It’s well known that Zack Snyder’s Justice League was to begin a wider vision of the DCEU that never happened.
But a new promo for his Snyder Cut focusing on the Flash offers a look at how the Scarlet Speedster’s powers can work for his upcoming solo film and other projects.
Realistic powers
The promo focuses on how Snyder wanted to address the “logical” aspects of Barry Allen’s super speed.
I didn’t like, and I don’t like, Barry being able to move people. I know a lot of people loved that aspect of it, I just don’t. And it’s fine, I think it’s cool when people do, but I just don’t. It goes against physics to be able to have…if you grab someone, and you can say they’re protected by the Speed Force, but that’s, you know, up to interpretation. I feel like if you grab someone at the speed he’s moving, you can just, like, literally just tear their arm out of its socket. He’s moving so fast it would just literally peel the flesh off of somebody’s body, so he’s gotta be super careful with humans inside of the Speed Force.
It features a scene cut from the theatrical version of Justice League where Barry (Ezra Miller) is at a cafe when she sees an accident outside involving his crush, Iris West (Kiersey Clemons). Barry instantly races out at superspeed to save Iris.
The first notable event is that Barry’s shoes literally break apart from the friction the Speed Force creates as soon as he starts running. This is a key reason Barry has to craft his special Flash suit.
Also, Barry does not grab Iris at superspeed for fear of injuring her because of the high velocities he runs at.
Instead, he’s shown gently putting her down on the ground. Iris can understand what he did before Barry runs off, indicating Iris now knows Barry is the Flash.
The Speed Force
The promo ends with a sight familiar to fans of the CW’s Flash as Barry in his suit takes off into a portal that accesses the Speed Force.
First introduced in the comics in the 1990s, the Speed Force is the other-dimensional energy source that grants certain individuals their speed powers.
While the Flash is the most famous user, others have been able to access it from the evil Reverse-Flash to the self-proclaimed “God of Speed” Savitar.
The CW series emphasizes how, in a way, the Speed Force is alive and a fundamental part of the universe. Even the Flash has yet to grasp its power’s full depth, with a current seventh season Flash storyline having Barry finding a way to repair the damaged Force.
The promo ends with Barry noting, “Make your own future. Make your own past. It all starts right now” which has a deeper meaning.
Time Travel
One of the most notable aspects of the Speed Force is allowing a speedster to go back in time. Sometimes it can be controlled, while on other occasions, it can drop a speedster into a random time period.
Snyder’s plan for the Justice League sequels would have the Flash utilizing this to save the universe. After Darkseid conquers the Earth, the Flash would have to travel back in time to warn Batman to prevent all of this.
Batman v Superman showcased it when Bruce Wayne suddenly sees the Flash appearing before him with a warning before realizing “I’m too soon” and vanishing.
While the Snyder League plans won’t be happening, Miller’s coming solo film may utilize these speed powers.
While details are scarce, rumors abound that the Flash will use another aspect of his powers: the ability to access alternate universes (also shown on the CW series).
The storyline is rumored to be based on the “Flashpoint” story where Barry attempts to prevent the murder of his mother when he was a child only to create a brand-new (and even worse) history.
Sasha Calle will debut in the film as the DCEU Supergirl, while Michael Keaton will reprise his role from 1989’s Batman movie.
This promo indicates that Snyder’s impact on the Flash and his powers will continue to inspire one aspect of the DCEU as the Fastest Man Alive races back to the big screen.
Justice League the Snyder Cut debuts on HBO Max on March 19. The Flash is scheduled to premiere in 2022.