‘The Flash’ dares to repeat a groan-inducing gag from Joss Whedon’s Justice League

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Flash‘s opening scenes.

Remember when early talk about The Flash hyped it up as a successor to The Dark Knight? Well, now that it’s here it’s fair to say that it’s more comparable to not Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus, but Joss Whedon’s eternally hated theatrical cut of Justice League. Why? Because it elects to feature a copy and paste of one of Whedon’s comedic scenes that many fans didn’t find funny the first time around.

The Flash begins with Barry Allen called into action to aid Ben Affleck’s Batman in averting a disaster in Gotham City. When the Caped Crusader finds himself dangling off a bridge while the Flash is busy microwaving babies (true story), he’s rescued by none other than Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. When she pulls Bats to safety using her Lasso of Truth, Diana tells Bats “You’re welcome.” Batman replies by admitting “My ego’s far too big to say thank you.”

Realizing he’s got the Lasso stuck around his wrist, Batman hurriedly tries to get it off, while babbling other private truths, including that he knows he should just invest his money into improving society rather than crime-fighting (a reference to the old fan debate). The Flash, who has arrived on the scene by now, helps him out, but gets caught in the Lasso’s effects as well. To his embarrassment, Barry admits to Diana that he’s a virgin.

“Lasso of Truth; never gets old,” Diana says once the boys have finally freed themselves, before exiting the film for good. The line isn’t exactly accurate, however, as this whole shtick does feel a tad old for anyone who’s already seen Justice League 2017, and hasn’t successfully scrubbed all record of it from their brains.

In that film, the near-identical gag appears just prior to the third act. Before heading to the big confrontation with Steppenwolf, Aquaman has a moment of surprising emotional honesty while surrounded by the team, coming clean that he’s scared to die and that he thinks Diana is “gorgeous.” Eventually, he realizes that he’s sitting on the Lasso of Truth.

Daring to invoke the memory of the critically panned enterprise that you could argue is single-handedly responsible for the DC universe being in the shambolic state it’s in today is a courageous choice. Although maybe we shouldn’t expect anything less from Andy Muschietti, confirmed director of The Brave and the Bold.