No superhero movie is complete nowadays without a whole bunch of Easter eggs and nods to its wider franchise for the most enthusiastic of fans to enjoy – and, unsurprisingly, The Flash is no exception. But with so much going on across its 155-minute runtime, from time travelling to big battlin', it's easy to not notice a few.
While you can't simply run back to the moment right before you entered the cinema, and vow to keep an eye out for what you missed on the first watch, you can read on below, as we've pooled our minds together and knocked up a list of all The Flash Easter eggs we could find. From the film posters on Barry Allen's childhood bedroom walls to fun cameos, we've jotted it all down.
As you might expect, things are about to get a little spoiler-heavy, so if you've yet to see The Flash and don't want to know anything that happens in it, then turn back now. Right, now that's out of the way, let's get cracking, shall we? Run, reader, run…
The Flash cameos
Henry Cavill's Superman
Yes, technically, Henry Cavill is in The Flash. His version of Superman can be seen twice – once from behind dealing with a volcano in Guatemala, while the second time is a brief snapshot of his confrontation with the Justice League after coming back to life. Both times, he's entirely CGI, so Cavill didn't actually return physically.
Andy Muschietti
The Flash's director Andy Muschietti has a blink-and-you'll miss it cameo towards the end of the movie, when Barry rushes to the courthouse to sit in on his father's trial. In his mad dash, the speedster pinches a hot dog out of a hungry civilian's hands just as he's about to chomp it – and that civilian is Muschietti.
Temuera Morrison
After realizing that Superman doesn't exist in this new, alternate reality, Original Barry insists to Younger Barry that they've got to try and locate other members of the Justice League. When a Google Search for "Diana Prince" proves fruitless, he calls up Aquaman's dad Thomas Curry, played once again by Temuera Morrison, and asks to speak to his son Arthur. Tom explains that he doesn't have a son, his dog is called Arthur, and that he definitely never met Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). Oh dear.
Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman
While her scene was originally believed to have been cut – Ben Affleck actually spoiled it a few months back, because he thought it wasn't in the movie – Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman does make an appearance in The Flash. Early on, too.
The film's first act revolves around Barry helping clear up Batman's messes in Gotham, as the Caped Crusader tries to apprehend one of Carmine Falcone's sons, Alberto (a name familiar to readers of The Long Halloween, we're sure).
After saving a bunch of people inside a collapsing hospital, Flash catches up to Batman on a suspension bridge but as Barry evacuates everyone, Bruce finds himself dangling over the side. Blessed with super speed not super strength, Barry struggles to pull him back up but fortunately for both, Wonder Woman shows up and uses her Lasso of Truth to rescue the Dark Knight.
Unfortunately for both, the lasso starts making them spout out things they'd rather not in front of the Amazonian, like the fact that Bruce struggles to express his emotions or that Barry has never had sex.
Christopher Reeve, Helen Slater, Adam West, Cesar Romero, and Nicolas Cage
During their final stand against Zod, the two Barrys find themselves in a bit of a timeloop, constantly trying to stop the corrupt Kryptonian from murdering Kara Zor-El and Michael Keaton's Batman from dying. Eventually, Original Barry admits defeat and realizes that they can't keep running to the past and forcing those closest to them to suffer grisly fates over and over, but Younger Barry isn't quite so sure.
Running faster than ever, the pair see multiple realities play out in front of them like a montage of endless possibilities, and in those visions, we can see – and hear – footage of Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater as Superman and Supergirl, Adam West and the Joker as Batman and Robin, and Nicolas Cage as Superman, too. While Cage never actually played said hero like the others, it's a nod to the fact that he almost did back in the 1990s, in Tim Burton's scrapped Superman Lives project.
George Clooney's Batman
The Flash ends with a whole new Bruce Wayne stepping out of his car; George Clooney's Batman. The Ocean's 11 star previously played the Caped Crusader in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin back in 1997, so like Keaton, his involvement is a nostalgia-heavy treat – and hints that Ben Affleck's time as the character is well and truly over.
Interestingly, set photos originally suggested that the Batman glimpsed right at the end of the movie was Michael Keaton's – and that Sasha Calle's Supergirl would also have been there. Why this was changed isn't known, though we're willing to bet it's got something to do with James Gunn and Peter Safran's plans for the new DCU.
The Flash Easter eggs
The Snyder Cut
Zack Snyder's Justice League is considered non-canon, which means its events aren't relevant to the plot of The Flash. But, there is a quick nod to the film when Iris West tells Barry she thought she saw him a few years ago, though Barry denies this. In the Snyder Cut, released in 2020, Iris and Barry do have a moment together when he saves her from a potentially catastrophic car crash.
Grayson's store
When Ben Affleck's Batman arrives via fancy car to talk to Barry, you can spot a store behind him called Grayson's. Grayson is the surname of the original Robin, Dick Grayson (Batfleck had a Robin himself, but it didn't end well).
Avengers: Endgame
Yep, the Avengers get a shoutout in The Flash – well, sort of. When Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne is explaining time travel to Barry, he says Barry might have seen a movie that depicts time travel like dried strands of spaghetti, with changes causing a new branch timeline (or branch spaghetti). He then says that time travel is actually more like cooked spaghetti, meaning it's a mess.
The movie Bruce is talking about is none other than Endgame, which went to great lengths to explain that time travel wouldn't affect the future, because every change would create a new branch reality.
Star Wars
Another major movie gets a shoutout when the younger version of Barry Allen, discovering he can shoot lightning from his hands thanks to his super speed, asks, "What if I just Emperor this guy?" He even mimes Palpatine's distinctive hand movements.
Man of Steel
Of course, The Flash draws a lot from Man of Steel, but there are a few more specific references that are interesting. Jor-El gets a shoutout – he's Superman's biological father, and was played by Russell Crowe in Man of Steel. We also find out that Barry Allen was actually in Metropolis during the battle between Superman and General Zod, though he was still new to superheroism so didn't have a proper suit just yet.
World's Greatest Detective
Everyone knows Batman is the World's Greatest Detective, and Barry references the infamous nickname when he tells Michael Keaton's Batman that he is "the best detective in the world."
Danny Elfman Batman theme
Hell yeah. While Michael Keaton's return as the Caped Crusader was low-key at first, the movie stepped things up a Bat-Gear later on in the movie. During several action sequences, we can hear Danny Elfman's iconic title track from 1989's Batman playing.
Batwing
At one point in the movie, Keaton's Batman flies his Batwing across the moon, perfectly recreating that iconic shot from Batman (1989).
Batsuits
Keaton's Batcave hides some pretty cool Easter eggs in its Batsuit display, first pointed out by artist Chris Weston, who worked in the costume department on the film.
The first suit on the left is gray and features the '66 Bat symbol, just like Adam West's suit. The next suit along is gray again, but with a blue cowl and cape to match Batman's original comic book look. Next comes Keaton's costume from the '89 Batman, then the suit from Batman Returns. After that are two all new suits, one with what appears to be a breathing tube, while the other features goggles. Taking center stage Keaton's suit in The Flash.
The Joker
Along with his laughing cameo in the multiverse sequence, the Joker gets another reference when the younger version of Barry finds his laughing bag in Keaton's Batcave. Jim Gordon finds this bag on the Joker's body after the Clown Prince of Crime falls to his death in Batman (1989).
Freeze breath
After Batman and both Barrys rescue Supergirl from a military compound, the unlikely trio take her back to Wayne Manor in Gotham. There, Barry wonders if Supergirl has freeze breath, a power Henry Cavill's Superman didn't use until the theatrical version of Justice League. Perhaps we'll find out when her own film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, rolls around?
Speedy Gonzales
You know the Mexican mouse from Looney Tunes, who's known for being super quick? Well, Younger Barry does his signature pose right before he tests out his newfound super speed.
Iron Heights Penitentiary
While awaiting his trial, which'll determine whether he gets (wrongly) put away for the murder of his wife, Barry's father Henry Allen is being held at maximum-security prison Iron Heights Penitentiary in the movie, a location lifted from the comics. Some of the most well-known inmates that have spent time there over the years include Gorilla Grodd, Black Lightning, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, and Eobard Thawne AKA Reverse-Flash.
Barry's film posters
When Original Barry gets stuck in the past, eagle-eyed viewers are likely to spot that Young Barry has posters for Inception, I am Legend, Mars Attacks!, and Pacific Rim posters in his room. The dude clearly likes his action sci-fi movies…
Back to the Future, Footloose, and more
Talking of movies, several popular titles get all jumbled up when Barry alters the timeline, too. For starters, Eric Stolz plays Marty McFly in Back to the Future… a nod to the fact that Stolz was originally cast in the role before being replaced by Michael J. Fox. Instead, Fox was the lead in Footloose while Kevin Bacon was in Top Gun. Wild.
Flashpoint
In the Flashpoint comics, Original Barry gets his powers back by recreating how he got them in the first place; by enlisting Batman (Thomas Wayne, in that instance) to rig him up to a makeshift machine that would have lightning strike him as a bunch of specific chemicals spill over him. In the movie, he tries the same method and, just like in the source material, his plan fails the first time around and he suffers severe burns.
The Flash is in UK cinemas now, and will be released in the US on. For more, check out our spoiler-heavy deep dives on...
- The Flash post-credits scene, explained
- The Flash ending explained
- What happened to the Justice League in The Flash?
- Our deep dive on Iris West
- How different is The Flash to Flashpoint?
- How Superman Lives explains that wild cameo
- When does The Flash take place on the DCU timeline?
- Explaining the evil versions of The Flash
- What to watch before The Flash
- Everything you need to know about Supergirl
- Every character that appears in The Flash multiverse sequence
- Our interview with The Flash filmmakers
