The Flash: Does the Movie Reference Barry’s Appearance in “Crisis on Infinite Earths?”

The 2019/2020 Crisis on Infinite Earths event marked DC’s biggest-ever live-action crossover — and tied the worlds of Tim Burton’s Batman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League with the Arrowverse and beyond. One of the most exciting moments in the five-part crossover event was a scene in which Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen, traveling the multiverse, stumbles into the Speed Force and meets Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen. Briefly confused, Miller’s Barry asks Gustin’s if he’s in cosplay, to which Gustin’s Barry responds, “No — I’m also The Flash.” Those words take Miller’s Barry a minute to process.

Remember — during his appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, nobody ever called Miller’s version of Barry “The Flash.” He had not yet embraced any specific name for his costumed identity. In the Crisis scene, though, Miller’s Barry clearly likes the name, and it seems like the implication is that he decided to use it after hearing it from Gustin.

In 2020, DC publisher Jim Lee said during DC’s first-ever FanDome event, “Ezra’s Flash was never named ‘The Flash’ in the movies. He got his name from meeting Grant… That’s so cool to have that introduction into the canon!”

Lee’s comments led fans to believe that the Crisis on Infinite Earths cameo would be canon in The Flash, but what’s the status now that the movie is actually in theaters?

Well…dubious, at least. There is no reference in the movie to the encounter between the two, and no reciprocal Gustin cameo to more firmly tie that end of the multiverse together. The Flash instead focused on bringing back faces from DC’s feature film history, including a shocking cameo that left Kevin Smith giddy.

The closest thing we get to an Arrowverse tie in The Flash is a brief appearance by Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, in a moment that is meant to represent the universe of the George Reeves The Adventures of Superman series. The costume bears a striking resemblance to the one worn by Teddy Sears in the second season of The Flash, when he (as Zoom) was pretending to be Jay in order to get closer to Barry. Despite some doubts on social media, most fans seem convinced it really is Sears in the suit.

That said, the aesthetic of the scene in which Barry explores the multiverse certainly bears a striking resemblance to a recent scene on Titans, in which Beast Boy looked through The Red and saw the multiverse, including the Arrowverse, the DC movie universe (in the form of Shazam!), and even the real world, with a quick cameo by legendary comics writer Grant Morrison. 

The Flash is in theaters now. Here’s how you can stream “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”