LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ezra Miller’s, Barry Allen aka ‘The Flash’ is all the rage in the comic and the entertainment world for now. The much-awaited DC comics project will soon be available for the fans to feast on and give their verdict. Fortunately for DC Studios, the reviews from early screenings have been nothing but great. Miller returns in the titular role but alongside him, DC’s most revered and loved comic book character, 'The Batman', who has multiple films already out there with innumerable interpretations can be seen. Also assisting the Flash is the Super Girl played by Sasha Calle.
The new 'Flash' film is based on the Flashpoint comic by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, in which Barry Allen traveled back in time to prevent his mother’s murder at the hand of a mysterious super-powered killer. But in the feature film, ‘The Flash,’ Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time to save his mother but messes up the timeline and changes the future as we know it. He’s then trapped in a reality with no Superman or the Justice League and a villain in General Zod who is back to destroy humanity. But Barry is not alone. Along with the Super Girl, Barry tracks down the Batman in the alternate reality who is none other than Michael Keaton’s Batman. However, before traveling back in time to save his mother, Barry is assisting Ben Affleck’s Batman in the present reality and warns him of the repercussions of traveling back in time. So Barry has a fatherly figure in Ben Affleck’s Batman and a savior in Michael Keaton’s Batman but one can help but question the absence of Christian Bale’s Batman in the process. For any comic book novice, this would be a glaring question but the answer to Bale’s omission from ‘The Flash’ is fairly simple.
A different ‘universe’ within a ‘universe’
Superman’s ‘Man of Steel’ kickstarted a different era in the DC Extended Universe. Since then ‘Justice League’, ‘Aquaman', ‘Batman v Superman’, and 'Wonder Woman,’ came out to counter Marvel’s growing dominance. Ben Affleck was chosen to play Batman in this universe. Michael Keaton though had retired from his iconic role as the Dark Knight but could have been easily integrated into this universe. And ‘The Flash’ did prove that.
However, when Christopher Nolan came forth with the idea of making Batman to Warner Brothers and DC Studio, he was clear that his rendition of the iconic DC character will be a standalone franchise that will not overlap or integrate into any of the upcoming DC universes. Christian Bale’s ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy was a renewed take on the entire Batman franchise, addressing its villains and heroes in a more humane and less CGI-inspired world. For Bale’s Batman to enter into the world of Flash will be a cinematic blunder and an utter mismatch of two analogies of the same franchise. Bale’s Batman for now rests at peace.
When is ‘The Flash’ releasing?
The Flash’ is scheduled to premiere on June 12, 2023, in Los Angeles. It will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 16, 2023.
