Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Flash.WithThe Flashfinally serving as asolo film for the hero, the story explores Barry Allen’s (Ezra Miller) background in the DC Extended Universe. The film introduces several characters surrounding him, including his mother, Nora Allen (Maribel Verdú), whose death is a significant part of his origin story. But it wasn’t always that way. Early versions of the character lived to see her son grow up, yetThe Flashgravitates towards the newer and more tragic version of Barry’s childhood. This is no surprise, considering Nora’s death was implied back inJustice League.However, while focusing on the event’s impact on Barry,The Flashdoesn’t get caught up in the details of Nora’s death.
The film uses the story of Nora’s death and shows her husband, Henry Allen (Ron Livingston), blamed and arrested, though Barry never believes his dad is responsible.Based on the famousFlashpointcomic series, Barry travels back in time to save his mother, changing the timeline in the process. Though much of the film focuses on Barry’s mission to prove his father’s innocence, there seems to be no other suspect. Of course, this story usually has one particular villain, but there are other versions that could fit with the limited information in the new film.
Despite the lack of evidence in the film, however,The Flash’s directorAndy Muschiettiseems to have revealed Nora’s killer already: Reverse Flash, the canonical killer of Barry’s mom.Muschietti said in an episode of the podcast The Discourse, “Well, Reverse Flash is the elephant in the room, right?. . . It feels like you can’t make another movie without addressing the one that, in all accounts, is the murderer of Barry’s mom." It’s not surprising based on the character’s history, but still a strange choice not to include the detail in the film, especially if the creators already agreed on that direction. Past versions of Nora’s story would certainly suggest this is indeed where the film was going with the character’s death.
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Nora Allen’s First Appearance in The Flash’s Comic History
Originally, Flash’s origins were different, allowing him to become a hero not through a childhood tragedy, like so many Justice League members, but because of a genuine desire to help people with the rare gift he received. In this version, Nora Allen existed, but her story was very different as she lived to see Barry become the Flash. Yet she nearly died in a car crash, ending up in a coma before making a miraculous recovery. In this iteration, she outlived Barry, who died in theCrisis on Infinite Earthsstoryline. Henry and Nora died shortly after Barry and were buried beside him.
Yet this story is no longer the standard for Nora and her family, as most adaptions opt for the more recent and dramatic version of a tragedy that alters Barry’s life long before he gets super speed. However, it is notable that this version exists simply because it came first. The major retcon that reintroduced the character changed a lot of things, but from the beginning, Nora was a loving and supportive mother to Barry.
Reverse Flash Is the Most Common Culprit
With Barry dead for several years and Wally West taking up the title of the Flash, Nora’s importance dwindled until 2009’s Rebirth brought her back with a brand-new story. In this version, Eobard Thawne, sometimes called Reverse Flash, Professor Zoom, or just Zoom, travels back in time from the 25th century to ruin Barry’s life. Thawne is Barry’s most notable nemesis, becoming a speedster due to his idolization of the Flash, only to turn against him and become his most bitter enemy. Thawne kills Barry’s mother, and Henry Allen is arrested for the murder, leaving Barry alone. The most recent version of Nora to appear in the comics includes much the same story of her death, with the added complication that she and Henry were struggling in their marriage, seemingly giving him more motivation.
CW’sThe Flashadapted this concept, with Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher) killing Nora (Michelle Harrison) in the first season, only for them to travel back to the moment several times throughout the show. However, in this story, Thawne goes back to kill Barry (Grant Gustin) as a child. When the Flash saves his past self, Thawne settles for ruining his life by killing his mother.
Some Versions of The Flash’s Origin Take a Different Route
Nora’s death is now ingrained into Barry’s origin, motivating him to become a forensic scientist, but it’s not always Thawne who does the deed. In some versions, Nora is killed by a nameless criminal. This version was adapted for theDC animated filmJustice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. Here, Nora’s death serves the same purpose, leaving Barry alone and motivating his eventual career choice, but it doesn’t require the same time paradox. When Thawne kills her, it’s a cyclical relationship that creates the Flash, who goes on to inspire Thawne, who travels back in time to kill Barry’s mom. This ties Nora’s death back to Barry and his eventual role as a hero. But having her dies by a nameless criminal puts Barry in the same situation while serving as an argument for the necessity of heroes in the first place.
What Does This Mean for ‘The Flash’?
While the film itself doesn’t give a definitive answer to who killed Nora, it does proveat the endthat Barry is correct in his father’s innocence. Henry cannot be blamed with an airtight alibi, proven through Barry’s slight meddling. Despite Muschietti seemingly confirming Reverse Flash as the killer, the film leaves open the options of Thawne or a nameless killer. Barry hypothesizes that a criminal believed the house was empty after Henry left for the story and broke in, finding Nora in the kitchen and killing her without further motivation. And that is a possibility, with past examples to back it up. It is also notable that there are no hints of Thawne’s involvement. Never is a stranger speedster seen going into the house or any unexplainable phenomena that could indicate Thawne, though Barry isn’t close enough to see the event anyway. But, despite not introducing Thawne, the film also does nothing to rule him out.
The film doesn’t focus on this element, which could indicate that whoever did it isn’t important. But it could also come into play later. With no official statement on a sequel, it seems unlikely that there will be a chance to expand on this version, especially withJames GunnandPeter Safran’s upcoming DCU. Muschietti stated thathe would like to do a sequel, if possible, which could explain why this plot thread was saved, hoping to reemerge for a later story. Either way, it is an unusual choice to confirm that Reverse Flash is indeed responsible for Nora’s death, but not include any hints of that in the film. Those less familiar with the Flash and his lore could watch the film with no idea what happened to Nora and leave with a major question hanging over their heads.
