Flash: Crossover Crisis - the YA Novel Book 1 - Green Arrow's Perfect Shot

Ah, yes - this is what I love about the CW shows - the annual crossovers!  And now Barry Lyga brings the fun of those crossovers into book-form with this new Flash trilogy, Crossover Crisis.  I've always been a big, BIG fan of crossovers between comic characters and teams, as well as TV shows - loved it when the Bionic Man and Bionic Woman had crossover stories back in the day ... and later, when characters started crossing over on the soap operas.  And, of course, any time the Justice League and Justice Society had their crossovers (see previous blog post).  So, when the CW shows started their crossovers with Flash spinning out of Arrow, and then Flash showing up on Supergirl, and then the "Invasion" crossover tale - - then "Crisis on Earth X" crossover story - - then the "Elseworlds" crossover that brought Batwoman into the Arrowverse - - and finally, this past year's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" mega-crossover that welcomed the Black Lightning show into the fold.  So, now, Barry Lyga brings that crossover-giddiness into the written realm with "Green Arrow's Perfect Shot."

This three-part story is definitely shaping up to be a big one!  This first book alone opens and closes with the Legends of Tomorrow - - while the main story itself features not only Team Arrow and Team Flash, but the Crime Syndicate of Earth-27 (in the comic world, it was originally Earth-3, and then post-Crisis, Grant Morrison wrote the tale of the CSA coming from Earth-2), as well as Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger!  Those who read the first Flash trilogy might remember Xanadu's appearances throughout those books, as well as the second story featuring Johnny Quick as the main baddie.  The story also features the origin of ... well, I'm not going to say because it is such an unusual character, and definitely one I never really thought could ever make an appearance in a CW-related show or book - but his quirkiness fits so perfectly with this batch of characters and this story, that I can't wait to see where he "pops" up in the next book!  (That's the only hint you're getting....)

Lyga weaves a rather complex story - or, I should rightfully say, stories, since there is quite a bit going on.  The Waverider team of Legends hits a snag in the time-stream, and they get flung far into the future.  Meanwhile, in the present, Star City has a bomber on the loose, destroying abandoned buildings in the Glades area.  Arrow is determined to stop it, but by they time they determine which building has the next bomb, they won't be fast enough to stop it from detonating.  Did he say "fast"? Enter: Flash! He lends Oliver Queen a hand, swiping the bomb and disarming it in the blink of an eye. But that story is far from over...while Felicity works on finding the identity of the bomber, Oliver and his team must head to Central City to help Flash with a problem that has developed there - a large breach has opened up, and literally thousands of speedsters from another Earth are pouring in. Turns out their Earth is being consumed by a creature known as the Anti-Matter Man, and they need to escape. The only problem is, the breach to Earth-1 was created by the other Earth's smartest man - a villain who goes by the name Owlman.  Yup, you guessed! That other Earth was none other than Earth-27, where Barry had given the Trickster of that Earth the speed formula used by Johnny Quick, so they could all have speed to fight the Crime Syndicate.  So, all Team Flash and Team Arrow have to do is close the breach to prevent the Anti-Matter Man from coming into their universe, and, oh yeah, they have to stop the Crime Syndicate, who now have decided they will taking over this Earth!

And if all that was not enough, Madame Xanadu is at STAR Labs in the med-bay, because it seems one of her dopplegangers from another Earth has died (Earth-27), and it is affecting her abilities, since all of her various incarnations across alternate realities are connected.  When Vibe tries to learn from her, he instead gets visions of all of those other realities - including one with dark red skies and black lightning (sound familiar?).  Ultimately, Vibe, Mr. Terrific, Flash, and Arrow come up with a plan to close the breach - however, upon execution, Arrow is thrown several hours into the future, and Vibe and Mr. Terrific?  Well, who knows where they were thrown to....

Like I said, plenty going on in just this first book!  And I absolutely love some of Lyga's in-jokes and Easter eggs for the hardcore fans.  In the last trilogy, Vibe accidentally came in contact with another version of himself - one from an alternate reality where Flash had gone back in time to try and save his mother, thus creating a Flashpoint, that he had to go back and undo, but which had life-altering consequences for many people in that reality - Caitlin Snow was also Killer Frost there ... H.R. Wells sacrificed himself to save Iris West's life ... Vibe's brother Dante was dead ... the gender of Diggles' child changed ... among other things (and if you watched the television show, then you know that is the reality he came in contact with - meaning these books are set in a different reality than the TV show).  In this book, Vibe had decided to call that other reality the "transmultiveral version" - or, yup you guessed it - "TV" for short.  So any time they talk about that reality, they call it the TV universe!  In this reality,

And, of course, there is also references to Robinson University over in Opal City (as in James Robinson, the Starman writer) ... Baron Street in Central City (as in Mike Baron, a Flash comic writer) ... Aparo Tower in Star City (as in Jim Aparo, the Green Arrow comic artist) ... Heck Street in Central City (as in Don Heck, the DC Comics artist) ... Larocque Street in Central City (as in Greg LaRocque, a Flash comic artist) ... Lampert Street in Central City (as in Harry Lampert, the artist who helped create the original Flash) ... and just way so many others, that I can't mention them all or it will totally spoil the fun, but it will keep you smiling through the entire book.

Oh, yes - and the Arrowplane!  The freaking Arrowplane is in this book!  Yes!!!!

Can't wait for the second book in this trilogy, guest-starring Supergirl!  And then the third book - the Legends of Tomorrow!!

RATING:  10 deadly electronic bees out of 10 for ambushing readers with some great storytelling, some surprise characters, and some exciting crossover action!