The Flash Movie Confirms Supergirl Has Replaced Superman In 1 Key Way

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl featured heavily in the trailer for The Flash, proving Kara Zor-el has replaced her cousin Clark in a major way.

While there is a lot of speculation about what role in The Flash movie Supergirl will play, it may have also just been confirmed that she is replacing Superman in one key way. The Flash movie will loosely adapt the Flashpoint comic storyline, and it has been confirmed that this will serve as a reset for the DCU with new plans including a new Superman movie with Superman: Legacy as well as a Supergirl movie called Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. While the prospect of a Flashpoint adaptation is exciting, The Flash will most likely have to change several key elements, and a recently revealed piece of Supergirl merchandise may have just confirmed this.

The merch in question for The Flash movie is a t-shirt based on the movie that refers to “two idiot kids, a retired vigilante, and a half-charged solar-powered alien.” These quotes obviously refer, respectively, to the two versions of the Flash, Michael Keaton’s Batman, and Supergirl, all of whom will comprise the main characters of the DCU movie. Referring to Supergirl as “half-charged” gives a major hint as to what her role in The Flash may be, and it even further supports the theory that the movie will adapt the Flashpoint storyline, albeit with a character substitution.

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Why Supergirl Has Superman’s Flashpoint Role In The Flash Movie

The Flash movie’s Supergirl will help adapt Flashpoint which takes place in an alternate DC timeline in which Barry Allen doesn’t have superpowers and the Justice League doesn’t exist. Barry eventually finds out that Superman is on Earth, but he is in a weakened state, as he has been in government captivity presumably since he arrived. If The Flash is truly adapting the Flashpoint story, Supergirl being half-charged would make sense, putting her in the same role in the movie that Superman filled in the comics. In Flashpoint, Superman is eventually freed, and after getting his powers back, he aids Barry. Presumably, this will all happen with Supergirl in the movie.

While Supergirl is clearly replacing Superman in the story, the reason for the change is likely to do with the real-world production of The Flash. At the time that it was being made, Henry Cavill was seeming out of the DCU, meaning the movie would either need to recast the character or replace Superman entirely. However, now that it is clear that The Flash will reset the DCU, it seems as though a new version of Superman could have been used for The Flash movie and then have the character rebooted entirely for Superman: Legacy. Even with the change in the source material, Supergirl makes for an easy replacement for Superman in this story while introducing a new hero into the DCU.

Why The Flash Movie Can’t Properly Adapt Flashpoint

While some parts of Flashpoint will appear in The Flash movie, Supergirl does not and there are some major roadblocks that are preventing the movie from properly adapting the story. In the comics, major characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Aquaman appear in Flashpoint, and that probably won’t happen in The Flash. However, it seems as though one of the biggest aspects of the story is going to happen and set the stage for DCU’s Chapter 1 – Gods and Monsters slate. Flashpoint reset the DC Universe in the comics and James Gunn has confirmed that The Flash will serve the same purpose for the DCU. Heroes like Batman and Superman will be rebooted in this new timeline while some established characters like Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller will continue on. It proves that adapting Flashpoint was exactly what the DCU needed right now.

The DCU Will Have Multiple Kryptonians

While The Flash movie’s Supergirl may have taken the place of Superman in that story, it seems like the two Kryptonian heroes will be sharing the same universe in the new DCU. The announcement of both Superman: Legacy and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow hints that these heroes from Krypton will be leaders of the new cinematic universe. It’s unclear which of the older DCU characters are canon in the new timeline, meaning it is not yet known if Sasha Calle will return to play Supergirl in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The movie will focus on a jaded version of Supergirl who has grown up isolated in space. Meanwhile, Superman: Legacy will deal with a young Superman balancing his life on Earth and his Kryptonian past. Fans have a long wait until these movies arrive, but The Flash will signal a new era for the DCU and exciting things for Superman and Supergirl to come.

NEXT: The Flash Can Properly Introduce The First DCU Character