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By
Jordan Moreau, Adam B. Vary
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ “The Flash,” now playing in theaters.
Ezra Miller’s speedy superhero tears apart the DC Universe in the multiverse-hopping movie, “The Flash.” After first appearing in cameos in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad,” the Flash finally gets his own standalone movie, full of surprise appearances and shocking cameos.
In the latest DC Universe movie, Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Flash, briefly reunites with his Justice League pals Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) on a mission in Gotham City (Henry Cavill’s Superman was preoccupied elsewhere). After revisiting his childhood home, Barry is overwhelmed with emotion thinking about his mother’s murder and his father’s wrongful conviction for it. Barry discovers that he can run fast enough to break the speed of light and travel back in time, so he goes back to the day his mother was killed in an attempt to save her. However, time travel is never that easy.
Barry bumps into a younger version of himself, majorly messes up the timeline and loses his Flash powers. The mainline Barry must then teach his younger self how to safely harness his super speed and seek out the Justice League to defeat General Zod (Michael Shannon), who has arrived to destroy Earth. The two Barrys need some help, however, so they recruit that world’s Batman, a retired version of Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader, and Supergirl (Sasha Calle).
In their climactic battle against Zod, Batman and Supergirl die, and the younger Barry tries to repeatedly rewind time to save them, to no avail. The time travel tizzy upsets the entire multiverse, and the main Barry gets a peek into other worlds with different versions of the classic DC heroes. In the end, Barry comes to terms with his mom’s death and goes back in time to fix everything, while also getting evidence to exonerate his dad. However, the multiverse may never be quite the same again…
Here’s every cameo in “The Flash,” including a few familiar faces as Batman and Superman, who appear as universes collide in the cameo-filled Speed Force scene.
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman in the opening heist of the movie, when she saves Ben Affleck’s Batman as he precariously dangles below a bridge with a crook. Using her Lasso of Truth, she even pries some hilarious secrets from the Caped Crusader and Flash. After her other cameo in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” this may be the last we see of Gadot’s Wonder Woman for a while, unless she pops up in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” or somewhere in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.
Jason Momoa as Aquaman
In the post-credits scene, Jason Momoa returns as Aquaman, albeit roaring drunk on a street with Barry Allen. He falls into a puddle of dirty water just outside of Barry’s apartment. When Barry tries to help him, Arthur Curry refuses to stand up, clearly at home in the water. Does it make sense? No. Does it appear to set up anything in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” releasing in December? Also no. Hopefully, Arthur sobers up in time for his return!
Henry Cavill as Superman
Henry Cavill himself doesn’t appear in “The Flash,” but we see his Superman — well, from behind — fighting a volcanic eruption on TV as Barry Allen is called to a mission in Gotham City. A shirtless Cavill created from CGI also appears during a trippy, Speed Force montage.
George Clooney as Batman
In the final scene of the movie, Barry Allen leaves the courthouse after proving his father’s innocence and gets a call from his pal Bruce Wayne (played earlier in the movie by Ben Affleck) congratulating him on the outcome. Barry sees a fancy car drive up, but instead of Affleck, or even Keaton, George Clooney’s version of Bruce —from 1997’s infamous “Batman and Robin” — steps outside. Surprise!
It’s quite likely that Clooney’s appearance is nothing more that a fun, comedic button meant to signal that “The Flash” signifies the beginning of the end of the DC cinematic universe that has existed since 2013’s “Man of Steel.” But given the metaphysical rules of the multiverse established earlier in the film, Clooney appearance also suggests that Barry did not return to the exact same DC cinematic as before, which raises several (perhaps unanswerable) questions. Would Clooney return for a more robust appearance as the Dark Knight in a future DC film? Would “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” which will be directed by “The Flash’s” Andy Muschietti, take place in this universe? Or will the new DCU leave this and all other past DC worlds behind? As the Flash knows all too well, only time will tell.
Nicolas Cage as Superman
Nicolas Cage nearly played Superman in director Tim Burton’s scrapped movie “Superman Lives” in 1998. During the Speed Force sequence at the end of “The Flash,” audience get to see Cage —or, at least, a CGI version of a younger Cage — don the suit with some long black hair while he fights a giant tarantula.
Christopher Reeve as Superman and Helen Slater as Supergirl
CGI versions of Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater appear as their Kryptonian heroes during the Speed Force sequence. Reeve, who died 2004, famously starred in four “Superman” films in the late ’70s and ’80s, and Slater led a “Supergirl” spinoff in 1984.
Adam West as Batman
Adam West’s cheesy ’60s Batman appears briefly during the Speed Force scene. He starred as the Caped Crusader in his “Batman” TV series from 1966-68 and 1966 film. Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin, and Cesar Romero as the Joker, also show up briefly.
George Reeves as Superman
During the Speed Force scene, George Reeves’ black-and-white Superman reappears in a different world. Reeves previously played the Man of Steel in the 1951 film “Superman and the Mole Men” and the ’50s TV show “Adventures of Superman,” which originally broadcasted in black and white.
Teddy Sears as Jay Garrick's The Flash
Ezra Miller isn’t the only Flash in the movie. Teddy Sears cameos as Jay Garrick, the first person to take up the Flash mantle. He appears in his comic-accurate, old-fashioned red suit and winged helmet. In The CW’s “The Flash” TV series, Sears played the evil speedster Zoom, who briefly pretended to be Garrick.
Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry
Halfway through the film, when Barry Allen is trying to find the Justice League in his new reality, “Star Wars” actor Temuera Morrison returns as Aquaman’s father, Thomas Curry. Barry calls a number for Aquaman’s lighthouse, only to discover that Thomas never had a son and was never married to the queen of Atlantis. It turns out in that world, the only Arthur Curry is Thomas’ dog, not Jason Momoa’s buff superhero.
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
Not only is Ben Affleck’s Batman back, but his butler Alfred Pennyworth, played by Jeremy Irons, also returns at the beginning of “The Flash.” From the safety of the Batcave, Alfred helps Barry Allen save free-falling babies and a nurse from an explosion at the Gotham City Hospital.
Director Andy Muschietti
“The Flash” director himself, Andy Muschietti, appears briefly in the movie as a man eating a hotdog. The filmmaker is staying in the DC Universe for now, as he’s confirmed to direct “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.”
'Game of Thrones Star' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Jaime Lannister doesn’t appear in “The Flash,” but the “Game of Thrones” star has a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo as a man eating pizza. He gets a special thank you in the end credits.
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