If you have seen the recent trailer for Zack Snyder's upcoming Justice League film, then you already know that it's full of awesome moments. There's so much to digest in that preview that we have only just started to scratch the surface of everything that's teased. However, upon rewatching it over and over (and over) again, one thing has become abundantly clear: the presence of Barry Allen's (Ezra Miller) father, Henry (Billy Crudup), is very clearly setting up the arrival of Reverse-Flash and the Flashpoint storyline for the DCEU's solo Flash movie. Sit back, and allow me to explain.
Flashpoint is arguably the most iconic Flash story ever told, but let's get those of you who are less familiar with The Scarlet Speedster up to (wait for it) speed. In the DC comic book lore, Eobard Thawne (also known as Reverse-Flash, or Zoom) is Barry Allen's arch nemesis, and a speedster responsible for murdering Barry's mother Nora -- a crime for which Barry's father goes to jail. In the Flashpoint story arc, Barry goes back in time to prevent Thawne from killing his mother, but the resulting "time boom" sends shockwaves through reality that completely alter the DC universe.
In the Flashpoint version of reality, Batman is a gun-toting Thomas Wayne, Wonder Woman and Aquaman have turned on humanity, Superman is a prisoner of the government kept hidden in a dark bunker, and Cyborg is the only real superhero in existence. When Barry finds himself trapped in this new version of reality, we see him race against time to get his powers back... and prevent himself from preventing the death of his mother to set things right.
Although The Flash TV series ended up going in a wildly different direction with the overarching Flashpoint narrative, you can still watch Grant Gustin's Barry Allen save his mother from Eobard Thawne below for a reminder of how this story can commence.
That's why it's so important that the Justice League trailer showed us Henry Allen. The fact that he's behind bars at this stage of the DCEU means Eobard Thawne not only exists, but he is responsible for the death of Nora Allen. This appears to set Ezra Miller's Barry Allen on a collision course with Flashpoint -- at which point we may very well see Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Thomas Wayne show up as a violent, murderous version of his son. Dawn of Justice already established that this incarnation of Flash can time travel, so every necessary piece of the puzzle is now in place for Flashpoint to occur.
If DC is going all in on Flashpoint, then this could have some significant implications for the future of the DC Extended Universe. For starters, this means that many post-Flashpoint specific stories and villains could receive introductions into this world -- DC Rebirth's Godspeed comes to mind immediately. Beyond that, however, this seems like an indication that DC could very easily retcon some of the less familiar aspects of this silver screen universe completely out of existence in the same way that Days of Future Past fixed the X-Men universe. The DCEU is fairly entrenched in some pretty bad creative decisions that date as far back as 2013's Man of Steel, but Flashpoint is an immediate mulligan that will allow them to retcon these choices and logically correct its course. It would be a controversial decision, but we think they should seriously consider it.
Check out the shot of Henry Allen, as well as all of the other excellent Flash sequences, in the Justice League trailer below!
What do you think? Has the Justice League trailer set up Flashpoint, or is it just one big coincidence? Let us know what you think in the comments section below! Justice League will hit theaters later this year on November 17!
