Batfleck believers holding onto any shred of hope that ‘The Flash’ isn’t the end for Ben Affleck

We’ll go to our graves arguing that Ben Affleck never got a fair shake as the DCEU Batman. His Bruce Wayne squeezed a lot of character development over Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, going from a paranoid recluse to having faith in there being good in the world and relying on others for assistance.

So it’s tragic that we never got a solo Batfleck movie. The Batman was once intended to be just that, though was substantially retooled into the Robert Pattinson version of the character during pre-production. With an appearance in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom apparently nixed, it seems that The Flash is Batfleck’s swansong. And what a sad and underwhelming way to bow out…

But optimistic DC fans think The Flash could be subtly teasing Affleck’s return in a Kingdom Come adaptation. This classic Mark Waid and Alex Ross miniseries is set in an alternate DC future, where an older Batman uses a powered exoskeleton to continue his fight against crime. Is his The Flash suit a reference to this story?

Replies are skeptical, pointing out that this suit isn’t a Kingdom Come-style powered exoskeleton and is more of a racing outfit designed for high-speed Batcycle pursuits. The conclusion seems to be that this redesign is simply to encourage people to buy The Flash merchandise to add to their ever-growing Batman action figure collection.

It’s likely that we’ll get a Kingdom Come live-action adaptation someday, though we doubt anyone will be knocking on Affleck’s door to get him back in the Batsuit for it. Warner Bros. is determined to bury the last ten years of DCEU movies in favor of the shiny new James Gunn DCU, and with us already having our new Superman, we anticipate a Batman casting reveal by the end of the year.