Flashpoint: The Key to the DCEU

Let me begin by saying, generally speaking, I like the DCEU. I liked Batman V Superman (especially the extended version which finally made some subplots make sense) even though it had issues, and I liked Justice League a lot more than the first two Avenger movies. Even Suicide Squad which suffered from the Joker playing no real role and a choppy edit thanks to WB reshoots and last minute direction changes was still an enjoyable film. And Wonder Woman easily ranks in the top 5 superhero movies ever. Additionally I am excited for Aquaman, but especially Shazaam, which looks like it took a lot of its cues from the New 52 Shazaam Graphic Novel which I thought was awesome.

But things need to change. It needs to change for two reasons: first, the lack-luster overall fan response puts the entire DCEU in jeopardy and I for one want more DC movies. The second reason though is the increasing rumors that two of its biggest stars - Henry Cavill (Superman) and Ben Affleck (Batman) - may not be returning to reprise their roles. If there are two things I hate it is dropped series just left open ended (see Amazing Spiderman 2) or when actors change midway (am I the only one bothered by the actor changes for Dario or the Mountain in Game of Thrones). So how do you continue the run without the two actors who started it all?

The answer is Flashpoint - the rumored title for the upcoming Flash film, likely to begin filming next year and a name pointing toward the famed Flash comic storyline. The original Flashpoint [SPOILER ALERT] was about Flash essentially running so fast he time travels to stop his mother from being murdered but the alteration of the timestream causes a ripple effect to where Barry returns to a new present not like the one he had. In the new timeline, Superman was taken by the government as a child and was locked in a bunker and kept from sunlight, Bruce Wayne died the night his parents were mugged and his father Thomas Wayne was the one who became Batman, Barry never gained his flash powers, and the world is engulfed in a war between Atlantis (led by Aquaman) and Themyscira (led by Wonder Woman). As the world plunged into chaos Flash had to get his powers back and ultimately go back in time and let his mother die.

Fans of the tv series The Flash will also note that a Flashpoint event played a major role in that series, also permanently altering the timeline.

Now I wondered if originally the Flashpoint event planned for the DCEU involved a ripple in the timestream where the Justice League either do not revive Superman (something later done by their foes) or fail to calm him back to himself when he wakes up, leading to the inability to stop Steppenwolf. This would explain the vision sequence we saw in Batman V Superman and Flash's time-traveling appearance to Bruce explaining Lois to be the key (and why he realizes he was "too soon"). What Bruce was experiencing was the timeline reshifting as Flash travels time to stop things. That's kind of what I was personally hoping for, but I don't expect we will get to see that now (or for the scene to make much sense ever) if those actors are on their way out. However, the Flashpoint idea should not be scrapped, particularly because Flashpoint events can alter timelines, outcomes, and create a new present - which is precisely what the DCEU needs.

However, instead of making the Flashpoint the problem of the movie (and Flash trying to undo it), instead Flashpoint should become the outcome in one of two ways:

1) Scenario one: based on the classic Flashpoint cause, the Flash movie focuses on Barry Allen's investigation into his mother's murder and eventually his effort to try to prove his father's innocence becomes an effort to save his mother's life when he discovers the speed force allows him to run through time. His eventual victory ends in altered timeline. The advantage is this builds off of what we already know about the Flash (his obsession with proving his father's innocence), is classic Flashpoint, and could be a very emotionally driven story - something that most of comic movies lack.

2) Scenario two is what I might call the "Days of Future Past" edition. Namely, the story is about something so terrible (like a Darkseid invasion or crisis on infinite earths kind of event) that ultimately Flash enters the speedforce and changes the timeline to prevent the horrible future. What's effective with this is a) this has been successfully done before in X-Men Days of Future Past, yet in this scenario it is less about his exploits back in time and more about the build-up (whereas Days of Future Past spent more time in the past with only occasional shots of the future for ticking clock purposes. b) by creating a present so terrible the fate of the world is at stake, when Barry learns there is a cost to saving the world by altering the timestream he can't go back and fix it. If it isn't the altered but the original timeline that is on the brink of the destruction we see in the original Flashpoint story, then that would explain why Barry would change the timeline even if it costs the world Batman and Superman.

At the end of the day, Flashpoint could let DC get out from under its rock and radically change direction. This would allow for the upcoming Supergirl movie (where supposedly Kal-El will just be a baby) to fit into the world. This would allow a new Batman still if they wanted (via Thomas Wayne). In short, they could keep what they want and trash anything they don't care to keep. It would put a finale on the open ended stories without telling them, it would explain the disappearance of certain characters/actors, it would allow for new tones and perhaps a smaller DCEU. Which would allow them to feel even more free in creating stand alone films that are not in a shared universe (akin to their upcoming Joker movie). If Man of Steel and Batman v Superman kicked off the DCEU, Joker and Flashpoint can help usher us into the "Worlds of DC" (the official name for the DCEU, which as it suggests, will not all be in one "EU").

It is as much for my love of the DCEU movies as it is the need to be done with them as they currently are that Flashpoint needs to happen. To just abandon the characters and stories with no storyline to explain it will mark it as a failure (again, see Amazing Spiderman 2). To do it this way lets the current run bow out rather than get shoved under the bed, while also helping casual fans understand the shift from one to the next.

Of course, there is always the real chance that Warner Brothers will just screw it all up.