Justice League: 10 Ways The Snyder Cut Saved The Flash (original) (raw)
Though Zack Snyder’s Justice League has not been officially released all that long, viewers are already confidently declaring it an improvement on Joss Whedon’s theatrical release of Justice League from 2017. In many ways, the Snyder Cut handled each member of the Justice League far better than Whedon ever did.
While Justice League came far too early in the DCEU either way, as characters like the Flash should have gotten their own origin movies before there was a team-up movie, the Snyder Cut did what it could to save these brand-new characters. While the Flash was initially one of the worst parts of the movie, he now stands out as one of the best characters in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
10 Gave Barry An Actual Relationship With His Father
While Henry Allen did make an (uncredited) appearance in Joss Whedon’s theatrical cut of Justice League, he played a much bigger role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League than anybody anticipated. Not only that, but Barry Allen’s relationship with his father Henry was more than just a brief interaction between the two.
They consistently are important to one another and factor into one another’s lives. Even more, when Barry is rewriting time and fixing everything, he even thinks back on his father calling him the best of the best — and embodies it.
9 Made Barry’s Life Goals Something The Audience Cared About
In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Barry was given an entire introduction that he did not previously have. He is trying to get yet another part-time job, and it is something that he is clearly struggling to do, although he similarly obviously wants it. When Barry returns to his father with news of another part-time job, his father wants his son to do more with his life.
When Barry returns to his father at the end of the movie and tells him he got a real job and finally got his foot in the door, the two of them are elated. This arc and growth for Barry actually feels meaningful and does a lot of development for his character.
8 Removed The Terrible Scene Where The Flash Face-Planted Into Wonder Woman’s Cleavage
Many improvements were made in Zack Snyder’s Justice League over Joss Whedon’s Justice League regarding the treatment of Wonder Woman. While Whedon treated her terribly, Snyder actually made her a functioning character.
Among many other moments that Snyder removed and/or improved upon, he took out the moment where the Flash tripped and face-planted in Wonder Woman’s cleavage. This unnecessary “joke” was not only not funny, but did a disservice to both characters in the process.
7 Barry Never Tells Bruce That He’s Inexperienced And Hasn’t Fought Before
In the original theatrical version of Justice League, there was a moment where Barry told Bruce he’s never fought before, that he has no experience, that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. This, again, like many other moments Whedon had, did a disservice to who Barry already was as a character.
While he has a different experience to characters like Bruce or Diana, it’s relatively hard not to be different from them. This Flash has a fresh arc and has more confidence in his own abilities, giving him his own way of doing things.
6 Successfully Introduced The Character (Before He Got An Origin Movie)
While Justice League was made before every member of the Justice League actually got introduced, fans just have to move forward and accept this. Movies for characters like Aquaman and the Flash didn’t come until after the movie; in fact, the Flash movie still isn’t out yet.
However, where the original Justice League did a subpar job at best of introducing Barry Allen to the DCEU, the Snyder Cut actually excelled at introducing the Flash to the universe. He felt like a real character and a real hero. Not only that, but the Speed Force was explained well and utilized effectively in this film, too.
5 Iris West Was Introduced To Barry Allen’s Life
Multiple characters that were cut from the Joss Whedon theatrical release of Justice League ended up getting to make their grand appearance (or reappearance, as the case may be) in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Among those characters were Vulko, Aquaman’s mentor, and Iris West, the woman who will — presumably — become Barry’s love interest.
As Iris and Barry are like Lois Lane and Superman in that they are always each other’s main love interests, keeping Iris in this movie felt important to Barry’s introduction to the franchise. Not only that, but the sequence that introduced Kiersey Clemons’ Iris West to the DCEU was an excellent scene altogether that deserved to stay in the movie.
4 Barry Feels Like A Whole Character (And Not Just Comic Relief)
Like Cyborg and Aquaman, the Flash was a character who had most of his important work cut from the theatrical release of the film. However, while he was basically a minor character that served as comic relief for the “main” characters of the Justice League the first time around, the Flash was actually a whole and important character in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Zack Snyder was able to take a character that functionally was one of the worst parts of Justice League and turned things around so dramatically that the Flash is now arguably the best character in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. He became not just comic relief, but his own self — who can still be funny, but who is more than that.
3 The Flash Is Integral To The Plan The Justice League Comes Up With
In the original theatrical release of the film, the plans that the Justice League come up with really don’t rely on anybody except Batman, Wonder Woman, and — of course — Superman. The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman are functioning mostly as back-up, with their powers coming in handy whenever the plot deemed it necessary.
However, Zack Snyder changed things up for his Snyder Cut of the film. The Flash, rather than being interchangeable with any other hero, is actually integral to the plan that the team comes up with. The moment feels important not only for the team, but for Barry personally, and has a deep emotional impact as a result.
2 Without The Flash, The Knightmare Future Would Have Come To Pass
When the Flash realized that his — very human — response to his injury had caused him to move too slowly and allow Darkseid to complete his plan, he decided that he had to break the rules and alter time.
This actually meant something to Barry Allen in the Snyder Cut, there wasn’t any weight to Barry’s choices in the initial release of the film. It is because of Barry’s strength and Barry’s abilities that Darkseid did not win and the Knightmare future did not come to pass.
1 The Flash And Batman Now Feel Like They Could Have A Real (And Good) Movie Together
After Justice League came out, it was announced that Ezra Miller would be reprising his role as Barry Allen in the upcoming movie The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti_._ However, it was also announced — somewhat surprisingly — that Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton would be reprising their roles as Bruce Wayne from previous Batman movies.
Before, it didn’t feel like Ben Affleck and Ezra Miller had any sort of dynamic capable of carrying their own movie. Now, however, the Snyder Cut has given the DCEU a Flash and a Batman that audiences would love to see work side-by-side once more.