The Flash Drops A Pun That Puts Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze To Shame

Warning: This article contains spoilers for "The Flash"

Dropping puns into a movie script is nothing new in Hollywood, and while sometimes these quick-witted quips are truly funny, in other instances, they can elevate the cringe factor in audience members. Superhero movies have certainly gone down the "punny" route in the past, perhaps best evidenced in Arnold Schwarzenegger's ice-cold lines as Mr. Freeze in the critically lambasted 1997 "Batman" sequel "Batman & Robin," starring George Clooney as the Caped Crusader. Now, Ezra Miller's Barry Allen — aka The Flash in the new DC superhero movie of the same name — has also delivered a pun, and audience reactions to it are varied. 

In the film's action-packed opening scene, The Flash scrambles with the help of Batman (Ben Affleck) to save people from a crumbling building. Among those in peril are a group of infants falling from a maternity ward housed on one of the top floors, so as the Scarlet Speedster rushes to save them, he dubs the situation a "baby shower."

Twitter users naturally had their opinions on the line, and user @terrysean85 was among those who reacted positively to The Flash's pun, saying, "'Baby shower,' omg, the flash is awesomeness." Meanwhile, @Saurabh___K tweeted, "At starting there was baby shower... LMAO #TheFlash." Also, @JennabGreat sang praises of "The Flash" on Twitter, saying they loved the film for several reasons, including the sky raining babies. "Bro. I f**king loved #TheFlash. I neeeed more Sasha Calle Supergirl. BATFLECK. Baby Shower. Laughter and tears. I enjoyed the absolute hell out of it." 

The comments are no doubt positive, considering the messy history of "The Flash" movie and the fact that it was released at all. Other viewers' reactions were far less kind.

The 'baby shower' pun by Barry Allen/The Flash wasn't for everybody on Twitter. @Dr_Science_Wiz first took Ezra Miller — who recently shared their first comments since allegations of misconduct — to task before knocking on the "baby shower" line and "The Flash" as a whole. "The Flash isn't good. It has nothing to do with the fact that Ezra Miller is a criminal weirdo, though that's hard to ignore," they tweeted. "It's just that even if you can get past that and the literal baby shower, a bad scene meant to set up a terrible joke, it's just not good."

Twitter user @mvbrat91 wasn't as harsh in their criticism of "The Flash," as the tweet seemingly praised the "baby shower" line while putting down the film. "Not that this makes it better but it's that set piece of The Flash saving babies in a baby shower scene."

At some point, of course, "The Flash" will hit digital video, and clips from the film will end up online, where more fans can compare Miller's "baby shower" quip to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze puns. For those who've never seen "Batman & Robin," Mr. Freeze's puns include such one-liners as "The iceman cometh!" and telling the dynamic duo, "You're not sending me to the cooler!" Other Mr. Freeze puns in "Batman & Robin" included, "What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!" and "Alright everyone, chill," as well as "Tonight, hell freezes over!" and "Let's kick some ice!"

One way fans can escape those dreadful lines is by seeing "The Flash."