Despite some misleading marketing, the main villain of The Flash is not who you probably thought it was going to be. The villain in the trailers and ads definitely factors into the film, don’t get us wrong. But director Andy Muschietti kept the major villain of the film somewhat of a surprise. Here’s who the main villains of The Flash are, starting with the film’s primary antagonist.

The Dark Flash

In the film, the main bad guy isn’t the Kryptonian General Zod, as early trailers might make you believe. The “Big Bad” of the film is none other than Barry Allen himself. Well, a version of him, that is. In the film, we saw a darkly clad being tossing adult Barry out into his own past as he races through time. He had a bigger plan in mind, which was to make the college-age Barry of 2013 into the being that he would become. A “Dark Flash.” We should note, this character is never called that by name in the film. However, the McFarlane Toys figure is labeled as “Dark Flash.” So we think that’s official enough.

This Dark Flash is a being who has been attempting to undo the deaths of Batman (Michael Keaton) and Supergirl (Sasha Calle) in the film’s big climactic battle with Zod’s army. He spends up to 50 years of his own timeline trying to control the flow of time in his favor, something that main “present time” Barry knows can’t happen. Ultimately, he is unmade when college-age Barry dies in battle with his own future self, erasing the Dark Flash from existence. And thus, preserving the timeline as adult Barry knew it (mostly) and saving the Multiverse. It’s all a bit confusing, but makes more sense in the final film.

The Black Flash Inspiration

The Dark Flash is loosely based on another obsidian speedster, DC Comics’ Black Flash. Although the visual of the character is similar, the Black Flash in the comics is Death itself. Or at least, the Speed Force’s version of Death. No one knows its true origins. But some Flashes believe that the actual entity of Death is simply too slow to catch up to any speedster. So the Speed Force produced its own Death entity, the Black Flash. The film’s Dark Flash is a bit of the comics’ Blue Flash, a twisted future version of Barry, and the aesthetics of the Black Flash.

General Zod

Of course, Dark Flash is not the only villain in the film. General Zod (Michael Shannon) is our secondary bad guy, who is invading Earth just as he did in Man of Steel. Like Zack Snyder’s 2013 film, Zod is looking to recreate Krypton on Earth using something called the codex, something Jor-El stored inside his infant son. And in this timeline, Zod murdered baby Kal-El when his pod was diverted from Earth. Because in this universe, it is Supergirl/Kara Zor-El who has the codex in her cell structure.

In Man of Steel, Zod and his Kryptonian army arrive on a US Military base in the desert, where a battle with this newly formed Justice League, made of Keaton Batman, Supergirl, and both Flashes ensues. Despite their best efforts, the League falls under the might of Zod’s forces. If adult Barry had not restored the timeline to the version where his mother died, Zod would have terraformed Earth into New Krypton, killing billions. Hopefully, if we ever get a Flash sequel, or reboot, we get some of Flash’s iconic rogues from the comics. They are long overdue for their cinematic debut.

The Flash is in theaters now.

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The Flash wasn’t the franchise game-changer some superhero fans expected, but it still delivered some big superhero changes. The film’s surprise ending and post-credits scene revealed exactly how Barry Allen’s actions in the past altered both the present and future. What does it all mean, including for Warner Bros.’ switch from the old DCEU to James Gunn’s new DCU? Here’s what happened and what it tells us about a post-Flash timeline.

Why Did George Clooney Appear as Bruce Wayne at the End of The Flash?

“Who the f*** is this?”

Uh, it’s Batman. No, not that one. No, not that one either.

Michael Keaton’s Batman wasn’t The Flash‘s only alternate Bruce Wayne to appear. Once Barry Allen realized he couldn’t save his mother’s life without dooming the whole world, he went back and stopped himself from stopping her death in the first place.

Doing so had created an entirely new reality. Time in The Flash is not linear, and by altering one single event Barry changed history both before and after his mom was supposed to die. Letting her go, painful as it was, stopped General Zod from conquering Earth. But Barry’s decision to ensure his father’s eventual release from jail still resulted in an alternate timeline.

By moving those tomato cans to the top of the grocery store shelf years earlier, Barry exonerated his dad in the present. He also completely changed Bruce Wayne as a person. Instead of the version played by Ben Affleck, Barry walked outside the courtroom to discover a different version of Bruce Wayne. He was now played by George Clooney.

When Did George Clooney First Play Batman?

George Clooney’s first (and until now only) time playing Bruce Wayne came in 1997’s Batman & Robin. Fans have panned both the film and his performance since the movie’s release.

Clooney himself agrees with that assessment. The Oscar-winner has said he messed up the role “so bad.” (In fairness, there’s only so much you can do when your Batsuit has nipples.)

Not only did The Flash give Clooney a bit of Bat-demption with his surprise cameo, it also used turned his previous performance into a great meta joke. Upon seeing the alternate Bruce get out of his sports car, Barry said, “You’re not Batman.” To that an incredulous Clooney answered, “What’s wrong with you?”

As the movie’s post-credits scene revealed, what’s wrong with Barry is that he didn’t feel the need to immediately fix his timeline and bring back his friend.

What Did The Flash‘s Post-Credits Scene Reveal About the New Timeline?

Ben Affleck’s Batman might be gone (at least for now), but Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is still around. An extremely intoxicated Arthur Curry appeared with Barry Allen in The Flash‘s only post-credits scene. Though mostly played for laughs,* the scene did provide vital information about the state of the world, the timeline, and reality at the end of the film.

Barry was trying to explain to his fellow Justice League member that he had traveled back in time and altered the past, resulting in an entirely different Bruce Wayne. Arthur had no idea what he was talking about, showing that only Barry remembers the old Batman. The Flash is the only bridge between the world that was and the reality he finds himself in now.

This reality still resulted in Barry working with other meta-humans and heroes. But to get Batfleck back, he’d need to go back in time again and put the tomato cans back where they originally went. Clearly he did not do that, and there’s no indication he has plans to anytime soon, if ever.

That leaves George Clooney in place as Bruce Wayne, for now anyway, along with all the other changes to the timeline we don’t know about yet. To save his father Barry sacrificed his friend, which raises one last major question.

*A passed out Aquaman can’t drown in a puddle. But you can. Even if you have a friend who can travel back in time, please drink responsibly.

Did Barry’s Decision to Rearrange Those Tomato Cans, and Thus Change Bruce Wayne, Completely Undermine His Entire Character Arc in The Flash?

Yeah, kinda! Weird, right?

But time travel and tragedy are both complicated. Besides, if there’s one thing we learned from the end of The Flash it’s that Barry Allen can always go back and change things if he wants.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at  @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Flash made its rules of time travel easy to understand by comparing Barry Allen’s impact on the space-time continuum with Marty McFly’s. But it also utilized Back to the Future for its plot. DC’s speedster realized what a mess he’d made of the past even before he met Michael Keaton’s Batman. He knew when he learned Eric Stoltz drove Doc Brown’s Delorean to fame rather than Michael J. Fox. Of course, Stoltz wasn’t a random recasting. He really did star as Marty McFly before Fox replaced him during production. That was just one of the many ways The Flash used famous sliding doors moment in Hollywood history to reimagine its world. From Nicolas Cage’s lost Superman and two big screen Kryptonians who never met, to Kevin Bacon and a reshuffling of the 1980’s leading men, these are the real stories The Flash turned from “almosts” and “what ifs” into alternate timelines.

Why Did Nicolas Cage Appear as Superman in The Flash?

In 1996, Warner Bros. executive Jon Peters hired Clerks‘ Kevin Smith to write the script for a movie titled Superman Lives. Eventually Batman‘s Tim Burton signed on to direct. He had his famous Man of Steel ready to go, too. Thirty million dollars later and all Warner Bros. had to show for their efforts was some test footage of a long-haired Nicolas Cage in a Superman costume. Eventually the rest of us got one of the most notorious stories in Hollywood history and a documentary about the calamitous project. That is, until The Flash finally brought Cage’s Clark Kent to the big screen for some alternate timeline fun.

Kevin Smith’s tale about his absurd meeting with Jon Peters is infamous with good reason. (Whether you’ve never heard it or know it by heart, it’s always worth listening to.) Among Peters’ many ridiculous comments and requests, he didn’t want Smith’s Superman to fly or wear his red and blue suit. What he did want was for Superman to fight a giant spider at the end.

Burton had Smith’s script rewritten when he joined the production. He also had Nic Cage outfitted for a suit with traditional Superman colors. But all that time, money, and talent didn’t matter. Shortly before filming began Warner Bros. pulled the plug, denying us a Man of Steel who apparently really dug The Cure.

Now The Flash has finally rectified that. It has given us Nic Cage—who named his son Kal-El—as Kal-El. His Superman exists in another dimension. He also flies. That’s not what Jon Peters wanted, but at least he got to see Cage fight a big giant spider. (Which the producer did make happen in Wild Wild West.)

But that wasn’t the only alternate (super) reality Barry Allen let us see come to life. The Flash also brought together two children of Krypton that never got to share the silver screen even though they existed at the same time.

The Flash Brings Together Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl

In 1984 Helen Slater brought Supergirl to theaters. The spinoff took place in the same universe as Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise. His Clark was originally set to appear in the movie, too. Supergirl was going to rescue him from captivity. But following the disappointment of Superman III the previous year, Reeve decided against starring in the film. Instead Supergirl‘s script explained Superman’s absence by saying he was in another galaxy on a “peace-seeking mission.”

Slater’s Supergirl did not return in 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which was Reeve’s last time playing the hero. As a result the two ’80s Kryptonians never got to appear on screen together. That didn’t happen until The Flash showed them united side-by-side in their dimension, thereby creating a cool alternate timeline.

The Flash used another famous film franchise of the ’80s to create an alternate reality, too. It found inspiration in a time travel series that had fun changing events of that decade. Only Back to the Future did so both on screen and off.

Why Did The Flash Choose Eric Stoltz to Play Back to the Future‘s Marty McFly?

Michael J. Fox was Robert Zemeckis’s first choice to play Marty McFly. But with Fox unavailable due to Family Ties‘ filming schedule, Zemeckis cast Eric Stoltz in the role.

However, after six weeks of filming Zemeckis realized Stoltz just wasn’t working out. While the director has always praised Stoltz’s work and commitment on the movie, the actor just wasn’t bringing the comedic element the part required. That led to Zemeckis and producers firing Stoltz and developing a production schedule that allowed Fox to film Back to the Future on nights and weekends.

Deleted scenes and images from Stoltz’s performance have made their way out into the world since his departure. And it seems like one scene with Stoltz (or at least his fist) actually made its way into the final film. Otherwise, his version of Marty is lost to time. At least it is in this timeline.

In The Flash‘s alternate timeline, Stoltz didn’t just stay in the role. His version of Back to the Future was still a monumental hit. It catapulted him to stardom. It led people to get his face tattooed on their thigh calf. Was that because the movie was just that good it would have worked with anyone? Or because Stoltz made it good? What about the timelines where Ben Stiller or Jon Cryer nailed their (very real) auditions and got the part instead?The only way we’ll ever know if is Barry Allen messes with the timeline and therefore Back to the Future again.

Obviously Marty McFly wasn’t the only famous ’80s movie the Flash changed via time travel. He caused a chain reaction of big-time recasting.

Was Michael J. Fox Almost Cast in Footloose?

Famous casting “what ifs” are rarely as well-documented as Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. Most auditions go nowhere. Sometimes performers discuss a potential role without ever seriously considering it. Other times they do want the part but aren’t seriously considered for it. And casting directors, producers, writers, and directors throws out big name as a possibility without ever having a chance of landing that actor. And yet, years later those people will still be mentioned as the list of people who “almost” got the role.

Still, even by those very (foot)loose standards there’s no evidence Michael J. Fox was ever up a possibility to play the part of Ren that Kevin Bacon made famous with his feet. That alternate timeline is totally unique to The Flash.

However, there is still a very fun connection between Footloose, Michael J. Fox, and The Flash. According to IMDb, Kenny Loggins wrote that Footloose‘s final scene was not filmed with his theme song playing. It was only added in post-production.

On set the actors actually danced to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the very same song Marty McFly performed at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in Back to the Future.

Strands of spaghetti, indeed. And that’s just the beginning of The Flash‘s alternate Hollywood dominoes.

Was Kevin Bacon Almost in Top Gun?

While there’s no evidence Michael J. Fox was ever up for the lead role in Footloose, The Flash‘s other ’80s leading man switcheroo was a possibility. Producers did consider Kevin Bacon for the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. A bevy of other actors either turned it down or got passed over, too. (Tom Cruise, the top choice, initially didn’t want the part.)

(In The Flash‘s timeline where Bacon is Maverick, do you think him and Cruise also swapped roles in A Few Good Men?)

The list of other potential Petes included: Matthew Modine, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey Jr., John Travolta, and Eric freaking Stoltz!

As if all of that isn’t enough, the movie originally considered having TOTO or REO Speedwagon record “Danger Zone” before turning to Footloose‘s Kenny Loggins.

And with so many real world connections in alternate version of 1980s Hollywood that The Flash gives us, at this point we have to wonder if Barry Allen really did go back in time and alter our actual timeline. Maybe he’s the reason Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz in the first place. That worked out for Back to the Future, but we can’t forgive him for Nic Cage’s lost Superman Lives. Especially now that we know he would have kicked that giant spider’s a**.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at  @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The DCEU is coming to an end. Warner Bros. hired James Gunn and Pete Safran as co-CEOs to lead the superhero franchise into a new, more unified DCU. While that will soon mean an entirely different Superman, the two aren’t starting over entirely from scratch. The Flash‘s time travel adventure is a bridge between the two eras, with Barry Allen’s foray into the past changing the present and future forever.

Ultimately, The Flash didn’t deliver the definitive hard reset some expected. It certainly changed things in a big way, but rather than establish the DCU outright, The Flash instead provided the blueprint for how it might happen eventually.

How Does Time Travel Work in The Flash?

As Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne explained, time is not linear in the world of The Flash. If you go back to a specific point in the past and change what happened you don’t merely change the events that follow that moment—you also change what happened before it. In this superhero franchise, there’s no clean split from the timeline into an alternate one.

Back to the Future, which The Flash vaguely referenced with its spaghetti scene, would be fundamentally different if it had the same rules of time travel as The Flash. It would mean when Biff gets the Sports Almanac in the original 1955 timeline, the original timeline no longer exists. The new one would simply share a single point with the old one the moment Biff got the almanac.

That’s why Barry’s time travel resulted in the world getting an entirely different, much older Bruce Wayne than the one he knew. When Barry saved his mom it altered the future along with everything that happened long before that day. In that alternate reality Bruce Wayne was born much earlier. Just as Kal-El was not the Kryptonian who safely made his way to Earth, a place without Aquaman or Wonder Woman.

The results of Barry’s actions didn’t just change history and even people. It nearly doomed the entire world.

How Did Barry Allen Fix the Timeline in The Flash?

Once Barry understood his mother had to die to save the world, he went back to the moment he saved her. (That was the single cross point between the original timeline and the new one he created.) Once there, he removed the can of tomatoes he’d previously placed in her shopping cart. Her death was the only way to save the world from General Zod and restore things as they were. It was tragic for Barry, but also necessary. He’d seen firsthand from Dark Barry, who’d spent countless lifetimes futilely trying to keep their mom alive without destroying the planet, that some things simply cannot be changed

Only, the original Barry couldn’t help but alter one thing in the past. And while it didn’t lead to the end of the world, it did lead to the beginning of the end for the old DCEU.

Why Did George Clooney Replace Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne?

Barry’s goal in the present was to exonerate his father Henry (Ron Livingston). Barry thought he finally had evidence to prove his dad didn’t kill his wife, but it was insufficient. Henry had been shopping during his wife’s murder, and Bruce Wayne used his technology to clean up the previously useless corrupted store security footage. Only Henry never looked up high enough for the camera to capture his face. Without that clear shot to establish his alibi he’d be doomed to a life behind bars.

So instead, moments after removing the life-saving/world-destroying can of tomatoes from his mother’s cart, Barry rearranged all the cans. He made it so the specific variety his father needed would be on the top shelf. That meant Henry would look up high enough so that camera could capture his face. He did, resulting in him going free in the present.

Henry Allen walked out of court a free man. And outside that court Barry Allen discovered what else he’d done by moving those tomato cans. His friend (played by Ben Affleck) had once again been replaced as Bruce Wayne. Instead of the Caped Crusader who helped Barry get his dad out of jail, the Flash found a different, quite dapper Bruce Wayne instead. “Who the f***” was it? It was George Clooney, who originally played the role in 1997’s much maligned Batman & Robin.

Why The Flash Did Not Fully Establish the DCU

The Batfleck is (seemingly) gone, but Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is not. Barry explained to his very drunk fellow Justice League member about what he’d done to the timeline and to Bruce in the film’s only post-credits scene. (Which established both that Barry didn’t undo his tomato can switch and that no one else in this new timeline remembers the old Bruce.)

Clearly the franchise is not the same one it was before The Flash started. But there’s probably a zero percent chance 62-year-old George Clooney is going to be the DCU’s new Bruce Wayne either, so clearly the movie did not end with a total reset.

Something else (or elses) is going to lead to whomever ends up as Batman in the DCU eventually. That means Momoa’s presence only confirms he’s still Aquaman for now. (He does have a sequel coming after all.) Clearly lots more will change eventually, we just don’t know when they will. We just know how they might.

How The Flash Paved the Way for the DCU

The DCEU/DCU is a place of countless dimensions and timelines. Multiple Supermans and Batmans all exist at the same time on many parallel worlds. And Barry Allen can change or destroy all of them by going back in time. He could seemingly even make it so he’s a totally different human in his own timeline, just as he changed Bruce Wayne.

So while The Flash didn’t entirely bid farewell to its old franchise anymore than it said hello to its new one, whenever James Gunn and Peter Safran decide to fully establish their new superhero era they have a very fast way to do it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at  @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Before The Flash, the last time we saw Ezra Miller’s version of the Fastest Man Alive was in 2017’s Justice League. (Aside from brief cameos on the CW Flash series, and Peacemaker of course.) Yes, we saw an extended cut of Justice League in 2021, but they filmed all of that footage years prior. Six years have passed since the League was formed, and it’s alluded to that a similar amount of time has passed in the in-universe timeline. In some ways, The Flash is a de facto Justice League sequel. So which of the main Leaguers do we see in the final film? Actually, a surprising amount, aside from the title character himself. Let’s go through the Justice League roll call, outside of our titular lead hero.

Batman

The Bruce Wayne of Barry Allen’s reality, played by Ben Affleck, is still an active member of the Justice League. His darker-hued costume from Batman v Superman and Justice League has been replaced by one that’s blue and grey. It’s reminiscent of the one from the comics during the ‘70s and ‘80s. It seems this Batman is more of a superhero and less of a vigilante. We see him as he helps stop a terrorist group from releasing a deadly virus. This is definitely a Dark Knight who’s not afraid to appear in daylight.

Special mention: It seems Batman’s right-hand man, Alfred Pennyworth, played once more by Jeremy Irons, is the Justice League’s “man in the chair.” We’re not sure if that qualifies him as a League member, but he’s at least an honorable mention.

Superman

As far as we know, Superman is still a member of the Justice League during the events of The Flash. They reference the Man of Steel several times. However, Alfred reminds Barry that he’s currently too busy to lend him a hand in his current predicament. When Alfred says this, the camera pans to a TV showing Superman stopping a natural disaster somewhere. Sadly, we only see him from the back, cape flowing, so no Henry Cavill cameo. Although Cavill does appear via stock footage in the Speed Force time bubble. But Superman is definitely still a Leaguer. He’s just a very busy and in-demand member.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman appears in a cameo during the terrorist attack on Gotham City in the film’s opening action sequence. When all hope seems lost, and it looks like Batman and Flash are losing, Princess Diana shows up with her magic lasso and saves the day. It’s a very brief appearance by Gal Gadot, but she proves she’s the League’s MVP, and then flies away. Interestingly, even though Diana realized she could fly in Wonder Woman 1984, and flies in The Flash, she seemed to have forgotten this power in BvS and Justice League.

Aquaman

Aquaman is mentioned several times as a Leaguer, but there is no sign of Arthur Curry until the post-credits scene. When Barry returns from changing reality, we see him out at a bar with Jason Momoa’s King of Atlantis Arthur has a hard time handling all these multiverse shenanigans being told to him, and gets totally plastered. Not only is Aquaman in this film, but also his father, lighthouse keeper Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison), makes an appearance in the altered timeline. In that scene, he confirms to Barry that he never married an Atlantean princess and fathered Arthur. But he does have a dog named Arthur. Who did not appear to have any powers. (That we know of).

Cyborg

Although Victor Stone gets a mention a few times, specifically when Barry Allen is trying to find him in the altered timeline, we don’t see him at all. If he’s still a League member, it’s not explicitly clear, but they imply that he is. Given Cyborg actor Ray Fisher’s extremely harsh feelings about Warner Bros. over his treatment on the original Justice League, this is perhaps not very surprising.

New Members?

As far as we can tell, the League didn’t recruit a single new member between Justice League and The Flash. And Barry does confirm that years have indeed passed since then. Despite Bruce and Diana saying the Justice League meeting table had “room for more” at the end of Justice League, as far as we can tell, no Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, or Hawkgirl ever joined up. It remains a Magnificent Six. Well, a Magnificent Six plus Alfred.

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Without a doubt, the biggest influence on The Flash film is the 2011 DC Comics event series Flashpoint. In that storyline, written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Andy Kubert, the recently returned from the dead Barry Allen uses his super speed to go back in time, in order to undo the murder of his mother when he was a child. When he returns to the present, this act of changing the past alters everything in his timeline. His Batman is different, his Wonder Woman’s and Aquaman’s kingdoms are at war, and so much more. And it’s almost all for the worse. Barry realized he must allow his past to unfold as it did to restore the present he knew. If you’ve seen The Flash, then much of that synopsis sounds very familiar.

This event comic ultimately led to a new prime DC universe, known as “The New 52.” Flashpoint was a seminal story, one that really changed everything. Both the current film The Flash and the CW television series of the same name did their own versions of Flashpoint. But Andy Muschietti’s The Flash also carries a big influence from a previous mega DC event comic, Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. In fact, outside of the “going back in time to save mom” plot, the sci-fi plot mechanics of The Flash more closely resemble those in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Flashpoint: Barry Allen’s Time Travel Tragedy

In Flashpoint, Barry Allen changes races backward in time into his past, resulting in a new future. Or for him, a new present. In this reality, things were far darker. For starters, they shot Bruce Wayne in the alley instead of his parents, thereby making his father Thomas Wayne into Batman, and his mother Martha into the Joker. Superman never arrived in the Kansas cornfield, and instead was captured by Soviet Agents. But in both The Flash film and Crisis on Infinite Earths, something different occurs thanks to Barry’s interference. Barry’s meddling in the past collapses several distinct timelines into one, changing history from even before the event of his mother’s murder.

The Flash and Crisis on Infinite Earths, Two DC Sagas of Colliding Timelines

In Crisis on Infinite Earths, distinctly different Earths suddenly merged. The Justice Society of America from World War II once lived on its own distinct parallel dimension, Earth-Two. Meanwhile, the modern-day Justice League lived on Earth-One. With Crisis, these worlds and their histories merged. The JSA was still a part of history, but its Superman was erased from the timeline, and replaced with another. No one but a handful of heroes knew that this shared history was something created as a result of the Crisis. The Flash borrows from this story, with Barry’s universe now having a totally different Batman (Michael Keaton), replacing the one played by Ben Affleck. This was far more of a Crisis reference than a reference to Flashpoint.

When Worlds Collide

Of course, the biggest Crisis influence came towards the climax of the film. When the two Flashes are moving through time, we see multiple realities crashing into each other around them. We see the heroes of these realities on various time globes, for lack of a better word. All of which just brings to mind George Perez’s classic cover of Crisis in Infinite Earths #5. Only in this instance, the worlds we see feature the heroic figures not from comics, but from DC’s multimedia past—George Reeves as Superman, Adam West as Batman, and Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater as Superman and Supergirl, respectively. And the biggest fun surprise, we saw Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel from Superman Lives, Tim Burton’s unmade ‘90s film.

The final main plot beats of both the Flashpoint and Crisis on Infinite Earths comics are largely the same however. And they seem to also be the same in The Flash. A new DCU universe with a new history emerged from all three stories. One that kept some elements from a previous continuity, while overwriting others. It remains to be seen just what James Gunn’s new DCU keeps from the old continuity. But at least some things will remain. Aside from a new Superman and Batman, we don’t really know much else at the current time. Will Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman stay? How changed is Jason Momoa’s Aquaman? We have a lot of questions still. But without a doubt, The Flash owes a great deal to Marv Wolfman’s and George Perez’s game-changing classic.

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It’s one of the coolest scenes in The Flash (and DC film history), period. Towards the climax of the film, when the multiple versions of Barry Allen are traveling through the Speed Force in an attempt to change history, or not change it, we see various timelines bleeding in. And all of them are familiar to fans of the long history of shows and movies based on DC Comics characters. This DC Multiverse scene offers cameos of some of the most iconic actors to ever play members of the Justice League, including several who are no longer with us. And we are gonna break down all the DC multiverse cameos in The Flash right here.

Superman (George Reeves)

Although not the first actor to play the Man of Steel (that would be Kirk Alyn, who played Superman in the 1940s serials), George Reeves became an icon in The Adventures of Superman TV series, which ran from 1952-1958. A show that then ran for several decades after in syndication. Although several episodes were shot in color, they filmed most in black and white. And so, the DC Multiverse version we saw in The Flash of George Reeves’ Last Son of Krypton was seemingly in a black-and-white universe. We’re not sure if it’s logical, but it sure feels right.

The Flash, Jay Garrick

One of the more perplexing DC cameos in the Multiverse scene is the original Flash, Jay Garrick. As DC Comics fans are aware, he was the speedster of DC Comics’ Golden Age, operating from 1940-1952 in the comics. The Jay we see here was shot in black and white. Just like the George Reeves Superman. It looks like this was actor Teddy Sears, who played the fake Jay Garrick from the CW Flash series. He turned out to be the villainous Zoom. But why not John Wesley Shipp, since he was the real Jay Garrick in the show? Not to mention, the first live-action Flash, period. We don’t know the answer, but whoever the actor is, that is definitely the original Golden Age Flash running through the Multiverse.

Batman (Adam West)

If you blink you might miss him, but the original cinematic Batman, Adam West, appears in the Multiverse scene. And yes, thanks to the 1966 Batman movie, which was a spin-off of the TV series, that means West was the big-screen Caped Crusader over two decades before Michael Keaton. We didn’t notice Robin there with him, which is a shame, because it’s hard to imagine Batman ’66 without him. But the so-called “Bright Knight” is definitely there in his blue and grey tights, fighting the good fight.

Superman (Christopher Reeve)

For an entire generation, the late Christopher Reeve was the ultimate Superman. First appearing in Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman: The Movie, and its three subsequent sequels, Reeve’s portrayal is still thought of as one of the greatest superhero performances on screen. In his appearance in The Flash, it looks like he’s brought to life via archival footage and CGI. Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, fans clamored for Reeve’s Superman and Keaton’s Batman to appear in a movie together. And now, that collaboration is sort of real.

Supergirl (Helen Slater)

Sasha Calle was not the first cinematic Maid of Might. No, that honor goes to actress Helen Slater, who played Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee in the very campy 1984 movie Supergirl. And later, Slater played the CW Kara’s adoptive mother on the TV series Supergirl. It was set in continuity with the Christopher Reeve Superman films. Although sadly, the pair never appeared on screen together…. until now, that is. Thanks to The Flash, the Kryptonian cousins fly together past the Metropolis skyline at last, thanks to some digital trickery.

Superman (Nicolas Cage)

In the biggest shocker of a cameo in The Flash, Nicolas Cage appears as Superman. And he’s fighting a giant spider too. As fans may know, they cast Nic Cage in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives way back in 1997. The film’s producer Jon Peters wanted his version of Superman to fight a giant spider. A giant spider he managed to work into his next film, Wild Wild Wet. Director Kevin Smith famously shared this story, which went viral. But that movie never happened. Now, at long last, Nic Cage gets to wear the cape and tights of the Man of Steel in The Flash. We can’t wait for the inevitable action figure.

Sadly, not every iconic live-action DC hero could make the final cut. Director Andy Muschietti admitted that there were plans for Marlon Brando’s Jor-El from Superman: The Movie, as well as some of the villains from Batman ’66, like the Joker and the Penguin. Perhaps the most brutal cuts were the removal of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman and Grant Gustin’s Flash. (The latter feels especially egregious, given the nine years he put into playing the role on TV.) Maybe we’ll see them in a future “Extended DC Multiverse Cut” of The Flash. After all, the world is no stranger to longer versions of DC films finding a way to happen.

The post Who Are All The DC Multiverse Cameos in THE FLASH? appeared first on Nerdist.

With The Flash film finally upon us, positioning Barry Allen as the fastest hero on the silver screen, it has us wondering. Who is the actual fastest Flash in DC comics? While most would say Barry Allen as a certainty, given his positioning as the most well-known Scarlet Speedster, the actual answer might surprise you. We count down the fastest speed heroes in the Flash family, from “least speed” to light speed.

Note: We are only counting the speedster heroes of the main “Earth-0” continuity of DC Comics. So no Flashes from alternate futures or parallel worlds who only appeared a handful of times. And no evil versions of the Flash, like the Reverse Flashes, Godspeed, or the Black Flash.

10. Iris “Irey” West (Thunderheart, Impulse II)

Wally West, the third Flash, has two young twin children with his wife, reporter Linda Park. Their speedster kid is Iris West, named after Wally’s beloved aunt Iris, but she goes by Irey. She and her twin brother Jai grew at a sped-up rate, but stabilized at around age eight. While her brother Jai channels speed energy into his muscles, making him strong, Irey has traditional super-speed powers. She originally took the name Impulse, until Bart Allen took the name back. She currently goes by Thunderheart. Still a small child, she can’t come close to the speed records of the other Flashes. But she has managed to run hundreds of miles in a mere ten seconds. Not bad for a little kid.

9. Max Mercury

Originally an obscure Golden Age hero called Quicksilver (name changed for obvious, Marvelous reasons), Max Mercury returned in Mark Waid’s fun of The Flash in the ‘90s. We learned that Max was a “speed guru,” and actually gained his speed through a magic spell, and not some scientific mishap. Born in 1819, he’s the oldest living speedster. And he was the first to discover and name the Speed Force. Having spent years studying it, he understands the Speed Force intricacies better than most. Able to use acrobatic skills while tapping into his speed, he mentored both Wally West and Bart Allen in using their powers. Despite this, he can only run past Mach-1, the speed of sound.

8. Avery Ho (Flash VI)

One of the newest members of the Flash family, Avery Ho is the Flash of China, and a member of that country’s Justice League. She gained her powers in a Speed Force storm in Barry Allen’s hometown of Central City, which also created the villain Godspeed. After getting a better handle on her new abilities, Avery was asked to join the Justice League of China as their Flash. During a period when Flash Barry Allen vanished, Avery was recruited to take his place on in multi-dimensional team Justice League Incarnate. She can certainly keep up with the veteran Flashes, but is still not quite at their speed levels.

7. Jesse Chambers (Jesse Quick, Liberty Belle, Flash IV)

Jesse Quick, who also goes by the name Jesse Chambers, is a legacy hero like Wally West and Bart Allen. Her father was Golden Age speedster Johnny Quick, and her mother was his fellow superhero, Liberty Belle. Jesse inherited her dad’s speed, which she can access by reciting a certain speed formula as her mantra. She also inherited her mother’s super strength. This made her a formidable member of groups like the Titans and the Justice Society. And although she is pretty darn fast, she can only run at half-light speed. But while other speedsters may be faster, Jesse also has super strength, which gives her a leg up on some of the others. She very briefly took the name Flash from Wally West when he vanished, but this was for just a few issues.

6. Wallace West (Kid Flash III)

Believe it or not, there are actually two speedsters named Wallace West, both nephews of Barry Allen’s wife, Iris West. The elder one goes by “Wally,” and he’s the son of Iris’ brother Rudy West. The second is the son of her brother Daniel West, one of the Reverse Flashes, and goes by Wallace. Teenage Wallace became Kid Flash during the New 52 era of DC Comics, and inspired the Kid Flash we saw in the CW Flash series. Wallace has thus far proven to be pretty fast, able to move at superhuman speeds equal to the speed of light, or 186,000 miles per second. He may eventually surpass the other members of the Flash family in terms of his speed. But he’s still pretty new at this, and has a few miles to go before that happens.

5. Jay Garrick (The Flash I)

Created in 1940, college student Jay Garrick gained super-speed powers when inhaling the fumes of something called “Hard Water.” (Wait, isn’t hard water just ice?) He became the first superhero to call himself the Flash, and was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. But his high speeds were rather tame by modern standards, running at 20 times the speed of sound. Very impressive during World War II, but less so today. His successors would all run far faster than he could. He eventually learned how to run at much, much faster speeds after discovering the Speed Force, but he couldn’t quite match his successors. Who are all, frankly, far younger than he is. But he’s still pretty spry for a dude who’s over 100 years old.

4. Jenni Ognats (XS)

This speedster is the cousin of Bart Allen, a.k.a Impulse. She was born in the 31st Century to Dawn Allen, one of the children of Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen. Unlike Bart, Jenni remained in her future time, and joined the Legion of Super-Heroes, the teen champions of the United Planets. She can run at near-light speeds, vibrate through solid matter, and even time travel and cross dimensions by altering her molecular vibrational frequencies. She has not had as much training as her cousin Bart, so he has the edge on her speed-wise, for now. XS has not been seen for some time, and it’s unclear if she’s even still a part of mainstream DC continuity.

3. Barry Allen (Flash II)

Even though he’s the second hero named the Flash, for years, DC Comics has positioned Barry Allen as the “Prime Flash.” He set the stage for DC Comics’ Silver Age revival, and carried his own series for 29 years. In the 2009 limited series Flash: Rebirth, which resurrected Barry after more than two decades, they revealed that Barry actually created the Speed Force himself, from which all other speedsters derive their powers. That makes him the most important Flash for sure. But does it necessarily make him the fastest?

Barry’s top speed generates a multiversal constant power, allowing him to exist in every time and dimension at once. He once had to travel 9.4 million times faster than the speed of light when saving an entire city’s population from a nuclear explosion. And he’s outrun Death itself not once, but twice. So yes, he is one of the fastest being in existence. But still, Barry Allen is not quite the fastest speedster out there. That honor goes to another Scarlet Speedster.

2. Bart Allen (Impulse, Kid Flash II, Flash V)

Barry Allen’s grandson from the 31st century has had quite a tumultuous history. Born with Speed Force access in his very DNA, Bart was growth accelerated, and educated at hyper speed in the future, sent back in time to become the teen hero Impulse (later Kid Flash). Later, he became the adult Flash for a time, before dying and then regressing to puberty and becoming Impulse again. We know, it’s all pretty convoluted. But while Wally is now on record as being technically faster than Barry, by his own words, Bart will eventually become faster than he is, and is pretty close to it now. We know it’s controversial not putting Barry in the number two slot. But we are taking Wally West’s word for it and saying that Bart Allen is the second-fastest Flash.  

1. Wally West (Kid Flash I, Flash III)

For years, Wally West, the original Kid Flash, felt inferior to his predecessor Barry Allen upon taking the Flash mantle when he died in Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was because for many years, he could not match the super speed limits Barry had. He was only able to run at supersonic speeds, but not anything approaching the time barrier. Eventually though, upon discovering the power of the Speed Force, Wally West far surpassed his uncle and mentor Barry Allen in terms of velocity.

In the Flash War storyline, it was determined once and for all that Wally was faster than Barry. Unlike other speedsters, Wally is constantly mainlining pure Speed Force energy. He doesn’t need a cosmic treadmill to travel through time like Barry once did, and has even outrun death (in the form of the Black Flash) just like his uncle. In the series Flash Forward, it was determined that Wally West is the fastest being in the whole Multiverse. At least for now, as Wally is certain that Bart will surpass him one day. But for the moment, Wally West is the Fastest Man Alive.

The post Who Is the Fastest Member of THE FLASH’s Speedster Family? appeared first on Nerdist.

Movies don’t exist in a vacuum any more than the people who make them do. That’s never been more true of a film than The Flash, a movie many will justifiably refuse to see because of the abhorrent off-screen actions of its leading star. We all have our own personal line of when we can’t—or simply won’t—separate the art from the artist, and Ezra Miller easily crossed that for some long ago. Despite all the awfulness surrounding DC’s latest feature film, though, it’s still a movie with huge ramifications for a billion dollar franchise. Moreover, it’s one that thousands of others who’ve done nothing wrong worked hard on. And it features characters that mean a great deal personally to generations of fans. The Flash doesn’t merely belong to the Flash. All of which is why it ultimately needs to be evaluated on its own merits.

By that standard it’s unlikely to make anyone happy. Because if you were rooting for The Flash to be a huge disaster, it’s not. It’s never really bad. If instead, you were hoping for the greatest superhero movie ever, it’s not even close to that. The Flash looks unfinished and is thoroughly mediocre until it realizes it’s an emotional drama and not a comedy. Once it understands what it should have been all along it really excels with a moving and powerful story. But that might be the most frustrating part of what this movie delivers on screen. It wasted an opportunity to make something special.

The first two-thirds of The Flash plays more like a whimsical comedy than the intense emotional drama its trailers promised. That approach, which has been done far better by far superior superhero movies, is completely at odds with the very nature of the story being told. Barry Allen is a sad, awkward, lonely superhero who realizes he can go back in time. That means he can stop his mother’s murder when he was a kid, which would also save his wrongly convicted father from prison in the present.

That approach might have still worked if the movie’s dialogue and gags weren’t woefully mediocre. Some jokes occasionally land, usually the ones that come entirely from characterization. But far too many feel easy if not downright lazy. Others are more clever than actually humorous. And making it all worse is that there are just far too many of them. This movie only takes off when it takes itself seriously. Some of the funniest moments actually happen when it does, because they’re organic and character-driven in the moment.

One huge issue that is true even when the film is at its best is that its CGI often looks awful. There are sequences in The Flash that look far cheaper, unfinished, and downright terrible compared to anything Marvel Studios has put out during its current VFX problem era. (Yes, I saw Quantumania.) There are moments when both versions of Barry Allen are on screen that look so clumsy it almost feels intentional. Apparently someone destroyed the technology that believably put two Lindsey Lohans on screen at the same time in Parent Trap 25 years ago.

However, what’s really bizarre about the film’s special effects is that not all of them look awful. Some actually look great, like when Barry travels faster than the speed of light. Clearly DC had the ability to pull off good VFX. (As it has in the past and surely will again.) Apparently nine years of development just wasn’t enough time for this specific entry.

So how can a movie that doesn’t look good and is stunningly mediocre for 66% of its runtime not be outright bad? The Flash has a high floor even at its relative worst because of its characters and cast. And the other third of the movie—the portion that knows why we love these heroes and understands the nature of the story it’s telling—is genuinely excellent. I was bored to tears for long stretches, yet still very emotional at others.

Ben Affleck is really good in what is likely his final, short Batfleck performance. His Bruce Wayne, first introduced as bitter and angry, has arrived at a place that resemble the best version of the character. Meanwhile, Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle are both standouts who lift every scene they’re in. Keaton’s return as an older Bruce Wayne feels true to the character we once knew. He fully commits to the role. There’s also just enough of him that he’s a major part of the film without it being his movie. And Calle is so good as Supergirl it would be a shame if this is her only time playing her. She does so much as Kara Zor-El without a lot of dialogue. Her mere presence outshines the size of her role.

It also does an incredible job of making them feel like an actual team. During their big battle they have defined roles that complement one another. These aren’t four heroes (there are two Barrys) working next to one another during a big fight. They’re working together, in a way that makes sense and makes the sum greater than the parts. This element is strengthened by the movie’s opening sequence, when we see the regular timeline’s Justice League mostly working as a group of individuals with a common cause. The Flash understands what a team is in a way most superhero movies don’t, not even some of the best.

But the best part of The Flash comes when it embraces the heart of its story, which is a tragedy and not a comedy. Inevitably Barry Allen must face the consequences of saving his mother. That forces him to make an impossible choice. The way that happens is among the script’s smartest, most well-written moments. And it leads to the film’s most emotional scene. It’s when we finally get the movie we should have been watching from the start, the one that lives up to its entire premise about facing our past, who we wish we got to be, and who we are. Sometimes the most heroic thing we can do is recognize “not every problem has a solution.”

Which brings us to The Flash‘s biggest problem, the one that does not exist in a vacuum. This is Ezra Miller’s movie in every way. And if you can’t separate the art from the artist, nothing else matters. If you can’t root for the two Barrys because of who plays them, don’t bother watching this film. It’s not nearly good enough to even try and overcome your misgivings if you’re on the fence.

All the fun surprise cameos in (the multiple versions of) the world can’t overcome The Flash‘s problems. Neither can its performances and the powerful, smart, emotional scenes that show how good this movie could have been in a different timeline. Average writing, below average effects, and a refusal to embrace its emotional core make for a mediocre viewing experience far longer than The Flash provides anything great. And that would be true even if everything outside the vacuum of this movie wasn’t so awful.

⭐ (2.5 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE FLASH Drags as a Mediocre Comedy Before Briefly Taking Off as a Great Drama appeared first on Nerdist.

When you run at Mach 6 on a regular basis, you need really good footwear that doesn’t turn to ribbons after the first mile. Luckily, the Flash has such footwear, and it even matches his costume and logo design. Now, the folks at PUMA are releasing a version of Barry Allen’s running shoes for us regular, non-super-powered people. Say hello to The new PUMA x The Flash RS-X, featuring a design by the streetwear super heroes at BAIT. Inspired of course by “The Fastest Man Alive” and his upcoming feature film. Yes, they’re not designed for running at the speed of sound, but they still look pretty darn cool.

The must-have shoe is part of an expansive merchandise collection from Warner Bros./Discovery to celebrate the epic story of The Flash, hitting theaters everywhere on June 16. The new Flash-inspired shoes will retail for $120 a pair. You can check out images of the new PUMA x The Flash RS-X shoes right here.

Click To View Gallery

In the pages of DC Comics, the Flash actually had custom-made shoes that looked very similar to these. Designed of course by the scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs. After all, his yellow boots aren’t really suitable for a morning jog around the planet. They were a 20th birthday gift to the Wally West version of the Flash by his friends the Teen Titans. This took place way back in 1987’s Flash #1. But we’re pretty sure that Wally’s uncle, Flash Barry Allen, has a similar pair of high-endurance shoes just like these. As cool as the shoes from the comics were, these real-life ones are that much cooler. Just don’t try to beat the Flash’s speed records while running in them.

The new The Flash-inspired footwear will be available on June 14  at Foot Locker, Champs Sports, PUMA.com, and the PUMA NYC Flagship store.

The post These PUMA X THE FLASH RS-X Shoes Will Make You Want to Sprint appeared first on Nerdist.

Even though he’s not the first hero with the name the Flash at DC Comics—that honor belongs to the Justice Society’s Jay Garrick—many consider Barry Allen as the “prime” Scarlet Speedster of the DCU. Although Jay Garrick was popular enough to headline two comics of his own in 1940s, Barry Allen’s Flash began an Atomic Age renaissance at DC Comics, starting the Silver Age, and ushering in concepts that would lead to the Justice League, the Multiverse, and even the Marvel Comics boom of the ‘60s.

And for Flash’s three live-action media incarnations, the 1990 and 2014 TV series, and the current film The Flash, the man behind the mask has always been Barry Allen. These media incarnations have solidified him as the “Prime Flash.” But often, he’s almost just Barry Allen in name only. The faster-than-light hero with the biggest influence on all modern media versions of the Flash has been Barry Allen’s much younger protégé and successor, Wally West. In the comics, he was the only hero to wear the mantle of the Flash from 1985-2006. So why does Barry always hog the spotlight? For that, we go back to the beginning.

Barry Allen: The Baby Boomer Flash

Writer Julius Schwartz and artist Carmine Infantino introduced Barry Allen as a straight-laced, upstanding guy in 1956’s Showcase #4. He worked as a police scientist, which is old-timey speak for a CSI. When a lightning bolt struck him at the same time as various chemicals splashed all over his body, he gained super speed. For no other reason than to just do the right thing, Barry took on the superhero identity of the Flash. In terms of personality, however, Barry was as vanilla as they come. He was an unremarkable, even-tempered ordinary guy, who just so happened to be able to run really fast. His only personality “quirk” was that he was always late.

The Death of Barry Allen, the Rise of Wally West

In the early ‘80s, DC tried to inject the usually boring Barry with some drama and pathos, when his wife Iris West Allen was murdered by his nemesis, the Reverse Flash. In subsequent stories, Barry broke the superhero code and killed his enemy, forcing him to stand trial for murder. None of these storylines boosted Barry’s profile enough for DC to continue with the character, though. Instead, they chose the option of having Barry sacrifice his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 in 1985. He became DC’s patron saint. But that wasn’t the end of The Flash as a property. Far from it.

Like most big superheroes at DC, Barry Allen had a teen sidekick. When his nephew Wally West gained powers identical to his, the 13-year-old boy from Blue Valley Nebraska became Kid Flash. He and his Uncle Barry had many adventures together. However, he gained much more nuanced characterization as an older teen in the pages of The New Teen Titans. DC chose the 20-year-old Wally West to take over the Flash mantle when Barry died in Crisis. This was a milestone moment for DC, having a kid sidekick grow up and take over for their mentor. Wally finally fulfilled the promise of having a sidekick in the first place.

Wally West: The Gen-X Flash

When Wally received his own series with 1987’s The New Flash #1. The costume and powers might have been the same as his uncle’s, but everything else was different. Wally was a college dropout, a bit of a hothead, and more than a little bit selfish and immature. This Flash was barely out of his teens, and at first, actually charged for his services. He loved to openly flirt with the ladies, and dated an older divorced scientist named Tina McGee. Which was quite scandalous for comics at the time. Unlike Barry, Wally had to consume mass quantities of food due to his supercharged metabolism. The fact that he received his powers at puberty made him fundamentally different.

Wally, particularly under the guidance of writer Mark Waid, grew up fast. He embraced maturity when he met reporter Linda Park, his future wife, and discovered the Speed Force, the source of all speedster power. He was the Gen-X Flash, and Gen-X readers literally grew up with him. When producers of the animated Justice League series needed a Flash, they chose Wally. Even if his obnoxious, immature personality on the series was only based on very early Wally as Flash stories, nevertheless, it certainly wasn’t like any Barry we’d ever come to know in the comics. Despite this, Wally West wouldn’t be the main focus of any Flash live-action project. His long-dead predecessor Barry Allen kept getting that Hollywood call. And the first call came in 1990.

TV’s First Flash: Barry Allen (with Some Wally Influence)

When Flash got his own CBS TV series in 1990 starring John Wesley Ship, the network decided to go with Barry Allen and not Wally West as the protagonist, despite Barry having died in the comics five years prior. There are understandable reasons for this of course. Barry had a less cluttered origin story, and a job on the police force that easily lead to TV plots. Wally’s Flash was defined by Barry’s sacrifice and his time as his protégé. It was much easier to just keep things simple for TV. So they went with Barry.

But even that first TV version of Barry Allen was influenced by Wally West Flash comics of the time. His co-star and romantic interest in the series was Dr. Tina McGee, whom Wally dated in the comics. Barry’s classic love interest Iris West was a minor part of the pilot episode, and was then subsequently written out of the show. And TV Barry’s costume looked a lot more like Wally’s comic book outfit. However, most of Barry’s more straight-laced personality from the original comics was intact for the 1990-1991 series. But the influences of Wally were already felt.

CW and DCEU Flash: Barry Allen Spliced with Wally West

By the time the 2014 Flash TV series hit the CW, Barry Allen had been back from the grave for about five years. Nevertheless, outside of his origins as a CSI and his romance with Iris West, much of CW Barry’s personality and storylines came from Wally West’s time as the Flash. For starters, this was a much younger Barry Allen than we ever saw portrayed in the comics or the ’90s show. A large part of the Flash mythology on the show centered around the Speed Force, something that was discovered by Wally West and played a large part in his stories. There was never a hint of the Speed Force in the original Barry Allen comics. And certainly, Grant Gustin’s Barry is more lighthearted and humorous like Wally, far more than his often stiff comics counterpart.

But no version of Barry Allen is more Wally West in disguise than the DCEU version currently played by Ezra Miller. Yes, his Flash has the same origin story as comic book Barry, and works as a CSI too. But from his fast-talking and jokey attitude to his need to eat food constantly because of his hyper metabolism, to his slacker youth, this Barry is more like Wally than any other. More than any other live-action Barry Allen, he bears the least resemblance to his comic book counterpart.

There is only one aspect of Barry Allen’s modern TV and film persona that we can attribute to only Barry without Wally influence. That’s Barry’s mother’s tragic murder when he was a child, a tragedy he goes back in time to prevent. They added that wrinkle to Barry’s past when DC resurrected the character in 2009, to make him less boring and give him a more modern edge. Regardless of that change, modern media Barry Allen owes his nephew Wally West a great big thank you. Because he just wouldn’t be the same guy without him.

The post How DC Comics’ Wally West Influenced All Live-Action Versions of THE FLASH appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s been 31 years since Michael Keaton last wore the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight in Batman Returns. But after all this time, he’s back as Bruce Wayne in The Flash. As a way of celebrating his long-awaited return, Keaton was part of a special screening hosted by Empire Magazine of his 1989 Batman debut and the upcoming The Flash. At the Q&A, Keaton answered several questions about filming the original Tim Burton film, and how a certain iconic line was totally improvised on set. He explained the origin of “You wanna get nuts?? Let’s get nuts!” to the crowd.

“I don’t think ‘Let’s get nuts’ was in the script, that was me. That scene was never really that good as written, to be honest with you. That was one of the days when we went round and round. I think Kim [Basinger] is in it, me and Jack [Nicholson], nobody could ever find it. I thought, ‘Okay, pressure’s on, man. Pressure. Is. On.’ I thought he’d probably said, ‘Okay, I’m kind of cornered, I only have one way to go and I’d better let this character know that we’re gonna throw down.’

One of the other more famous things Michael Keaton invented for the big screen Batman is the idea that Bruce Wayne had a deeper, gravely voice when in costume. This was definitely not something Adam West did, and almost every other cinematic Batman has followed in Keaton’s footsteps here. Particularly Christian Bale in the three Christopher Nolan films. So what inspired the infamous Bat-voice? According to Keaton, it was really just logic.

“I actually bother people because I fall back to logic. And I remember standing there going, ‘Okay, how are we gonna do this?’ The scene was somebody standing right next to me and I said, this guy’s going to look at me and say, ‘Hey, it’s Bruce Wayne!’ It’s as practical as ‘How does the audience really believe that people don’t go, “clearly this is Bruce Wayne dressed up on a rubber suit…’ “

We are beyond excited to see Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader again The Flash. We can only hope it’s not the last time we see him in the black rubber suit. It’s an infinite multiverse, after all. And who wouldn’t want to see Keaton as “Old Man Bruce” in a live-action Batman Beyond project? To read more details on Keaton’s time making Batman, be sure to head on over to Empire Magazine for more.

The post Michael Keaton Reveals He Improvised Iconic BATMAN ’89 Dialogue appeared first on Nerdist.

An entire generation will always think of Michael Keaton as their Batman. And now, after over 30 years, he’ll be wearing the cape and cowl again for The Flash. His costume, although slightly altered for modern times, still has the familiar silhouette from Tim Burton’s classic films. Hot Toys is bringing the old/new Batman to life in a deluxe 1/6 scale collector’s figure. Is it just us, or can you already hear that classic Danny Elfman Batman theme? You can check out images of this new figure below in our gallery.

Click To View Gallery

The Michael Keaton Batman modern suit 1/6 Scale Figure features two brand-new, hand-painted portraits. Both of these are equipped with Hot Toys’ rolling eyeballs feature, allowing collectors to adjust the figure’s gaze. Owners of this figure can swap out the meticulously sculpted and ultra-realistic Bruce Wayne/Michael Keaton head sculpt for a cowled head, which includes interchangeable lower face plates to alter Batman’s expression. (He does have more than one, you know). This Batman figure stands at approximately 30 cm tall.

They’ve dressed the highly articulated 1/6 scale body in a detailed Batsuit, with two interchangeable fabric capes. These replicate the texture and detail of the updated Batman suit we’ll soon see in The Flash. The Dark Knight’s many accessories include his signature Bat-gadgets of course. These include a line launcher, a Batarang, a remote, a bomb timer, and more. The specially designed LED-illuminated display stand is perhaps the coolest addition. This deluxe collectible figure will set you back $305.00, and you can pre-order it now from Sideshow Collectibles. They expect the Batman modern suit figure to ship in July, 2024.

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A cinematic feature film for DC Comics’ The Flash was first announced way back in 2014. Since then, we’ve had several appearances of the Scarlet Speedster in movies like Justice League and Suicide Squad, as well as some TV cameos. Not to mention many seasons of a Flash TV series that gave us an enjoyable turn with the character. But ultimately, The Flash will arrive in theaters in 2023.

We guess we’ll have to wait and see The Flash before we think to hard about its sequel. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.

Title

Despite early reports that this film was to be called Flashpoint, based on the DC Comics event of the same name, it will simply be called The Flash. 

The Flash‘s Plot

Based on the DC FanDome 2021 trailer, it appears that The Flash is indeed loosely adapting the 2011 DC event series Flashpoint. In that story, Barry Allen uses his super-speed powers to run into the past, preventing his mother’s murder from taking place when he was a child. But when he returns to his present, he finds things are drastically changed. In the film version, it looks like Barry will somehow alter time and space and bring in Michael Keaton’s Batman from the classic Tim Burton films. Also, in this altered universe is a new version of Supergirl and at least one alternate Barry. Flash will also receive a new costume in the film, replacing the one he used in Justice League.

A poster reveals the Batman influence looming large in the world of The Flash. And the first trailer for the movie cemented that notion.

At a recent screening of The Flash, Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti discussed a possible sequel for the franchise and how it could fit in with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s newly restructured DC Universe. The director and producer had this say about the idea of The Flash 2:

We didn’t talk about it. I think that we’re all waiting to see how this movie does. Of course, there’s excitement about continuing the story, especially if this movie is successful. Of course, there’s an architecture in DC that is brewing and it’s being created. And the question is, will this new architecture absorb this story? The good thing about the multiverse is that it is possible. The multiverse allows all of these different worlds to coexist and interact, and so, hopefully, yes, I mean, we don’t know yet. That’s the truth.

Additionally, the creators noted of The Flash itself and its future, “We can’t predict the future; everything that we hear is gonna happen is very exciting. We don’t know much more than you do, honestly. But again, this is a movie about beginnings and not endings, and we certainly hope so.”

Behind the Scenes 

In the years since the film’s initial announcement, many directors have come and gone. However, It and It: Chapter two director Andy Muschietti helms The Flash. The film’s final screenplay is from Birds of Prey and Batgirl screenwriter Christina Hodson, with a story by Hodson, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein.

The Flash‘s Cast

Ezra Miller returns to his role as Barry Allen/Flash, alongside Kiersey Clemons (Iris West), Sasha Calle (Supergirl), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Antje Traue (Faora), and two distinct Dark Knights—Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as their universes’ respective Batman. And given the multiversal aspect of this movie, we do expect some surprise cameos. Perhaps Grant Gustin might appear? Only time will tell.

The Flash’s Release Date

The Flash speeds into theaters on June 16, 2023.

Originally published on March 8, 2022.

The post Everything We Know About THE FLASH Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Recently, Nic Cage went on the record saying he didn’t need to be part of the MCU. Because, well, he’s Nic Cage. But apparently, being Nic Cage won’t stop Nicolas Cage from being in the DCU. Because, well, he’s Nic Cage, but it’s about time he is also Superman. Nic Cage is, of course, his own kind of Superman every day. But Cage almost played the Man of Steel in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives over two decades ago. The movie, of course, did not come to fruition. But now Nicolas Cage will become Superman, and he will do so by having a cameo in The Flash.

The Flash‘s director Andy Muschietti recently revealed to Esquire Middle East, “Nic [Cage] was absolutely wonderful. Although the role was a cameo, he dove into it.” Muschetti also noted, “I dreamt all my life to work with him. I hope I can work with him again soon… He is a massive Superman fan. A comic book fanatic.”

Cage recently revealed that in Superman Lives, his version of Superman “was more of a 1980s Superman with like, the samurai black long hair. I thought it was gonna be a really different, sort of emo Superman, but we never got there.” Honestly, we can dig it. But we don’t yet know how closely this emo version of Superman will resemble the cameo character that Cage will play in The Flash. However, we would like to see Cage with long black hair blasting Taking Back Sunday. Batman and Spider-Man have both gotten to go emo before. So why not Superman?

You can see a little glimpse of what could have been/what will be below. The video reveals Nicolas Cage doing some costume tests for Tim Burton’s Superman and maybe gives us a glimpse into his The Flash looks to come. And yes, we see the long hair and the eyeliner.

And soon, we guess we will get to see the real thing. Cage’s cameo and The Flash itself head to theaters on June 16.

The post This THE FLASH Cameo Is a Super Surprise Built Over Decades appeared first on Nerdist.

Barry Allen (both of him) will endanger the past, present, and future in his standalone film The Flash. Fortunately, he’ll have plenty of help from other legendary DC characters to help him restore the timeline. The Flash‘s final trailer is a mini-reunion of stars spanning generations. For the first time, Michael Keaton’s Batman isn’t the most prominent Caped Crusader on the job. That title belongs to Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight. And he has his own help, too. Jeremy Irons is also back as his loyal butler Alfred.

The Batfleck isn’t just back; he’s still leading the team of heroes that protect the world. But it will ultimately be another, older Bruce Wayne (and the best Batmobile ever) who will need to protect multiple worlds when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen races his way back in time. That attempt to prevent his mom’s death will lead to catastrophe. The Flash‘s final trailer definitely walks us through all of that. But for even more insight, here’s the film’s official synopsis from DC Studios:

Worlds collide in “The Flash” when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

Directed by Andy Muschietti (IT Chapters 1 and 2), the film will introduce Sasha Calle as Supergirl. It also marks the return of Michael Shannon’s General Zod. He’s joined by two additional DC alums, Kiersey Clemons and Antje Traue. And Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdú round out the cast.

The Flash—and its many Batmans—speeds into North American theaters on June 16, 2023. That’s when we’ll find out just how big this DC reunion really is.

The post THE FLASH’s Final Trailer Delivers a DC Reunion That Spans Generations appeared first on Nerdist.

Both the Barry Allen version of the Flash and the Kara Zor-El version of Supergirl helped usher in DC Comics’ Silver Age. An argument can be made that no two heroes exemplify the Atomic Age vibes of DC in the late ’50s/early ’60s more than this pair, except for maybe Green Lantern. But the Flash and Supergirl’s debuts, separated by only 2.5 years, did not result in the two heroes becoming friends or partners. Yet elements outside the story in the comic book pages have always tied them together long before they became allies on TV, or co-stars in films like The Flash.

The circumstances that led to these two characters happened at the same time. The mid-’50s was a tough time for comics. Congressional hearings were held on the dangers of comic books, several publishers folded, and those that survived, like DC Comics, held on by the skin of their teeth. When the dust cleared, DC knew it had to rethink things to survive. So even though the most popular comics of the day were horror and crime related, they leaned into superheroes once again. It paid off and the Flash and Supergirl were the headliners of this new DC era.

The Flash and Supergirl Usher in DC’s Silver Age

In Showcase #4 in 1956, DC decided to revive an old popular hero from the Golden Age, the speedster called the Flash. It had been four years since DC published a Flash story, and editor Julius Schwartz believed the character needed a reboot, long before that term was coined. He ditched the old costume, the old origin story, and even the old secret identity of Jay Garrick. Now, the Flash was police scientist Barry Allen, who gained his powers when lightning struck his chemical lab. Wearing a sleek red costume, he became the new Flash and the comic became an instant hit. Thanks to the Flash, superheroes were officially popular again.

In 1959, as sales of The Flash soared, DC pulled the same trick with Green Lantern, another World War II-era hero who got a total modern-age revamp. That same year, DC introduced a new addition to the Superman family in the form of Supergirl. She was Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, rocketed to Earth from Krypton just as her cousin was. Arriving on Earth, Superman set her up in an orphanage under the name Linda Lee. She became his secret helper for years. Eventually, Superman reveals her to the world with much fanfare. Supergirl became one of DC’s most popular characters overnight.

Running Super Fast, But Always Missing Each Other

The Flash and Supergirl were arguably DC Comics’ biggest new hits of the Silver Age, with arguably Green Lantern as third. There were other reboots of old characters, like Hawkman and the Atom. Not to mention entirely new ones like the Doom Patrol. However, the Flash and Supergirl were the ones fans seemed to take to the most. In fact, the Flash became an anchor for the new Justice League of America series, while Supergirl became a prominent member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics.

And yet, during the entire Silver Age and much of the Bronze Age (1970-1984), the two heroes barely interacted. The two shared a panel together in Superman in 1967, in a scenario where Superman seemingly died. Then later that year, Supergirl was among the crowd when Superman and the Flash ran their famous race. Did anyone introduce them? We don’t know. But the Flash and Supergirl would not have a proper team-up until 1977’s Super Team Family #11. Nearly two full decades after their debuts. Ultimately, the thing that would ultimately bond these two together in a meaningful way would be their deaths.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Kills Both Supergirl and the Flash

In 1985, DC decided to clean house. Totally dominated by rival Marvel Comics in sales, they felt that comics readers viewed them as old-fashioned and stuck in a particular era. So with the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC destroyed the old Multiverse to start fresh with modern takes on beloved characters. But the two characters who most symbolized the DC of old had to go. And those were the Flash and Supergirl. Kara heroically sacrificed her life to save the Multiverse in Crisis #7 and the Flash did the same in the following issue. The two iconic heroes who helped usher in one age of DC also ushered it out. And for decades, these deaths actually stuck.

21st Century Resurrections of Supergirl and the Flash

Although there would be new heroes named the Flash and Supergirl almost as soon as the old ones died, Barry and Kara remained dead for decades. But in 2004, DC decided it was time to reintroduce a new version of Kara to comics. Four years later, DC did the same with Barry Allen. These resurrections were a big deal, as Barry and Kara were considered some of the few sacred deaths left in comics. But their returns resulted in big sales and the long-dead characters were suddenly popular again. So would these two finally become friends after having such similar journeys? Well, aside from a brief flashback showing how the Flash showed Kara some super speed trick, not really.

In 2011, DC rebooted its universe once again, thanks to the series Flashpoint. That event comic is largely what inspired the story behind The Flash movie. This new universe and publishing initiative was referred to as “The New 52.” And finally, in 2013, Barry and Kara met and had an adventure, in Supergirl #16. It took one death and one resurrection, but the Flash and Supergirl met properly for the first time in decades. Were they friends this time? Actually, they spent much of this first meeting beating the crap out of each other. It would take another medium to make these two friends at last.

TV Finally Makes the Flash and Supergirl a Dynamic Duo

What really cemented these two heroes in the minds of fans as a duo like Superman and Batman was television. With the success of Arrow and The Flash, producer Greg Berlanti kept expanding his stable of DC series, now called the Arrowverse. While most of them were on the CW, one series landed on CBS. That show was Supergirl. Which, although produced by Berlanti, took place on a separate Earth from the one on Arrow and The Flash. After all, Supergirl’s existence required there to be a Superman. And both Green Arrow and the Flash lived in a world where there was no Man of Steel. Besides, they were on separate networks. That alone was a hurdle.

But Greg Berlanti overcame those hurdles and one of the first big multiverse crossovers of modern superhero TV happened when the Flash appeared on Supergirl in 2016. In the episode, the Flash (Grant Gustin) ran so fast that he vibrated into a parallel universe, where he met Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist). The two became fast friends, no pun intended. Their fun, playful banter was in stark contrast to how Superman and Batman interacted on the big screen at the same time. When Supergirl moved to the CW in season two, the crossovers came with frequency. Barry and Kara become best buds, and even shared a musical crossover episode together.

Barry and Kara Share the Silver Screen

Now, the Flash is getting a movie all his own at last. Although “all his own” is a bit of a stretch, since he’ll be sharing the screen with two Batmans. Not to mention the first big screens Supergirl since 1984. Once again, in public perception, the characters of Barry Allen and Kara Zor-El will be inextricably linked in the eyes of the public. In the end, it’s only fitting. Barry and Kara were “born” around the same time in comics, and “died” at just the same time too. And their resurrections were also concurrent. Oh, and they both can run really, really fast. It feels like these two should have always been friends. It just took until the modern era for the folks that write their stories to realize it.

The post The Strange Shared History of the Flash and Supergirl appeared first on Nerdist.

Superman has had, more or less, one costume his whole career. There have been some minor tweaks since the early days. But he’s essentially worn the same getup since about 1945. But his cousin Kara, a.k.a. Supergirl? She adds to her Kryptonian closet with some regularity. Here’s the history of Supergirl’s costume, from the 1959 “girl next door from space” look, to the badass Sasha Calle costume we will soon see in The Flash.

Note: Since the character has appeared in many costume iterations, we’re sticking to outfits worn by the main DCU comics character, not any alternate Earth or Elseworlds versions. So no Power Girl, who is almost an entirely different hero, and no Injustice Kara. And no one-offs, used for a single story then forgotten just as fast. We are including the movie and Arrowverse versions, as well as the animated ones, because they made a big impact and, in turn, the comics started to reflect them.

The Prototype Supergirl Costume

Less than a year before Kara debuted in the pages of Action Comics, DC tried out a Supergirl character to see if readers would respond in 1958’s Superman #123. DC had flirted with a female counterpart to Superman before, like in the ’40s when Lois Lane got powers. They created this Girl of Steel when Jimmy Olsen wished for a Supergirl to help Superman out by wishing on a magic totem. She died the very same issue they introduced her in. But readers liked her enough that DC introduced a real Supergirl one year later. She’d be just a footnote, if not for one thing. The costume she wore, which had a red skirt, would become Kara’s most recognizable costume. But Kara herself wouldn’t wear it until 26 years later in the Supergirl feature film.

Kara Zor-El’s Original Costume

The Supergirl most people know, Kara-Zor-El, first debuted in 1959’s Action Comics #252. When she arrived on Earth from Krypton to greet her cousin she wore this outfit, which remains one of her most iconic. She wore this particular costume for over a decade. It’s basically just her cousin Superman’s costume, but with a skirt and no pants. In many ways, this remains the most iconic Supergirl costume of all, except these days, most people think of it with a red skirt instead of blue. We’ll get to why in a bit. Oddly enough, Kara didn’t wear any version of her costume with a red skirt until 1983, nearly 25 years after her debut.

The Fan-Made Supergirl Costume Fashion

We know, we said no “one off” costumes. But this Supergirl costume phase was too important not to mention. In 1970, Supergirl fans started feeling like her costume was dated. The look she arrived in was a relic of the Leave it to Beaver era, and it was now a post-Woodstock world. So DC asked fans to send in their best costume designs. And the fans complied. They sent in dozens, and DC actually used a few of them. Since this was the early ‘70s, the aesthetics were, shall we say, very groovy. Most of these costumes were just worn once or twice. But one of them was the first time a Supergirl costume included pants. Something her prime-universe comics counterpart wouldn’t ever really wear until very recently.

The Cocktail Waitress of Steel

In 1972, Supergirl finally got her own comic book series instead of merely being a feature in the anthology title Adventure Comics. To celebrate, she got a new costume once again. Only this one stuck for the better part of a decade. It’s another costume very much of its time with a choker, low-cut blouse, and hot pants. Fans have often referred to this one as “the cocktail waitress costume.” As the decade rolled on, the hot pants became regular shorts and the pixie shoes became red boots like she had before. But the basic look remained for a decade. And this costume made it into much of the Supergirl merchandising of the time.

Kara Gets Physical in a Costume to Die For

In 1983, with production about to begin on a live-action Supergirl movie, DC decided to update Kara’s look for the MTV era. To reflect the workout craze, they have the Girl of Steel a perm and a headband. It was all very “Jane Fonda Workout” tape. Actress Helen Slater wore a version of this costume for screen tests, but the producers ultimately ditched the headband and the cape attached to the “S” symbol for the final film. However, they kept the red skirt, which people associate with Supergirl to this day. This costume only lasted a couple of years, but it was the outfit Kara famously died in saving the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985.

The Hollywood Costume

Supergirl finally made it into live-action in 1984, in a big-budget feature starring newcomer Helen Slater. A spin-off of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, it sadly totally tanked at the box office and was a critical disaster. However, more people still saw that movie versus reading any one Supergirl comic, especially once it went to home video and cable TV. So this costume instantly became Supergirl’s most well-known. Ironically, it was a costume first worn by the version of the character that was just the prototype, and not the Kara version everyone knows.

The Replacement Supergirl Keeps it Classic

Kara Zor-El was dead and buried in DC continuity from 1985-2004. But in the interim, DC introduced a different Supergirl to the Superman family. And her origin was a tad complicated. But here’s the short version. This version of Supergirl was a protoplasmic lifeform called Matrix that could mimic human appearance. She came from an alternate Earth, where that world’s Kal-El died, and Lex Luthor created her to replace him. She eventually “fused” with a human woman named Linda Danvers, becoming an angel on Earth. Yeah, “Superman’s cousin” makes more sense to us as an origin, too. In any event, the costume worn by this Supergirl from 1988 to 1998 or so is almost exactly the same one we saw in the movie.

The ’90s Supergirl Cartoon Costume

Speaking of the ‘90s, Superman: The Animated Series eventually introduced their version of Supergirl, in the 1998 episode “Little Girl Lost.” This version was Kara, but not Superman’s direct cousin. Instead of Krypton, she was a survivor of the neighboring world of Argo. Her costume was very of its time. Belly T-shirt, Doc Marten boots, a super mini skirt, and a headband that looked like Alicia Silverstone’s in Clueless. In a change of pace for Kara, her shirt was white and not blue. She also had white gloves, a first for her. The comics version of Supergirl, who was not Kara at the time but Linda Danvers, eventually adopted the costume herself. Another example of outside media influencing the comics.

Supergirl’s Costume in the 21st Century

In the early 2000s, DC decided it was time to reintroduce Kara Zor-El. They didn’t resurrect the original Kara, but reintroduced a younger version as a brand-new character just arriving on Earth. This Kara 2.0, designed by the late artist Michael Turner, essentially had the same outfit as her original counterpart did in 1959. Except she now had a bare midriff, much like Britney Spears would have in that era. The costume has more yellow highlights as well. If not for the ridiculously over-exposed mid-section and wildly short skirt, we’d consider this one an all-timer.

The New 52 Costume

In 2011, DC rebooted its entire universe thanks to the event called Flashpoint. The result was “the New 52,” a new timeline with a new Supergirl. She was still Kara, but now more Kryptonian, more aggressive, and with a very weird costume. It definitely evoked the Jim Lee era of early ’90s comics the New 52 was mimicking. Her cape made a statement with a very dramatic collar. But the boots that leave the knees exposed? The weird red diamond shape over the crotch? All that extra piping in the costume itself? This was an overdone look and we weren’t sad to see it go.

The Supergirl Television Show Costume

When Supergirl got her own live-action TV series on CBS (later the CW) she appeared in a costume that reflected what most people thought of when they thought “Supergirl.” So basically, actress Melissa Benoist wore a more muted version of the 1984 movie costume for the Arrowverse. Actually, it’s a cross between the classic version and the then-current DCEU Superman costume worn by Henry Cavill. So, bright colors were not “in” at this time. But everything else about this costume was fantastic, and worked well on screen for four seasons of television.

The Rebirth Uniform

In 2016, DC Comics undid the New 52, and go back to something more classic. This era was called “Rebirth,” and it was a rebirth for Supergirl as well. The militaristic look of the new 52 was out the window. With the success of the TV series, DC decided to give Kara a look that reflected her live-action counterpart. Except the colors were brighter, and more dare-we-say, comic booky. And this might be the best Supergirl costume yet. It’s also the one worn by the Girl of Steel in Tom King’s excellent Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series. Which will soon be a major motion picture.

The TV Costume, Take Two. Pants at Last!

In the final two seasons of the CW’s Supergirl, Melissa Benoist got something she’d been asking for since season one: pants. Yes, Kara got a new costume this season, which covered up her legs at last. Although Supergirl was barely ever allowed to wear pants in the comics, this outfit changed the game. It definitely drew inspiration from a short-lived costume from the early ‘70s, only it improved on it. The latest comics costume for Kara took a cue from Melissa Benoist and finally added pants. But in a shocking twist, she has no cape, and has a jacket instead! We’re not sure how we feel about that.

The Flash’s Supergirl Costume

Sasha Calle will play Supergirl in The Flash, and this Kara Zor-El is different from anyone we’ve seen before. Just from the trailers, we can see she’s definitely harder-edged, and her costume looks more than a bit like Henry Cavill’s version. Although she is Kara, her costume was inspired by a non-Kara version of the Girl of Steel. It’s strikingly similar to Injustice’s Lara Kent, the daughter of Superman and Lois Lane. If Sasha Calle’s Supergirl returns, we expect yet another costume. After all, as you can see, the Maid of Might changing uniforms is as normal for her as flying.

The post The Complete Supergirl Costume History From the ’50s to THE FLASH appeared first on Nerdist.

Soon, The Flash will give us something that superhero cinema has never shown us before: the multiverse! Kidding aside, the Andy Muschietti-directed movie will give audiences a fresh twist on DC’s iconic Flashpoint storyline. The 2011 saga from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert saw Barry Allen going back in time to try and prevent his mother’s murder. But he ended up breaking the past and the future in the process. And while The Flash will bring in many faces from DC Comics stories, some cameos did not make the cut.

The Flash will serve as the swan song for the current iteration of the DC Extended Universe. Newly minted DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have been candid about their plans to make a new unified DC Universe.

With The Flash serving as the end of an era, a lot is riding on its shoulders. Fortunately, the movie is pretty great, at least in the version that Nerdist screened at a special event. Director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti were on hand to introduce what they called not quite the final cut of the film.

While we’ll save our super spoiler thoughts for after the film’s release, the filmmaking siblings shared some juicy details with the audience. With trailers confirming the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Michael Shannon as General Zod, and the introduction of Sasha Calle as Supergirl, The Flash has plenty of iconic DC characters. 

And yes, the movie has even more cameos, guest appearances, and surprises for diehard fans of superhero cinema and comics. Andy Muschietti confirmed his initial assembly was four hours long. Therefore some choice cameos were left on the cutting room floor. When Q&A moderator Grae Drake asked the Muschiettis what characters or moments they couldn’t fit in the film, they obliged with a small sampling. The Flash cameos that unfortunately didn’t work out include Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman from the ‘70s TV series, Marlon Brando’s Jor-El from 1978’s Superman, as well as Burgess Meredith’s Penguin and Cesar Romero’s Joker from the 1960s Batman TV series. 

During the reception after the screening, Nerdist spoke to Andy Muschietti with a few other reporters. In response to a question from Dorian Parks from Geeks of Color, he confirmed that Grant Gustin almost had a cameo in the film as Barry Allen from The CW’s The Flash. Muschietti was very complimentary about what The Flash series accomplished. But unfortunately, there wasn’t room to include Gustin’s take on Barry Allen. Muschietti said, “Of course, as I said before the list of cameos…was huge. So obviously we played with the idea of including DC characters from TV, but we just had to pick.”

Sadly it won’t be Oops, All Barrys.

Nerdist also asked how Muschietti felt on his first day on set compared to the last day after such a long journey with this film with 120 shooting days. According to Muschietti, “It’s funny because the sense of accomplishment at the end is like, you feel like such a relief. At the beginning, you’re a ball of stress. Of course, it defuses after a few days. Every day is like an accomplishment. Then you relax and just keep going and going. It was a lot of fun.”

As for The Flash, the fun for audiences begins on June 16. Whether or not any of those cameos make their way back into the final cut, only time—or time travel—will tell.

The post THE FLASH Almost Included Lynda Carter, Grant Gustin, and Other Cameos appeared first on Nerdist.

The big reset at DC Studios is already underway. New co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have already shared their plan for transitioning from the DCEU to the DCU, but it won’t truly begin until The Flash comes to theaters. The time-traveling epic will change much of what we know about the franchise. But the movie’s newest, emotional trailer is the latest reminder The Flash only needs to do one thing to promote itself. And that has nothing to do with what it means for the DCU. It just needs to remind us it will bring back Michael Keaton as Batman. (It doesn’t exactly hurt the rest of the movie looks fantastic.)

Michael Keaton’s Batman should run for President. Does anyone, real or fictional, have a higher approval rating? This isn’t really his movie, though. It’s a super team up about what defines us and how we deal with it. He’s part of a much bigger story that will span time and multiple worlds. Here’s the film’s official synopsis for DC Studios:

Worlds collide in The Flash when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

Directed by Andy Muschietti (the IT films, Mama) with a screenplay by Christina Hodson, this trailer certainly makes it look like The Flash could deliver on Gunn’s hype. Its production predates his position as head of the DCU’s creative side, but he’s all in on this film. Before this latest trailer’s debut he called the movie “extraordinary.”

This trailer certainly is. As is the cast. Joining Ezra Miller and Keaton to save the multiverse from Michael Shannon’s Zod is Sasha Calle as Supergirl. The film also stars Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, and Antje Traue.

The Flash speeds into theaters in North America on June 16, 2023. But it’ll be even faster getting into ones internationally. It will arrive around for the rest of the world on June 14. Are we jealous? Of course! They get two extra days with Keaton’s Batman. We know fooling with the past causes problems, but any chance Barry Allen can do something about that?

The post THE FLASH Trailer Tackles an Emotional Past appeared first on Nerdist.

The Flash has run his last race. Or at least, the Grant Gustin version of the Flash has. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the CW series will end with a 13-episode abbreviated short season in 2023. This would make The Flash the longest-running (pun intended) Arrowverse series. Arrow, the parent series, ran for eight seasons. Here’s what The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace said about the show’s upcoming swan song season:

“Nine seasons! Nine years of saving Central City while taking audiences on an emotional journey full of heart, humor and spectacle. And now Barry Allen has reached the starting gate for his last race. “So many amazing people have given their talents, time and love to bring this wonderful show to life each week. So, as we get ready to honor the show’s incredible legacy with our exciting final chapter, I want to say thank you to our phenomenal cast, writers, producers and crew over the years who helped make The Flash such an unforgettable experience for audiences around the world.”

The Flash‘s final season will feature the return of characters and actors from across the Arrowverse. At one time, showrunner Eric Wallace hoped they could wrap some additional character arcs. In an interview with The Nerds of Color (which we spotted at Collider), he said they just didn’t have enough time, with only 13 episodes. However, he did add, “We’re still writing a series finale so you never know what could happen at the very end. Hope does spring eternal, but I just want to put that to rest.” Perhaps the cast from the beloved Legends of Tomorrow could still show up.

When The Flash leaves the air, it will effectively end the Arrowverse, as Superman and Lois was confirmed as being on a separate Earth. The news of The Flash ending doesn’t come as a great surprise to fans. Many of the original cast members had left the series over the past few years, including Carlos Valdez (Cisco) Jesse L. Martin (Joe West) and Tom Cavanagh (Harrison Wells). Add to that, co-star Candice Patton has expressed growing frustration with the series publicly lately, suggesting she probably was itching to leave. With Warner Bros. dropping a Flash movie next year, it makes sense they want less brand confusion. But for a whole generation, Grant Gustin will always be “their” Scarlet Speedster, so let’s raise a glass to Central City’s greatest hero.

The Flash will air its ninth and final season on the CW during the mid-season of 2023.

Originally published August 1, 2022.

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Michael Keaton is Batman. And he’s back. Keaton’s Caped Crusader made his official return before the Super Bowl in the first trailer for The Flash. It’s a good thing he still makes for a formidable Dark Knight, too. Barry Allen will need all the help he can. That includes from both himself and a Supergirl.

Star Ezra Miller’s mental health issues and legal problems have overshadowed The Flash for a while. But this fantastic trailer highlights the great work of the many other plays involved in the film. Seeing Michael Keaton’s Batman back in action is reason enough to get The Flash into theaters. (This is also true of the shelved Batgirl!) Plus, he’s bringing the greatest live-action Batmobile in history with him. And if that’s not enough, the movie will also introduce Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and mark the return of Michael Shannon’s Zod and Ben Affleck’s own Bruce Wayne. We get to see some exciting glimpses of them in the trailer for The Flash.

They’re all gathering for an epic adventure that will see multiple universes unite in what will be a very personal story for the film’s title character. Every version of him. Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros.:

Worlds collide in “The Flash” when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

Directed by Andy Muschietti (IT, Mama), The Flash also stars Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, and Antje Traue. It sprints into theaters this summer on June 16. (Well, it sprints after a marathon wait.)

It wasn’t an easy path to get to even this point. And there’s still plenty of time for more to go wrong before that release date. But at the end of that long road lies Michael Keaton’s Batman, which will be reason enough to tune in.

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The Flash is coming to an end after nine seasons. (Nine! And it all went by in a…well, you know.) But before the CW series says farewell it is going back to where it all started. Or rather, to the person who started it all. The Green Arrow himself, Stephen Amell, will reprise his role as Oliver Queen to partner with Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen one final time.

Deadline reports that Amell will make his final appearance (his ninth) on The Flash as Oliver Queen in episode 909. Amell will join David Ramsey (John Diggle/Spartan), Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally West/Kid Flash) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork), all of whom the network previously announced for the supersized episode. And Amell himself has confirmed the news.

The Flash is a spinoff of Arrow and part of the Arrowverse. It’s only fitting the two heroes will cross paths one more time before the show ends its long run. It would have been weird had it not happened. But it wasn’t clear the crossover would take place before the series called it quits. In a recent interview Amell made it sound as though his return might not happen. (Proving once again that we should never believe anything performers say about a possible cameo that makes all the sense in the world. Call it the Andrew Garfield Rule.)

Executive producer Eric Wallace told Deadline they wanted Amell back the whole time. “Everyone on Team Flash felt so strongly that it was important to create a full-circle moment with Oliver’s return in the final season of The Flash,” he said, calling the result “an epic-yet-emotional episode” full of “thrills, chills and tears.”

We also imagine it will be a whole lot of fun. Green Arrow has been part of Barry Allen’s story since before the show started. And with all the changes at DC, both characters deserve one final time to shine together before they say goodbye to the characters.

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Scientists turned the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) back on after a three-year shutdown. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle accelerator. Physicists and people interested in becoming superheroes alike are electrified by the possibilities. Let’s examine why this news, which comes to us from The Guardian, has so many people excited.

For physicists, the answer is straightforward. The shutdown left us with the cliffhanger of unfinished experiments and unanswered questions. The particle accelerator needed upgrades, which the pandemic extended. If all goes well, the Large Hadron Collider will run through the end of 2025. Just getting everything booted up will take about three months. After that, scientists will continue their search for dark matter, neutrinos, and other mysteries of particle physics.

For anyone more interested in the potential for superpowers, though, the LHC’s role is a bit more…theoretical. Particle accelerators are a popular threat or origin story these days as comics and older stories get updated to fit the times.

The Flash, Particle Accelerators, and The Large Hadron Collider

CW’s excellent show The Flash is an obvious recent example. In the Arrowverse, the particle accelerator at STAR Labs is at the center of nearly every superhero and supervillain origin story. Specifically, the explosion after Harrison Wells turns on his machine. Our soon-to-be titular hero even mentions that STAR Labs is “lightyears ahead of CERN,” which is the real-life agency in charge of the Large Hadron Collider.

When the particle accelerator malfunctions, antimatter and dark energy pulse through Central City. Meta-genes activate to create meta-humans by the thousands. Barry Allen becomes The Flash, putting his superpowers to use rounding up people who are doing bad things with their newfound abilities.

Team Flash uses the partially-destroyed building as their base of operations. In various episodes, the facility also functions as a hospital, a prison, and even a way to travel through time and dimensions.

Non-Sanctioned Uses for Particle Accelerators

The Justice League of America also uses a particle accelerator to bounce between parallel universes in their team up with the Power Rangers. Back in 2007, Spider-Man 3 gave us Sandman when an unlucky guy fell into a particle accelerator. His molecules bound together with sand. Neither of these are approved uses of the Large Hadron Collider. They’re also not the likely scenario of what happens if you find yourself in a particle accelerator when it’s running.

Angels & Demons included the CERN particle accelerator as a main plot point, even though it was still being built when the book came out in 2000. When the 2009 movie debuted, the LHC was about to be turned on for the first time. Antimatter captured by the collider threatened the Pope and all of Rome. CERN scientists worked with director Ron Howard and remarkably, much of the science is sound.

Long before any of these examples, the Ghostbusters wore particle accelerators on their backs. Proton packs are indeed portable particle accelerators. All that talk of not crossing the streams also has a basis in scientific reality. By design, a collider actually slams two streams of particles headlong into each other. The unpredictable nature of those in the Ghostbusters franchise is certainly not up to code.

There are a lot of fantastical uses (and misuses) of particle accelerators. Even the real-life versions like the Large Hadron Collider seem like science fiction. But it turns out that you’ve likely been in a room with a particle accelerator before. Today I learned that cathode ray tubes used in TVs and monitors until the early 2000s are in fact particle accelerators. Maybe all that time in front of the TV will give me superpowers!

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. If given superpowers, she would like to communicate with animals. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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2022 is going to be a big year for heroes. We always hope it will be in real life, but specifically on the big screen, we’re going to get a lot of capes and masks. In the new promo for DC Films, we see four pretty enormous releases for the rest of the year. We’ve all got The Batman on the brain, since it’s coming out in a few short weeks. But we’ll also have Black Adam, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to keep the heroism going. And we get our best look yet and some of the DC Comics favorites making their big screen debuts.

We’ve seen a good amount of this footage from The Batman before. And yes, we’re obviously super stoked about it. But what has me the most excited in this minute-long tease are the shots of the Justice Society members we see in the Black Adam footage. Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman spreads his wings; Pierce Brosnan’s Dr. Fate looking suitably regal; Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher bigger than buildings; and Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone looking like an absolute boss. Black Adam, from director Jaume Collet-Serra, will hit theaters July 29.

The promo has significantly fewer new cool shots from The Flash, but we do get to see Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) seemingly in different parts of his history. We also hear Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne (conveniently not pictured) ask why Barry would want to save this world if he could go to any parallel one he wanted. A valid question, surely. Andy Muschietti’s movie will come out November 4, so there’s plenty of time to see more.

Finally, we get a few shots from James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which mainly consist of Jason Momoa standing in CGI water. Still, it’ll be cool to return to that vibrant and truly buck wild undersea world. That movie has a scheduled release date of December 16.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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But before Flash traverses the various DC timelines in his film, he’s getting a prequel comic series this spring. The story leads up to the movie this fall. This April, writer Kenny Porter and artist Ricardo López Ortiz join forces for The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, a three-issue monthly series. The first issue features a main cover by Max Fiumara, with a variant cover by the director of The Flash, Andy Muschietti. You can read the official description of the new series below.

In The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, Barry Allen’s world-saving adventure with the Justice League has driven Central City’s favorite son to become a truly skilled and inspirational Super Hero. But a new threat by the name of Girder emerges in Central City. So Barry turns to Batman for advice on training to master his powers. Under the Dark Knight’s tutelage, The Fastest Man Alive will have to find a way to defeat this metallic menace. Or be crushed by Girder’s strength!

So, what can we glean from this information? Well, it looks like Flash will have his new costume before the events of the film. So, we might not see the Justice League costume again in live-action. But we’re sure plenty of other surprises are in store for us. The 48-page first issue of The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive arrives in comic shops and digital on Tuesday, April 26. Then in October, a collection of the series arrives, right before the movie, which premieres on November 4.

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One of the most highly anticipated movies coming from DC is the long (very long) awaited Flash movie. This puppy has been in development for over 17 years, since 2004. Long before they cast Ezra Miller in the role of Barry Allen or announced a Flash TV series for The CW. But in 2022, the Fastest Man Alive will finally get his “solo” film at long last. We say “solo” in quotes, because they jam-packed this movie with heroes. And at DC FanDome, we finally got to see many of them together in The Flash sneak peek.

Not only is Ben Affleck returning as Batman, but original big-screen Caped Crusader Michael Keaton is as well. And we’re meeting our new big screen Supergirl for the first time, newcomer Sasha Calle. Reprising her role from Justice League as Flash’s love interest Iris West is Kiersey Clemons.

Warner Bros.

This movie will explore the DC Multiverse and canonize earlier pre-DCEU films, such as Tim Burton’s Batman movies. We even got a behind-the-scenes look, which features our first glimpse of Keaton in the Bat-suit (from the back anyway) for the first time in 30 years. Not to mention, the classic Batman ’89 Batmobile… well. almost. It’s under a tarp. But we know that shape! And we also see that Ezra Miller will play more than one version of the Flash.

Warner Bros. 

They loosely based the film on Flashpoint, the 2011 comic book series where Barry Allen travels back in time to prevent the murder of his mother. In doing so, he ruptures the fabric of space and time, resulting in a heavily altered present. Could this film lead to a new, Multiversal Justice League in the DCEU? No one would confirm that, but we’re guessing it’s more than a possibility. We expect other big surprises in the final film as well.

Warner Bros.

Rounding out the cast for The Flash is Office Space’s Ron Livingston as Barry’s wrongly jailed dad, Henry Allen. He replaces Billy Crudup, who portrayed the elder Allen in Justice League. Maribel Verdú portrays Barry’s mother, Nora Allen. The Flash races to movie theaters on November 4, 2022.

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Who is your Batman? There’s only one answer for some: Michael Keaton in his iconic rubber Batsuit from the 1989 version of the film. That’s definitely how Stephen Colbert feels. The late-night show host had Keaton on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and admitted that the actor’s version is the one near and dear to his heart. But that didn’t stop him from lightly roasting Keaton about his turn as the Dark Knight.

“Did they have to let it out?” Colbert asked as the conversation turned to Keaton’s upcoming reprisal of Batman in The Flash. To this, Keaton responded with a resounding, “No!” And a majestically affronted face. He definitely created our next reaction gif, all that stand-up training shows through here.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

“Come on, it’s 30 years ago, really?” Colbert defends. But, come on, Batman can do anything! “Svelte as ever,” Keaton says affirmatively. Obviously, he won’t wear the same suit from 1989 in The Flash. But the dimensions, he confirms, have not changed with time. Batman might be just a human, but you can never count him out. And hey, rubber is stretchy, right?

Colbert and Keaton also discuss the idea of a Bat Club. A club that gathers all “the like 77 Batman” in existence. But Keaton says they’d have to unionize and get the ground rules in place before any formal meeting can take place. We’d sure like to be a fly on that wall when they do. As long as the bats aren’t hungry. What do you call multiple iterations of Batman in the same room? Is it Batmen? Regardless of semantics, somewhere out there, Gotham’s villains just got a cold chill up their spine.

But honestly, we think it’s an excellent pitch for a movie, The Batmen. Bring Keaton, Clooney, Arnett, Affleck, Pattinson, and more into a room together, and let’s see what happens. Of course, Michael Keaton’s Batsuit can come along.

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Looking back at 2020, we can’t identify a lot of fun days. Or even remember distinct days. But one event helped us escape for a bit: DC FanDome. DC Comics’ free, virtual fan experience showcased looks ahead at upcoming projects and featured fun interviews across film, TV, and comics. It was like a mini Comic-Con focused solely on the world of DC. The day flew by. DC FanDome garnered enough attention that DC Comics and Warner Bros. decided to pull a repeat for 2021. DC FanDome 2021 will take place on October 16, and DC and Warner Bros. just revealed the program.

DC FanDome’s lineup this time around includes more breaking news and exclusive trailers and announcements. Like, for example, an exclusive new trailer for The Batman. Fitting since we saw The Batman‘s initial trailer for the first time at FanDome 2020. Additionally on the DC films side of things we’ll get: new content from DC League of Super-Pets, a first look at Black Adam, a sneak peek at The Flash, and behind the scenes looks at Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. isn’t forgetting about the television side of things either. DC FanDome will have a celebration of 100 episodes of Legends of Tomorrow, looks at new seasons of Sweet Tooth, Superman & Lois, and more. Plus they’ll show a sneak peek of an upcoming episode of Stargirl. Moreover HBO Max has some material to share from the upcoming series Peacemaker and limited event series DMZ. The streamer will also have sneaks peeks from returning favorites Titans and Doom Patrol.

In the world of gaming, fans will get fresh reveals from Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. And then in animated series, we’ll see what’s up with the upcoming limited series Aquaman: King of Atlantis. Then there’s a sneak peek at the next season of Harley Quinn and early looks at Batman: Caped Crusader and Young Justice: Phantoms.

When it comes to the comics, DC publishing will honor Wonder Woman at FanDome with a spotlight on three upcoming titles: Wonder Woman Historia, Nubia and the Amazons, and Wonderful Women of the World. They’ll share updates on the return of the Milestone Universe and Batman: Fear State as well.

And yes, FanDome will be all-virtual and free again this time, too. Fans can watch DC FanDome at their site, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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Many of the “first wave” Arrowverse shows have come to an end, like Arrow, and soon, Supergirl. But still running along (no pun intended) is The Flash. And next season is set to start with quite a bang. Just announced via Deadline, it appears season eight will open with a special five-part event this November. One that sees many returning faces from different Arrowverse series. “Armageddon” will center on yet another alien invasion that needs Earth’s greatest heroes united to stop it.

Lending a hand to Team Flash are Javicia Leslie as Batwoman; Brandon Routh as the Atom; Cress Williams as Black Lightning; Chyler Leigh as Sentinel; Kat McNamara as Mia Queen; and Osric Chau as Ryan Choi. Tom Cavanagh and Neal McDonough will return as enemies Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk, respectively. This will be Cress Williams’ first time returning to the role since Black Lightning ended. It will also be the first post-Supergirl appearance from Chyler Leigh.

CW / Warner Bros. Television 

Notably absent from this crossover of sorts is anyone from Superman and Lois. Although it technically takes place within the Arrowverse, so far, that series has only made one reference to the rest of the CW superhero universe. Here’s hoping the Man of Steel surprises viewers and shows up to help out.

In a statement, Flash EP Eric Wallace said “Simply put, these are going to be some of the most emotional Flash episodes ever. Plus, there are some truly epic moments and huge surprises that await our fans. And we’re doing them on a scale that’s bigger and bolder than our traditional Flash episodes. So yes, “Armageddon” is a lot more than just another graphic novel storyline. It’s going to be a true event for Flash and Arrowverse fans, old and new.”

“Armageddon” will be the first Arrowverse crossover since 2019’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Flash season eight begins on November 16 at 8 p.m.

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Supergirl might soon be leaving the CW this year, but the DCEU is about to introduce its own Girl of Steel. Announced via Deadline, director Andy Muschietti has cast a new Supergirl, with The Young and the Restless actress Sasha Calle. She will make her debut in the upcoming Flash movie starring Ezra Miller. The Boston-born actress is of Columbian descent, and thus will be the first Latina to ever take on the role of Supergirl in live-action.

Muschietti presented Calle with the role over Zoom, and posted her reaction to his Instagram. As you can imagine, the young actress was very emotional at the news. Heck, you try not getting emotional at her hearing the news with John William’s Superman: The Movie theme playing in the background!

In a statement, director said “I saw more than four hundred auditions. The US, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia . The talent pool was truly amazing and it was very hard to make a decision, but we finally found an actress who was destined to play this role.” Due to the pandemic, all auditions were done via Zoom, including her audition with Ezra Miller. Supergirl’s intro is likely launching a solo spin-off.

DC Comics

We don’t know much about how Supergirl fits into the Flash film. Until now, there were no rumors that the character was going to appear in the Flash movie at all. While the main Supergirl in the comics has usually been Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, that might not be the case here. We know that The Flash will explore the Multiverse. This is how Michael Keaton’s Batman is going to appear. It’s quite possible that this Supergirl hails from a parallel world as well. She could be another version of Kara. But she could also be Lara Kent, the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. The possibilities are endless in the Multiverse!

Featured Image: DC Comics / CBS

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The surprise return of Michael Keaton as Batman for the upcoming Flash movie has opened up many possibilities. Many fans want to see him as “Old Man Bruce” in some kind of live-action Batman Beyond project (and so do we!). But another idea would have him reunite with Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Catwoman in Batman Returns. Who’s to say those two didn’t end up together?

Warner Bros. 

ScreenRant recently asked Pfeiffer is she would be interested in taking the whip and costume out of storage to reprise her role as Selina Kyle for The Flash. Here’s what she had to say: “I would if anyone asked me but no one’s asked me yet.”

First off, someone at Warner Bros.: please ask Michelle to come back as Selina Kyle! Secondly, let’s say she does return in some capacity. Imagine a scenario where Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle reunited after Batman Returns and married. And if so, it would be a perfect way to introduce a version of their superhero daughter Helena Wayne, a.k.a. the Huntress.

DC Comics

Now, some of you may be a bit confused reading this. Especially if you only know Huntress from the movie Birds of Prey or the Justice League Unlimited animated series, That version is Helena Bertinelli, not Wayne. She is the daughter of a Gotham crime family who became the vigilante called Huntress after her family’s brutal murder. She first appeared in the comics in the late ’80s and has been a mainstay of DC Comics ever since. But she’s not the original Huntress. That would be Helena Wayne, the adult daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.

The History of the Huntress

DC Comics

To explain this version of the Huntress, we need to go back to the Bronze Age of comics—roughly the ’70s and ’80s. During that period, the original World War II era DC heroes, the Justice Society of America, continued to live on the parallel world of Earth-Two. That includes the original Batman and all his friends and foes. Now relegated to their own separate Earths, they were allowed to age up. Batman got older and retired, Robin grew up, and Bruce Wayne eventually married Selina Kyle. The two had a daughter named Helena.

An adult Helena Wayne made her debut as a superhero in 1977. An old rival of her mother’s blackmails Selina into resuming a life of crime again as Catwoman; Selina does so and this eventually leads to her death. Helena decides to avenge her mother and starts a costumed heroic identity of her own as the Huntress. Even after bringing her mother’s blackmailer to justice, she continues her superhero career, following in her father’s footsteps. She partners with the adult Dick Grayson, who still goes by Robin. When Batman dies, she takes his place in the Justice Society.

The Death and Rebirth of Helena Wayne

DC Comics

Huntress was instantly popular and soon got her own series—of a sort. Huntress stories appeared as back ups in the pages of Wonder Woman. She heavily features in the the yearly Justice League/Justice Society crossovers as well. She even made a live-action debut years before more well known heroes in the ultra-cheesy television special Legends of the Super-Heroes. But in the mid-80s, DC decided to streamline their comics. That meant no more multiple versions of their main heroes. So Earth-Two was relegated to non-existence, and Huntress died helping to save the universe.

But of course, no one stays dead forever in comics. The Helena Wayne version of Huntress returned with a new Multiverse in the New 52 era of DC. And a few years prior to that, she appeared in live-action in the original Birds of Prey TV series. Only, in that series, she was Helena Kyle rather than Helena Wayne. Batman was still her father, but it’s not a fact she discovered until he died. Also, this version of Huntress inexplicably had super powers. But The Flash movie could give us the ultimate version of Huntress, as the daughter of the Burton-verse Dark Knight and Princess of Plunder.

Warner Bros.

Imagine how cool a Helena Wayne born from the union of Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman would be. In this reality, they both could have trained her to follow in their footsteps. Much like her original comics counterpart, Helena could struggle with the dark side of her personality she inherited from her mother. But unlike the comics, we wouldn’t kill off Selina or Bruce. Instead, they’d be mentors to Helena, and train her to be Gotham City’s new protector. They’d have big roles as her teachers as well as her parents.

The timeline for this scenario to play out fits perfectly. Batman Returns came out in 1992. If Bruce and Selina had a kid just a few years later, she’d be in her mid to late twenties now. All of this sounds like it would make for a great film, or a possible HBO Max series. Helena Wayne is a great character who deserves a return to the spotlight. And the Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer versions of Batman and Catwoman deserve their happy ending. Sometimes, the stars just line up for something like that to happen.

Featured Image: Warner Bros. / DC Comics

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One of the big revelations to come out of DC FanDome surrounded the upcoming (and long awaited) big screen version of The Flash. As fans have long suspected, the film will be at least somewhat based on Geoff Johns’ 2011 comic book series Flashpoint. Although many changes will be made, the spine of that storyline will seemingly remain the same.

Warner Bros.

Flashpoint finds the Scarlet Speedster going back in time to when he was a child to prevent the murder of his mother. In doing so, he alters reality in the classic “butterfly effect” sense. When he returns to his present, the world he knew has totally changed for the darker. Aquaman’s Atlanteans are at war with Wonder Woman’s Amazons. A young Bruce Wayne was murdered in Crime Alley, turning his father Thomas (who survived the attack in this timeline) into more extreme and violent Batman. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the changes in this grim reality.

DC Comics

T0 fix all these problems, Barry Allen goes back once more to allow his mother to die as she was meant to. While his reality reverts back to something a lot more recognizable, it still is not exactly the same as it was originally. This story allowed for DC Comics to soft-reboot their entire line of comics. This gave us what was referred to as “The New 52” era, since there were 52 initial titles in the launch. And if we were to guess, the DCEU is about to use this very same tactic with its The Flash movie.

At the FanDome event, producer Barbara Muschietti said of The Flash movie, “Flash is the superhero of this film because he is the bridge between all of these characters and timelines. And, in a way, it restarts everything and doesn’t forget anything.”

DC Comics

So what do we think this means? We think The Flash will “soft-reboot” the DCEU in much the same way as Flashpoint did re: the comics. What is working will remain in continuity, but what didn’t click with audiences will be altered, if not outright deleted. But The Flash character will remember it all, so it will all still “count” (to him, and ultimately to us as the viewers).

When DC Comics launched the New 52, they were at a crossroads. Sales were not great on several DC titles, so the entire line felt stale. So the higher-ups used the Flashpoint event to restart books that weren’t working. When Flash restores his proper timeline, the more successful titles—like Green Lantern and Batman—reverted to their normal continuity, while the likes of Wonder Woman and Superman underwent huge changes. It was the “have their cake and eat it too” approach.

DC Comics

The DCEU is in the same pickle now. A lackluster response to Batman V Superman and especially Justice League means that a reboot of the cinematic DC universe is in order… but one that spares huge hits like Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Thus, the Flashpoint approach is the answer.

If the upcoming The Flash movie follows the premise of the comic, Barry Allen will go back in time to stop his mom’s murder and return to the present to find that the universe has changed. (This will probably explain why Michael Keaton’s Batman replaces Ben Affleck’s Batman.) Thus, he’ll have to repair his timeline, but won’t be able to fix everything. Almost assuredly, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman will stay as they we know them. But this storyline just might erase things like the theatrical version of Justice League entirely.

Warner Bros.

This means that Warner Bros. could bring back Henry Cavill as Superman, but could also change whatever they wanted to about his recent circumstances without worrying about continuity. It also means they could totally replace Cavill with a new Man of Steel should they choose, and similarly not concern themselves too much if everything doesn’t “match.” They can keep Affleck’s Batman or replace him with Battinson. And no matter what they change, the presence of The Flash as a constant would underline that everything we’ve seen still happened—in a manner of speaking—and still “counts.”

Of course, there are pitfalls to this approach. The haphazard style of the New 52 continuity in the comics eventually became unwieldy and hard to follow. But it’s one thing to maintain a new and coherent continuity across dozens and dozens of comics over several years, and quite another having to do the same thing with just a handful of films a year. But we think they can pull this off. At the end of the day, it might be the most elegant approach to what could have been a much messier situation.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

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Since he first appeared in 1939, it’s been a given that Batman is the world’s greatest detective. At least within the confines of the DC Universe. But is he really? Or are those accolades actually unearned?

In today’s Nerdist Now, Dan Casey explores whether or not other characters in the the world of DC comics actually more deserving of the “world’s greatest detective” title. In fact, one of those character’s initials are actually “D.C.”

So, if not the Dark Knight, then who is DC’s top sleuth? A good argument can be made for several characters, many of whom have been around for years, proving their crime solving skills in story after story. Batman’s JLA buddy the Flash, a.k.a. Barry Allen, is an actual C.S.I. and several of his adventures have involved him solving cold cases no one else could crack.

DC Comics

There’s also Tim Drake, the third Robin. He deduced Batman’s and Robin’s secret identities while still in elementary school! At the very least, he’s the only Bat-sidekick who can give Bruce Wayne a run for his money in this department. He may have already surpassed his mentor.

DC Comics

And then, there’s Detective Chimp. You read that correctly, DC has a detective who’s a sentient simian. Also known as Bobo T. Chimpanzee, this intelligent monkey has been referred to as the world’s greatest detective by none other than John Constantine (who is also in contention.) And there are other contenders for the title. Ralph Dibney, the Elongated Man, whose nose twitches when he “smells a mystery.” Either incarnation of the Question qualifies too. And J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, is an esteemed P.I. in his human disguise of John Jones.

DC Comics

Basically, Batman has many legitimate challengers for the honor of being the DC Universe’s greatest investigative mind. Luckily for him, he can take comfort in being DC’s smartest person. Unless that’s Mister Terrific. Or maybe Lex Luthor. Actually Bats, maybe don’t get too comfortable with any of your titles. Except for “World’s Most Emo Superhero.” We know you’ve got that one cinched.

Featured Image: DC Comics

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The collective jaws of DC fandom dropped with the announcement that Ben Affleck would return as Batman for the big screen Flash movie. Even more exciting: his Batman will appear alongside Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight. In the Vanity Fair article that dropped the news, director Andy Muschietti suggested that the world of Tim Burton’s Batman isn’t the only alternate Earth we’d see. Here’s what he had to say:

“This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid. It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.”

This quote suggests that we’ll see more than just one alternate DC Earth in the film. While I think it’s likely that only Keaton’s Batman will play a larger role in the narrative, the Flash film could rival last year’s CW Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover for sheer amount of DC live-action cameos. Down below are seven we’d love to see the most.

The Arrowverse Flash

The CW

The most likely DC live-action universe to appear would have to be that of the CW’s Arrowverse. And who better to represent the six CW DC-based shows than Grant Gustin as the Flash? After all, Ezra Miller and Gustin’s Flashes already met once in Crisis on Infinite Earths, establishing the big screen DCEU as part of a larger Multiverse. I’d say it’s time for a reunion. Besides, after seven seasons playing the Scarlet Speedster on TV, it is only fair to Gustin that he make some kind of contribution to any cinematic Flash endeavor.

The 1990s Flash

Warner Bros.

If Grant Gustin’s Flash gets to show up, then I think that the original live-action version of Barry Allen should too. I’m talking about John Wesley Shipp, who played him for one season of The Flash TV series in 1990-91. Now, fans who watched the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover last year know that Shipp’s version of the Flash died saving the Multiverse. However, a new Multiverse reformed after the events of Crisis, meaning another version of 1990 Flash may exist out there somewhere. If Grant Gustin shows up, we think Shipp should too.

The ’70s Wonder Woman

Warner Bros.

Speaking of Crisis on Infinite Earths, that TV crossover made reference to almost every single DC Comics-based TV series. From Batman ’66 to the 2002 Birds of Prey, almost everything got a shout-out… with the big exception of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman. Word was they were saving Carter’s Wonder Woman for something bigger. Could it this upcoming Flash film give Carter the chance to twirl her lasso like it’s 1977? We’ll forgive her not being in Crisis if she gets a big screen appearance in The Flash!

Richard Donner’s Superman

The CW

Richer Donner’s Superman: The Movie started it all back in 1978, so some kind of nod to that film should be in order. Obviously, Christopher Reeve is no longer with us, and we hope Warner Bros. isn’t tempted to bring back Reeve as Kal-El via CGI.  They have a solution staring them in the kisser: Brandon Routh played an older version of the Donner-verse Man of Steel already in Superman Returns.

Last year he reprised that role in last year’s CW Crisis on Infinite Earths event. That storyline explains how Superman became a darker version of the character based on the comic book series Kingdom Come. As the Multiverse is reformed at the end of the crossover, Routh’s Superman is seen again, smiling and wearing his traditional colors. Let’s see that version of Superman—complete with John Williams’ music—make an appearance in The Flash. Fans would lose their minds.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman

Warner Bros.

It’s highly doubtful that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy will get heavily referenced in The Flash, or that Christian Bale would make any kind of cameo. Bale seems very done with playing Batman, having once said that he felt that The Dark Knight Rises was a perfect ending for his iteration of Bruce Wayne. Nevertheless, the final movie in the Nolan saga did set up Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character to take over as Gotham’s new Batman. So why not fulfill that promise and give us a JGL cameo as the Caped Crusader of his own universe?

The Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern

Warner Bros.

As we’ve seen from Deadpool 2 and his own social media account, Ryan Reynolds has no problem poking fun at his big movie bomb Green Lantern. Based on how good-natured he is about it all, we think he’d hop on board for a cameo as Hal Jordan if it offered another opportunity to be self-deprecating about the whole experience. Just please, whatever they wind up doing, make that CGI costume looks better than it did in the actual Green Lantern film.

Joel Schumacher’s Batman

Warner Bros.

Like Ryan Reynolds, George Clooney has had no trouble making fun of the fact that his take on the Dark Knight in 1997’s Batman and Robin buried that franchise for years. Seeing as how he has a good sense of humor about it all, why not show up for a brief appearance as the Shchumacher-verse version of the Dark Knight? Or should that be the “Bright Knight”? And while we’re at it, bring along Chris O’Donnell as an older Robin. We’re pretty sure audiences would get a huge kick out of this.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

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It’s been a big week for The Flash. The upcoming DC Comics film has been in the works for a while now, but we’ve just started to get official details about the story. It is indeed an adaptation of DC Comics’ Flashpoint comic book series, which we’ve known. However, we learned a little more about how that will play out. Because we found out earlier this week that Ben Affleck will play Batman one more time for Flash’s big screen outing. Michael Keaton will be in the movie, too. And on Saturday at DC FanDome, The Flash star Ezra Miller joined director Andy Muschietti, producer Barbara Muschietti, and writer Christina Hodson (Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) to share a little information on the new film. More importantly, they shared concept art showing off Barry’s new costume. He’s due for a new suit, right?

Let’s look at that concept art first. Andy Muschietti shared this peek and said this costume is more organic. He pointed out you can see the light embedded in this suit. It was built by Barry’s friend Bruce Wayne. Because of course.

Warner Bros.

Over the course of the brief panel, the group really focused on the multiverse aspect of The Flash. A Multiverse 101 panel appropriately preceded this discussion. Hodson talked about how Barry is special because he has the ability to go back and manipulate time. He’s the only one of the heroes who can change his personal story. However, it comes at a cost. Andy Muschietti noted Barry’s incredible power, but that by changing the past he can deteriorate the space time continuum. That’s you know, a challenge.

And one big note Miller highlighted is The Flash is changing the status quo. “This film is immensely important because if you look around the DC universe you have all these characters that exist within their own bubbles,” Miller said. This movie will open the door to the multiverse as Flashpoint did in the comics. Miller added, “All these characters and stories can start to collide.”

The DC cinematic multiverse is going to be born out of Barry’s story.

Case in point: look at Michael Keaton’s Batman in the background of this concept art for The Flash.

Warner Bros.

The Flash is currently scheduled to speed into theaters in summer 2022.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of The Jedi Mind, available for pre-order now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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The saga of Batfleck is never ending! Even though there’s already a new Batman movie in the works in a completely different movie continuity, it appears Warner Bros. and DC are truly not finished with characters from the so-called Snyder-Verse. The long (some would say too long) gestating movie starring Ezra Miller’s version of the Flash is finally taking shape with It director Andy Muschietti. Earlier talk had Michael Keaton returning to the role of Bruce Wayne for the movie; now Vanity Fair has confirmed Ben Affleck, who played the character in three movies to date, will play an important role as well.

Warner Bros.

As has always been the talk, The Flash will be an adaptation of 2011’s DC Comics event series Flashpoint which saw Barry Allen meddle with the time-space continuum and encounter different versions of characters we know. There was a scene foreshadowing this eventuality in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; I’m told by many experts that 2016 was only four years ago. At any rate, Muschietti told VF that Affleck’s Bruce Wayne will play a key figure in the Flash movie.

“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before,” the director added. “It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

Muschietti also says in the piece that for the movie to have resonance for Barry, this Barry, the connection would need to be with Affleck’s Batman. After all, they’re the ones who had the rapport in Justice League and, “He’s the baseline,” the director said. “He’s part of that unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure. There’s a familiarity there.”

Warner Bros

The director also confirmed Michael Keaton will also appear in the movie. This will not only play with the DC timeline but also the multiverse. The CW series did this during its “Crisis” event last year. Muschietti says Keaton’s role will also be “substantial,” which has us guessing The Flash could be a fan-servicey movie. But we’re pretty okay with it.

Featured Image: Warner Bros

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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With the DC FanDome event coming up, many fans are wondering if there will be a secret announcement for a new Justice League project of some sort. A continuation of Zack Snyder’s Justice League? An animated revival? Well, here’s one Justice League project that it won’t be, but we desperately wish had been. A DC fan and YouTuber named AListProductions has created a trailer for the Justice League movie that never was, “hitting theaters in the summer of 1993!”

This fantasy JLA movie has the Joker (Jack Nicholson) teaming up with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), and Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Michael Keaton’s Batman, and TV’s Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) and Flash (John Wesley Shipp) team up to stop their deadly plans. You can check out the full trailer down below:

There are a bunch of great touches in this trailer. The start of it blends John Williams’ iconic Superman: The Movie theme with Danny Elfman’s theme from Batman. Which, in our humble opinion, are still the two best superhero movie themes of all time. Also, the old Warner Brothers logo inclusion is a wonderful little detail. Even if that logo was already out of use by 1993, nevertheless the vibe feels right.

AListProductions

Sadly, back in the day, none of the studios would have thought to make a superhero team up movie like this. But thanks to this fan made trailer, we can’t help but wonder what could have been. If only there had been some forward thinking thinking Warner Brothers exec. One who had pulled out all the stops, and called Christopher Reeve and Lynda Carter out of capes and tights retirement. A brilliant person who’d team them up with Batman. It might have given Jurassic Park a run for its money in 1993. Or, at the very least, made more money than Last Action Hero did!

Featured Image: AListProductions

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The heat of the summer is still bearing down on us, so of course it’s the perfect time to think about the holiday season, right? Yes, it’s Christmas in July, as the good folks at Funko have revealed a new wave of DC Comics themed Pop! vinyls via Twitter.  The comic book icons are all decked out in their holiday best, ready to be perched on your fireplace mantle this December.

Funko

For this Yuletide version of the Justice League, we’ve got Clark Kent revealing his Superman suit under his Santa Claus outfit, as well as Wonder Woman twirling her Magic Lasso. Only this Lasso of Truth is one made up of Christmas lights. The Flash is ready to head up Santa’s sleigh, wearing some reindeer antlers and working Rudolph’s red nose. These are all available for pre-order via GameStop. The Bat-family gets a handful of Pop! vinyls too, with Batman in full Scrooge mode (we call that typecasting). The Joker is the world’s most lethal Santa, and Harley Quinn is his faithful Elfin helper.

Funko

And as with all things Funko, there are also several exclusives. Hot Topic will have an icy-cold frozen Dark Knight, who seems to have had an encounter with Jack Frost. (Or maybe it was just Mister Freeze). Another Hot Topic exclusive is the Penguin doing his best Frosty the Snowman impression. And the Joker looks to be in full A Christmas Carol mode. He also looks ready to sing his rendition of “Jingle Bells/Batman smells.” You can pre-order this Target exclusive by clicking here.

Hopefully, this wonderful line of DC Holiday Pop! figures will add some more waves in the future. Robin already is clad in red and green, so he needs a Pop! too we think. For that matter, a Green Lantern figure that is creating a Christmas tree with his power ring seems like another no-brainer. The Spectre, Deadman, and Gentleman Ghost as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future anyone?

Featured Image: Funko

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With news of Michael Keaton reportedly in talks to return as Batman for the upcoming Flash movie, an exciting new world of possibilities seem to be opening up for the DC Cinematic Universe. Dan breaks down all the details in today’s Nerdist News.

What other DC characters would you like to see appear in the Flash? Let us know in the comments!

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Well after years of debate, not only does the mythical Snyder Cut of Justice League exist, but it now has an official release set for next year on HBO Max! Dan breaks down all the details on today’s Nerdist News!

Are you excited to finally see the Snyder Cut? Let us know in the comments!

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After the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths event earlier in the year, DC fans have been eager to see what crossovers the Arrowverse has in store for the future, and it looks like they finally have their answer! Dan breaks down all the details on the newly revealed event coming to the CW on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

What crossover would you like to see the Arrowverse tackle? Let us know in the comments!

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The CW has confirmed that their returning seasons and new shows will not debut until January due to the COVID-19 crisis. According to The Hollywood Reporter it’s a step the network has taken to “corona-proof its fall schedule.”

The CW

So what does that entail? Well, according to the report, The CW “will turn to acquired series, including Swamp Thing and Tell Me a Story to program in the fourth quarter. Supernatural will be the lone series that needs to return to production to launch in the fourth quarter, as it has seven remaining episodes of its final season yet to air, two of which still need to be filmed.” Other programming fans can expect to see in fall 2020 are shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, World’s Funniest Animals, Two Sentence Horror Stories, Dead Pixels, Coroner, and The Outpost.

The shows that will be returning or debuting in January when the “new season” officially begins include The Flash, Superman & Lois, the Walker Texas Ranger reboot Walker, Charmed, and Batwoman. The channel’s new midseason will begin later in the year with Supergirl and new shows Kung Fu and The Republic of Sarah. Returning midseason series include Legends of Tomorrow, Dynasty, In the Dark, and Roswell, New Mexico. If you’re wondering why any of this is happening, it’s because production has been halted. The coronavirus has thrown the industry into disarray and this gives The CW time to make its shows.

The CW

TVLine reported another interesting twist: the big CW superhero crossover will be much smaller. “It will be a smaller event than usual,” Chairman & CEO Mark Pedowitz shared. “We’re only planning a two-hour event. We’re talking about doing Superman [& Lois] and Batwoman together, with a lot of characters coming [in] from our other shows.”

This is all very interesting. We’re seeing the first glimpses of how TV and entertainment will change in a post-coronavirus world. It’s great that The CW is focusing on a healthy and sustainable way to make their shows. And we can’t wait for our faves to return.

Featured Image: The CW

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The COVID-19 crisis has affected us all in a multitude of ways. Aside from the personal and societal effects, the pandemic has impacted the entertainment industry. Companies and studios have moved or cancelled films, events, and conventions. For example, Marvel hugely shuffled their upcoming MCU release dates. And today Warner Bros. announced that they’re moving the release dates for multiple movies including The Batman, The Flash, and Shazam 2.

Warner Bros.

As reported by Deadline, Warner Bros. shifted their schedule in response to the current global pandemic. The biggest news is that the shape of the DC Comics movie universe is changing rapidly. Matt Reeves’ The Batman will now be released on October 4, 2021 instead of the original release date of June 25. After the massive billion dollar success of The Joker, which opened around the same time last year, WB is likely not too worried about this move. And it makes sense with The Batman’s London based production currently halted due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The next bit of DC news is that Andy Muschietti’s The Flash has actually been moved up a month to June 2022. And finally, the Shazam sequel has been moved back to November 2022. So basically it’ll be a while until we see what the next phase of the DCEU looks like post-Wonder Woman 1984.

Warner Bros. didn’t only move comic book movies though. They shuffled the Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, from its September 2020 release to March 12, 2021. That means it’ll be opening against Disney’s recently moved Raya and the Last Dragon. Other impacted films include Will Smith’s King Richard (moving to November 2021) and Baz Luhrmann’s eagerly awaited Elvis project. The film starring Tom Hanks has been dethroned by The Batman‘s new release date. It will now debut on November 5, 2021.

Warner Bros.

It’s unlikely these will be the last cinematic release slate changes. Keep checking back as we’ll be here with everything you need to know about the ever evolving landscape and how it affects your favorite movies.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

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When The Flash speeds into his 750th issue this March, he’ll be bringing along a truly epic roster of creators. This milestone book promises to visit numerous generations of speedsters and cover a large swath of The Flash mythos. While we’re eager to read all of these tales, it’s the reunion of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato that really has the lightning in our blood crackling.

DC‘s 2011 line-wide reboot known as The New 52 saw the company shake up all their titles with new creative teams, new directions, and new starting points. The Flash by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato quickly rose to the top of the pack and became a clear fan-favorite. Longtime readers loved the stunning artwork, and new readers were happy to have a palatable jumping on point. And that makes sense—let’s face it; for a comic about a dude who runs really fast, The Flash can be insanely complex and more than a little convoluted.

DC Comics

The New 52 made hopping into the world of The Flash easy, and that’s because of the stellar work from Manapul and Buccellato. Their run was nothing short of amazing and it’s been a bummer for fans like us that they hadn’t partnered up again until now… and clearly, they feel the same way. “It definitely felt like it had been too long,” Buccellato told Nerdist. “And although we always talk about doing our next project together, the realities of life and time flying by always seems to punt our collaborations down the road. So, until time slows down for us, or we are able to tap into the speed force a little, The Flash #750 was the perfect opportunity to jam together.”

When you read their pages in The Flash #750, it’s pretty clear that Buccellato and Manapul have stepped seamlessly back into their groove. This one of those special creative teams that leave a real impact on a character. For a whole generation of comic book readers, Manapul and Buccellato’s run was their very first set of Flash comics, and that is something worth celebrating. “Reuniting for this was an awesome experience for the both of us,” Buccellato said. “Francis called it ‘getting the band back together,’ and he was right… We picked up our instruments and started playing the way we used to. Like no time had passed.”

The Flash #750 hits comic book store shelves on March 4th, so you still have time to pre-order it. In the meantime, you can check out a preview of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato’s story below. It’s gorgeous stuff, which should come as absolutely no surprise. Speed through these pages and then get hyped for The Flash #750, as it’s going to be a hell of a ride. We’d also highly recommend revisiting Manapul and Buccellato’s original run on The Flash, as it was seriously fantastic.

Enjoy the pages below!

DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics

Images: DC Comics

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Is the Flash so fast that we’ve been getting his color’s wrong this whole time?

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The CW’s mega-crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths” has concluded, and the repercussions are being felt throughout the multiverse! Is it the biggest crossover event of all time? Dan monitors the situation on today’s Nerdist News!

Do you think there will be more crossover between the Arrowverse characters and the DCEU? Tell us in the comments!

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Director Andy Muschietti of It and It Chapter Two is the latest director to take on The Flash for Warner Brothers. There haven’t been many details about what his take on the Fastest Man Alive would be…until now. Recently, the folks at The Hashtag Show revealed that Muschietti’s big screen version of the Scarlet Speedster is going to adapt the storyline Flashpoint. However, he said his version of the Flash will be a “different version of Flashpoint than you’re expecting.”

This is the first confirmation that the live-action Flash film, which presumably will still feature Ezra Miller as the titular hero, is still adapting this well known DC Comics storyline.

Warner Brothers

An adaptation of Flashpoint could have huge ramifications for the DCEU, and could “fix” a lot of its current problems. For those of you out there that have never read it, Flashpoint was a 2011 DC Comics mini-series. It had Barry Allen travel back in time to stop his arch-nemesis the Reverse Flash from murdering his mother Nora when he was a kid. In doing so, he returns to his own time to find a drastically different present. In this reality, Aquaman’s Atlantis is at war with Wonder Woman’s Amazons; and Batman is Thomas Wayne, not his son Bruce. When Barry puts history right, he finds his reality was mostly back to normal. But still slightly altered. In the comics, this resulted in the New 52 line-wide reboot.

DC Comics

A movie version of Flashpoint could serve the same function for the movies as it did for the comics. Even if it doesn’t go as grand as the comic book story, the effect could still be the same for the overall DCEU. If Warner Brothers really wants to keep Ezra Miller as Flash, as well as Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, they still could. But by Flash tampering with the past, it could have changed aspects of the DCEU we’ve already seen. Maybe Superman never died in this reality, and the Justice League never formed in the wake of his death? This could also be used to explain the apparent continuity errors in the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, which feature Diana as a public hero, even though Batman v Superman stated she abandoned mankind after World War I.

Warner Brothers

The Flash television series also did their own version of Flashpoint, although the ramifications for the greater Arrowverse were not as huge there as they were for the comics. But there were some, and they lasted. If Muschietti plays his cards right, this could be the quick and easy solution to all the DCEU’s tonal problems. And it could explain away any differences in future versions of Batman and Superman. They could appear in the same reality that Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are a part of. Heck, Flashpoint could even explain away how James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad is a reboot of the 2016 film, even though it features much of the same cast! You can always just say Barry Allen “Flashpointed it away.” Works for me!

Featured Image: Warner Brothers

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We’re nearing the end of the year and making our top lists of movies of the decade and whatnot. But amid movies past and movies present, let us not forget the movies yet to come. Movies we might have heard about or suspected become reality faster than you’d think. Or, as is also common, ones we were sure to see suddenly go “poof” like some kind of cloud of donut powder. Warner Bros. has come through this fine December day (via Deadline) with a bevy of release date updates, announcements, and deletions for some of their biggest and most anticipated movies. It’s a Decemberween miracle.

The first major one is a release date for The Matrix 4. Lana Wachowski’s return to the saga that put her on the map will hit theaters on May 21, 2021. That movie will see returning series stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They’ll join newbos Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Frozen‘s Jonathan Groff, and human dynamo Neil Patrick Harris. How Neo and Trinity could possibly come back—given how they got dead in the last movie—is a mystery. But it’s a red pill we’re excited to take!

Warner Bros

Another movie we’ve been following (or not, as the case may be) is The Flash solo movie. It’s gone through roughly 53 different directors and writers as the DCEU gets back on track following Justice League. Now we know the Scarlet Speedster will hit the screens July 1, 2022. It director Andy Muschietti is still attached to direct with a screenplay from Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson.

The next movie in the Conjuring universe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, now has a release date. Clearly these movies don’t have a ton of lead time, because it’s going to come out in less than a year. September 11, 2020 puts it just in time for Halloween, and about a month before Blumhouse and Universal’s Halloween Kills. Gonna be a good year for horror franchise sequels.

Warner Bros

Some good news and bad news about the Mortal Kombat movie. The good news is, the movie’s release date has moved up, two months. The bad news is it’s moving from March 2021 to January 2021. Even as blockbuster season moves earlier and earlier in the year, January is still where movies go to die. Tough break, MK.

But with all this great news, we get some sad news. Taika Waititi’s live-action Akira is now no longer on the release schedule. It had been on the slate for May 21, 2021; that’s now when Matrix 4 is gonna happen. The Akira movie had also, according to Deadline, been allocated $18.5 million in California tax credits in the spring.

Toho

Akira, based on the Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark manga series and later groundbreaking 1988 anime, has been in the works for live action for decades. But with Waititi’s hiring, it looked like the movie would actually happen. It was supposed to go into production in July of this year. But, darn the luck, Disney wanted Waititi to return for Thor: Love and Thunder which has officially put Akira on the back burner. Now with it off of the slate, we imagine it’ll be a while yet before we finally see it. And maybe Disney’s just flexing because James Gunn has to finish The Suicide Squad for WB before Guardians 3.

Featured Image: Warner Bros

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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Update 12/10/2019

We are in full Crisis mode now on the CW, with parts 1 and 2 having just aired. We’ve seen Clark and Lois from Smallville, and even met an unhinged Batman, played by Kevin Conroy. But what will happen in part 3?? The CW has now released a preview for the mid crossover finale, which takes place on The Flash. And this third episode brings none other than Black Lightning into the fray! Can you spot any other Easter eggs? Remember, we’ve got more surprise guest stars on the way….spot any clues?

Update 11/19/2019

The folks at Entertainment Weekly have revealed an new batch of pics from the CW’s upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, this time revealing some brand new details about the many guest stars we will see. You can check several of the more noteworthy images below:

This is our first look at Smalville’s Tom Welling as Clark Kent as he’ll appear on the series. Will we see him suit up as Superman? He definitely looks to be on the Kent farm in this photo. Hopefully a cape is in his future.

CW / Warner Brothers

Lois, Clark, and Iris West on what looks to be the same version of the Kent farm as Tom Welling’s Clark is on. Will we find out which Earth Smallville takes place on finally?

CW / Warner Brothers

Brandon Routh’s elder Superman, standing behind a framed newspaper describing the attack on the Daily Planet that killed several employees. This is a direct reference to the Kingdom Come graphic novel by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.

CW / Warner Brothers

Kevin Conroy’s Bruce Wayne also seems to be a direct reference to the Batman from Kingdom Come. Are he and Routh’s Superman on the same Earth? It appears to be the case! Batman v Superman 2.0 anyone?

CW / Warner Brothers

Update: 9/15/2019

The CW, via Entertainment Weekly, have released several photos from the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. And just like the comic book it was based on, there’s a lot of shots of heroes standing together looking concerned at the upcoming cosmic upheaval. Not only do we see our regular heroes like Green Arrow, the Flash, Supergirl, White Canary, Batwoman, and Superman,  but also some of our new characters from the original Marv Wolfman comic like Harbinger are present in these pics as well.

I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY’RE FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!
THE FIRST PROMO PICS FOR “CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: PART 1” ARE HERE!!!!!! ??#CrisisOnInfiniteEarths pic.twitter.com/gSfhvJU8Wd

— CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS || THE FLASH S6 (@SuperFlashXS) November 15, 2019

We also get our first photo of the Superbaby, as we have a pic of Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively. And the first appearance of their son Jonathan Kent. The Kent family is said to be the focus of the upcoming Superman and Lois series for the CW, which is currently in development.

Clark, Lois, and baby Jon in ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’! pic.twitter.com/oQB0ACkf29

— Thomas Polito (@thomas_polito) November 15, 2019

Original Report

Crisis on Infinite Earths will be the most epic of the CW DC Universe crossover events to date. It will involve five different shows on the network, and will take two months to complete its story. The first three hours of Crisis will unfold over episodes of Batwoman, Supergirl, and The Flash, and will air in December. After a break, the storyline will conclude with Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, which will air the back-to-back finale in January.

The CW/Warner Bros Television

Crisis on Infinite Earths is considered the most epic storyline in DC Comics history, and totally redefined the DCU in ways that were previously unheard of back in 1985. Many major heroes like the Flash and Supergirl were killed off, and many of them even stayed dead for years (a true comics anomaly!). It is a seminal moment in DC history, and now the CW plans to replicate it with a series of episodes that should carry huge ramifications for their Multiverse going forward.

But just who and what can we expect from this ultimate DC television event? Read on as we separate the truth from the rumors, and everything in between.

Which Arrowverse Shows Are Involved in Crisis?

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Basically, all of them. Unlike last year’s crossover “Elseworlds,” which only crossed over The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl, this year the whole gang is on board for the ride. That means Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and even Black Lightning, which thus far has not crossed over with any of the Arrowverse shows. However, while the character of Black Lightning will appear, his actual series won’t be a part of the proceedings.

The episode order goes like this:

Supergirl on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m
Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.
The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m.
Arrow on Tuesday, Jan 14 at 8 p.m
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on Tuesday, Jan 14. at 9 p.m.

How Closely Will It Stick to the Comics?

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Apparently, it will only be loosely based on the original 12-part comic book series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. This makes sense; that series used essentially every character in the DC Universe and was very dense story-wise, and the CW shows don’t have nearly that kind of access to all of DC’s pantheon of characters. But one can expect to see the broad strokes of the comic: the ancient being called the Monitor gathers heroes from across the Multiverse to help defeat his brother the Anti-Monitor.

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In the comics, the Anti-Monitor seeks to destroy and consume the many positive matter universes with his anti-matter universe. All that still appears to be in play. Also, characters created specifically for Crisis like Pariah (played by Flash’s Tom Cavanagh) and Harbinger will be a part of the crossover. So a certain amount of adherence to the comic should be expected. The ghostly hero the Spectre was also involved heavily in the original Crisis comic, and he’ll be part of the proceedings too, played by actor Stephen Lobo.

Which Guest Stars Can We Expect?

What seems to be the most heavily anticipated part of Crisis is how much it is going to pull from all of DC Comics-related media from the past several decades. Both Tom Welling and Erica Durance are reprising their roles from Smallville, as Clark Kent and Lois Lane respectively. Brandon Routh will do double duty as Legends’ Ray Palmer/The Atom and Superman from Superman Returns. His Superman will now be one reflecting the future we saw in DC Comics’ Kingdom Come series. And CW semi-regulars like Tyler Hoechlin,

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Burt Ward is also coming on board, presumably as the older version of his Robin character from Batman ’66. Kevin Conroy, who voiced the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series will portray an older Bruce Wayne. And even the short-lived DC series Birds of Prey will be represented with Ashley Scott reprising her role as Huntress.

Rumored by Deadline (but not confirmed) is the involvement of Lynda Carter as “some form of Wonder Woman.” Robert Wuhl is also rumored to play Alexander Knox, the reporter from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, firmly setting up those films as an official part of the DC Multiverse. Oddly enough, no word yet on Dean Cain and Teri Hetcher playing Lois and Clark again, despite both actors appearing in Supergirl in recent years. Characters from DC Universe’s Titans are also rumored to cameo. And there are sure to be other surprises.

Will The Flash Die? What About Green Arrow?

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Ever since the first season of The Flash, we’ve known that Barry Allen was set to perish in a great Crisis sometime in the future. Originally, that Crisis was supposed to happen in 2024, but recent time shenanigans have pushed up the date to 2019. In the second episode of The Flash’s sixth season, Barry got a glimpse of his own death in the future, which resembles how he dies saving all reality in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8. Given that his TV series is probably not going to end anytime soon, we expect Barry to get better if he does in fact kick the bucket.

As for Oliver Queen, Arrow is indeed officially ending with this season. So if we were to venture a guess, we think that Green Arrow will actually be the hero to sacrifice himself for the good of all reality. After all, he doesn’t have a show to come back to next year. And for this crossover to remain true to the spirit of the original comic, there need to be some big noble deaths.

Will Crisis Consolidate the CW Multiverse?

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Unknown. In Arrow, we’ve already seen the destruction of Earth-2 early in season eight, echoing the destruction of Earth-3 in the original Crisis comic. In the comics, many of the better known DC Earths were ultimately destroyed and then consolidated into one world. We could see The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman’s “home base” of Earth-1 combining with Supergirl’s Earth-38 into a singular world. However, we highly doubt the entire Multiverse is out of the picture. Because Black Lightning works best as its own Earth, as does Titans.

One thing is for sure, though: just like in the comics, The CW’s Crisis will heed the tagline. “Worlds will live. Worlds will die. And nothing will ever be the same.”

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