Flash: The Fastest Man Alive will see Barry honing his skills under Batman’s tutelage while taking on a new threat to Central City.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Flash will be released next year, unraveling a multiversal event that will change the DC Extended Universe from the core. The film will feature Barry altering timelines in his attempt to stop his mum’s murder. The Flash will feature a different variation of the scarlet speedster, donning the new suit and teaming up with Michael Keaton’s Batman to face an unprecedented threat. From what the teaser revealed, it’s easily visible that the speedster has upgraded and learned new things since his team-up with Justice League.

After several shake-ups in the DCEU timeline of events, it was unclear how The Flash would treat the franchise’s predecessor films. But, now it’s clear that The Flash will directly connect to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. This means the movie would be part of the existing DCEU timeline until Barry breaks it into branches.
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In a recently unveiled excerpt page from DC Comics’ Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 (via Bleeding Cool), it’s revealed that Barry had taken training for his skills under the tutelage of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The illustration reveals that Bruce helped Barry upgrade his suit and designed the iconic ring from The Flash comics, which carried the speedster’s suit. The image also features Batman, created exactly after Ben Affleck’s version of the caped crusader. Even Barry here seems to have the same suit on as the one he wore in Zack Snyder’s movies. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive will seemingly bridge the gap between Justice League and The Flash and explore how Barry came under Bruce’s wing. The illustration further strengthens the ground for Ben Affleck’s return as DCEU’s Batman. The actor has a supporting role in The Flash movie, which the prequel comic will provide the base for.

Batman and Flash seemingly made a tutor-mentor bond in the previous films as Barry took Bruce in awe of his gadgets and his work as Gotham’s vigilante. And Batman knowing that Barry’s growth as a superhero is essential for the impending threat (Darkseid, teased in Justice League while featured in Snyder Cut), has probably taken to teach him skills he needs to fight his enemies.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 is now out. It is penned by Kenny Porter and illustrated by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, along with collaborations from director Andy Muschietti, who has helmed The Flash movie. The prequel comic not only offers a glimpse at Batman and Flash’s relationship but significantly fills the gaps in the confusing timeline of DCEU events.

The Flash and Batman Take on Girder in the Prequel Comic

In the comic, Barry seeks Batman’s help in defeating the new threat to the central city -Girder. Girder is a supervillain from DC Comics who was an antagonist to Wally West’s version of the Flash. Girder is the alias of Tony Woodward, a steelworker who was thrown into a vat of molten steel by his coworkers for assaulting a female colleague. The vat turns Woodard into a living metal with unbeatable strength and starts going by the name of Girder.

Amidst the vague status of The Flash film, the prequel comic may be a sign of the fact that The Flash is still in the pipeline. It would be interesting to bridge the story between two previous films featuring Barry and the new DCEU’ rewrite’. The Flash has been in a lot of trouble lately, and there is an ongoing debate about having two Batman versions in the franchise. For a while, the prequel comic will give some clarification to both.

The comic book series synopsis reads:

Race through the streets of Central City in this lead-up to the hotly anticipated blockbuster The Flash! After Barry’s adventure with the Justice League, he’s determined to become a truly skilled and inspirational hero. As a new threat emerges in Central City going by the name of Girder, Barry turns to Batman for advice on training to master his powers. Can the Dark Knight help show the Scarlet Speedster a way to defeat this metallic menace, or will the Flash be crushed by Girder’s strength?

The first of the three issues of the series went out for sale on September 13, 2022.