DC on TV: Invasion (DVD)

Over the last few years Marvel has come to dominate the cinema with their depictions of super-heroes in a shared universe though sadly both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four are excluded. DC has always had the upper hand on TV. 

Back in the sixties and seventies I grew up with Batman played by Adam West and Wonder Woman as personified by Lynda Carter. I recall Lois and Clark but of all the TV programmes Smallville was by far the best and I dutifully watched all 10 series.

Of course fast forwarding to today DC has managed to create a unified TV Universe though because of the broadcasts taking place on channels I don't have access to these generally passed me by until Supergirl. I picked up and have watched half the first season. Same with DC Legends and one of these days will try and catch up.

Trouble is there is so much of it and the baseline Arrow series does not appeal. I've never been a particular fan of the Green Arrow. Yes he has had his moments (the classic Neal Adams Green Lantern team up and the Speedy drug story come to mind) but generally I see him as a second tier character with the daftest secret identity ever concocted. 

Who on earth could miss the similarity with the beard in Ollie and the Arrow? 

However after watching Batwoman for the first few episodes I decided maybe it was time to dip into the rest of DC's TV output. What prompted me was that missing episode that ties into their version of Crisis On Infinite Earths my all-time favourite comic book story. 

I discovered that there had been four crossovers, the first of which was Invasion. Whilst there were some people I was not familiar with in the supporting teams their version of Vibe impressed me more than the Justice League original ever did. What did surprise me was that Supergirl (and Superman) existed on a different Earth.

Which brings me to the TV adaptation of the classic Invasion mini series which I really liked and have the mini-series buried somewhere. I do recall the story quite well and had to get used to the condensed and adjusted version produced for TV.  

The collection of heroes was impressive and the Dominators made to look the threat they really are ensuring no race has the ability to challenge them. I've a lot to learn about the DC TV universe but Invasion was a good introduction if at times a bit tame I have to say.