The DCEU Failed With DC’s Greatest Story (After the Arrowverse Messed It Up First)

The DC Extended Universe walks to the beat of its own drum. Rather than introducing a hopeful Superman to fight back against its dark world, it makes him unsure of himself and afraid to do the right thing because of the potential backlash. Even Batman, who has a very strict code, isn’t anything like his comic book counterpart in the DCEU, being willing to take lives if it gets him closer to his goals. Sure, both characters grow and change, but it’s too little, too late by the time Zack Snyder’s Justice League rolls around because the franchise is effectively over.

One of the few characters to get a real shot after is Barry Allen, aka The Flash. His solo movie attempts to adapt arguably DC’s greatest story, “Flashpoint,” which explores the idea of the titular hero playing god and changing the past to get his mother back. While there’s nothing wrong with The Flash borrowing from the source material, the mistake it makes is failing to do any better with the Arrowverse, which also can’t do justice to the “Flashpoint” story.

The Flash Turned “Flashpoint” Into a Love Letter to a Broken Franchise

The CW series The Flash took the first live-action crack at “Flashpoint,” sending its version of Barry back in time right after losing his father at the hands of the evil speedster Zoom in the Season 2 finale. Barry spends months living with his parents in the new timeline off-screen, and it appears the show will continue the ruse for a while. However, “Flashpoint” ends after only a single episode, with the rest of Season 3 dealing with the fallout of Barry’s choices. It ultimately proves to be a half-hearted attempt at bringing the iconic story to life, and the DCEU should be well aware of its shortcomings. Unfortunately, none of them are taken to heart because the movie version of “Flashpoint” is just another flavor of lackluster.

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Like its Arrowverse counterpart, The Flash movie forces its main character to grapple with the loss of his parents. Barry travels back in time and realizes that he has the life he’s always wanted, and doesn’t question it much. Rather than making Barry’s journey the focus, though, The Flash pivots to playing a DC highlight reel that features appearances from Michael Keaton’s Batman and General Zod from Man of Steel. There are even a few Superman cameos that don’t add much of anything to the movie. Yes, Barry has an emotional moment toward the end of the film, but it’s easy to forget due to all the window dressing. The second attempt at live-action “Flashpoint” proves to be just as bad as the first and seemingly guarantees future Flash stories stay away from it.

The DCU Is Probably Going to Avoid “Flashpoint” With a Ten-Foot Pole

The reason that the DCEU requires a swan song in The Flash is that the DC Universe is here. James Gunn is now at the helm and doesn’t want to confuse audiences by retaining versions of characters from the previous regime, especially those with a dark cloud hanging over them. Thus far, the DCU has introduced Superman in a significant way and alluded to the existence of Batman, showing his silhouette in Creature Commandos and mentioning Gotham City. The Flash isn’t that level of a priority right now, and it’s hard to imagine that the DCEU’s failures don’t have something to do with that.

A speedster is sure to run around with David Corenswet’s Man of Steel and whoever plays the Dark Knight, but there’s no guarantee it’s Barry. Gunn might see all the messes left behind from adapting his stories and go with Wally West as his Scarlet Speedster. After all, the Arrowverse barely uses him, and he doesn’t even show up in the DCEU. While it’s a shame that the creative team at DC Studios likely won’t get a chance to deliver their own take on DC’s greatest story, it’s for the best because another strike on the hero would surely lead to him being put on a shelf for good.

How do you feel about the DCEU and Arrowverse failing to do “Flashpoint” justice? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!