Warning: this article contains major spoilers for The Flash
DC’s latest superhero blockbuster, The Flash is not just a solo Flash movie. It’s also a homage to the DC franchise due to the amount of easter eggs that were presented in the film. This DC flick took inspiration from the Flashpoint story event, which involves time travel and the concept of the multiverses.
Due to this, it is expected that this film would feature multiple cameos, not just the ones in DC’s existing franchises. There were previous reports of other DC heroes making an appearance in this film. And while some of these heroes’ identities remained hidden, some were announced just weeks before the film’s official release.
But in case you’re unable to catch up with all the quick glimpses or need a refresher on who appeared in the movie, here are all the DC cameo appearances that made it to The Flash.
The Justice League
At the start of The Flash, Barry was asked by Alfred to head to Gotham City to help Batman save a hospital from collapsing. When Barry asked why not asked the other Justice League members for help, it was revealed that some of the other heroes were either unreachable, like Gal Gadot‘s Wonder Woman, or busy doing other things, like another faceless Superman appearing on TV saving another country.
At the end of the Gotham heist, Wonder Woman appears to save Ben Affleck‘s Batman and the main perpetrator from falling off a bridge using her lasso of truth, which led to Batman discussing his “childhood trauma” about losing his parents in front of the Amazonian heroine.
At the end of the film, Jason Momoa‘s Aquaman appears during the end credits scene, where he went drinking with Barry Allen and ended up falling into a puddle during their walk to Barry’s apartment. This scene was leaked days before the film came out and not everyone was happy about Aquaman’s portrayal in the film.
While Ray Fisher‘s Cyborg didn’t make an appearance, he was mentioned in the alternate universe where he became a football star and didn’t become the Cyborg we know and love.
Temuera Morrison’s Thomas Curry
Speaking of Aquaman, let’s not forget the man that helped bring him into the world — his father. Thomas Curry, played by Star Wars star, Temuera Morrison appeared in the film since his lighthouse still exists in the alternate timeline. While he is the same guy, he doesn’t have a son, and “Arthur” was the name of his dog. At the same time, his wife was no longer Queen Atlanna but rather some other random woman. At least Tom still managed to live a normal life in this alternate universe. But at the same time, you have to wonder, what happened to Atlantis since Atlanna didn’t leave her kingdom?
Michael Keaton’s Batman
Another huge cameo that appeared in The Flash was Michael Keaton‘s Batman from the late 80s Batman movies. He was introduced in The Flash as someone who retired from a life of crime fighting and spent his time making spaghetti at home. Fortunately, he helps Barry save Supergirl from a Soviet prison in hopes of her stopping Zod from terraforming the Earth to create a new Krypton, whilst also forming a new Justice League.
George Clooney’s Batman
Speaking of Batman, George Clooney also returns as Bruce Wayne in The Flash. This little easter egg might be a huge surprise for newer DC fans since he only played the superhero once in 1997 in Batman & Robin, and is mostly known for his other projects. Whilst this actor didn’t don the Batsuit in the film, he did appear as Bruce Wayne at the end of the film, surprising Barry Allen when not everything returned to normal.
Nicolas Cage as Superman
While it was unfortunate that Henry Cavill’s Superman cameo was cut from the film, The Flash director, Andy Muschietti revealed that Nicolas Cage will appear as another version of Superman from a different universe. While he didn’t have a speaking role, his appearance was a homage to a Tim Burton Superman film that never saw the light of day.
Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl
While these two Kryptonian cousins didn’t meet up in each other’s movies, it didn’t stop fans from creating edits in a world where the two have met. Fortunately, those headcanons came true in The Flash when viewers were shown glimpses of other DC universes. One of them is a world where Christopher Reeve’s Superman from the late 1970s film lived in the same world as Helen Slater’s Supergirl from the 1984 movie.
Interestingly, Reeves was supposed to be in Supergirl but bowed out, according to the DC documentary, You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman. So it’s great that fans finally got to see the team-up that was meant to happen, even if it was nearly four decades late.
George Reeves’ Superman
The oldest Superman star to make a cameo in ‘The Flash’ is George Reeves. While his appearance is a blink-and-you-‘ll-miss-it moment at the end of the film, you can see the Adventures of Superman star in a black-and-white universe as we see through the multiverse towards the end of the movie.
Adam West’s Batman
Who could forget Adam West’s Batman? After all, he played the Dark Knight from 1966 to more recent voice cameos in 2017. So to have him appear in The Flash as a short cameo is a huge homage to the actor’s legacy in the DC franchise. West’s cameo in The Flash was another case of blink-and-you-‘ll-miss-it since his appearance in the Black and White universe was pretty quick. But once spotted, you’ll see him do what he does best.
Teddy Sears’ Jay Garrick
Finally, it’s not a homage to the DC franchise without acknowledging The CW series that came to an end this year. During one of the glimpses of the multiverse, Teddy Sears reprised his role of Jay Garrick in a Black and White version of DC Universe. Apparently, this version of the Flash is probably different from the one in the CW series due to a list of reasons, one of which was Sears played a villain who pretended to be the hero in the TV series. Meanwhile, in the film, he was already a superhero from the start.
