Why are there two Barry Allens in The Flash?

❘ Published: 2023-06-16T15:30:00

Warner Bros.

With The Flash in cinemas now, here’s how the movie features two Barry Allens, and maybe even more…

The Flash sped into theaters worldwide this week, bringing time-travel and multiverse madness to the masses, including multiple Barry Allens onscreen at once.

That’s common in the comics, with a variety of Barry Allens running around a variety of timelines. Indeed, there are also different Flash variants, with the likes of Jay Garrick, Wally West, Eobard Thawne, Jesse Chambers, and Hunter Zolomon all assuming the mantle.

So how can there be two Barry Allens in The Flash movie? Read on to find out, though beware of SPOILERS AHEAD.

Why are there two Barry Allens in The Flash?

There are two Barry Allens in The Flash because the the title character travels back in time and comes face-to-face with his younger self. As for how he can travel through time, that’s down to the Speed Force, which you can learn about here.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Flash: “Worlds collide in The Flash when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no superheroes to turn to.

“That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?”

The reality that Barry becomes trapped in is an alternate timeline where he comes face-to-face with his college-age self. Indeed, when they first meet each other, young Barry says to older Barry: “That’s my face. You stole my face!”

The movie then turns into something of a buddy comedy as Barry teams up with Barry to take on the film’s villain, General Zod. Their efforts involve more Speed Force action, where a third Flash seems to be causing chaos – namely Dark Flash.

But via a twist at the end of the movie, it’s revealed that Dark Flash is young Barry, driven mad by his time-travelling efforts to put things right by saving his mom. So three Barry Allens effectively become two.

Though if you do want to see a third Flash, look out for the Speed Force sequence that features Teddy Sears as the Jay Garrick version of the character, as described in our Easter Eggs piece.

Ezra Miller is Barry Allen and Barry Allen

Following their heavily publicized run-ins with the law, The Flash star Ezra Miller hasn’t been doing much in the way of press. But Michael Keaton has popped up everywhere discussing his Batman’s return, and he’s been comparing the work Miller does as both Barry’s to one of his own previous movies.

While appearing on Jake’s Takes, Keaton said: “I mean just did The Flash and there’s a similarity in how – I don’t want to give too much away – but how he has to play against himself and with himself. And we were talking about the difficulty of making Multiplicity and the challenge.”

Multiplicity is a 1996 Harold Ramis movie that stars Michael Keaton as a man who duplicates himself so he can spend more time with his family. And it sounds like Keaton was able to pass on what he learned playing multiple versions of the same character to his co-star.

For more on the The Flash, check out the below articles: