The Flash (2023)

Discovering that he can run fast enough to travel through time, Barry ignores the warnings of Bruce Wayne and goes back to the day his mother was killed by an intruder. On that day she'd forgotten tomatoes at the store and had sent his father to get them, and due to corrupted security footage and an awkward camera angle his father had no alibi, so was convicted of her crime. Barry sneaks some tomatoes into her cart so his father never had to leave, so the intruder didn't think the house was empty. Running forwards and seeing his now-happy childhood, a monstrous speedster knocks him out of the timeline into 2013.

Barry goes home and sees his parents, but his younger self arrives too, who he accosts before his parents see. Explaining everything, he realises today is the day he got his powers, and worries that unless his younger self has the same accident, older Barry will lose his powers too. They rush to the police department to position younger Barry in the room with the chemicals which gets struck by lightning - the accident occurs as expected, giving younger Barry powers but removing them from the older Barry.

While learning to use his powers, General Zod arrives, much as he did in Man of Steel. They try to find the Justice League, but realise the changes that have been made mean they don't exist. However there is a Batman, so they go to Wayne Manor, only to find an older Bruce Wayne (played by Michael Keaton) who's retired from the role, but grudgingly helps them. Using his computer they pin down a likely location for Superman - they assault the base only to discover a captured woman. They take her with them as she clearly needs help. Getting to the roof and surrounded by enemies, the sunlight hits the woman and she reveals powers like Superman, dispatching the bad guys and revealing herself as Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El. Wary of humanity she's unwilling to help, and leaves the Barrys and Bruce.

They return to the batcave and try to recreate the accident which gave Barry his powers, channeling lightning down a cable. Meanwhile Kara flies to Zod's location and sees him slaughter the soldiers who came to meet him. Horrified at his actions she returns to the group, just as the attempt to restore Barry's powers has seemingly failed, leaving him near death. She lifts him directly into the storm where he's struck by lightning and his powers return. The four of them travel to fight Zod.

During the battle, Kara discovers that he intercepted infant Kal-El's escape pod, resulting in the baby's death while attempting to retrieve the Codex for repopulating Kryptonians. Zod discloses that the Codex resides within Kara. He manages to overpower and kill her, extracting the data, and Bruce also dies in the battle. The two Barrys jump back in time to try a different approach and save their friends, but time and time again both Supergirl and Batman die in the battle. Older Barry realises it's a fixed point that they can't change, but younger Barry refuses to accept, trying time and time again, becoming more injured and accumulating more disfiguring shrapnel each time. The multiverse begins collapsing as a result of the endless interference - we see other worlds with other versions of Superman such as Christopher Reeve and even the cancelled 90's Nic Cage version.

The monstrous speedster from before arrives and reveals himself to be a future version of younger Barry, who's spent his entire life fighting the same battle with Zod, over and over again, convinced he can win. Older Barry realises the only solution is to go and undo his original change, allowing his mother to die as before. Enraged, the oldest Barry attacks him, accidentally impaling his younger self, killing him, and meaning the older version disappears. Barry returns to the store and exchanges a few heartfelt words with his unsuspecting mother before replacing the tomatoes. However he can't resist a final tweak so moves the cans higher on the shelf, ensuring when his father looks up the security camera will capture his face.

He returns home in time for his father's appeal - the newly-restored footage confirms his father's alibi who is released from prison. Barry celebrates as Bruce Wayne arrives, but Barry discovers it's a different Bruce Wayne (George Clooney), and he realises his change may have saved his father but has had other ramifications to his timeline.

Jon Sandys ★