After months of hype and a decade of development and production, The Flash has sped its way to theaters to a decidedly more mixed response than its studio likely anticipated. Divided critical reception, a muted box office, and massive backlash from fans has led to the film being much more a pariah of DC than the savior it was initially lauded as. And while I personally enjoyed the film well enough, I, like Barry Allen himself, can’t help but wonder how the story could’ve ended up better with a few small tweaks.
To be clear, I do mean small tweaks here. While the ideal solution for the best possible Flash solo feature is to just not do Flashpoint, that’s the story they went with. As such, the version I’m pitching here is still Flashpoint, is still connected to the previous DCEU films, still resets that continuity, still has Supergirl and all the Batmen, and so on. However, I think two small but cascading changes, specifically regarding the two Barrys and the Act 3 twist, could significantly improve the film without needing to change the overall core of the story. Explaining this will require delving into spoilers, so turn back now if you haven’t seen the film.
The Barrys
First things first, Ezra Miller needs to go. They’ve committed multiple acts of real-world assault and abuse, and clearly need to be isolated from other people for the safety of others and themself, and their continued presence in the film represents a gross act of negligence on the part of Warner Brothers. As such, the first step to improving The Flash is to recast Barry Allen. My pick for the role? Elliot Page.
Page is an immensely talented actor who already looks fairly similar to Ezra Miller’s Barry, meaning you avoid having to answer “Why does he look different” questions. He has experience in comic book adaptations as well as superhero stories in general through his roles in The Umbrella Academy and Super, and with how much Hollywood has put him through the wringer over the years, he’s more than deserving of a lucrative, cushy franchise deal. Plus, as a trans man, Page’s casting would negate one of the only downsides to losing Ezra Miller, that being the loss of one of the only prominent trans actors in any major movie franchise.
Your next question is probably if I plan to have Elliot play the Young Barry as well. The answer is no because I plan to have Young Barry’s role fulfilled by an entirely different character: Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash. Thawne is one of Flash’s most prominent villains and a key player in every other version of Flashpoint. As such, his absence in the film was jarring, to say the least, and I think having him fulfill the role of Young Barry/Dark Flash makes a lot of sense. I understand some of you may be confused as to how a dangerously egotistical sociopath like Thawne could fulfill the plucky young sidekick role of Young Barry, so allow me to explain.
See, in the comics, Thawne actually started out as a fan of The Flash, obsessed with his heroics to the point of replicating his speed so he could travel back in time and be his hero’s sidekick. So, I would lean into that aspect, which in turn would help to differentiate this version of Thawne from The CW’s take. As for casting, I think someone around Barry’s age range or slightly younger would work best, both in terms of creating solid chemistry with Barry and playing with fan expectations regarding Eobard. My pick would be either Dylan O’Brien or if you really want to mess with fans’ heads, Grant Gustin.
Have Thawne be the one who disrupts Barry’s trip back to the future instead of Dark Flash, stranding them both in 2013 because he was so desperate to meet his hero. You could have a ton of fun playing around with Thawne geeking out over Barry, wanting Barry to not have to deal with the pain of his mother’s death, and maybe even have him be more genre-savvy than Barry when it comes to the time travel stuff.
From there, most of the shared origin and “learning the powers” business plays out like it does in the final film. Although, I would probably remove the initial recreation of the origin and simply have Barry lose his speed when he arrives in this new time as happens in the Flashpoint comic. Barry and Eobard eventually meet Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, the three of them eventually rescue Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and the whole crew teams up to fight Zod in Act 3, leading us to our second major change.
The Act 3 Twist
So, the twist here in the actual movie is that our heroes’ big plan to stop Zod is doomed to fail. There’s no way for the fight to end without Batman and Supergirl both dying and the world being destroyed. Young Barry’s refusal to accept this leads to him becoming Dark Flash, Dark Flash and Young Barry both get erased from the timeline, regular Barry resets the timeline, George Clooney gets the best cameo in the movie, and cut to credits.
While the idea behind this twist is sound and helps to reinforce the theme of living with your mistakes and moving forward, its message is ultimately muddled by the reinforcement of death as a noble sacrifice and the arguably unintentional characterization of Young Barry’s heroic idealism as dangerous naïveté. And given that both timelines involve the death of at least one of the film’s only prominent female characters, you could even argue that Barry’s choice is an endorsement of the infamous “fridging” trope.
As such, I would change the circumstances around Barry’s impossible choice. Instead of making him choose either the death of his mom or the death of the multiverse, I would make him choose either the death of Batman and Supergirl or the complete subjugation of Earth by Zod. In this version, there is a way for Batman and Supergirl to live, but not without Zod taking over the planet and killing countless others. Eobard is convinced there must be another way, but Barry attempts to reassure him, saying that they’re still alive somewhere in time and that putting the needs of others before yourself is what being a hero is all about.
Eobard ultimately accepts, but not without being consumed by rage at losing the only friends he’s ever had in Supergirl, Batman, and now Barry, simply stating, “If I have to lose, then so do you.” From here, the underwhelming final confrontation and CGI cameo parade is replaced by an intense race through the Speed Force between Flash and Reverse-Flash to get to Barry’s mother, Nora. Despite Barry’s best efforts, Eobard ultimately wins that race, killing Nora and bringing the whole story full circle while also resetting the timeline against Barry’s wishes.
Reverse-Flash disappears back into the Speed Force, leaving the door open for him to reappear in a potential sequel; while Barry wakes up back in the present. From here, the rest of the ending plays out like it does in the final film, with Barry’s father finally being exonerated and the aforementioned George Clooney cameo; though I would also have Calle’s Supergirl appear here as well to establish her existence in the main timeline for future appearances.
In Conclusion
Do I think these changes would make The Flash a perfect movie? Probably not. As I said earlier, using Flashpoint as the basis for your first movie is not the best idea and attempting to follow the framework of the finished film as closely as possible does leave at least one major issue unsolved, namely the frustrating lack of screen time for Sasha Calle’s brilliantly performed incarnation of Supergirl. But do I think these changes would make The Flash a better movie? Absolutely.
The controversial lead actor has been replaced by two much-welcome alternatives, the main villain is significantly stronger and ties directly into the hero’s story, the message is communicated more effectively, and the path forward for both this character and the DC Universe as a whole is much clearer. While it’s obviously too late for this film specifically, I hope whoever ends up taking the next shot at bringing the Scarlet Speedster to the silver screen takes these lessons to heart so when that movie eventually rolls around, I don’t have to write an article like this about it.
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
