The Flash: DCEU's Barry Allen Isn't The Main Character — Theory Explained - Screen Rant

The first trailer for The Flash movie, which premiered during the DC FanDome event, sparked a theory that Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is not actually the film's main character. Although The Flash will be the first solo movie for the DCEU's Barry, he has already made small appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, and was one of the main characters in Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League, all of which made sure to establish the hero's main Speed Force powers. Yet, The Flash movie trailer suggests that Barry might be tapping into one of his most powerful abilities that has so far not been properly explained in the DCEU.

The Flash's most basic power lets him channel the Speed Force, enabling him to move extremely quickly, and in Batman v Superman and Zack Snyder's Justice League, Barry runs so fast that he can travel through time. The movies did not really address this power, and it seemed like Barry did not understand it too well himself. However, some of the elements from The Flash trailer, such as the presence of a second, longer-haired Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton's Batman, imply that Barry may have done something similar in this film.

Many of these details in The Flash movie trailer seem to be leading to an adaptation of one of Flash's most famous comic book storylines. Interestingly, the trailer repeatedly focuses on the long-haired Miller, who appears to be a different Flash from the DCEU's Barry, establishing the theory that Barry Allen may not actually be the main character. So who is this other Flash, and what does that mean for the upcoming film?

Who Is The Other Flash?

One scene in The Flash trailer shows a pair of yellow lightning bolts being spray-painted onto red boots, a design that contains a lot of similarities to the Golden Age Flash, otherwise known as Jay Garrick. Jay was the original Flash character created for DC Comics in 1940 and helped form the precursor to the Justice League known as the Justice Society of America. In the comics, Jay's speed powers originated from a lab accident where he inhaled the vapors of something called hard water, and his costume consisted of a lightning bolt on a red shirt and a helmet with tiny wings on either side. When DC reinvented the Flash in 1956 with Barry Allen, future comic books established that Jay and Barry existed in parallel universes. More contemporary appearances have retconned Jay as a WWII veteran with a magically extended lifespan.

If the red boots in The Flash trailer are in fact Jay’s, it would be a great twist on the Golden Age Flash’s story to make him Barry’s doppelganger as well. Jay would no longer have the wisdom of age since he’d lack any noticeable age difference between him and Barry, but he'd also likely be much more experienced at heroism. Before the events in Justice League, Barry had not done much hero work other than stopping convenience store robberies, so there's a lot he could learn from a more experienced speedster. Considering Barry's highly anxious personality in his previous DCEU appearances, it will be fun to see how the character reacts to alternate versions of himself, regardless of who they turn out to be.

Alternate Universe Characters Mean An Alternate Timeline

The Flash movie trailer seems to be setting up a story that doesn't actually take place in the main timeline of the DCEU. Not only is there another Flash, also played by Ezra Miller, but the Batman that appears is not the one played by Ben Affleck, who has previously portrayed the character in the DCEU, or Robert Pattinson, who will be tackling the role in The Batman. This Batman is a much older version played by Michael Keaton, who is reprising the role after portraying the hero in the late 80s and early 90s. Whether or not this Batman is meant to be an older Bruce Wayne from Batman and Batman Returns, or if he's an entirely new version of the hero, remains to be seen. Either way, these alternate characters imply some sort of alternate reality.

It is of course possible that these variations of Keaton's Batman and the long-haired Flash do exist in the main DCEU, and somehow kept themselves hidden from the Justice League or only recently gained access to their timeline. The MCU has repeatedly found creative methods to introduce new characters in this way, even if those characters should have been able to interfere during previous world-threatening events. Yet, doing so here would needlessly complicate what will likely already be a complex Flash story, and would necessitate working these new characters into other DCEU projects. The simplest explanation as to why these alternate versions of Flash and Batman are appearing in the film is if The Flash occurs on an alternate timeline. In fact, all of the clues in the trailer point toward the movie adapting the Flashpoint story.

Flashpoint Comics Story Explained

Flashpoint is a comic book crossover arc published in 2011 in which only Barry Allen is aware that his world is very different from what he remembers. When Barry wakes up one morning, he finds that he's no longer the Flash and lacks his superspeed powers. He also learns that Cyborg has replaced Superman as the world's greatest superhero while Superman is being held as a lab-rat in a secret facility, and a devastating war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman has destroyed western Europe. Another notable change is that Bruce Wayne was killed instead of his parents, leading to his father Thomas becoming Batman.

In the comics, Flashpoint exists as an alternate reality after Barry traveled back in time to save his mother's life. The trailer did show Barry cautiously approaching a woman that could be his mother, but some of the other details don't perfectly fit with the comic book story. The Flashpoint comics do not include other Barry Allens, or any other Flash hero, so this movie is clearly changing elements of the original narrative. Barry may not even be the one to save his mother's life in this AU, or, by doing so, he could have inadvertently transferred the Flash mantle to Jay Garrick or another version of the speedster. If Barry is no longer the Flash, then it stands to reason that a movie titled The Flash would be focusing on a different character altogether.

Next: The Flash: What Makes Flashpoint Terrifying

Key Release Dates

The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: May 20, 2022
Black Adam (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
The Flash (2022)Release date: Nov 04, 2022
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)Release date: Jun 02, 2023

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About The Author

Autumn Cejer (64 Articles Published)

Autumn Cejer is a Movie/TV Features Writer for Screen Rant. She has spent her life chatting about popular media to anyone who would listen, even appearing on conference panels to discuss her favorite (and least favorite) shows and movies. Autumn has a Master of Arts in English from Northern Michigan University, where she also taught superhero-themed composition courses. She spends her free time drinking coffee and trying to resist the urge to buy any new books before reading the many she already owns.