Has it been a year already? 2017 has reached its end, but before we dive into 2018, we’d like to take a moment and look back. For DC fans, 2017 was a remarkable year in comics, film and TV. Our characters reached new milestones and audiences, our writers and artists achieved remarkable new heights and our universe continued to grow in surprising new ways. And yet, within it all, several moments stood out for their importance and relevance. Some of them were groundbreaking, others were a welcome return. All of them are worthy of acknowledgement and celebration. In a year in which fans had much to talk about, these are the moments we’ll continue to talk about well beyond the new year. These are DCComics.com’s “Ten Moments that Mattered in 2017.”
 

#DCTV crossover events have become an annual tradition, and this years was bigger than ever before with the two-night, four-part “Crisis on Earth-X”—an event that spanned full episodes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow. It was a dimension-hopping, Nazi-punching extravaganza of just about everything these shows have to offer, from all your favorite characters fighting side by side, to potentially apocalyptic catastrophes narrowly averted. But beyond that, it also just so happened to up the ante for the entire DC Universe…and maybe not in the way you might have expected.

To bring you up to speed, “Crisis on Earth-X” was about the invasion of, well, Earth-X, an alternate Earth where the Nazis won World War II and took over the planet. Earth-X is home to different versions of some very familiar heroes, all lead by an evil Supergirl, called Overgirl, who just so happens to be married to the Earth-X version of Oliver Queen who calls himself Black Arrow. Together, Overgirl and Black Arrow command a crew of bloodthirsty fascist villains like Prometheus-X, Dark Flash and Metallo.

But for as bleak as it is, Earth-X is not without its heroes as well. A band of rebels called the Freedom Fighters, which includes heroes like The Ray (seen here for the first time in #DCTV live action!) and an alternate version of Leonard Snart, have been working tirelessly to destroy their oppressors and set their planet free.

But the actual high-flying super heroics weren't the only thing that got a little bit crazy in “Crisis on Earth-X.” Things got very serious for not one but two different #DCTV couples—Barry Allen and Iris West, and Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak—who tied the knot in a joint ceremony presided over by the one and only John Diggle. One of these couples wasn't exactly a surprise, Barry and Iris's wedding was one of the big reasons so many heroes were all together when their Earth-X doppelgangers attempted to invade, but Oliver and Felicity? Well, that's a bit of a different story.

To say Felicity and Oliver have had a complicated relationship over the years (can you believe Arrow is already six seasons in?) would be putting it pretty lightly. In fact, Felicity wasn't even completely certain she wanted to marry Oliver right up until the last second, which, as you can probably imagine, has the potential to have some pretty major implications for the future. Or, maybe Team Arrow will have a rare moment of everything going completely according to plan and Ollie and Felicity could spend the rest of their days in happily wedded bliss. Who can say?

Regardless of what may happen as this season continues, or where your shipping loyalties may lie, it's impossible to deny that this is uncharted territory for our heroes. Even a couple as relatively (emphasis on "relatively") well adjusted as Barry and Iris are no doubt in for some pretty big status quo shake ups as they try to adjust to their new normal.

And marriage wasn't the only major bombshell “Crisis on Earth-X” dropped. The crossover heralded another major team change-up with the Legends as Professor Martin Stein, one half of Firestorm, was killed. Legends of Tomorrow fans will know that Stein had been attempting to retire from the superhero life for quite some time, thanks in part to his daughter giving birth to his first grandchild, but sadly those plans never came to fruition. Stein died a hero, but his passing was still a monumental loss and a hole in the Legends lineup that won't be easy to fill. Especially now that Jax, the other half of the Firestorm matrix, no longer has access to any of his powers. But you know what they say about doors closing and windows opening. The Legends may have lost one major player in the Crisis, but they managed to gain one at the same time. Earth-X's Citizen Cold decided to stay aboard the Waverider and make himself at home, if only temporarily, with the team.

While Overgirl and Black Arrow may have been defeated, we suspect we’ll be feeling “Crisis on Earth-X’s” effects for some time to come. Both in the lives of our characters and in how to stage a large-scale, comic book-style superhero crossover on the small screen.
 

Be sure to check DCComics.com again tomorrow for another Moment that Mattered in 2017.