The ending of 2023’s The Flash has a few notable points, bringing Barry’s desperate attempt to save his father to a close and a surprise cameo. We break it down in the rest of this article and provide a final, detailed review. Major spoilers ahead.
In The Flash, Barry Allen is preoccupied with his father’s retrial to prove his innocence in murdering Barry’s mother when he was eleven years old. Fully believing in his father Henry’s innocence, Barry travels at the speed of sound to go back in time to alter the past to save his mother and free his father. However, Barry’s actions have consequences, trapping himself in an alternate reality with his eighteen-year-old self and no way to get home.
The Flash Ending Explained and Detailed Review
Which superheroes die in The Flash?
The superheroes who die in “The Flash” are Michael Keaton’s Batman, Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and Barry Allen’s young metahuman version of himself. Keaton’s Batman is killed when he crashes his Batplane into one of General Zod’s ships with a protective shield attached, preventing him from ejecting.
Supergirl is killed when General Zod strikes her in the abdomen and extracts her DNA, which contains the life force needed to regenerate and create a new version of their home planet, Krypton. However, young Barry Allen wants to return and save them.
He does, going back to a previous timeline, but Keaton’s Batman is still killed, being stabbed and bleeding out in Barry’s arms. Zod again kills Supergirl in the same fashion as before. Meta-Barry heads back into the multiverse, attempting to fix things. However, Barry tells him they must stop, including trying to save their mother.
How does Barry die in The Flash?
There are three versions of Barry Allen, and the two alternate versions in the parallel universe die in the film. Early in the movie, a human “creature” attacks Barry, who we later discover is another alternate version of Barry, referred to as “The Dark Flash.” This version causes Barry to enter the timeline of the eighteen-year-old Barry.
When both Barry characters return to the convergence point of the timelines to save Batman and Supergirl again, The Dark Flash attacks them. During the fight, it is revealed that this is a third version of Barry. The Dark Flash, who resembles the alternate Flash known as Johnny Quick, has spent decades trying to change the course of events for his mother’s sake.
Grey-haired and wrinkled, this Barry has never ceased his efforts to save his mother’s life. However, when Barry attempts to intervene and prevent the interference, The Dark Flash tries to kill him. In an unintended turn of events, he accidentally strikes his younger self, resulting in the demise of The Dark Flash.
How does Barry overturn his father’s murder conviction?
While not seen, we assume Barry changed the angle of the security camera in the grocery store to capture Henry’s face, proving his alibi was true. Barry returns in time and takes the can of tomatoes from his mother’s shopping cart. However, before that, in a poignant moment, Nora talks to him, not knowing it’s an older version of her son.
Barry tells her how much he loves his mom, which warms Nora’s heart. She then hugs him. When Barry leaves the grocery store, he sees the security camera that cannot capture his father’s face. We can assume Barry may have changed the angle of the camera.
The Cameo at the end of The Flash
The cameo at the end of The Flash is none other than George Clooney, returning as Bruce Wayne! After Barry’s father is acquitted of murdering his mother, Allen walks outside the courthouse. (It should be noted we assume he was freed because the evidence proves he was innocent, but we are never told). His love interest, Iris West, tells him to call her for a date, and Barry receives a call just then. It’s from Bruce Wayne, congratulating him on his father’s victory.
A car pulls up, and members of the media and fans gather, eager for a glimpse of Gotham City’s billionaire recluse. However, it’s not Ben Affleck’s or Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, but Clooney’s version, which we haven’t seen since the disastrous 1997 film Batman & Robin. Barry asks him who he is since he has never seen him before.
Barry may have altered the future by helping overturn his father’s conviction. This is surprising because it was previously reported on Screen Rant that the studio announced George Clooney would not be returning as Bruce Wayne in this DCU installment in February. Unfortunately, Val Kilmer does not appear in The Flash, likely due to health concerns playing a significant role in the decision.
George Clooney performing his Bruce Wayne Cameo in The Flash – Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
The Flash post-credits scene
Yes, The Flash does have a post-credits scene. After the credits are complete, we are treated to another surprise cameo from one of the biggest stars and characters in the DCU movie family — Jason Momoa returns as Aquaman! The scene includes Arthur, AKA Aquaman, walking back home with Barry from the bar.
Near Barry’s apartment, Aquaman takes a drunken stumble and falls face-first into a large sidewalk pothole filled with water. As Barry attempts to tell Arthur that his home is close by, Aquaman replies, “I am home.” He then submerges his face into the puddle, blowing bubbles and lying there.
The Flash Review and Plot Summary
I had low expectations for the standalone The Flash movie, considering it had been trapped in development hell for nearly a decade. Not to mention the personal struggles faced by its star, Ezra Miller. However, to my surprise and against all odds, The Flash was a funny, heartfelt, unexpectedly poignant, and action-packed nostalgic experience.
And in my opinion, The Flash is the best DC movie since The Dark Knight Rises.
The story immediately has Barry Allen (Miller) turn into his superhero persona, The Flash, because Alfred (Jeremy Irons) immediately needs him to back up his boss.
Unfortunately, Batman (Ben Affleck) leaves him holding the bag rescuing a group of newborns at a hospital while the Caped Crusader chases a group of thieves who steal a deadly weapon.
Barry, however, has more pressing matters on his mind, including his father’s (Ron Livingston) retrial to overturn his conviction for his wife’s murder when Barry was just a child. Firmly believing in his father’s innocence, he decides to change the past by preventing his mother’s death.
However, his actions inadvertently lead to him becoming trapped in an alternate reality.
Directed by Andy Muschietti (It) and written by screenwriter Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey, Bumblebee), this standalone film truly shines when it explores the iconic character’s experiences within the metahuman multiverse.
Particularly engaging is when Miller’s Scarlet Speedster seeks help from his younger self to rescue his mother and find his way back home.
This is where The Flash strikes, pun intended, the perfect balance for a comic book film. Muschietti and Hodson skillfully blend entertainment and excitement, infusing the script with delightful cameos, well-timed humor, and an understanding that the emotional bond between a mother and child can add depth to any narrative.
Yes, its story is clearly a rip-off of a similar Marvel movie, particularly with its spidey-sense cameos.
However, that shouldn’t be an issue since these two comic book empires have been stealing from each other for decades. DC’s Doctor Fate was written well before Doctor Strange, and Marvel’s Namor appeared before Aquaman. The point is, it’s not a competition. It’s getting lost in the moment.
Is The Flash Worth Watching?
The Flash is a good movie, despite the bad press it has received from its star. There have been many new stories about Ezra Miller’s personal life, which resulted in his probation. Nonetheless, Miller is perfect here, reveling in the role and showing an excellent blend of goofiness, nerdiness, and poignant vulnerability, particularly with Maribel Verdú, who plays his mother, Nora.
The gifted actor has always been perfectly cast in this role, and it’s finally paid off handsomely.
The Flash is worth watching and strikes the perfect blend of heartfelt, action-packed nostalgia. The dazzling special effects are exciting, the inspired cast (and the plethora of cameos) delivers, and the completely and utterly delightful combination of geek-filled homage to Back to the Future and The Parent Trap, set within its rad comic book nostalgia. The Flash is the movie of the summer.
I just wish they had the foresight to throw in an Eric Stoltz cameo, which will make more sense once you watch Muschietti’s film.
What did you think of the ending of the 2023 DC film The Flash, and do you agree with the review? Comment below.
