The Flash movie will change the DC timeline in multiple ways, many of which have already been revealed or teased by trailers. The Flash is loosely adapting Flashpoint, the 2011 comic book arc centered on Barry Allen that rebooted DC Comics. Similar to Flashpoint, The Flash movie will see Barry Allen going back in time to prevent his mother from dying. As a result, the Flash will break the fabric of the universe, leading to the creation of a new timeline.
In Flashpoint, Barry Allen’s actions create a world where Ka-El was not raised by the Kents; Bruce Wayne was killed and Thomas Wayne became Batman; Atlanteans and Amazons were at war, and the world was on the brink of destruction. Most of those elements will not be in The Flash movie. However, the upcoming DC film will feature many other drastic changes to the DCEU timeline. Here are 10 ways The Flash has already changed the DC Universe.
10 Barry Allen Creates A World With No Metahumans
In the first The Flash trailer, Barry Allen says that he created “a world with no metahumans” after going back in time to save his mother. Unlike Flashpoint, during which the Flash entered a world where most of the Justice League members still existed, The Flash movie’s alternate universe will not have a lot of heroes. It must be noticed, though, that most of the DCEU superheroes only became public figures after Zod’s invasion. That includes the Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. However, characters like Diana and Arthur should already be around during 2013. Therefore, Barry might try to reach out to those heroes, only to realize they do not exist.
Interestingly, this world with no metahumans Barry is describing seems to be Michael Keaton’s Batman universe. If so, the Flash created Tim Burton’s Batman universe. There is a difference between Barry traveling to another reality and Barry creating another reality. The Flash movie appears to be going with the latter, which makes sense. Barry has to feel responsible for the problem he created by trying to save his mother. Even still, it is curious that, from The Flash movie’s perspective, the DCEU’s Barry Allen might be responsible for the Tim Burton Batman movies.
9 Nora Allen Is Alive
The creation of a world with no metahumans is a consequence of Nora Allen not dying when Barry was a kid. Even if Nora Allen’s death should not have a direct impact on things like Superman coming to Earth, the multiverse can be tricky. Barry might be changing just one small element in the timeline, but messing with the multiverse appears to be enough to create a brand-new reality. The Flash’s trailers suggest that present-day Barry will interact with a version of Nora Allen who never died. Barry got what he wanted but at the cost of breaking the universe.
8 Henry Allen Is Not In Jail
Another direct consequence of Nora Allen not dying is Henry Allen, Barry’s father, not going to jail. In the retconned Barry Allen lore, Henry Allen was wrongfully accused of murdering Nora. Henry’s arrest only added to Barry’s tragedy, who essentially lost both of his parents on the same night. In both versions of Justice League, Barry Allen went to visit his father in prison, although Henry Allen was recast for The Flash. In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Henry tells Barry to stop relieving the past and make his future. Ironically, Barry will try to create a new future by changing the past.
7 Barry Allen Learns About His Future
The Flash’s time travel powers can be difficult to keep track of. In the Flashpoint comic, when Barry goes back in time and saves his mother, he proceeds to wake up in a world where his life was completely different. Barry had no memories of this new universe, but he had lived in it his whole life. In The Flash movie, however, the present-day Barry Allen will be stuck in a new universe where there is already a Barry Allen. That is why there are two Barry Allens in The Flash. In the DCEU, Barry only got his powers after Zod’s invasion.
For that reason, the second Barry Allen apparently won’t have powers at the beginning of the story. The Flash’s trailers suggest that the older Barry will have to recreate the experiment that gave him powers so that young Barry can become the Flash and join the action. The young Barry obviously will not have a Flash suit ready to go, which is why one of Batman’s suits will be repainted into a Flash suit. 2013 Barry from the alternate universe will learn of what his future could have been like, which is an experience that the DCEU Barry Allen never had.
6 Michael Keaton Is Batman (Not Ben Affleck)
One of the biggest changes to the timeline caused by Barry Allen going back in time is the creation of a different Batman. The DCEU’s Barry knew and interact with Ben Affleck’s Batman, who recruited the Flash to the Justice League after Superman’s death. In the DCEU timeline, Bruce Wayne became Batman around 1996. In this new universe, Barry will meet a version of Bruce Wayne who had been Batman since 1989. Michael Keaton’s Batman returns more than 30 years after Batman Returns, his second and final Batman film. Barry and Bruce have a strong bond in the original DCEU timeline, but Keaton’s Batman never heard of the Flash.
5 Keaton’s Batman Universe Now Has Aliens In It
By revisiting Michael Keaton’s Batman, The Flash movie is making a lot of changes and retcons to the Tim Burton Batman films. For start, Barry Allen might be the reason why that particular universe even exists, at least from a story perspective. In addition, while there are no public metahumans in this new timeline yet, there will be aliens in it. General Zod and the other surviving Kryptonians will arrive on Earth, just like they did in Man of Steel. While Burton’s Batman movies were far from being realistic, nothing hinted at aliens existing in that universe. Keaton’s Batman never shared the screen with Superman, but he will now fight Zod.
4 General Zod Is Back (In The Burtonverse)
Superman killed Zod in Man of Steel. Now, the DCEU comes full circle as Michael Shannon returns as General Zod in The Flash. Despite the differences between this new timeline and the DCEU, it seems that Zod’s invasion still happens in 2013. In the original DCEU timeline, Clark activating a Kryptonian scout ship is what brought Zod to Earth. Given how Henry Cavill’s Superman is not in The Flash, it will be interesting to see what brings Zod to Earth. Zod and the Kryptonians are so far the only confirmed The Flash movie villains.
3 The Flash Teams Up With Supergirl (Not Superman)
In the original DCEU timeline, there was no Supergirl. While Man of Steel hinted at another Kryptonian living on Earth, Kal-El was the world’s first public alien. Likewise, General Zod fought Superman in Man of Steel. In The Flash, it is Supergirl who will face the Kryptonian invasion. The Flash seems to be replacing Superman’s Flashpoint role with Supergirl. What happened to Clark Kent in this new timeline is difficult to say, but Henry Cavill did not return as Superman in The Flash. Kal-El might not even have existed in this world, or General Zod might have killed Clark before he even put on the suit.
2 Zod’s Invasion Begins In The Desert (Not In Smallville)
While Faora-Ul introduced herself and General Zod to humans in the desert in Man of Steel, the Kryptonians’ actual attack only began in Smallville. Zod wanted the Codex, which Jor-El had secretly merged with Kal-El’s DNA. Faora-Ul and Nam-Ek were sent to capture Kal-El, turning Smallville into a battle arena. In The Flash, however, the battle against the Kryptonians will start in the desert, where Zod originally “parked” his ship in Man of Steel. As a result, Zod’s invasion is bound to play out very differently in The Flash compared to Man of Steel.
1 Batman Fights The Kryptonians
In the DCEU, Bruce Wayne was at Metropolis during General Zod’s invasion. Bruce did not have his Bat suit, but he did try to help as many people as he could during the destruction of Metropolis. However, in The Flash, Keaton’s Batman will be part of the action during the Kryptonians’ invasion. The Flash’s trailers reveal that Batman will be in the desert fighting General Zod and the other Kryptonians. Michael Keaton’s Batman fighting Kryptonians in broad daylight is something that would never happen in the Tim Burton Batman movies, which makes Keaton’s return in The Flash more exciting and less predictable.
