Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘The Flash’
If you thought Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had a lot of deep-cut references to comic books, the exciting ending of The Flash will likely make you think again. The long-awaited live-action feature solo outing for Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) packs a lot into its nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime. That was to be expected given that the film is a loose adaptation of the popular Flashpoint storyline from DC Comics, especially when it comes to the reveals of fan-favorite characters. The revival of Michael Shannon as General Zod, the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, and the debut of Sasha Calle as Supergirl are all jam-packed into this time-traveling epic, and those are just the appearances we knew about prior to the film’s release.
Now that The Flash is out now, we can safely tell you that Shannon, Keaton, and Calle’s roles are just scratching the surface of what the film offers in terms of surprise appearances. Nearly all of those appearances appear in the film’s star-studded and exciting finale, which we’ll happily explain for you right here.
The Climax of ‘The Flash’ Begins with the Two Barrys, Batman, and Supergirl Facing Zod
With both versions of Barry Allen getting their powers back, Bruce Wayne finding a new sense of purpose, and Kara Zor-El restoring her own faith in humanity, the quartet makes their way to have an epic final battle with General Zod and his war-hungry Kryptonians. The two Flashes begin fighting goons on the ground, Batman begins attacking from the sky, and Supergirl has a tense confrontation with the Kryptonian general. When Zod tells Kara that Kal-El died as an infant, the rage-filled Supergirl truly begins the fight.
For a while, it seems that the heroes have a real chance against Zod, putting a dent in their forces by a fairly significant margin. However, things take a dark turn when both Batman and Supergirl are killed in the conflict, but the Flashes use the Speed Force to go back in time and undo the demise of their friends. They succeed, but only temporarily, as every single outcome seems to end with Zod’s victory and the deaths of Batman and Supergirl. It’s at this moment when the older and wiser Barry Allen finally realizes that Zod winning the battle is an inevitable intersection and cannot be undone.
Elseworlds Collide During an Argument Between Three Barry Allens
The core Barry Allen tries to tell his doppelganger that they can’t undo this harsh reality, but as the younger Barry has done so many times earlier in the film, he just consistently ignores him. The younger Barry keeps going back to the battle, returning to the time warp with new wounds and shards of Kryptonian debris lodged into his body. Not only do the younger Barry’s actions appear to be in vain, they also are having a clear effect on the timeline that the older Barry has stayed in.
Slowly but surely, different timelines from across the DC multiverse begin creeping into Barry’s disrupted timeline. The first of these is a classical black-and-white universe, featuring what appears to be George Reeves‘ version of Clark Kent from the Adventures of Superman series and the classic Jay Garrick variant of The Flash. Also seen, through a CGI recreation, is a universe featuring both Christopher Reeve‘s Superman and Helen Slater‘s Supergirl as they watch this multiversal event occur. The chaotic sequence concludes with the biggest surprise of all, with the canceled Tim Burton film Superman Lives coming to the big screen for the first time, complete with a CGI Nicolas Cage as Superman. Listen closely, and you can also hear Adam West‘s voice from a 1960s Batman universe.
As the multiverse is collapsing around them, the two Barry Allens are visited by the same Speed Force creature that has been stalking the mainline Barry Allen, who looks to be some sort of combination between classic comic villains of The Flash, Savitar, and Reverse Flash. After punching the monster’s mask off, they are shocked to discover it is a much older version of the younger Barry. As the Dark Flash explains, younger Barry spent so much time trying to avert Zod’s attack that it mutated him into a monster. Thinking the mainline Barry won’t help him, Dark Flash tries to kill him, only for him to kill himself and the younger Barry when the latter shields the hero.
‘The Flash’ Reintroduces Yet Another Classic Batman
Realizing that he should just bring things back to the way they were, Barry bids a final tearful goodbye to his mother before undoing his actions. However, when Barry notices a security camera in the grocery store, he can’t help but feel has an opportunity to make one teeny tiny change to his future. Once he does, Barry is seemingly back in his original timeline but also realizes that he’s running late for his father’s parole hearing.
The Fastest Man Alive races to the courthouse, where after years of wrongful incarceration, Henry Allen (Ron Livingston) is finally exonerated of the murder of his wife. Barry is understandably ecstatic by this news and finds comfort in realizing that he has undone a historic wrong. Even better, he finally is able to get a date with his long-time crush, journalist Iris West (Kiersey Clemons). Just like that, Barry gets a happy ending, but not before he gets a call from Bruce Wayne’s phone number.
We briefly hear Bruce’s voice on the phone, but something seems just a little bit off. The voice doesn’t sound like Ben Affleck and the car driving up that’s carrying Mr. Wayne seems to be building up to a big reveal. That reveal is bound to cause gasps and shock in the theater, as the Bruce Wayne who exits the car is played by none other than George Clooney, making this the first time the actor has played the character since Batman & Robin. Clearly, Barry’s change to save his father caused yet another butterfly effect in the DCEU, leading to Clooney’s return as Batman. Does this mean George Clooney will return to his Bat-nippled suit? Only time will tell.
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