Anyone who’s seen an advert for The Flash is aware of he’s not the one superhero in it — there are a number of Batmans! And Supergirl! However you possibly can’t have a multiverse with out alternate variations of superheroes, and Warner Bros.’ newest DC Comics movie is crammed with cameo appearances.
Some are very acquainted, however others are very obscure certainly. So right here’s each superhero who seems in The Flash aside from Barry Allen, and what they’re a reference to. And, only for enjoyable, I, Polygon’s comics professional, will assign them the universe of the DC Comics multiverse during which they’d really feel probably the most at dwelling.
[Ed. note: This piece contains universe-sized spoilers for The Flash.]
Batman
Performed by: Ben Affleck
First look: Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice
That is a straightforward one, it was within the trailers! Ben Affleck returns as Batman for probably the ultimate time (pending an Aquaman 2 cameo), providing a fatherly shoulder to a lonely and conflicted Barry Allen.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: The universe of Frank Miller’s The Darkish Knight Returns, clearly. It’s the prevailing DC Earth that almost all clearly impressed director Zack Snyder in creating his costume and vibe.
Superman
Performed by: What seems to be a CGI double made to appear like Henry Cavill
First look: Man of Metal
There’s no precise Henry Cavill look in The Flash, as there was in final yr’s Black Adam. We get a glance in the back of Superman’s head in some information footage — however hey! It’s an acknowledgement of his existence.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: Prime Earth, the earth that DC rebooted itself into in 2011. That Superman had a brief, spectacular lifetime of adventures, beginning his superhero profession in cuffed denims and a Superman t-shirt earlier than going out in a blaze of glory and being changed with a extra basic incarnation of the character — which looks as if the identical street Cavill’s Superman is on in the meanwhile.
Marvel Lady
Performed by: Gal Gadot
First look: Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice
This Gal Gadot look marks the second one-scene cameo the very sport actress has made in a DC movie this yr, however it’ll probably be the final we’ll see of her Marvel Lady. And possibly the final we’ll see of Marvel Lady on the massive or small display screen for whereas, not less than till Warner Bros.’ Paradise Misplaced, a TV sequence concerning the Amazon island of Themyscira, debuts.
What Earth ought to she dwell on: Earth 11, the earth the place everyone seems to be on the reverse finish of the gender spectrum than they’re in the principle DCU, and Amazonian values are the accepted norm. Let her be Superwoman or Batwoman and put on flat sneakers.
Batman
Performed by: Michael Keaton
First look: Batman (1989)
Michael Keaton’s return to the position of Batman has been everywhere in the trailers for The Flash and truthfully… he sells it! Certain, his face is CGI-ed on in many of the motion scenes, however he and his Batman have an actual “certain, why not, fuck it,” power that I recognize.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: The apparent reply can be the Flashpoint timeline, which impressed the character, however let’s be extra artistic. I say Earth 12, the Batman Past universe. Get this Batman a giant canine named Ace and let him beat up Jokerz with a cane. He looks as if he would get pleasure from it.
Supergirl
Performed by: Sasha Calle
First look: The Flash
It could be intimidating to select up a darkish model of Supergirl proper after Melissa Benoist’s cheery and beloved incarnation from The CW sequence. However Sasha Calle doesn’t simply do so much with a little bit, she additionally nails the superhuman physicality. The stances, the leaps — the way in which to carry your self so that you appear like you’re flying underneath your personal energy, not simply hanging uselessly on a wire above a soundstage.
What Earth ought to she dwell on: Supergirl: Lady of Tomorrow, set within the far reaches of house within the universe often called Prime Earth. Let this spunky, grumpy Supergirl have her True Grit second.
Superman
Performed by: George Reeves
First look: Adventures of Superman (1952)
Although largely forgotten by anybody underneath the age of 60, there had been Superman variations earlier than Christopher Reeve donned the tights in Richard Donner’s 1978 film. George Reeves’ TV Superman wasn’t even the primary, however his present ran for many of the Nineteen Fifties, claiming its place within the Superman zeitgeist. It was finally canceled, not as a consequence of lack of recognition however as a consequence of Reeves’ stunning demise, a little bit of a spooky word to Flash’s colourful Chronobowl climax.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: No jokes on this one. It’s a tragic story.
Jay Garrick/The Flash
Performed by: Teddy Sears
First look: The CW’s The Flash TV sequence
Deep within the Chronobowl chaos of The Flash’s climax, you possibly can catch a glimpse of one other speedster (that’s comedian ebook slang for a superhero whose deal is that they transfer actually quick) in a Hermes-style hat. He’s a lifeless ringer for Jay Garrick, the primary DC Comics character to bear the mantle of the Flash. However wait, you ask, what film is he from? The reply is he’s not.
This Jay Garrick is performed by Teddy Sears, who performed a model of Garrick in The Flash TV sequence on the CW. His character was (twist!) finally revealed solely be pretending to be Jay Garrick, although, and was truly a supervillain. However his look in The Flash doesn’t appear to suggest something so sinister.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: There’s one actual reply to this, and it’s Earth-Two, dwelling of the unique Justice Society — the wartime superhero workforce that impressed the Justice League — of which Garrick is a founding member.
Superman
Performed by: Christopher Reeve
First look: Superman (1978)
There’s no actor extra synonymous with Superman than Christopher Reeve. Previous clips of him altering from Clark Kent to Kal-El with a mere shift of his stance nonetheless usually go viral. For those who’re going to place previous cinematic Supermans in your film he’s the one to get (a CGI recreation of, for the reason that actor has sadly paralyzed in 1995 and handed away in 2004).
What Earth ought to he dwell on: Thematically, he must be within the paradise dimension that Superman, Lois Lane, and Superboy discovered refuge in on the finish of Disaster on Infinite Earths.
Supergirl
Performed by: Helen Slater
First look: Supergirl (1984)
1984’s Supergirl was theoretically linked to Reeve’s Superman films, which is why in The Flash, you’ll see these two standing subsequent to one another. However whereas his character is acknowledged, Reeve doesn’t truly seem in it (very like Henry Cavill in The Flash), and the film is… I imply one of the best you can say about it’s that it’s very unusual. Supergirl deserves higher, and hopefully she’ll get it quickly.
What Earth ought to she dwell on: Earth 12, the DC Animated Universe. This Supergirl deserves a greater run at issues, and deserves to get out of the ’80s. Let her hand around in large Nineteen Nineties boots and a crop prime, punching stuff. I’d love that for her.
Batman
Performed by: Adam West
First look: Batman (1966)
Some days you simply can’t eliminate a Chronobowl: The Flash skips flippantly again in time over just a few live-action cinematic Batmans to achieve 1966’s Adam West Batman. We solely see him for a chronosecond, in order that his goofy glory can’t overwhelm the film’s extra critical climax, however I suppose the Bale and Pattinson Batmans weren’t up for it?
What Earth ought to he dwell on: This one’s straightforward: Earth 66! The earth of the 1966 Batman TV sequence!
Superman
Performed by: Nicolas Cage
First look: By no means had one!
Nicolas Cage’s Superman is undoubtedly probably the most obscure model of the character showing on this movement image. And that’s as a result of he’s by no means truly been in a film. He’s showing in The Flash because the never-actually-minted Nineteen Nineties Superman that Cage was as soon as set to star as. What’s up with the large spider? It’s a protracted story.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: A Superman film that by no means exists deserves the identical flip. He must be the Superman of Neal Adams’ Batman: Odyssey books. For those who’ve learn Batman: Odyssey, you already know that is excellent, and for those who haven’t, I couldn’t presumably clarify it.
Batman
Performed by: George Clooney
First look: Batman & Robin
George Clooney’s Batman will get a foul rap for its camp high quality. Batman & Robin went full-bore foolish simply because the collective homosexual panic of the Nineteen Nineties was popularizing the time period “metrosexual” for straight males who paid consideration to their look. However for those who ask this author, he’s the most effective performances of Bruce Wayne on the market — soulful however not broody, critical however with Silver Age Batman’s dry wit. He seems right here both as the brand new Batman of the Snyderverse or… as simply one other reference to DC films previous. We are able to’t actually know till The Flash will get a sequel, if it ever does.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: The 60-something, silver fox Clooney would make a nice canny, elder Batman of Earth 22, the universe of Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come.
Aquaman
Performed by: Jason Momoa
First look: Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice
It could barely be a superhero film with no post-credits scene that reminds the viewers of the subsequent movie coming down the road. Which, on this case, is Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, hitting theaters in December.
What Earth ought to he dwell on: Earth 18. Look, Jason Momoa is already having a lot enjoyable being Aquaman, there’s little or no one might do to make it extra enjoyable. Besides — perhaps — to place him in Earth 18, the Earth the place all of the DC heroes are cowboys and gunslingers. Yee-haw.