Summary
- The Flash’s only encounter with a Flash villain in the DCEU is in a Suicide Squad cameo, where he defeats Captain Boomerang in a flashback scene.
- The DCEU did not fully explore The Flash beyond his role in the Justice League, as the franchise rushed to release crossover movies without setting up solo films.
- The absence of the Flash’s iconic enemies in the DCEU is a wasted opportunity to develop the hero’s comic book lore.
One DCEU piece of trivia hidden in plain sight proves how little the franchise explored The Flash outside of his Justice League role. The DCEU began with Superman’s origin story in Man of Steel but rushed to release crossover movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League without setting them up gradually with other solo movies. Wonder Woman received her own movie between Batman v Superman and Justice League, while Aquaman and the Flash had their starring roles after the Justice League’s first mission and neither Batman nor Cyborg ever got to have their own films.
While Barry Allen had a big role in Justice League and received his own movie before the DCEU ended, the franchise barely touched on the Flash’s extensive DC lore. On Twitter, Flash fan @Impulse785 says that one positive aspect of 2016’s Suicide Squad is that it features the only time in the DCEU that Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen meets a proper Flash villain. See the tweet below:
Captain Boomerang’s Suicide Squad flashback reveals that Barry Allen sent him to Belle Reve prison during a bank heist some time before Task Force X is first assembled. After Ezra Miller’s cameo as Barry Allen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this Suicide Squad scene marks the first time the Flash’s superhero suit was shown in the DCEU and the only time he ever faces a member of his famous rogues’ gallery. Afterward, the Flash fights Steppenwolf and the Parademons alongside the Justice League, and later faces General Zod, Faora, Nam-Ek, and Dark Flash in 2023’s The Flash.
The DCU’s Flash Needs To Use Flash’s Famous Rogues Gallery
The Flash is a key DCEU character with a major role in both cuts of Justice League and a multiverse-breaking influence in The Flash. However, the limited screen time of Barry Allen’s supporting characters and the absence of the Flash’s iconic comic book enemies in the DCEU stand out as a waste of potential for the character. There are dozens of Flash villains that would have helped develop Barry Allen’s corner of the DCEU, including famous ones like Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, and Killer Frost, as well as more obscure antagonists such as Sand Blaster and Colonel Computron. Yet, none of them appeared in the DCEU.
The sheer diversity of the Flash’s rogues’ gallery places it on the level of Batman and Spider-Man’s. Some Flash villains like Captain Cold, Heatwave, and Weather Wizard share a certain theme, while others lie on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to power level and abilities. For instance, the triple-jointed Ragdoll and the paper-wielding Papercut are mere annoyances to the Flash while the powerful magician Abra Kadabra and the super speedster Godspeed can make the Flash’s life a living hell.
Many popular Flash storylines feature a variety of DC villains that have never appeared on the big screen. For example, Rogue War focuses on a battle between all Flash villains with Wally West in the middle, while the famous The Return of Barry Allen and Flashpoint follow Wally West and Barry Allen as they face their respective archnemeses, Professor Zoom and Reverse-Flash. With Andy Muschietti’s The Flash having skipped Reverse-Flash, perhaps the DCU will be able to introduce him and open the gates for a full-fledged The Flash rogues’ gallery on the big screen.
Source: @Impulse785/Twitter