The Flash marks the beginning of the new DC Universe, exploring the transition between the two with an adventure into a chaotic timeline inspired by DC's Flashpoint comic series. In this new timeline, created by Barry Allen's meddling with history, there are no metahumans, Supergirl is imprisoned, and Batman has retired. Two versions of Barry Allen seek Batman's aid, dragging the veteran crime-fighter out of retirement. But this isn't the same Batman Barry joined forces with in Justice League. This older iteration of the Dark Knight is portrayed by none other than Michael Keaton, reprising the role for the first time in over 30 years.
Keaton previously appeared as Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns. The first full trailer for The Flash reveals Keaton once again suited up in the next evolution of his Batsuit. However, The Flash's exploration of alternate timelines and parallel realities raises the question of whether this is the exact same version of Keaton's Bruce that appeared in Burton's Batman or a multiversal doppelganger who happens to resemble that universe's Bruce. Some clues are offered up in the trailer and Super Bowl TV spot for The Flash, but the endless possibilities of the multiverse may make it difficult to know for sure if this is the same Batman.
Did Tim Burton's Batman Take Place in the Flashpoint Universe?
The new reality in which Barry Allen finds himself in The Flash serves as the DCU's equivalent to Flashpoint's altered timeline. While Flashpoint saw Bruce replaced by his father as Batman, The Flash simply swapped out Ben Affleck's Bruce for Michael Keaton's. If Keaton is playing the exact same version of Batman as in his previous appearances, this would mean his original films had to take place within this Flashpoint-inspired alternate timeline. That's certainly a possibility. One of the new timeline's defining characteristics is its lack of metahumans, which was broadly true of Keaton's Batman films.
Other hints have already been dropped that The Flash's new timeline is a direct continuation of Burton's Batman universe. The Super Bowl TV spot reveals several Batsuits owned by Keaton's Bruce. Among them are the two costumes he originally wore in Batman and Batman Returns, but the connections to those films run a little deeper than simply having the costumes on display. The suit from Batman has visible fire damage across the emblem on its chest, keeping continuity with that film, in which the costume got damaged when The Joker shot down the Batwing before his final showdown with the Dark Knight.
Is Michael Keaton Playing an Alternate Version of His Batman in The Flash?
While Keaton's return as an appropriately aged version of Bruce Wayne and the Batsuits that show signs of his earlier adventures implies this is the same Batman audiences met in 1989, that may not be the case. As seen in other DC properties that deal with the multiverse, such as The CW's The Flash TV series, sometimes alternate universes produce near-identical versions of a character in terms of appearance and personal history. But in other cases, people vary greatly between realities. That would explain how two near-identical iterations of Keaton's Bruce could exist in separate universes while Affleck's radically different version appears elsewhere.
The trailer for The Flash also offers some evidence this may not be the same Bruce who appeared in Burton's Batman films. For one thing, Burton's films featured a distinctive Gothic vision of Gotham, rich in Art Deco designs rooted in a 1940s-inspired world. The world presented in the trailer for The Flash is more naturalistic, without Burton's hyper-stylized aesthetic. Additionally, among the old Batsuits on display are what appear to be two early designs, presumably worn before the 1989 suit. The issue is that 1989's Batman sees the title hero near the beginning of his career when cops and criminals alike still think Batman is merely an urban legend. It seems unlikely he's been through two costumes before the film even starts.
Matters are further complicated by The CW's Arrowverse. This television-based universe staged a crossover event in 2019, adapting DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths comic series. The crossover featured a brief appearance from the universe of Keaton's Batman -- fittingly dubbed Earth-89 -- and a cameo from Ezra Miller's Flash, confirming the TV series and DCU exist in a shared multiverse. Not only did the crossover suggest Keaton's Batman hadn't retired in this universe by 2019, potentially contradicting The Flash's portrayal of a retired Bruce, but it appears to suggest Earth-89 existed in the multiverse before the Flash altered time. Unless, of course, Earth-89 is not the original version of Burton's DC universe.
See Michael Keaton return as Batman when The Flash speeds into theaters June 16.