All in the Family

The ultimate superhero crossover is nearly here! In advance of the Nov. 28 event, we gathered the stars of Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, along with their superproducer GREG BERLANTI to talk about the magic that goes into making them soar.

- Jeff Jensen

ONCE UPON A TIME, Christopher Reeve put on a cape and made us believe a man can fly.

On this blustery October afternoon, Melissa Benoist, star of Supergirl, is about to prove that a woman in a suit can soar too.

We’re on the set of the most comic booky thing you’ll see on TV this year, an epic team-up of superheroes culled from The CW’s spinner rack of graphic novel pop: Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and yes, the one about the strange visitor from another planet who’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to shatter glass ceilings in a single bound. The story that weaves through the four-night crossover event (beginning Nov. 28 on Supergirl) involves a meaner type of alien: the Dominators, mind-controlling space invaders alarmed by Earth’s surging population of metahumans. Concerned about our culture’s superhero glut? Apparently you’re not alone.

Exactly 15 characters from four shows—all produced by small-screen powerhouse Greg Berlanti—have assembled in an airplane hangar outside Vancouver. It’s doubling for an aeronautics facility that’s part of S.T.A.R. Labs, but special effects will later remodel this big bland box to slyly evoke an iconic piece of cartoon architecture: the Hall of Justice from the 1970s Super Friends series. Almost none of the avengers assembled are wearing their costumes (laundry day, I guess), but their civilian attire allows the one with the big red S on her chest to make an impression.