For those who don’t know, Flashpoint is a DC Comics arc where Barry Allen travels to the past to save his mother from death — exactly what Grant Gustin’s Flash did in “The Flash” Season 2 finale. Fans are now wondering what happens next in the TV adaptation.
The Flash Season 3: What happens in DC Comics’ Flashpoint?
In “The Flash” Season 3, where Flashpoint will develop, Barry realizes his one act of heroism has caused massive alterations in the timeline. Now time travel as a concept in itself is confusing, and the potentially reality-altering aspects of fictional time travel can leave even the most hardcore fans dumbstruck. That said, we’ve taken the time to condense some information together to make sure you don’t get lost. Here are 5 things to know about DC’s Flashpoint.
1.Barry Allen is NOT the Flash – This is the most obvious effect of Flashpoint. Barry Allen became the flash after years of obsession over solving the truth behind the death of his mother Nora Allen (Michelle Harrison) and incarceration of his father Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp). When Barry travelled back in time to save Nora in “The Flash” Season 2 finale, he essentially removed those factors from the equation.
This means that in the Flashpoint timeline, the Flash never existed. Thus, at the very start of Flashpoint in Season 3, Barry probably won’t have his powers.
2.“The Flash” Season 3 brings back Eddie Thawne and intros Citizen Cold. – Remember Eddie (Rick Cosnett)? Eobard Thawne’s ancestor who shot himself to save the Earth? Well, you can expect him to be back. Without the Flash, there wouldn’t have been any motive for Eobard Thawne – also known as the Reverse Flash – to become a supervillain. This means Eddie wouldn’t have had to have shot himself at the end of Season 1. It could also translate to Eddie marrying Iris (Candice Patton).
Another potential character to make a comeback is Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) who died in “Legends of Tomorrow.” He is expected to return as a superhero called Citizen Cold. Basically, the “altered timeline” is a legitimate excuse to write any character as a polar opposite of what they should really be.
3. “The Flash” Season 3 cast includes Matt Letscher as Reverse Flash – What? So then shouldn’t Eddie still shoot himself? Not necessarily. The Reverse Flash was wiped from existence with Eddie’s suicide, but in the exact moment when future Reverse Flash was travelling through time. This means – and bear with me here – that the time-traveling Thawne was outside time when his incarnations inside it were deleted, therefore allowing him to exist. Confusing? We don’t know exactly how it works either. We think it’s the writer’s job to make sure of that.
4.Flashpoint is only temporary in “The Flash” Season 3. The essence of Flashpoint is that it is a problem caused by Barry saving his mother. The DC arc on Flashpoint depicts it as a potentially world-ending chain of events, in fact. This means that in order to please comic book fans, The CW is going to have to end Flashpoint sometime during mid-season.
The CW will probably abuse this by making the audience fall in love with the alternate incarnations of your favorite heroes and villains, only to have everything hard reset. Watch out.
5.Flashpoint changes game for Barry Allen, rules are out the window. – The Flashpoint comic book arc changes events that happened even before Barry saved his mother and points out that Barry is still responsible for these changes.
Reverse Flash explains this in the animated movie “Flashpoint Paradox” by saying: “Break the sound barrier, and you create a sonic boom. You broke the time barrier, Flash. Time boom.”
Basically, Reverse Flash says time travel distorts the entire reality and not just events after a specific event. The CW is probably playing this card, considering the upcoming second crossover between “The Flash” Season 3 and “Supergirl” Season 2. It’s a cooler way of saying “license to do whatever we want.”