DC Live-Action Multiverse and Theories on Black Adam and The Flash
I. Introduction
Next year, The Flash will officially introduce the DC Multiverse to cinema. However, a lot of people are skeptical for various reasons. Chief among them is that the MCU seems to have outraced the DCEU again.
This post will state my opinion on how the live-action DC Multiverse will stand out from Marvel's, what they can (and possibly will) do to overcome the fact that they are technically behind in using it theatrically. Of course I've also added in some of my theories on the future of DC films. Specifically, I have some significantly huge theories on Black Adam and the Flash if true.
I already made a huge post on The Batman previously if you haven't read that yet. I'm wrote this around Batman Day so why not check it out.
Before I continue however, here's the obligatory disclaimer:
Disclaimer: I am NOT a leaker. I have no inside sources of any sort nor do I claim to have any. This is all my opinion speculation. Any detective work I've done is of the armchair variety, not exactly the World's Greatest. Also, I'm not a Physics major so I'm no expert in the concepts I've discussed regarding the Multiverse.
This post is divided into 4 sections:
- Introduction
- War of the Multiverses
- Black Adam set on Earth 2?
- The Flash and the live-action DC Multiverse
II. War of the Multiverses
Time and time again, the MCU has outdone the DCEU. The few times they did something second they still did it better (see BvS and Civil War).
A lot of people are disappointed and see The Flash doing the same thing, rushing and playing catch up. I can't say that's entirely untrue, but I do think that this is different.
My points are as follows:
- The DC and Marvel Multiverses are distinct enough in mechanics and history, and that DC's is richer and more unique in that regard (obligatory IMO) which the DCEU can use to its advantage.
- The Live-Action DC Multiverse has been built up and used far earlier than most think and the DCEU only needs to acknowledge and build on what's already been done to again take that to their advantage.
For this section, I'll be focusing primarily on the latter, so less theory and more an explanation.
The MCU so far has adapted the comic multiverse mostly faithfully.
To recap:
- The MCU Multiverse was first mentioned in Dr. Strange back in 2016, and mentioned again in Spider-Man Far From Home in a fake-out with Mysterio.
- Endgame used time travel to create divergent timelines which the Loki series built on for their new multiverse.
- Spider-Man No Way Home is bringing in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men and their villains featuring Dr. Strange again.
- Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness will be directed by Sam Raimi and is rumored to feature Fox's X-Men universe and more.
From what we've seen the MCU Multiverse is a primarily Quantum one, just like the comics Multiverse.
Essentially, it's based on the Many Worlds Interpretation asserting that all outcomes equally become real in other realities. Additionally with the MCU however, time travel is limited to the manipulation of time (reversing, resetting, etc.) with the time stone and time travel cannot alter the existing timeline but create a divergence of timelines. One "sacred timeline" is protected until recently from this. Pretty simple.
Now let's look at the DC Multiverse
It has a Quantum element as well of course, but it's not the primary model that it's based on. In fact there's another IRL theoretical physics theory that's most associated with it. The DC Multiverse is very different in that regard.
First, all physical universes in the DC Multiverse co-exist in the same plane of space-time. Different Earths exist in the same place at the same time, and this is possible because they're separated by different vibrational frequencies.
This is how the Flashes can traverse the Multiverse. The most common and classic way is using their speed to vibrate their molecules at impossibly high speeds, and/or they just run faster than light, breaking the dimensional barrier and sending them to another Earth. Molecular vibration is actually also how the Flashes travelled through time classically with the help of a Cosmic Treadmill to guide them.
While there is a link to time travel and a quantum element (which I again will explain later), there is a distinction. These universes and Earths again exist in the same plane, meaning they're not created from divergence but also time travel can change an existing timeline.
In fact both the original comics Pre-Crisis Multiverse and the live-action CW Multiverse (more on that later) had all universes born simultaneously, separating at the dawn of time.
So the Multiverse we know, the actual physical worlds in DC, they're not just diverged timelines of the prime world and that applies to live-action. They're a community of realities that have their own completely independent timelines.
The Speed Force is a a cosmic force in the Multiverse representing motion and moving space-time forward. It's an energy field gives Flashes their speed, but it's also an extradimensional reality itself existing outside of the space-time of all Earths. This is how they can travel through time and the Multiverse (more on how this'll affect the DCEU later).
But back to that other scientific theory I mentioned...
In recent years the Multiverse was further developed by legendary writer Grant Morrison based on many concepts including String Theory.
Explaining it as simply and briefly as I can: it reconciles Quantum Theory and General Relativity by proposing that everything in reality is made of 1 dimensional "strings" that vibrate. In Morrison's work on Final Crisis and Multiversity, they constantly alludes to concepts from String Theory and its variants (Branes, the Bulk etc.) regarding the Multiverse and how it's all one big song, with each universe being a different pitch.
On the left is a box listing all the tiers of reality and behind it is a rainbow back ground and a line representing a wave. The higher the realms go, the shorter the wavelength (indicating higher frequency) and the color shifts from red to blue, representing a spectrum of frequencies.
But wait there's more!
The DC Multiverse does have a similar quantum component called Hypertime. It first debuted in Mark Waid's Kingdom Come sequel and his Flash but was actually first created by none other than, you guessed it, Grant Morrison.
Timelines don't just diverge though, they converge, run parallel and influence each other. Think of a railroad with many tracks. The independent timeline of a universe changes because of this and its history sometimes over-written from the time stream. Previous versions of universes, the multiverse and erased history all exist here. It's a model designed to reflect a fictional multiverse.
Here's a video of Morrison explaining it.
(also more on Grant Morrison later in The Flash section)
These more unstable and constantly changing realities feed the local Multiverse as possibilities of new universes to be born in the Forge of Worlds from Scott Snyder's (no relation) Justice League.
Whew that was long.
But as you can see, the DC Multiverse has a very rich cosmology and history distinct and arguably more developed than Marvel though I'm biased of course and yes this could potentially be convoluted despite being more organized and defined.
As for the DCEU rushing or having no lead up to having a cinematic Multiverse....
III. Black Adam set in Earth 2?
Now come the theories.
I originally wanted to wait until Fandome 2021 came so I'd have more clues or so I'd know of these are still likely but ahh screw it might as well put the theories here. If it turns out right, cool, if not, well dang but it is what it is.
I think there's a good chance the Black Adam movie is set on Earth 2.
"Which Earth 2? The CW Earth 2 with Stargirl? The Batman? The upcoming Val-Zod series Michael B. Jordan's trying to make?"
Well...all of them (maybe).
Let me explain.
First of all, Black Adam's confirmed to not have Billy and the Marvel Shazam Family show up at all. Strange considering Black Adam is very much a Captain Marvel Shazam villain related character. The Shazam sequel "Wrath of the gods", which wrapped, also does not have Black Adam despite releasing in 2023.
Next, although there were talks it doesn't seem like any of the Leaguers are showing up for Black Adam. Instead, we have the Justice Society of America making their cinematic debut as the heroes taking Black Adam on in the present. Definitely inspired by Geoff Johns' JSA run.
However, the JSA have never been hinted to have pre-existed in the DCEU and it's strange they're dealing with this and not previous events the League are dealing with. Unlike Diana they don't have a reason to be gone yet return now in this movie specifically. As any DC fan would know, the JSA also originated from the original Earth 2.
Each individual point doesn't mean much but all together?
"Wait a minute, what about the Wizard Shazam? He's confirmed to reappear and he's the same as the DCEU one!"
If you take a look again at the Multiverse map, the Rock of Eternity is at the center of the Orrery of Worlds, being a nexus for the Multiverse, untethered to just 1 universe. Post-Flashpoint Shazam is a champion of the 7 magic lands which may be realms in the Multiverse.
(Although the way the Rock and Sphere of the Gods works are more complicated than that and may still manifest differently in other worlds but I digress).
In conclusion, it's entirely possible the Wizard was selecting Champions from a selection of multiple Earths. The 7 realms were hinted at in the first Shazam film by Mr. Mind so we may learn more there.
"Well what if the JSA existed in the far past and the movie is also set in the past."
Both Dr. Fate and Hawkman are confirmed to be "veterans" in the Fandome panel while Atom Smasher and Cyclone are "new recruits" and they're modern JSA members. The Wizard also never said anything about Black Adam being freed before the events of Shazam. Argument from silence? Yeah to be fair but there are other signs the movie will be set in present day such as Intergang.
A huge international incident involving Khandaq, the revival of ancient magical champion and a battle involving Intergang and American superheroes would be hard to cover up.
"But the Fandome panel all of the Rock's interviews hint he actually will fight the League, especially Superman and Shazam in the future!"
Hence my theory that The Flash will either merge universes and/or Black Adam would travel to Earth 1 to challenge the new Champions of the Wizard and take their powers for himself, with the League coming in to defend them from him. Justice League and Shazam Family vs Black Adam. Earth-1 vs Earth-2.
And there's more.
The 2020 fandome also hinted at Eclipso coming in with animated fan art and supported by some rumors saying he'll be a minor villain. Possibly the reason he went bad.
Black Adam and the Heart of Darkness/Black Diamond
Eclipso is currently the main villain of Stargirl and he just made his full appearance in the latest episode as of writing this.
Eclipso
So far the show has hinted and confirmed at multiple JSA members actually being alive (including Charles Mcnider and Sylvester Pemberton). We never actually saw them die in Stargirl and the art and photos of them alive aren't reliable as among many reasons, Jay Garrick is coming back portrayed by John Wesley Shipp and he looks different from those. He may be alive in present day as well since an interview implied it may open Stargirl to a crossover.
Also, I'm pretty sure Cyclone was originally going to either be Stargirl or Hawkgirl before being replaced in the movie for unknown reasons.
Both obviously take inspiration from Geoff Johns' JSA, who himself is heavily involved with Stargirl. IIRC he actually met with Dwayne Johnson but he may or may not be involved with this movie.
Again however, this is just a theory that I'm not even 100% confident with.
- Obviously The Batman, only called Earth 2 by some articles, will be ultimately separate and independent (though set pictures and props imply other heroes exist).
- The Val-Zod series may not happen and is in development with the Coates Superman film. Either could be 100% independent and original.
- Black Adam and Stargirl could end up contradicting each other even a tiny way in an upcoming episode of the latter or a trailer in the former.
But hey, this theory's interesting and it's here. It makes for a great twist for the end of the movie, set up for the Multiverse in Flash and tie-in with TV material.
We know WB wants to make a new plan, tie all their properties together and that especially includes the HBO Max shows. Stargirl was originally a streaming show in fact. The new Green Lantern series coming up will tie into the Green Lantern Corps movie and features Alan Scott, whose daughter Jade is in Stargirl.
All the pieces are there for them to make it happen but obviously it may or may not. This does lead me to the last part of this post which talks about how the live-action Multiverse is already very developed and how the Flash could deal with it.
IV. The Flash and the Live-Action DC Multiverse
Now a lot of people are disinterested in the Flash movie for many reasons.
That includes the fact that it looks like they're leaning into the multiple Batmen and other Leaguers too much for a proper Flash solo. That's something I 100% understand and sympathize with despite being a Batman fan more than a Flash fan, I'm still very much both. That being said, I am excited for the possibilities of the Multiverse and there are rumors that the Rogues, Dr. Alchemy and Eobard (disguised as Barry?) will be in it.
For the sake of this post though, I'll be focusing on that Multiversal aspect.
This movie's gone through a lot of changes in development and instability.
One of the many rejected scripts was actually by Ezra Miller and none other than Grant Morrison. From what I heard Miller was going to quit when they rejected it but the fact that he didn't seems to be that parts of it will influence the current iteration of the movie and of course Morrison's contributions to the DC comics Multiverse are too big to not use.
Of course it's obvious that the movie will be based on Flashpoint, but loosely so.
With rumors about different League members (including Batfleck) appearing than I'm inclined to believe we might have an opening with them working together against Flash villains. Similar to the opening of the Flashpoint Paradox animated movie.
"But wait, Flashpoint is a time travel story not a multiverse one. It created an altered history that overwrote Earth 0. It had to be undone to restore the original timeline of the same universe, which had the same vibrational frequency."
Exactly. That's likely what the older scripts were about too.
We know that the movie will feature most of that with Barry's parents and young Barry both being part of the movie.
But we all know that the movie will feature the Multiverse too. Not just alternate timelines, completely different universes as I've said. Independent not divergent. Most famously Michael Keaton's Batman from Batman '89 and a version of Supergirl that looks like a combination of Lara Kent from a dream in Injustice comics (though she appeared for a real as a cameo in JL Doom War).
And of course this isn't just MK acting a version of Batman it's literally the original Burton one. In fact rumors are that the movie's basically going to tour the Multiverse including worlds of past DC properties.
So what's going on?
Remember, Speed Force users can travel through both time and dimensions, using the same method of vibrations or faster than light travel, sometimes with the help of the Cosmic Treadmill. In fact, Barry Allen first created the device and travelled through time with it and vibrations in Flash #125, two issues after he first met Jay Garrick on Earth 2 due to vibrations in...
Flash of Two Worlds (Flash #123)
So similar to Flashpoint and The Button, I think Bruce and Barry would make a Cosmic Treadmill to travel through the timestream, but somehow either:
A. Flashpoint does happen but Barry thinks it's an alternate universe and goes to other universes trying to find his way home, not realizing he just came from there and so would try to change the timeline again while still keeping his mother alive. He'd need to be convinced to undo his original change by stopping himself in the Speed Force and I don't think a Batman can do that. Who can you ask?
B. They end up breaching the dimensional barrier and Barry never actually gets to create the Flashpoint timeline as we know it but instead almost does and was about to only to be stopped or change his mind. How you ask?
Well, that's where the pre-existing live-action DC Multiverse comes in.
Love or hate the CW's inconsistent quality, they built the DC live-action multiverse first. Starting with the Flash Season 2 in 2015, all the way to an adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths in 2019-2020. That's the short version. There are plenty of arcs from Flash and smaller annual crossovers like Elseworlds and Crisis on Earth X.
Even now its two best shows, Superman & Lois and Stargirl (both excellent shows on a different level that I recommend to everyone) are using it with John Henry Irons in the former and the latter being separate from the Arrowverse.
In said Crisis, besides original worlds from the shows, we already saw many old live-action properties confirmed to co-exist in the multiverse in their own Earths.
These include:
- Titans (Earth-9)
- Doom Patrol ( Earth-21)
- Swamp Thing (Earth-19)
- Green Lantern (Earth-12)
- Batman '66 (Earth-66)
- John Wesley Shipp Flash (Earth-90)
- Smallville (Earth-167)
- Donner Superman/Returns/Kingdom Come (Earth-96)
- Burton Batman (Earth-89)
As you can see, the Burtonverse along with the Donnerverse both appeared. Both currently have titles currently being released. 6-issue mini-series each. Now one's appearing in The Flash. Could the other too? I sure hope so as Brandon Routh proved himself in Crisis and canonically he's said to be the same as Christopher Reeve's Superman.
Anyway my point here is
the CW already established a Multiverse ahead of either MCU or DCEU.
The Flash movie should take advantage of that. Turn back back time and retroactively make all of that the lead up for the DCEU's Multiverse, because they are the same multiverse, and acknowledging that would really tie things all together. The neat thing is, that connection's already been made.
Miller Flash met Gustin Flash in Crisis.
This was in the Speed Force, outside of time, so it DCEU Barry could come from anywhere and anywhen. Now simply inserting that scene into the movie and having glimpses of all other Earths while running in the Speed Force could be enough, but they could do even more.
There are rumors Grant Gustin will be in the movie with another scene. Unlikely but let's just say it does happen. Let's say it either happens right before he causes Flashpoint or maybe near the end after it's undone.
Well Grant-Barry could tell Ezra-Barry exactly what Jay Garrick told him.
"I'm not some doctor with a theory Barry, I'm a speedster like you, whose travelled in time and made these same mistakes you are making right now. [...]...are you just going to take a do-over every time you make a mistake, or are you going to live with them and move forward."
(Highly recommend watching the whole clip as he explains the Flashpoint paradox in short too, really good scene from the early seasons)
This scene would even be better and more impactful since Barry literally did do this exact same mistake. More than once. He even opened a breach to the old Earth 2 because of the first time he almost caused Flashpoint in the first season.
If rumors are true that ZSJL is being followed up on by Andy Muschietti instead of the theatrical cut, Barry would be obsessed with using his newfound ability to rewind time and save his mother. Something Barry can relate to.
"Make your own future, make your own past".
"Why do I have these powers when I can't go back and fix what I broke?"
This'll be something he needs and only another more experienced Barry who's been through this can convince him out of it. One way or another a scene like this would fit so well for them.
This is also the exact same lesson DC films needs to learn.
They can't undo their screw ups but they also can't restore an old plan that just wasn't working either, they need to move forward. This strategy is perfect for that. No Way Home, and likely Multiverse of Madness, are bringing characters from other worlds into the MCU. Conversely, The Flash is bringing the Flash of the DCEU into other worlds of an already existing Multiverse.
Now I don't know if Eobard disguised as Barry or an evil alternate Barry will be the actual villain (as rumors and leaks suggest) and I'm not sure if Barry will do a Flashpoint and undo it or almost do it but not. If he does then well that'll explain the changes in continuity. Flashpoint had Pandora merge two universes (Vertigo and Wildstorm) with Earth 0 so that may happen here too.
Barry could get back to the present, prove his father's innocence only to then discover some things are different irreparably. Maybe his trail across the Multiverse even brought some people over.
Whatever the case,
I remain hopeful for this movie and I'm hyped to see more of this and Black Adam in October. Of course, to be honest, the movie I'm most excited for is definitely The Batman. Earth 2 or not it's a fresh start and it looks terrific, I again recommend that post I made for it. I'm also hyped for Keaton to return but I hope he doesn't overshadow the Flash in his own movie.
As you can see here, there's a lot of ways they can do all of this as best as possible and hopefully this also brings more optimism for the Flash film and the future of DC films in general.
Thanks for reading and Happy Batman Day if it still is.
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