The CW's superheroes will face the Dominators in four-show crossover

After battling the villainous Vandal Savage in last season's three-show CW crossover event, the heroes of Arrow, The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow will face an even more formidable foe in this year's four-night event, with network newcomer Supergirl joining the fight.

Mashable has learned that DC Comics' Dominators will invade the shared TV universe referred to as the "Arrowverse" for this year's crossover, with the story arc spanning four consecutive nights. A premiere date for the crossover has yet to be announced, but Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow producer Marc Guggenheim previously confirmed that the event will start on a Monday night with an episode of Supergirl, and involve "an external threat from outside the shows that will involve Supergirl coming over to The Flash, then Arrow, then Legends of Tomorrow."

Guggenheim shared more intel on the Dominators via a statement this morning: "This year, for our mega 'Arrowverse' crossover, we’re taking inspiration from a DC crossover from the late 1980s known as Invasion!, which featured an alien race called the Dominators, who’d previously vexed the Legion of Superheroes. We’re using cutting edge prosthetics and computer effects to achieve a feature film-quality look which is faithful to Invasion! artist Todd McFarlane’s interpretation of the characters.”

The characters, collectively known as The Dominion, are a highly advanced alien race who can manipulate genes to enhance themselves. Because of their fascination with genetic experimentation, the Dominators are wary of Earth's unpredictable metahuman population, which, in the comics, led them to invade the planet in an attempt to destroy anyone with powers.

In addition to the four-show crossover involving the entirety of The CW's superhero lineup, the network also announced that there will be a musical crossover between Supergirl and The Flash this season.