The Flash is one of the only superheroes whose powers are rather singular. Better known as his real name, Barry Allen, The Flash doesn’t have super-human strength or telekinesis. All of Barry’s powers lie within his unmatched speed. Across comics, television series, and films, The Flash has outrun danger and even stopped a tornado from spinning with his quick nature. But there’s one aspect of The Flash’s speed some fans hold near and dear to his character — his ability to use his powers to literally run throughout time.
Time travel is crucial to The Flash. It’s used as an important plot device for one of his greatest enemies, Reverse-Flash, and is included countless times in his adventures and arcs — like the acclaimed Flashpoint series. But how exactly does Barry Allen travel back and forth through time? Well, it depends on what version of the Speedster fans are asking about.
The Flash was first exposed to time travel in the original DC comics. In a 1961 issue, Barry is introduced to the Cosmic Treadmill, a treadmill that can be used to travel through time. The catch? Only those who can run the treadmill up to super-speed can use it. The Cosmic Treadmill requires an immense amount of power and the process is often damaging to its user. The Flash, the long-running television series on the CW, also includes the Cosmic Treadmill, but only the most recent seventh season. Before that, Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin in the series) was exposed to time travel through the use of time vehicles like the Time-Sphere or Time-Ship. These vessels are used mostly by members of the Time Masters, who are in charge of overseeing the correct timelines (think TVA agents in the MCU’s Loki series.)
The DCEU, separate from the CW’s Arrowverse, also recognizes the Cosmic Treadmill as a time-travel device. But the DCEU is where time-travel devices become more difficult to pin down. 2017’s Justice League has the Cosmic Treadmill, ordered to be built by Cyborg and Batman. Barry Allen (now played by Ezra Miller in the DCEU) uses the device to warn Bruce Wayne in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice about the dark events to follow in Justice League.
The highly debated Snyder Cut of Justice League premiered in early 2021 and added another dimension to time travel in the DCEU. In an effort to help the other members of the Justice League defeat Steppenwolf, Barry uses his powers to enter the Speed Force. The Speed Force is how all Speedsters (Barry included) get their powers. In multiple comic stories and The Flash television show, the Speed Force is dark particle energy that can connect to Speedsters like Allen. In some iterations of The Flash, The Speed Force has also turned itself into people using physical manifestation and even has its own personality. But Synder’s Justice League uses it as a pocket of the universe that contains all the energy Speedsters need. In the film, Barry Allen has to run so fast that he turns back time enough to give Cyborg enough power to separate the Mother Boxes, objects that have the potential of reshaping the entire Earth.
So how will the DCEU’s upcoming solo Flash film deal with time travel? The answer isn’t as concrete as fans would think. While Synder’s version of Justice League had Barry Allen using the Speed Force, those events aren’t recognized as canon in the DCEU — Joss Whedon’s Justice League is. Going into The Flash, all Allen will have is the Cosmic Treadmill. But with a plot focused on changing the events of the past, time travel is guaranteed. The real question is how far director Andy Muschietti will take the time travel lore. Officially introducing the Speed Force into the DCEU would make explaining the appearances of other Batmans — like Michael Keaton, who will be reprising his Bruce Wayne from Tim Burton’s Batman films — much easier.
The Flash’s plot is also rumored to be heavily inspired by Flashpoint, a 2011 comic book storyline that relies on its use of alternate realities and time travel. If Muschietti and screenwriter Christina Hodson wanted, the Speed Force could be used as the perfect catchall for explaining how other characters are traveling between their respective worlds. Still, fans can’t be sure until that lucrative first teaser appears. Until then, it’s always good to get a refresher on Barry Allen and his story by revisiting his important role in Justice League or diving into the respective CW series. If only we could speed up time to get us to November 2022 so we could see exactly how Barry Allen will travel through time in the DCEU’s future.