The Flash (2023), directed by Andy Muschietti, is a DC superhero film that adapts elements of the Flashpoint comic storyline while serving as Barry Allen’s first solo movie in the DCEU. The film runs about 2 hours 24 minutes and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, with both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as Batman, Sasha Calle as Supergirl, and Michael Shannon returning as General Zod.
The story opens with Barry juggling Justice League duties while trying to exonerate his father, Henry Allen, who’s in prison for the murder of Barry’s mother, Nora. Despite discovering new evidence, Bruce Wayne/Batman tells Barry the legal system won’t reopen the case. Overwhelmed, Barry runs faster than ever and accidentally discovers he can travel back in time. Ignoring Bruce’s warning that messing with the past can destroy everything, Barry goes back to the day Nora died and subtly changes events so she survives. On his way back, he’s knocked out of the Speed Force by a dark figure and lands in an alternate 2013 — the day he originally got his powers.
In this new timeline, Barry’s meddling means his past-self never becomes the Flash, the Justice League never formed, and Henry is still awaiting trial. Worse, General Zod arrives to terraform Earth just like in Man of Steel, but there’s no Superman to stop him. Barry finds his 18-year-old self and recreates the accident that gave them both powers, though he temporarily loses his own. The Barrys seek out Batman, but in this universe it’s an older, retired Bruce Wayne played by Michael Keaton. They also discover Kara Zor-El — Supergirl — has been imprisoned by the government since arriving on Earth, because Kal-El’s pod was intercepted and he died.
Barry, older Barry, Keaton’s Batman, and Supergirl team up to face Zod. The fight goes disastrously: Batman dies, Kara is killed by Zod, and Barry realizes he can’t win. He starts looping the battle in time, trying endless variations, but every outcome ends in death. In the Speed Force he meets the dark figure — a future, corrupted version of himself who became obsessed with saving this world and spent decades trying to fix it. This “Dark Flash” has become a monster consumed by paradox. Young Barry ultimately sacrifices himself to erase the timeline paradox and let Dark Flash fade away.
Prime Barry finally accepts he can’t save his mother without destroying reality. He goes back and undoes his original change, but moves a can of tomatoes on the top shelf at the grocery store. This tiny tweak shifts evidence so his dad’s alibi clears at the appeal — Henry gets out of prison, but Nora still dies. Barry returns to what he thinks is his timeline, only to find Bruce Wayne now looks like George Clooney instead of Ben Affleck. The post-credits scene shows Aquaman passed out drunk, with Barry trying to explain the multiverse.
The film ends on a bittersweet note: Barry saved his father but lost the chance to rewrite his core trauma, and the DCEU itself shifts as the timeline remains altered, teasing the broader DCU reboot.
