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With Ezra Miller and Andrés Muschietti giving it their all, it seems that The Flash is on its way to winning the hearts and minds of everyone out there in just a couple of days. The Scarlet Speedster's debut film is already making waves thanks to a compelling story and wonderful performances. The thing is, there are a lot of things that set it apart from DC Comics' Flashpoint, the source material where the movie gets its main premise. We take a look below at what sets the film version apart from the crossover event that changed DC Comics more than a decade ago.
5 massive differences between The Flash and DC's Flashpoint
DC Comic's Flashpoint explained
Back in 2011, DC Comics put out an event that revolved around Barry Allen going back in time to save his mother from the Reverse Flash. After doing so, he returns to the present with a different world than the one Barry left. In this alternate timeline, we see Cyborg become the premiere American hero in a world where Wonder Woman's Amazons and Aquaman's kingdom of Atlantis are warring against each other, sinking most of Europe in the process.
Barry would go on to seek the help of Thomas Wayne, the Batman of this reality, to gather enough heroes to prevent Wonder Woman and Aquaman from destroying the world and help set it right. It's then revealed from the Reverse Flash that Barry's time travel birthed this new world, and not from the villain's actions. Barry goes on to stop himself from changing the past, causing multiple timelines to merge into one in the comics. This event is called New 52 and acted as a reboot for the comics DC put out at that time.
5. The alternate timeline
As mentioned earlier, the timeline created in Flashpoint was way more drastic than the one we see in The Flash. In the comics, we see Barry come back to a world where Thomas Wayne is the Batman after a robber killed Bruce, and Cyborg is the most popular hero after Kal-El was captured by the government as a baby, erasing the concept of Superman in the process. There is no Justice League here, as Barry's time travel transformed a lot of heroes into alternate versions of themselves.
In The Flash, we see the most drastic change here is the introduction of Micheal Keaton as the Batman, instead of Ben Affleck's version. We also see Kara Zor-El as Kal-El's replacement and the primary opponent of Zods' Kryptonian forces. As it stands, this timeline change is way more tame than the one fans got in the comics.
4. A war between the Amazons and Atlantis
Along with the more violent timeline, the world DC fans got in Flashpoint saw Europe sink due to the war between the Amazons and Atlanteans. Due to a romance gone wrong between Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the two kingdoms waged war on each other as the whole world is about to break in two right before Barry went back in time to save the timeline.
In The Flash, we see this conflict adapted to Zod and his invasion of Earth, as seen in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Just like the Amazon-Atlantean War, the Kryptonian forces were on the verge of breaking the world, right before Barry went back in time to fix his mistake of saving Nora Allen. Although things played out differently in the Ezra Miller movie, the basic premise of the world being torn apart by war before Barry sets things right is retained.
3. Thomas Wayne
In The Flash, we see Michael Keaton return as Batman and act as the primary Dark Knight in the DC movie. We see the old and grizzled veteran aid the two Flashes as they try to restore the world back to its original state as Zod's forces threaten to break it apart.
The same premise exists in the Flashpoint event. This time, though, it's Thomas Wayne Barry meets and manages to secure his aid to change back the world. In the Flashpoint timeline, it's Bruce who dies during the Crime Alley robbery, an event that changes Thomas and transforms him into a much more violent Batman. Martha Wayne, on the other hand, was also broken down by the incident, leading her to become their world's Joker.
2. Kal-El instead of Kara Zor-El
The Flash finally gave DC fans their first look at the film version of Supergirl, as portrayed by Sasha Calle. In it, we see her being rescued by Batman and the two Barry Allens to help fight off Zod. But even with a powerful ally on their side, Batman and the Flashes are unable to defeat Zod. This leads the younger Barry to go back to the past multiple times to prevent the death of his friends from happening.
In the comics, it's a malnourished Kal-El Thomas Wayne and Barry end up saving from government captivity. Since he was captured as an infant and experimented on all this time, this isn't the same person we see in the films, as he is a shell of the hero he should be. Even with his limited state, the Flashpoint Kal-El ended up being the game-changer for Barry's group of misfit heroes as the newly-empowered Kryptonian helped stave off both the Amazons and Atlanteans during the climactic battle.
1. Reverse Flash
Perhaps the biggest difference between Flashpoint and Ezra Miller's The Flash is the final adversary himself. Instead of the Reverse Flash in the comics, the DC film reveals the antagonist is Dark Flash, an unhinged version of the younger Barry Allen who traveled back into the past multiple times to save his friends during the battle with Zod. Although the movie strayed too far with its choice of villain and ending, the change worked rather well and gave the story a more compelling twist to work on.
Even with all of these differences, it can't be argued that both The Flash and Flashpoint changed everything for their respective mediums. With the momentum on DC Studios' side, fans everywhere are hoping that this can lead to a better cinematic universe, much like what Flashpoint did for DC Comics back in 2011.
