The Flash is one of the highly anticipated superhero films of the year. The first trailer reveal was met with great enthusiasm online. The inclusion of Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck’s Batmen was praised by many. However, not everyone is happy with the movie and the promises of things to come. Hardcore comic book fans are upset that core characters of the speedster’s lore like Jay Garrick and Wally West got shortchanged for Keaton’s Batman in the first live-action Flash movie.
Should The Flash Have Included Two Flashes Instead Of Two Batmen?
Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck’s inclusion in The Flash film was lauded by many. Their presence solidified the multiversal aspect of the movie along with the two versions of Barry Allen. However, several Flash fans are distraught at the very first Flash film going straight to exploring Flashpoint without fleshing out the lore surrounding Barry Allen and his powers. One accused that no one involved in making The Flash film had ever read any comic of the hero apart from flashpoint. As per the comment:
“Jay Garrick and Wally West will not appear in the Flash movie, despite the fact the film is a multiverse movie. This is because no one Making this film has read a flash comic other than flashpoint and would rather put Micheal Keaton in a Flash movie”
Check out the tweet below:
Jay Garrick and Wally West will not appear in the Flash movie, despite the fact the film is a multiverse movie
This is because no one Making this film has read a flash comic other then flashpoint and would rather put Micheal Keaton in a Flash movie pic.twitter.com/kaQendi3Qf
— D🅰️hz🅰️n (@D4hz4hn) March 9, 2023
Characters like Jay Garrick and Wally West are key figures in Barry Allen’s life and their inclusion would have helped audiences understand the full breadth of a speedster’s powers. The former is a veteran speedster and is often depicted as Allen’s mentor in the comics. Instead of Keaton’s dark knight, he could have played the same mentor role to the young hero in the movie. It would also have more impact because he exactly understands what the new hero is going through.
As for Wally West, he is commonly depicted to be the next holder of the Flash mantle in the comics. But he is also oftentimes shown as Allen’s peer. So both of them could have explored their powers together like the two Barry Allens in The Flash film seem to be doing. Basically, incorporating both West and Garrick in the movie would have helped flesh out the time travel powers of the speedsters as well as explained the power of the speed force that lets them traverse various universes. However, that’s probably not going to happen in the first film and many are upset.
DC Fans Are Unhappy With The Flash Film
The absence of Jay Garrick and Wally West in The Flash film has riled up fans of the speedsters. Even though social media response towards the movie is positive, there’s an undercurrent of anger from many DC aficionados. Many of them would have preferred a movie that revolved around the lore of the DC speedsters and was all about the concept of legacy with Jay Garrick passing the Flash mantle to Barry Allen and Wally West.
Here are what fans are saying:
Jay Garrick would be a better mentor to Barry than Batman. Not utilizing jon wesley ship feels like a crime. A friend said how did Barry become a robin.
— Hello James (@HelloJames8) March 9, 2023
This is why DCEU is dying they ending up being a zero effort version of no way home https://t.co/eK0s9i68WY
— Lewd (@BladeGodBackup) March 10, 2023
I truly don’t understand doing a multiverse movie and having 2 Barry’s rather than Barry and jay/Wally/Bart https://t.co/E6bJAlE2AU
— Tyler Browne (@TBrowne2411) March 9, 2023
I hate everything about this movie and it’s not even out. What a waste of Barry Allen fr https://t.co/cHOYRb7P44
— YO DAD. YO DADDY. YA FATHER. (@thankskevykev_) March 9, 2023
SPITTIN
Keaton being in this feels forced. And like, the real draw of his movies was the aesthetic of the world, and the eccentric villains, not Keaton as Batman, since he was barely a focus. So his cameo doesn't really feel exciting.— Teenage Mutant Ninja Ray (@KhaosKontroller) March 9, 2023
We could’ve had John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick and had them recreate the very first multiverse story in comics on the big screen but no people wanted Batman and Superman characters over actual Flash characters.
— Les | 💥 (@lstanciel_19) March 9, 2023
It’s understandable why fans of the DC’s speedsters are outraged at a film that seems to mostly focus on Michael Keaton’s Batman instead of its titular hero. However, The Flash was originally intended to reboot the DCEU. So the previous WB regime used the flashpoint paradox plotline to do so. While it’s egregious, it was probably a last-ditch effort to save the DC universe and start afresh. Thankfully, with James Gunn’s DCU, there’s now a set plan. As such, it’s possible that fans will get to see the kind of Flash movie they want with the three speedsters soon.
The Flash releases in theaters on 16 June 2023.
Source: Twitter
