With the heavy hitters of the silver screen Justice League introduced during Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, the DCEU now has some wiggle room to explore the less established members of the iconic superhero team. Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) all represent relatively unexplored territory on the big screen, and as such, there exist many opportunities to branch out and attempt new things. Marvel may have pioneered the cinematic superhero universe, but DC has a chance to perfect it, and there's no better place to try that than the upcoming Flash solo movie.
DC seems to understand that, as some unconfirmed rumors have even indicated that The Flash will reportedly capitalize on that idea by bringing Cyborg into the fray. However, a character cannot simply be introduced to a film just for the sake of it, and we've compiled a list of six things we want to see if the rumors are true and Cyborg does indeed appear in The Flash. Check out the list and let us know what you want to see when Vic Stone and Barry Allen team up. Now let's get started with arguably the most important thing that Flash and Cyborg need to bring to the DCEU...
Buddy Humor
Good God, the DCEU needs this more than anything right now! In their most traditional depictions, both The Flash and Cyborg have always felt more like lighthearted heroes than many of their Justice League counterparts. To capitalize on the essence of each of these characters, The Flash needs to emphasize both Barry and Vic's distinct senses of humor and allow the film to generate some solid laughs along the way. We don't need the movie to veer into full-blown Deadpool territory, but The Flash must still keep the humor flowing to feel like a good, old-fashioned buddy movie. If can get at least one "boo ya!" out of Cyborg, then we will most certainly walk away from the movie completely satisfied.
A Youthful Perspective
Aside from the fact that the movies in the DCEU have all maintained a decidedly adult tone, they have also become fully populated by adult characters. Superman (Henry Cavill) was 33-years-old in Man of Steel, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is older and more grizzled, and even Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman has apparently bee around for well over a century. Until Billy Batson shows up in the Shazam solo movie, Barry Allen and Vic Stone will represent the younger, less jaded side of this particular universe -- which is even something Deborah Snyder noted in an interview earlier this year. They're the characters that younger fans will have an easier time identifying with, and The Flash solo movie needs to emphasize the perspective of a younger, more millennial oriented audience. The MCU has Peter Parker and the X-Men films have Xavier's students; DC needs to provide a way in for younger crowd in order to maximize fan engagement.
A Valid Reason For Both To Be There
So far the DCEU has felt fairly hit or miss when it comes to cameos and the general inclusion of iconic characters. Suicide Squad absolutely nailed its sparing use of Ben Affleck's Batman, but Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice's cameos felt fairly shoehorned in across the board. If Vic Stone is going to play a major role in The Flash solo movie, then the film needs to set up a valid reason for him to be there other than driving ticket sales. Does Barry need Vic's tech skills? Does Vic enlist Barry's help for the actual mission at hand? These represent questions that the film will need to answer, and answer properly.
Creative Ways To Combine Their Abilities
It would be an immense waste for The Flash to bring Cyborg into the fold, but not let him work alongside Barry Allen in any meaningful capacity. Both of these heroes maintain very distinct powers from one another, and the movie needs to showcase how they can use these abilities in a synergistic fashion. Ant-Man rides Hawkeye's arrows. Wolverine and Colossus have the Fastball Special. We want to see how Flash and Cyborg will creatively combine Barry's super speed with Vic's overwhelming arsenal of tech-based weaponry. These two will have already worked together in a team environment by the time The Flash hits theaters, and as such we want to see how well they work together as a pair once they've passed the learning curve.
S.T.A.R. Labs
Aside from their mutual membership in the iconic Justice League, the strongest connective tissue between Barry Allen and Vic Stone comes in their mutual connection to S.T.A.R. Labs. Vic's father, Silas Stone, is a prominent figure in the advanced organization, and many of the scientists at the fictional laboratory have been known to help The Flash's crime fighting efforts by providing tech-support and useful gadgetry. The easiest way for The Flash to logically bring these two heroes together would be for them to share a strong connection to this fictional organization, which would provide a suitable "home base" for both of them throughout the course of the film. It's like The Batcave, only way more populated and with much better lighting.
Flashpoint?
We're admittedly reaching a bit with this one, but the prospect of Cyborg and Flash headlining a movie together opens up the possibility that The Flash solo movie will adapt the beloved Flashpoint story arc. In the alternate timeline depicted in the story, the Justice League never existed, and Cyborg becomes the only reputable superhero in America. He teams up with Barry Allen, and the two go on to recruit Thomas Wayne's Batman to try and prevent an Armageddon caused by a war between Themyscira and Atlantis. The CW's The Flash will loosely adapt Flashpoint later this year, and it seems a bit early in the DCEU to go for this type of team-up story, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still a distinct possibility. Warner Bros. could show some serious creative guts by opting to go down this road. We want a proper Flashpoint, DC. Give it to us!
