With CW promising a Flashpoint adaptation at the start to The Flash‘s third season, fans around the world (myself included) can barely wait to step across the starting line. DC’s Flashpoint might have been significantly larger in the comics, it’s still the basis for this story of time travel’s surprising consequences, let’s hazard a guess as to what could be going down in the season three première on October 4th.
Oliver Queen No More?
In Flashpoint, Bruce Wayne was viciously gunned down by Joe Chill instead of his parents and Thomas Wayne (his father) became the Batman. Arrow’s star hero has been borrowing from the Batman ideals, with a grittier outlook and the League of Assassins joining in. Remember how Barry, in his first appearance, jumped to the challenge of saving Oliver with rat poison? Well, follow the lines back. He came to Star City to investigating the ‘Man In Yellow’ in his official capacity as a CSI. Barry became a CSI after his mother died to prove his father innocent. With Flash-Barry saving Young-Barry and Nora, Young-Barry might not grow up to be a cop, let alone investigate the Arrow and save Oliver. Although Thomas Wayne took his son’s place, I doubt a dead Ollie will lead to Robert Queen stepping in but anything’s possible.
A Savage Return
With help from Team Arrow and Team Flash, Kendra and Carter defeated Vandal Savage (only for him to return in Legends of Tomorrow). But without Eobard Thawne to create the particle accelerator explosion earlier than planned, Team Flash isn’t around to develop the techno-gloves to control Vandal’s magic staff. With Arrow also dead by this point, it’s entirely possible that the three-thousand year-long tradition continues and Savage murders the meta-human pair. Although, Cisco could still have a relationship going with Kendra before Carter pushes her from a roof. Without a Flash to catch her, Kendra is so much pavement pancake.
Time Masters Victorious
Stepping outside the norm for a while, Flash indirectly helps save the future. Following the arrival of the meta-humans, Cisco develops the Heat and Cold Guns in case any of them turn out unfriendly. With the particle accelerator now happening when it would have, the future is (at best) uncertain for the destructive duo. And with Firestorm also unstable or delayed for all three men that make up the character, most of the Legends team is gone. Although Oliver bites the dust without Barry around, it’s possible that Sara steps up to take his place. Distinctly loyal to her causes, she wouldn’t be willing to leave Star City undefended. Rip Hunter is now alone (maybe with Atom and Jonah Hex joining) and the Legends are unable to stop the Time Masters. Any of their changes to the past could be done by another ‘Chronos’ and the war to unify the planet goes on. When the Thanagarians invade, Savage and the Time Masters are ready with an entire world at their disposal.
Supergirl’s Earth
And Flashpoint might not just affect Earth-1. After accidentally travelling to another universe (because that’s a thing for Barry) he helps save Kara Zor-El in a tag team match against two of her foes, a fight she might not have survived without Barry’s help. Now that Supergirl is removed from the equation, the Myriad takes over the entire planet, one city at a time. Even if J’onn awoke and was backed up by the DEO, there’s still an entire army against him. Through that one adventure, Flash saved another planet. Although this may not directly feature, it could easily be touched on in passing.
Mirakuru and the Alpha-Omega
Spiralling back to Arrow once again, the Mirakuru soldiers would have risen extremely quickly after Oliver dies without Barry around to save him. Even supposing that somebody else was to pick up Oliver’s quiver, the cure for the Mirakuru came from Felicity’s contacts at S.T.A.R. labs. Specifically, a pair of bright young scientists she met after a certain forensic scientist fell into a coma. Although the group met Cisco and Caitlin when the S.T.A.R. Lab’s Star City storage facility was robbed, I find it somewhat unlikely that the two would simply whip up a weird antidote to a super-serum for complete strangers. Following the now-successful drone strike, Star City dissolves to ashes as the thugs escape.
With Oliver out of the picture, Ra’s al Ghul would turn his plans for a legacy further afield. Whoever is next in line for leadership of the League of Assassins probably won’t be able to overcome the brainwashing. And when Ra’s discovers where Damien Dahrk is hiding (which he will) that unfortunate city gets a bioweapons attack.
Zoom and the Multiverse
I saved the biggest for last. The Flash‘ second season finale followed Zoom’s masterplan. Using a destructive vibrational frequency and his ability to move across universes, Zoom attempted to destroy every other universe outside Earth-1, leaving Zoom as the fastest man alive. Even with Barry barely able to step in at the last second, Zoom came awfully close to destroying reality. According to the original timeline, the particle accelerator exploded in 2020 (I can’t wait to see how the show handles it when that year actually arrives). Without Barry to stop him, his home universe might be largely the same, but all the others ker-plode.
This might not come to pass as it’s Thawne attempt to return to the future that first drew Zoom to Barry’s Earth. But with Zoom already a dimensional traveller, it’s entirely possible that he would find his way to Earth-1 eventually. Thawne showed no indication that he knew of the multiverse so it’s possible that his Earth remained unexplored by outsiders. Or, Zoom simply succeeded and nobody even noticed because he died in the attempt.
So is the entire CW DC Universe in tatters thanks to Barry Allen’s trip back in time? We’ll find out when The Flash returns this October 4th.