When Barry Allen first turns up as The Flash in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, he does so by popping out of…somewhere.
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Reality? The timestream? The Speed Force? It isn’t totally clear.
In any event, Barry shows up, shouts cryptically at Bruce Wayne, then realizes that the Dark Knight Detective has no idea who he is or what he’s ranting about. Racked by waves of energy, The Flash begins his monologue with the shout of “Bruce!” and then explains his plight before being pulled back into the void, leaving just enough physical evidence (in the form of papers flying around the Batcave) to suggest that he’s actually been there and it wasn’t completely a dream.
In DC Universe Rebirth #1, we get a reprise of that scene — although it’s Wally West, not Barry Allen…and the physical evidence he leaves behind turns out to be much more significant and telling.
It’s an interesting creative choice; in the comics, DC Universe Rebirth has been described as bringing the DC Universe to a brighter, more hopeful place — a criticism that has stuck with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman V Superman movies. In a comic full of not-too-subtle hints that the company’s publishing side has been lost and Rebirth is an attempt to find itself again, could this have been a similar signal for the film side?
Or even just a neat wink-and-a-nod reference to the movie, since it’s likely Johns wrote this scene well before Batman V Superman came to the box office? Certainly he would be in a position to know how DC was introducing The Flash into the movies.
In any event, it’s a neat moment, and mirrors the film in an interesting way. You can get DC Universe Rebirth at your comic shop if you’re one of the handful of places where it’s not sold out, or on ComiXology. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will be avialable on digital platforms on June 28 and physically two weeks later on DVD and Blu-ray.
