A prolific Grand Theft Auto 5 modder who specializes in adding a wide variety of comic book heroes and villains to the sprawling open-world crime game has recently released a mod that brings Ezra Miller’s version of The Flash into GTA 5. Footage of the mod in action features Miller zipping around the streets of Los Santos wearing his film-accurate DCEU suit and leaving an electric yellow streak in his wake.Modder JulioNIB is single-handedly responsible for giving players the option to explore Los Santos as a wide variety of comic book characters, like Spider-Man, Homelander from The Boys, and Iron Man. Even some well-known non-superheroes, like King Kong and Mechagodzilla. JulioNIB’s YouTube channel has videos of The Flash mods going back to 2016. These initial versions of the mod include rough translations of The Flash’s speed and costume using Franklin, a character from GTA 5’s single-player campaign, as a template. JulioNIB released an update in 2019 adding a slow-mo effect and a time freeze effect that pauses NPCs in place, heightening the illusion of The Flash’s incredible speed.The latest updated mod appears to be using an original character model based on Ezra Miller and his film-universe suit. In the video, posted to Twitter by user TaurooAldebaran, Miller’s version of The Scarlet Speedster leaps off a building and speeds through oncoming traffic in downtown Los Santos. Once he crosses an intersection, he boosts to face-melting speeds up an onramp and out of view. The footage is intercut with super-slow-mo shots of The Flash in mid-sprint to capture the character in all his glory.
The Flash is another in a long line of superheroes who have somehow never translated well, if much at all, into games outside their limited availability in fighting games, like The Flash in Injustice. Since Rocksteady brought a fully-realized Batman into an open-world environment with its Arkham series, fans have been clamoring for their favorite characters to be treated equally. JulioNIB’s GTA 5 mods provide fans with the catharsis they’ve been looking for.
One of the pillars of Grand Theft Auto 5’s continued success since its initial release in 2013 has been its modding community. Skilled amateur asset builders and people hoping to get into game development have been using GTA5 as a blank canvas to bring their dream games to life. Making dreams a reality by crossing various intellectual properties into Grand Theft Auto 5 seems to be JulioNIB’s niche, providing fans a glimpse into an alternate universe where they get to play as their favorite comic book characters.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.