It’s time to put the expensive vases away in cupboards, because things are about to get messy on The CW. Next week will see a two-part event in which shared universe superhero shows The Flash and Arrow crossover, with Oliver Queen heading over to Central City and Barry Allen paying another visit to Starling City in a partnership-turned-rivalry. The Arrow has a quiver full of trick arrows and a deadly aim, while the Flash has super speed, but which of these heroes would win in a fight?

The “who would win?” debate is a popular one among comic book fans and The CW has been heavily pushing the showdown aspect of the crossover in its promos for ‘The Flash vs. Arrow’ and ‘The Brave and the Bold’. While it might seem like Barry’s superpowers make him an easy victor, let’s not forget that he nearly got taken out by a cloud of gas earlier this season. He could probably do with a Rocky style training montage.

A New Zealand promo for the crossover has now made its way online, and although it’s a bootleg version and not of the highest quality it does include a new clip in which circumstance forces Felicity to quickly strip down to her bra. At least it sort of balances out all those times that Oliver has been shirtless for no apparent reason. Speaking of Oliver, the man himself (well, the actor who plays him) recently commented on the crossover and the nature of DC’S shared TV universe in an interview with IGN.

“These are two different shows, but when we say that this is the same universe, it really is the same universe. Both shows are run by Greg Berlanti, and we’re constantly thinking about little things we can do within our episodes – not just the big crossover events – to reflect that this other world exists. We have little tidbits like Felicity going to Central City in episode 4. We have a quick mention of things that are going on Central City during our ninth episode. So we’re trying to keep the idea that both of these worlds exist not just on big two-night events.”

The shared universe is smart since it encourages fans of either show to tune in for the other one in order to stay entirely in the loop, which is particularly useful for The Flash as it embarks on its first season. It wouldn’t be surprising if the two night crossover event turns into a regular feature of each new season, and there’s always the possibility that The CW’s shared TV universe could branch out to include other shows.

In ‘The Flash vs. Arrow’ Oliver offers to help Barry catch a metahuman who is using his powers to rob banks, and in ‘The Brave and the Bold’ Barry will return the favor by coming to Starling City and helping catch a serial killer who has planted bombs all over the city. Somewhere along the way the two heroes will turn on one another – but who will come out victorious?

The crossover event begins with The Flash Season 1 episode 8 ‘The Flash vs. Arrow’ on Tuesday, December 2nd @8pm, and concludes with Arrow Season 3 episode 8 ‘The Brave and the Bold’ on Wednesday, December 3rd @8pm.