Summary
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Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller both played Barry Allen/The Flash around the same time.
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There are several differences between Miller’s Barry and Gustin’s Barry.
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For example, Gustin’s Barry originally existed in a world without Batman or Superman, while Miller’s Barry joined the Justice League.
There are several differences between Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen from the show The Flash and Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen from the DCEU. Between the world around them and the events they’ve experienced, DC’s most recent Barry Allens are very different from each other. Gustin and Miller were cast as Barry Allen around the same time, although all nine seasons of The Flash series were released before The Flash movie premiered. Arrow and its spinoffs have been separate from the DC films since the beginning, which is why the DCEU had a different Flash than the TV show.
Ezra Miller was cast as the Flash for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice shortly after the series premiere of The Flash starring Grant Gustin. Gustin would go on to play Barry Allen in nine seasons of The Flash, not to mention several Arrowverse crossover episodes. Miller’s Barry Allen first appeared in the Knightmare sequence of Batman v Superman and would later return in Suicide Squad before the character’s debut in Justice League. After the end of The Flash movie and season 9 of The Flash, here are the biggest differences between Grant Gustin’s Barry and Ezra Miller’s Barry.
12 Grant Gustin’s Barry Had A Team Flash (Ezra Miller Didn’t)
One of the biggest differences between Gustin’s Barry and Miller’s Barry is the existence of a Team Flash for the former. The Flash series, inspired by what had worked for Arrow, introduced the concept of Team Flash. Arrowverse’s Barry Allen was taken in by the scientists at STAR Labs and eventually befriended Cisco, Caitlin, and the mysterious Dr. Wells. The members of Team Flash, most of whom were original characters or reimagined versions of established DC names, worked as supporting actors for the series. In the DCEU, with the exception of Justice League missions, Barry Allen operated alone.
11 Gustin’s Flash Framed by Green Arrow (Batman Framed Miller’s)
Gustin’s Barry Allen and Miller’s Barry Allen were mentored by older vigilantes who had been superheroes longer than the scarlet speedster. However, the CW’s Flash was mentored by Green Arrow, while the DCEU’s Flash was mentored by Batman. Grant Gustin’s first appearance as Barry Allen was in season 2 of Arrow, with his episodes serving as a backdoor pilot for the show The Flash. Oliver Queen continued to be a friend and mentor to Barry throughout the Arrowverse. In the DCEU, it was Bruce Wayne who recruited Barry for the Justice League. Bruce and Barry remained friends, as shown in Ben Affleck’s scenes in The Flash.
10 Gustin’s Flash Didn’t Know About Batman and Superman Initially (Miller Did)
Grant Gustin’s Flash was originally part of a world with characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. These characters were banned from The Flash and any other Arrow spin-offs, which is why the Arrowverse could sometimes seem small compared to the DC Universe. Gustin’s Barry Allen was actually one of the first public metahumans in the pre-Crisis Arrowverse. This was not the case for the DCEU, which could use any DC character. Miller’s Barry was part of a full-fledged DC Universe from the beginning, with heroes like Batman and Superman already existing by the time Barry became the Flash.
9 Ezra Miller’s Flash Joined the Justice League (Grant Gustin Didn’t)
Due to their different franchises, only one of these two Barry Allens became a member of the Justice League. Ezra Miller’s The Flash was designed to be part of a shared universe centered around the Justice League from the start, while the Arrowverse could only use a limited number of DC characters. The Justice League, the most famous members in the title itself, was banned from the Arrowverse. As a result, Grant Gustin’s Flash was never part of DC’s most famous superhero team. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” introduced a Justice League-type team-up, but this was never revisited. Miller’s Barry joined the Justice League shortly after becoming a hero.
8 Gustin’s Flash Knew What Killed Nora (Not Miller’s)
The Flash’s origin story in The Flash series centered around how Barry Allen witnessed his mother being killed by “something impossible”, a yellow blur that couldn’t be explained. This is what inspired Barry to research strange happenings across the world, including Starling City’s vigilante Arrow. When the Reverse-Flash first appeared in the series, Barry knew it was his mother’s murderer. In the DCEU, Barry Allen doesn’t see what’s happening to his mother. When Barry returned from the kitchen, Nora Allen was already dead. Who killed Flash’s mother in the DCEU hasn’t been revealed, although it likely would have been addressed in The Flash 2’s story.
7 Gustin’s Barry Was Raised By The Wests (Miller’s Wasn’t)
Barry Allen from the Arrowverse and Barry Allen from the DCEU had different childhoods. Gustin’s Barry was raised by Joe West after the death of Nora Allen and the arrest of Henry Allen. Barry and Iris lived in the same house for years and Joe West became a father figure to Barry. This dynamic between Barry and Iris West’s family was created for The Flash series and was not in the DCEU. Miller’s Barry Allen probably didn’t know any West other than Iris. Overall, Flash’s origins were not addressed in the films, and it is unclear who raised Barry Allen in the DCEU.
6 Gustin’s Barry Was In Love With Iris For Years (Miller Barely Knew Her)
Iris West was a part of Flash’s story in both the Arrowverse and the DCEU, but not in the same way. Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen grew up with Iris West and was in love with her for years. Iris was even the last person Barry saw before the accident that turned him into the Flash. In the DCEU, the first interaction between Barry Allen and Iris West took place in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and it didn’t seem like they knew each other. The Flash movie slightly retconned Barry and Iris’ history in the DCEU by revealing that they knew each other from school. Either way, their relationship was just beginning.
5 Gustin’s Barry and Miller’s Barry Got Their Superhero Names Differently
Oliver Queen was the first person to mention “flash” in the context of Barry’s powers. Iris West would later refer to the “red blur” of Central City as The Flash during an article for the newspaper. From that point on, Arrowverse’s Barry was officially the Flash. In the DCEU, Barry is not referred to as Flash in Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, or Justice League. Surprisingly, the DCEU’s Flash takes his name from the CW’s Flash. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” brought together Miller’s Barry and Gustin’s Barry for a brief scene, during which the former learned the latter’s alias “Flash.” This interaction was not addressed in the Flash movie.
4 Gustin’s Barry Fought Every Flash Rogue (Miller’s Didn’t)
Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen has fought every classic Flash Rogue at least once. This includes names like Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Golden Glider, Weather Wizard and the Trickster. Ezra Miller’s Barry only interacted with one of Flash’s rogues – Captain Boomerang during a brief scene in Suicide Squad. It’s hard to say if the DCEU’s Flash has fought other rogues off-screen. The Flash movie didn’t feature any classic Flash villains, instead opting for a multiverse story that revisited General Zod from Man of Steel.
3 The Flashpoint Happened Earlier To Miller’s Barry Than Gustin’s
Grant Gustin’s Barry and Ezra Miller’s Barry both experienced a version of Flashpoint, although only the Flash series used the term. The idea of Barry going back in time to prevent his mother’s death and accidentally altering the entire timeline in the process originates from the Flashpoint comic book and has been adapted for the screen several times. In the Arrowverse, Barry only created the Flashpoint timeline in Season 2, after facing several villains and even encountering the Reverse Flash. The DCEU’s Barry, meanwhile, experiences a version of Flashpoint in his first solo film.
2 Arrowverse’s Henry Allen Knew Barry Was The Flash (Not the DCEU)
Arrowverse’s Henry Allen, played by former Barry Allen actor John Wesley Shipp, finally discovered his son was Flash. Henry Allen was still in prison when he realized that Barry was the Flash, which led to an emotional moment between the characters. In the DCEU, Henry Allen doesn’t know that Barry is the Flash, at least yet. Henry asked Barry to move on with his life and create his own future in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and now Barry’s father has finally been released from prison after decades.
1 Time travel works differently for Gustin’s Flash and Miller’s Flash
The mechanics of time travel in the Arrowverse are different from those in the DCEU. Both franchises actually introduced more than one way of time travel. For example, in the show The Flash, Flash could go back in time and interact with his younger self. However, Barry could also reset the timeline without creating temporal doppelgangers. The rules of the Flash movie multiverse include the Chrono Bowl, which allows Barry to perceive time differently using the speed force. Barry can also go back in time in the DCEU, which doesn’t happen in the Arrowverse.
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