry that he was going to "vanish" in Crisis, the idea that his true virtue is love definitely played a role. His relationship with Iris and the other people in his life motivated him to be willing to "vanish in Crisis", only for the Barry Allen of Earth-90 (John Wesley Shipp) to sacrifice himself instead.
That love then inspired a heartwarming scene between Barry and Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning (Cress Williams), as the two bonded over their relationships with their fathers and their families.
Slide 7 of 7Ryan Choi (Earth-1) - Paragon of Humanity
The third Paragon was a relatively new face to Arrowverse fans -- Ryan Choi (Osric Chau), a young man who eventually becomes The Atom in the comics. Iris, Ray, and Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man (Hartley Sawyer) all visited Ryan in his Ivy Town office, and explained his role in saving the universe. Ryan initially ignored the call, arguing that he'd rather spend his final days before the end of the world with his wife and young daughter, Simone.
Eventually, Iris was able to convince Ryan that any sacrifice he made would be worthwhile, and Ryan eventually joined the crusade.
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