The Flash is arguably the most anticipated DC movie of the year and part of the reason for that is its inspiration from the Flashpoint storyline. The film left multiple directors behind and took a lot of time to be made because DC always wanted to come up with a Flashpoint story.
With Andy Muschietti helming the project, the studio execs finally got what they wanted. But the first trailer has confirmed that even though The Flash is based heavily on Flashpoint from the comics, there are some major alterations made to it. The originality in this film comes from those changes, which are all listed below:
Changes made to The Flash’s Flashpoint
1. Two Barry Allens
In the comic book Flashpoint, things are pretty simple as Barry just runs back in time and saves his mother. After that, we see the same Barry Allen in the present day where everything around him had changed. The event of Barry saving his mother caused a ripple effect throughout the timeline.
Things of the past, present, and future got altered entirely. As a result of Barry’s mother not dying, he was never struck by lightning either. He never got his powers or became the Scarlet Speedster. But instead of altering the timeline itself, DCU’s Flashpoint brings the multiverse into the picture.
Just as Barry goes back in time to save his mother, everything changes. A new timeline gets created by picking up different elements from the multiverse. And in this new timeline, Barry gets stuck in 2013 before the events of Man of Steel.
So naturally, there’s also an 18-year-old Barry who is 10 years younger than the original one. While the original Barry retains his Speedster abilities, the young one from the new timeline hasn’t been struck by lightning till now.
2. A New Batman with a Dead Joker
It is common knowledge that after Barry creates a new timeline in the comics, we get a new Batman as well. In this story, it’s young Bruce Wayne who dies in that dark alley instead of his parents. With the trauma of losing his son, Thomas Wayne becomes a very brutal version of Batman, while his mother Martha becomes the new Joker!
Initially, when the SnyderVerse was being followed, everyone was excited to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Thomas Wayne become Batman in the DCEU. Along with him, Lauren Cohan would have become the Joker. But since that storyline isn’t being followed, we’re getting an older Bruce Wayne played by Michael Keaton instead of Thomas Wayne.
The new timeline that Barry creates pulls in Tim Burton’s Batman universe. And as we know, Keaton’s Batman had already defeated Jack Nicholson’s Joker back in 1989.
3. A New Origin for Young Barry
As mentioned above, the young Barry Allen doesn’t have any powers in the newly created timeline. The trailer showed us how the lightning gets attracted with the help of a Batarang, and the young one gets struck by it as it passes through the older Barry.
This is a new way of turning young Barry into the Flash. After getting his powers, he creates a Flash suit by remodeling Michael Keaton’s old Batsuit that he wore in 1992’s Batman Returns. But in the books, Barry simply takes the help of Old Thomas Wayne to regain his Speedster powers.
4. Supergirl instead of Superman
In the Flashpoint Paradox, Kal-El was sent to Earth, but he never became Superman. He was never brought up in Smallville by his human parents. Instead, he was caught by the government and was constantly experimented upon. He didn’t get nourished by Earth’s yellow sun, which is why he seemed so malnourished. But the upcoming Flash movie has changed this entirely.
In the new multiversal timeline, it was Kara Zor-El who was sent to Earth during the destruction of Krypton instead of Kal-El. But as soon as she arrived on Earth, she wasn’t found by a kind couple like Jonathan and Martha Kent. The government found her and imprisoned her to conduct experiments on her. But then Batman and the two Barry Allens go to release her from the prison she was caught up in.
5. No Cyborg
In the original Flashpoint story, Cyborg played a crucial role. In the absence of Superman, Cyborg became America’s greatest hero. So, he helps Barry and Thomas Wayne’s Batman to free Kal-El from government imprisonment. Now in the DCU, Cyborg’s character has been replaced by the young Barry Allen.
Ray Fisher was originally supposed to return as Cyborg but his role was cut out after he had a falling out with the former President of DC Films, Walter Hamada. So, a young Barry became the fourth character of Team Flash instead.
6. No Lex Luthor or Deathstroke
In the original story, Deathstroke also played a secondary antihero. He was the leader of some superpowered mercenaries that also included Lex Luthor as a tech genius. Their job was to discover the location of Aquaman’s secret weapon and destroy it. But they failed at their mission and got captured by Aquaman’s forces.
Ultimately, Deathstroke and his team were killed. But instead of this, DCEU’s Slade Wilson is nowhere to be seen in The Flash. Joe Manganiello was never asked to return because the entire climactic battle of this new Flashpoint has been altered and Deathstroke has no role to play in it.
7. A Different Final Battle
Originally, the Flashpoint story consisted of World War 3 where Atlantis and Themiscyra went to war against each other. This war would have ended the entire planet as Arthur would unleash his secret world-ending weapon.
But instead of this battle, DCEU’s The Flash uses the final battle of Man of Steel. After Barry alters the timeline by saving his mom, he is stuck in 2013 where Zod is yet to arrive. And since Barry’s actions also wiped out all other Metahumans from Earth, there’s no Aquaman or Wonder Woman to call in.
That’s why the two Barrys use the help of old Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne to free up Kara Zor-El from imprisonment. She regains her powers and takes on Zod’s forces in the final battle. Meanwhile, the two Barry Allens fight another villain on the ground.
8. Dark Flash instead of Reverse-Flash
Not only will we see an 18-year-old Barry Allen from a different timeline, but the film also has a third Flash as the real villain. In the books, it was Reverse-Flash who killed Barry’s mom. He was the cause of all chaos that occurs in the Flashpoint Paradox. But instead of him, the upcoming movie will feature a Dark Flash. We also got a glimpse of him in the trailer where the 18-year-old Barry double-kicks him.
So even after all these changes, it’s clear that the whole body of the Flashpoint story remains the same as the comics with the alternate timeline, older Batman, Supergirl in a world-ending climactic battle, and so on.
The Flash hits the theaters on June 16.
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