‘The Flash’ ending, explained

Warning: this article contains major spoilers for The Flash

The Flash is DC’s latest superhero blockbuster, starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, and Sasha Calle. The film draws inspiration from the Flashpoint event in the comics, where Barry goes back in time in an attempt to save his mother. However, his actions created a universe where meta-humans no longer exist and has to relive the events of Zod’s invasion of Earth.

DC’s co-chief, James Gunn confirmed that The Flash will be the catalyst of events that will spark the upcoming reboot, leading to the events for ‘Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.’ But what exactly did The Flash do to cause this event? Was it even shown in the film or did it just stick in its own universe? Be warned, major spoilers ahead.

‘The Flash’ ending, explained

To avoid confusion between the two Barry Allens, let’s refer to the second Barry as AU!Barry (alternate universe Barry). The first Barry will simply be referred to as Barry or the original Barry.

During the final conflict, Barry and AU!Barry face a moral dilemma – whether or not they kill Nora Allen, their mother, in order to save the universe, due to multiple timelines and universes colliding with each other. The mysterious creature responsible for throwing Barry to the day he gained his powers, is revealed as a future version of AU!Barry. This future version attempted to prevent Supergirl’s death at the hands of Zod, repeating the process countless times. This future version of Barry attempts to kill the original Barry in hopes to keep their mother alive. But AU!Barry sacrifices himself, resulting in the demise of both versions and enabling Barry to undo his mistake.

Barry reappears right after his past self gives his mother the can of tomatoes. He has an emotional farewell with his mother before using his powers to return the tomatoes to their original spot, setting in motion the events that lead to her death. But before he returns to the future, he notices a surveillance camera and realizes he can make a small change that won’t destroy the universe.

During the trial of Barry’s father, Henry, clearer footage of the day Barry’s father was at the supermarket was presented. Unlike before when Henry wasn’t looking up, making it impossible to prove his alibi, Barry’s change may have involved somehow telling, convincing, or doing something to make his father look up so his face could be clearly shown.

Henry was proven innocent and Barry’s normal life could begin, starting with a dinner date with his old college crush and journalist, Iris West. Barry receives a call from Bruce Wayne, who at first we thought was Ben Affleck. Unfortunately, due to his time-traveling antics, another version of Bruce appeared the George Clooney version, which shocked Barry even more.

While the film did show glimpses of other DC universes, it didn’t provide explicit details about the future of the DCU. However, one thing it did show was that our heroes could change appearances and ages due to time travel. So perhaps that was a clue about the new DC universe that we’re about to enter.