The Big Picture

• The Flash crosses time and space as Ezra Miler's Barry Allen races to fix an alternate timeline.
• The film is heavily based on the Flashpoint miniseries, with changes including Supergirl's role replacing Superman's role.
• Supergirl's presence in the story brings a new dynamic and potential inspiration for future films featuring her character.

To say The Flash is a big movie is an understatement. Not only is it the Scarlet Speedster's solo film debut, but it also crosses time and space as Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) races to fix an alternate timeline he created. Said timeline features a world without metahumans and one that is in the grip of General Zod (Michael Shannon), forcing Barry to recruit Batman (specifically Michael Keaton's Batman) and Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle), aka Supergirl. You don't get much bigger than that!

The film is heavily based on the Flashpoint miniseries by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, which also featured Flash racing to change a timeline he created. And while the broad strokes remain the same, there are plenty of changes to said story. One of the biggest changes involves Supergirl's role in the story — particularly as that role was intended for her cousin Superman. And it may be one of the darkest Superman stories ever put on the comic book page.

DC Comics Has Many Superman Origin Stories

Anyone under the sun can tell you Superman's origin: Rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, Kal-El lands in Smallville and is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. He then uses his powers to protect the innocent as Superman, inspired by the values his adoptive parents instilled in him. Other alternate universe stories have explored what would have happened if Kal-El's rocket had landed somewhere else. Superman: Red Son shifts the landing to communist Russia, while JLA: The Nail lives up to its name when a nail punctures the tires on the Kents' truck, and they miss the rocket by minutes.

Flashpoint takes it to the extreme, as Barry's changing the timeline leads to a drastically different world. Abin Sur is still the Green Lantern while Hal Jordan is an ordinary fighter pilot. Thomas Wayne survived a mugging in Crime Alley, but the death of his son Bruce drives him to become a more ruthless version of Batman. And Kal-El's rocket was discovered by the U.S. Government. When attempting to find the other members of the Justice League, Barry discovers that Superman had been locked away in a bunker by the government. Cut off from the rays of the sun and starved of human contact, this Superman is less of an inspirational figure and more of a frightened child.

How Did 'The Flash' Address Supergirl and 'Flashpoint'?

The Flash did wind up adapting multiple plot points from Flashpoint into its narrative, including Supergirl being held captive after she crash-lands on Earth. When Barry Allen and a younger version of himself convince the older Batman to break into a Russian black site, they assume they're rescuing Superman. However, they're surprised to find Kara, who has been weakened from years of being cut off from the sun. At first, she doesn't want anything to do with Barry's quest to fix the world...until she learns that Zod is about to terraform Earth. Things escalate when Kara learns that Zod killed a baby Kal-El, and despite her best efforts (as well as younger Barry's attempts to alter time) she ends up dying at the general's hands.

Having Supergirl step in for Superman isn't just a clever substitution for the story; it plays into the differences surrounding their characters. Unlike her cousin, Kara was raised on Krypton and feels more at home there than she ever did on Earth. That, combined with who knows how many years of isolation, led to a radically different approach to humanity. DC Studios' adaptation of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is also slated to feature a more jaded Kara, which is in line with the source material. It was also recently confirmed that Woman of Tomorrow's screenwriter Ana Nogueira was originally tapped to write a solo feature for Calle's Supergirl. Those plans were nixed with The Flash's lackluster reception and the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as DC Studios' leaders. In the same way that the Flashpoint storyline shook up the DC Universe, The Flash shook up the dynamic of the DC Extended Universe...though not in the way that anyone expected.

The Flash is available to stream on Max.

Watch on Max