The Dominators were introduced as the villains of the big crossover between Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. But just who are they?
When a spaceship crashed in Central City on The Flash 3×08 “Invasion!”, we learned for the first time that aliens exist in the universe of Earth-1. Lyla Michaels, director of A.R.G.U.S., informed Team Flash that the Dominators had been to Earth in the 1950s. They were collecting information about humans, but then they disappeared without a trace.
Now they’re back and do not come in peace.
The Dominators are an alien race out of the DC Comics. But just who are they? And what is this crossover story based on?
Who are The Dominators on Supergirl, Flash, Arrow?
The Dominators, collectively known as the Dominion, are an alien race created by Jim Shooter. They first appeared in 1967’s Adventure Comics #361 and have appeared in quite a few issues since.
They are from the farthest reaches of the universe. A technologically-advanced species who specialize in genetics, their society is extremely hierarchical, with status depending on the size of a red circle that appears on their foreheads. They do not have individual names but may be recognized based on the size of the circles on their heads.
Invasion! was a major, three-issue crossover event in 1989 that featured the Dominators joining forces with the alien races of the Khunds, Thanagarians (who were mentioned in Legends of Tomorrow season 1), Gil’Dishpan, Durlans, Psions, Citadel, Daxamites (the people of Supergirl‘s Mon-El), Warlords of Okaara, and Spider Guild. This was known as the Alien Alliance.
Their goal was to round up superheroes due to the threat to the universe the meta-gene (the gene that allows for humans to develop superpowers) presents.
When they traveled to Earth, they threatened that unless Earth’s heroes were turned over to them, the nations of Earth would be wiped out. The United Nations overwhelmingly agreed not to meet the aliens’ demands. Heroes and villains alike teamed up to protect the world.
When the battle started going poorly for the Alien Alliance, a Dominator detonated a Gene Bomb in Earth’s atmosphere. This bomb disabled metahumans by negating the power of the meta-gene. However, the goal of the Alien Alliance’s invasion was not the destruction of metahumans but to harness them and their abilities, so this Dominator was imprisoned and sentenced to be executed.
But before he could be executed, a group of heroes led by J’onn J’onzz were able to get the information they needed to reverse the effects of the Gene Bomb from his mind. The Gene Bomb also, ironically, created several metahumans.
The Daxamites eventually realized they were on the wrong side of the invasion and allied with Earth. This was the turning point in the invasion, as the combined forces of Earth and Daxam defeated the remaining invaders.
The Invasion! story was particularly significant to the DC Comics, as it introduced the concept of metahumans. The meta-gene is now used to explain why most powered characters, good and evil, get abilities.
The Dominators were also an enemy of the Legion of Superheroes in the 30th century.