Arrowverse Vs. DCEU: Which Had The Better Flash Costume? - Screen Rant

When Ezra Miller was cast as Barry Allen/The Flash for the DCEU's Justice League, fans of the Arrowverse's The Flash series starring Grant Gustin were surprised to see multiple live-action versions at once, though a later meeting between the two during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event satisfactorily revealed the character's existed together in DC's multiverse.

Now one of the biggest fan debates regarding the two Flashes regards their different takes on the classic comic costume. The original Arrowverse Flash costumes were created by Colleen Atwood while the DCEU suit was designed by Michael Wilkinson, so which cinematic offering had the better Flash costume?

10 Arrowverse: Sleek And Streamlined

The Flash costumes that have appeared in the Arrowverse have all been fairly streamlined and built for running, which was the in-series reason for the creation of the suit as it was built to withstand the high friction produced by Barry when he uses his super speed.

The various suits that appeared across The Flash on The CW experimented with different materials and design, but every version kept to the same streamlined look that worked so well for the character on TV.

9 DCEU: Armored And Powerful

While Ezra Miller's first appearance as Barry Allen was out of costume in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the reveal of his costume for 2017's Justice League shocked and impressed some fans with its bulkier armored look.

The Flash's DCEU suit took a more modern approach to the streamlining effect and followed similar lines as a fighter jet while also giving Barry Allen a powerful edge that allowed him to stand alongside his fellow members in the League and take on threats like the Parademons.

8 Arrowverse: Designed By Cisco Ramon

Barry Allen's transformation into the Flash on The CW's hit series wasn't experienced alone, as Barry soon brought in the smartest minds of S.T.A.R. Labs to help him analyze and test his new abilities and the changes to his body.

Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdez) was instrumental in the creation of the first Flash suit after Barry continued to burn through his civilian shoes and clothes while running. Cisco and the rest of Team Flash would continue to upgrade the costume each season for Barry, who occasionally had his own requests for improvements as well.

7 DCEU: Designed By Barry Allen

Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne in Justice League

The DCEU followed the comics more closely when it came to the costume creation in Justice League, as Barry Allen was the designer of his speed suit as he operated in secret without any allies, unlike his CW counterpart.

Barry assembled his Flash costume using available parts and pieces on his own without any outside funding, creating a makeshift suit that looked equally ready for battle and ready to fall apart at any given moment. The costume's armored appearance differed from most of his comic costumes, but it highlighted Barry's own intelligence and ingenuity well.

6 Arrowverse: Had More Variations

As Barry's suit seemed to get destroyed quite frequently on The Flash, Cisco used new technology, advancement,s and occasional help from possible futures to update and redesign the suit a number of times over the course of the series. Not to mention all the other speedsters On The Flash that his costume would influence as well.

Costume Designer Maya Mani introduced the first of a few new suits in season four that continued to update the costume with sleek new materials and designs while also experimenting with different helmets to ultimately land with one of the best Flash suits that have ever been seen in live-action.

5 DCEU: Still The Prototype Costume

The-Flash-Suits-Justice-League-DCEU-Flashpoint

When Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) first confronted the Flash about joining the team in Justice League, Barry had already constructed his costume through trial and error using the tools available to him, meaning his costume was still very much in the prototype phase.

Concept art from the upcoming solo The Flash movie has teased the next evolution of his costume after he is given access to the resources of Wayne Enterprises, which means that while The CW's version has found the perfect Flash costume for the series, the DCEU version is still working up to his own.

4 Arrowverse: Grew And Developed With The Character

From Barry Allen's first ridiculous test suit to his most recent comics-accurate Flash costume, fans have watched the Flash costume grow and evolve over six seasons of The Flash, with set photos from the upcoming seventh season teasing yet another change to bring the costume closer to the comics.

As the costume was updated and modified over the years, there were in-continuity reasons for each change that further explored the costume's comic connections and introduced aspects like Flash's Ring and the New 52's subtle costume alterations.

3 DCEU: Looked Great Next To The Justice League

The DCEU's version of the Flash costume didn't see much action on its own, as he didn't actually wear the costume until after he had joined with the team in Justice League and was placed into action quickly to deal with the invading Parademons.

Thankfully, Barry's armored costume fit in well alongside the rest of the members of the Justice League and their own individual costumes, which presented an armored and powerful look across the entire team that was mirrored by the DCEU's Flash.

2 Arrowverse: Represented The Scarlet Speedster Well

While Barry Allen has dealt with his share of tragedy over the years, the character has almost always been one of the brighter, hopeful characters in the DC universe whose humor stood out amongst his fellow allies, which was faithfully represented in The CW series.

Grant Gustin certainly explored the darker aspects of Barry's character with the Savitar storyline, though he was mostly a bright and shining star in the Arrowverse that other heroes admired, which was reflected in the ever-brightening red of the Scarlet Speedster's costumes.

1 DCEU: Represented The DCEU Well

2013's Man of Steel kicked off the DCEU with a darker, modernized take on DC's most popular hero that became the standard for the following films that shared the same muted color tones and mature themes explored in films like Batman v Superman and Justice League.

While the DCEU's Flash costume was much darker and edgier than its brighter comic counterpart, it fit perfectly into the established designs of the DCEU, which fans are hoping to see more of with Barry's new suit in the upcoming solo The Flash film.

NEXT: 5 Reasons We Need Ezra Miller's Flash (& 5 Why We Don't)

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About The Author

Scoot Allan (179 Articles Published)

Entertainment reporter, writer, and all-around geek, Scoot Allan has written for print and online media sources like Geek Magazine, GeekExchange, GrizzlyBomb, WhatCulture, RoguePlanet.tv and the Urban 30 before joining CBR, ScreenRant, GameRant and The Gamer as a staff writer. He enjoys salad but prefers french fries.