After years of teasing, it's no surprise why The Flash movie is expected to be one of the most anticipated DCEU film this year. The Flash's story seems to be a mix of the Multiverse and time travel.
For every die-hard DCEU fan, this simply suggests that the film's story comes from Flashpoint. But is The Flash movie based on Flashpoint, really?
The answer, of course, is a mix between yes and no. In this article, we discuss what makes The Flash movie an adaptation of Flashpoint and the key differences between it.
What Is Flashpoint?
Flashpoint is a comic book crossover story that DC Comics released in 2011. There were a total of five issues in the story arc, which led to the creation of The New 52, which is a reboot of the entire DC comic book series.
The official DC synopsis for the comic book reads:
"When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It's a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth's Greatest Heroes to stop it?It's a place where America's last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, SHAZAM!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces! It's a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can't find the villain who altered the time line!"
Along with other titles, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Final Crisis, Flashpoint is considered as one of the most important events that happened in the DC Comics.
Even though Flashpoint is essentially a story of The Flash, some key DC characters appeared in the series along with alternate versions of them. This means we can also expect some of these characters to appear in the upcoming The Flash movie.
What Makes The Flash Similar to Flashpoint?
There are plenty of clues that seem to confirm the story of The Flash movie is taken from Flashpoint story arc. These clues include the following:
The released teasers of The Flash have suggested that Barry Allen (played by Ezra Miller) will be using his powers to travel through time as he looks for a way to stop his mother's murder; both of which are similar to the events in the comic book series.
Plus, there's the addition of two Batmans in the movie, played by Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, which suggests that Flash will be traveling through multiverses and different realities.
Why Isn’t The Flash a True Flashpoint Adaptation?
But it seems like these are the only similarities between Flashpoint and the upcoming The Flash movie. There are plenty of important elements from the comic book story arc that do not seem to be part of the movie for various reasons.
This means that while the two share the same premise, The Flash is not a loyal adaptation of Flashpoint. For one thing, if the movie were a true adaptation, the members of the Justice League would need to reprise their roles in the movie.
This means Warner Bros. would need to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman with a bigger role in the film than just a cameo.
The Flash movie will also be tackling the Multiverse. In The Flash, he transports himself to Michael Keaton's Batman universe instead of creating a new timeline.
Another clue that the film will not stay loyal to the source material is the fact that there have been no speculations regarding a Reverse-Flash character, who is The Flash's arch-nemesis in Flashpoint.
In the new timeline created in Flashpoint, Kal-El never becomes Superman since the government catches and conducts numerous experiments on him. But in The Flash, Kara Zor-El (played by Sasha Calle) gets sent to Earth and gets rescued by Batman and two Barry Allens.
There's also the absence of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (played by Joe Manganiello) from the film even though he is an important antihero in Flashpoint.
A different final battle also happens in the film compared with Flashpoint. In the original source material, there is a World War 3 between Atlantis and Themiscyra.
The Flash movie, on the other hand, uses the final battle in Man of Steel. After saving his mom in an alternate timeline, Barry gets stuck in 2013.
This timeline has also wiped out Aquaman and Wonder Woman to help him fight Zod. As a result, Batman and the two Barrys rescue Kara Zor-El to help fight Zod and a different villain.
Lastly, there's also the presence of a third Flash character in the film, who is actually the real villain, Dark Flash. In The Flashpoint Paradox, Reverse-Flash is responsible for killing Barry's mom.
With these differences, we can assume that Flashpoint is not the source material used for The Flash film. If you are hoping to watch a faithful adaptation of the comic book, the best option is The Flashpoint Paradox.
And it actually makes sense why The Flash is not a Flashpoint movie adaptation. Instead of this film becoming Flash's first standalone movie, it would essentially turn it into a Justice League movie.
But it could introduce the new version of Justice League, which would consist of Michael Keaton's Batman, Supergirl, and the two Barrys.
The Flash movie is directed by Andy Muschietti and is slated to be released on June 16, 2023. It also brings back Ezra Miller as Barry Allen for a third time.
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