The DC cinematic universe is currently undergoing some pretty major changes. After the Snyderverse failed to live up to many fans' expectations, and the wider DC slate of movies has been mostly forgettable at best and terrible at worst, it's now up to James Gunn and Peter Safran to reboot the DC cinematic universe. But before everything's scrapped and started anew, there are still a handful of DC movies from the old guard that are still yet to release, with one of those being The Flash.
Releasing on June 16 2023, The Flash seems to be a loose adaptation of the beloved Flashpoint comic run that sees the titular speedster go back in time to save his mother's life, inadvertently creating an alternative timeline that sees the Justice League in very different circumstances. Though it seems to be using Flashpoint as its main inspiration, The Flash is mixing things up a bit, with its unique cast of superheroes being one of its biggest draws, and potentially a lesson for future DC video games.
Future DC Games Should Learn From The Flash's Unique Team-Up
Originally set to release all the way back in March 2018, The Flash has had a bit of a tumultuous development, and as such, marketing around the movie only really started back in February of this year. Since then, fans have been given a small handful of trailers, all of which hone in on the movie's rather unconventional team of superheroes. Of course, The Flash takes center stage, alongside an alternate-universe version of himself, who seemingly gets given the same powers through a recreation of Barry Allen's origin. Then there's Michael Keaton's Batman, undoubtedly the highlight of the movie for many long-time DC fans. And finally, Sasha Calle's Supergirl makes her debut appearance.
In the Flashpoint comic, The Flash does find himself teaming up with an alternate-universe version of Batman, so this pairing will be pretty familiar to some fans. Though, in the comic, this version of Batman is actually Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father. Rather than Thomas and Martha Wayne dying in Crime Alley, it's Bruce that gets killed, and while Thomas Wayne uses his grief to become an even more brutal version of the Caped Crusader, Martha turns into this timeline's Joker. In The Flash, it seems like this version of Batman has been ripped right out of Tim Burton's universe, with the same costumes, gadgets, vehicles, and of course, actor.
But where The Flash's team seems to deviate from its source material is in its other two heroes. Supergirl seems to be taking on Superman's role from the Flashpoint comic, where the Kryptonian didn't land on a farm in Smallville, but was captured by the military and forced to be used as their weapon for his entire life. And then there's the second version of Barry Allen, who seems to become another Flash at some point in the movie. While The Flash has interacted with all of these characters individually before in the comics and even in extended media like the CW Arrowverse, this team-up seems fairly unique, especially for a big superhero blockbuster.
Though audiences will have to wait to see just how well this unique dynamic actually plays out in The Flash itself, future DC video games may want to learn from this approach in general. While fans still haven't gotten a great Justice League game, sometimes it can be more fun to explore more unique team dynamics, pairing heroes with villains, or heroes with alternate universe versions of themselves. For instance, one of the biggest criticisms of the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is that its team dynamic looks a little generic, with overplayed banter and gameplay mechanics that are a little too same-y between each character. But if Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had mixed up its roster a bit more, maybe even adding in one of the Justice League members, its core premise can have been a lot more enticing.