The Flash Cutting The Joker Avoided A Years-Long DC Movie Criticism

Although The Flash had an intriguing opportunity to include the Joker, the villain’s absence did help the DC movie avoid one key criticism. In The Flash, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) inadvertently alters the timeline after preventing his mother’s death in the past. Adapted from the iconic Flashpoint story from the original comics, this creates a massive chain reaction that could have included one of the most equally terrifying and fascinating Jokers of all time.

The Flash’s titular hero broke the universe by saving his mother, creating a far worse timeline where there weren’t any heroes to prevent the invasion of General Zod in 2013. Wonder Woman was missing, Aquaman was never born, Victor Stone had yet to become Cyborg, and Kal-El’s pod was intercepted by Zod who killed the young Kryptonian before he could land on Earth. Likewise, Ben Affleck’s Batman was replaced by Michael Keaton’s version who had retired as the Dark Knight. That being said, the comics’ original Flashpoint had a much darker timeline with one of its most tragic changes being a new version of the Joker.

Why The Flash Needed To Cut Flashpoint’s Joker Story

In 2011’s Flashpoint from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, one of the biggest changes in the alternate DC timeline was the death of young Bruce Wayne who was killed instead of his parents. In their grief, both Thomas and Martha Wayne were transformed. While Thomas became a much darker and more aggressive Dark Knight than the original version his son was meant to become, Martha went absolutely insane with a haunting transformation into the Flashpoint universe’s Joker.

Keeping that in mind, 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice saw Jeffery Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan being cast as the Thomas and Martha to Ben Affleck’s Batman. Naturally, this generated large amounts of excitement and speculation when it was confirmed that Flash’s solo movie would be adapting Flashpoint. However, multiple years of rewrites, different directors, and all kinds of delays led to a much different Flash film than was likely originally conceived. That being said, perhaps the lack of Joker was ultimately a good thing. After all, The Joker is one of the most prevalent and overused villains when it comes to the overall DC movie landscape.

The Flash’s Batman Plot Means The Flashpoint Joker Couldn’t Have Worked

It’s also worth noting that the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman in The Flash suggests that including Martha Wayne’s Joker wouldn’t have worked in the context of the movie’s greater narrative. Not only did Keaton’s Bruce Wayne have his own pre-established history as Batman, but he was also retired from his career as the Caped Crusader. As such, he’s already associated with the Clown Prince of Crime played by Jack Nicholson as seen in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). Including Flashpoint’s Joker would have required a much different plot and altered timeline than was ultimately featured in The Flash. For one thing, it likely would have required Flashpoint Batman too.