Warning: This article contains full spoilers for The Flash.
We knew full well going in that The Flash would feature a ton of multiversal cameos. Some of these had, in time-honored DC tradition, already been spoiled by Warner Bros. and the filmmakers in the run-up to the film’s release. Still, there remain a few moments that will leave audience’s jaws on the floor — whether in a good or a bad way depends on the individual audience member — as they bring back a DC favorite we never expected to see again.
In particular, The Flash saves up perhaps its biggest surprise for its final scene, by introducing one more familiar incarnation of an iconic hero we’d already met in various different guises in the prior two hours. Yes, before the credits roll, The Flash introduces us to a third and final version of Batman, following Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s variants. And, in an additional shock, it implies this actor is the new Bruce Wayne of the DCU. So who is this “new Batman”?
Who is the third and final Batman to appear in The Flash?
As has already been given away in the marketing, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) messes with the multiverse when he goes back in time and saves his mother’s life. In this new timeline, he discovers that Batman is no longer Ben Affleck but Michael Keaton. Keaton’s Batman — who, for some reason, is an expert on quantum physics — explains that Barry’s alterations created a new timeline with similarities to others (e.g. the DCEU and the Burtonverse).
Long story short, in order to save all of reality, Barry is eventually forced to undo his change to the continuum and allow his mother to die. This then apparently resets everything, restoring the DCEU to its factory settings. However, it’s ultimately revealed that there’s at least one major difference in this third timeline. Bruce Wayne is still not Ben Affleck, the new Batman is actually none other than George Clooney.
That’s right, the most infamous Dark Knight of them all, the man with the rubber nipples himself, is the final Batman we meet in The Flash. This then leaves us to assume that Clooney will remain the current Batman of the DCU. Seeing as it’s wildly unlikely that James Gunn intends to retain Clooney for The Brave and the Bold movie, though, this is most probably the last time we’ll see the Batman & Robin veteran in the role. Although given that Gunn is a massive fan of The Flash, who can really say?