The Flash: Who Is DC's Dark Flash & Will He Appear In Ezra Miller's Film?

This article contains spoilers for 2023's "The Flash" movie

When it comes to the DC Universe, evil speedsters are a dime a dozen. The Flash has faced off against a wide variety of sinister counterparts, from his arch-nemesis Reverse-Flash, to Godspeed, Savitar, Hunter Zolomon, Black Flash, The Rival, Cobalt Blue, and so on. However, morally-ambiguous speedsters are a little less common, which is what makes the recent buzz surrounding the anti-hero Dark Flash so interesting.

As readers may have guessed from that oh-so original name, Dark Flash is a dark inverse of The Flash. In fact, that description can be taken quite literally, as he's actually a variant of the hero from another timeline. Dark Flash has been sporadically popping up in the comics since his debut in 1999, but recent evidence suggests that the character will make his first live-action appearance on the big screen as part of 2023's "The Flash" movie. With that in mind, here's a breakdown of the character's intriguing history and why he's likely to show up against Ezra Miller's Flash.

Barry Allen's Flash doesn't get to have all the fun when it comes to having variants of himself from across the multiverse. As it happens, Dark Flash is specifically an alternate universe version of the third Flash, Wally West. His name is Walter West, and in his comic book introduction, readers learn that he's from a world very similar to the mainline DC Universe, except that things diverge when he fails to save his version of Linda Park. The grief of losing Linda causes Walter to adopt a more brutal approach to carrying out his superheroics. Tragic backstory — check.

As his debut story goes, things take a major turn for Walter when he ends up entering the primary DC Universe right after Wally West sacrifices himself to save Barry Allen from death. Sensing an opportunity to get a second chance at living the life he lost, Walter takes Wally's place and masquerades as him, becoming the protector of Keystone City and joining up with the Justice League. Of course, it's not long before his rougher edges and angsty behavior ousts him as an imposter to his fellow heroes.

The interesting thing about Dark Flash is that he's not really a Flash villain in the comics. He's an unlucky version of Wally West who, despite losing his way, still tries to be a hero. He even joins the Flash Family in fighting against a massive speedster threat sometime after his introductory story. An intriguing character, to be sure.

For those seeking an informed answer to whether Dark Flash will show up in 2023's "The Flash," the evidence points to an emphatic "yes." Prior to the release of the film, a licensed set of action figures based on the movie were revealed by McFarlane Toys. One of these figures is none other than Dark Flash, who is described to be based on his appearance from the movie. The description for the product reads as follows: "As he pushes the boundaries of his powers, Barry Allen encounters a mysterious and terrifying vision amidst The Speed Force — something, or someone, is seemingly using the abilities of The Flash for nefarious purposes."

Beyond his set-up as an outright villain rather than an anti-hero, one look at the figure's appearance suggests that this version of the character won't be sharing many similarities to his comic book counterpart. While the Dark Flash of the comics sports a darker version of Wally West's traditional costume, the Dark Flash of the movie seems to be encased in a mangled black suit covered in sinister-looking tendrils. Of course, there's also the matter of Dark Flash being a variant of Wally West, who isn't featuring as The Flash of this movie. As reported on by The Direct, a certain mix-up with the international promotional material for "The Flash" may have already revealed the identity of this Dark Flash, though we'll steer clear of getting that spoiler-y for now.