The Flash movie...what else can we say after all this time? A film that became a hot potato of scripts and directors even before Ezra Miller became a media sensation for all the wrong reasons. A film that just released its first trailer just weeks after Warner Bros. announced the new DC Studios film, which was studiously and diplomatically ambiguous about Miller's portrayal of Barry Allen.
The Flash "resets everything," according to DC Studio chief James Gunn and Peter Safran, who announced the DCU slate. What about the trailer? Both the trailer and the official synopsis suggest a reset of some sort, despite the fact that Barry is trying to restore the classic DCEU of Man of Steel and Ben Affleck as Batman fame.
Here's the official synopsis:
If you haven't already seen it, watch the teaser here...
There's also a TV segment that broadcast during the Super Bowl, which has a lot of different footage and helps put some more of this stuff in context...
If you haven't seen Man of Steel yet, it might be a bit difficult to follow, even if you're not familiar with Ben Affleck's Batman or the fact that he and Barry Allen have a sort of superhero mentor/mentee relationship (which you must have seen one of the Justice League versions to understand). But really, Batman is the star of this trailer, especially Michael Keaton's Batman, and there's a lot to discover here.
What is the deal with?
The major thing you need to know about this film is that it is loosely based on the Flashpoint comic by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, in which Barry Allen traveled back in time to investigate his mother's murder at the hands of a mysterious super-powered murderer (which Barry's father wrongfully committed) but in the process, changes the timeline and ends up in a world he doesn't fully understand.
Barry's inconsistency with the timeline appears to have prevented (among other things) the appearance of Superman as we see in Man of Steel (more on that later), but let's start with what we know so far... in the "main" DCEU timeline where this movie starts.
Ben Affleck is back as Batman!
Affleck is back, giving Barry some fatherly advice to avoid screwing with the timeline, but he's wearing an extremely stylish blue-and-grey batsuit! Obviously these scenes take place in the main timeline, but then something happens and...
Michael Keaton is...also back as Batman!
Michael Keaton doesn't have to lie that he's playing an older version of his Dark Knight from 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns. Rather, it just appears that Barry has either discovered a version of reality where his mother lived, or Keaton's Batman has also shifted. In the alternate timeline created by the Flashpoint events in the comics, Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father, who survived the murder of his son, has also remained devoted to avenging his death
Keaton's Batman has apparently been out of business for a while (we see glimpses of a bloodied batsuit and a long, grey-haired Wayne opening a hidden passageway). While his main suit does indeed look like an updated version of the Batman '89 costume, we get a glimpse of some of his other costumes...
The one on the far left has two gun holsters, which suggests that this Batman's no-longer-canon Batman TV series is related. Perhaps it's a no-longer-canon Batman movie, which will release in a few years, as a tribute to the Dark Knight's aversion to firearms.
Why are there two Barry Allens?
Is this a normal, unpowered version of Barry Allen, who is tagging along for the ride? (And it appears that he is a bit younger than "prime" Barry, who may still be living at home, with a teenage-style bedroom and longer hair, which might indicate that this timeline is actually set in 2013, which might match the Man of Steel imagery and General Zod imagery in the teaser.
Is Reverse-Flash the Flash's Secret Villain?
The fact that when we first meet this Barry, he's wearing a yellow hoodie and headphones brings to mind a key Flash rogue, Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, but the short version is: what if this is not Thawne in disguise?
It also appears that neither Barry has speed abilities for a chunk of the film. In the case of the "second" Barry (let's put aside the Thawne theory for the moment), it's because he wouldn't have them yet at this point in the timeline, anyway. In the Flashpoint comics, one of the side effects of his altering the timeline was the loss of his powers, powers that are only restored with Batman's assistance (which we also seem to see in the trailer).
Why is General Zod back?
Barry claims that his actions resulted in a world without metahumans, and since the DCEU (which this film is still part of) did not really go “public” with metahuman activity until the events of Man of Steel (and funny enough, The Flash will be released shortly after that movie's 10th anniversary), it makes sense for things to start to swing dramatically different from how things are supposed to go. If Clark Kent doesn't get out of his low-key lifestyle to defeat Zod and his Kryptonian
Fortunately, there is still a Kryptonian out there.
Who is Supergirl?
Sasha Calle appears to be playing a different version of Supergirl than Kara Zor-El, as she clearly introduces herself as "Kara," following the Flashpoint comics once more, where she appears to have been held captive and kept out of the power-nourishing yellow light for her entire life...until she is freed and powers up. But that does raise a valid concern...
Does this mean that Kara has been on Earth in the "main" DCEU this entire time, just in captivity, and nobody has ever discovered her? While at the moment, Gunn and Safran have been pretty vague/cagey about all of that, it's easy to see how this film concludes with a different DCEU timeline in which Kara did not spend most of her life in captivity but still was there all along? That, like everything else, remains to be seen.
Supergirl is seen carrying a seemingly lifeless body up into the clouds during a storm. If I had to bet, it's "our" Barry, who is attempting to rekindle his speed abilities, as he does appear to be unpowered during scenes when he and Batman are trying to save Supergirl from captivity.
We still don't have this film quite figured out yet, considering that we got about four minutes of footage from these two teasers. However, this should have helped!
What are your thoughts on The Flash film? Let us know in the comments!