The Flash: The Official Visual Companion: The Scarlet Speedster from Page to Screen

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS THE STARTLING TALE OF THE FLASH—A MAN SO FAST THAT HE NOT ONLY OUTRACED HIS SHADOW—BUT ALSO BROKE THROUGH THE SOUND BARRIER—ON FOOT!

So began the very first Barry Allen story within the pages of DC’s Showcase #4 in October 1956. The story detailed the freak accident involving a bolt of lightning and some laboratory chemicals that gave the police scientist his incredible speed powers, which he used as The Flash. Nothing was ever the same since that fateful accident, and Barry Allen never stopped running.

Over the past seventy-plus years, The Flash has been an essential part of the DC Multiverse. In fact, as you’ll learn, he was the first Super Hero to discover the Multiverse and cross over to a parallel universe with a Flash of its own. His adventures have extended beyond the page to multiple television series, each putting their own spin on the mythos.

Now, with the release of The Flash, Barry Allen finally has his own film—a cinematic adventure to behold. Never before have Barry’s powers been explored and realized as they are now on the big screen. Try to keep up as we do a marathon run through the film’s making, profiling all the key characters and the ways in which filmmaker Andy Muschietti realizes the most fantastical elements of The Flash’s story. We’ll also look back at Barry’s comic book history and previous live-action incarnations to reveal everything that makes him the fastest man alive.

THE FLASH’S ORIGIN

Welcome to the whirlwind adventures of the Fastest Man Alive! After guest appearances in recent DC films and TV shows, The Flash is ready for the spotlight with his own film.

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES

As a freshman in college, Barry Allen (played by Ezra Miller) interned at the Central City Crime Lab, committed to becoming a crime scene investigator and proving his father did not murder his mother when Barry was eight years old. On the night of September 29, as a thunderstorm raged outside, Barry worked late into the night. Shortly after opening a window to air out the laboratory from fumes, he took a seat below a shelf of chemicals. In an instant, a bolt of lightning blazed through the window, striking the chemicals. The vials exploded, raining electrified liquid down upon Barry. It should have killed him. But as his skin hissed and burned, something miraculous happened: Barry rapidly began to heal. Soon, he discovered healing wasn’t the only thing that had accelerated. He could now move at super-speeds far greater than humanly possible.

THE FLASH TODAY!

As the movie The Flash begins, Barry is a few years older and slightly more experienced as a Super Hero than he was in Justice League. But, as Ezra Miller comments, [Barry’s] still desperately trying to rectify and reconcile the traumas of his life, meaning his mother’s murder and his father’s incarceration.

THE BIG LEAGUES

Determined to do good with his abilities, Barry started small and ran under the radar. One day he returned to his base of operations to find Bruce Wayne (played by Ben Affleck) waiting for him. The Caped Crusader was building a team of metahumans and wanted Barry to join him. Despite being relatively inexperienced and unsure of himself in combat, Barry immediately agreed, and his abilities came in handy as a member of the Justice League.

THE FIRST SPEEDSTER

Jay Garrick was the first iteration of The Flash. His chest adorned with a lightning bolt, he was able to run at supersonic speeds. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the World War II-era hero was first introduced in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940). Unlike Barry, Jay didn’t wear a mask. Instead, he was known for his signature winged helmet, inspired by Mercury, the Roman god known for his great speed. He served alongside the Justice Society of America and acted as a mentor to other speedsters in his later years.

BARRY ALLEN HAS ENTERED