What does 'The Flash' finale mean for the CW superhero universe?

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for Tuesday night’s episode of The Flash.

Time travel is a fickle thing. Especially when it involves saving your mother from the murder that galvanized your superhero career, possibly disrupting the entire CW superhero universe as we know it.

The Flash finale just hit a big reset button, and in doing so, it might have hinted at that mega superhero TV show crossover we’ve been teased with. And while it seems like it’s just contained within Central City for now, it could have big repercussions for the rest of the superheroes, from Arrow, to Legends of Tomorrow and even to Supergirl.

The 23rd episode of The Flash, “The Race of His Life,” ended on a high note, with Barry saving the multiverse from Zoom, who sought to destroy it through an elaborate footrace. But Barry gets thrown by the revelation that the man in iron mask was his father’s doppelgänger, and the emotional turmoil from his father’s murder at the hands of Zoom spurs him to make possibly the dumbest decision he’s ever made (and that includes his disastrous dalliance with Earth-2 Iris and Joe West).

Barry goes back in time to his mother’s murder and saves her from death, causing Season 1 Barry to fade from existence and doing who knows what to the current-day timeline. It’s a big hint that the third season of The Flash will be playing out the DC Comics crossover Flashpoint, which saw a giant clash of superheroes and changed the DC Comics universe completely.

What is Flashpoint?

A five-issue miniseries written by Geoff Johns and featuring art by Andy Kubert, Flashpoint depicts an alternate universe where there is no Superman or Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are embroiled in a war between their two nations, and Batman is Thomas Wayne, who takes on the mantle after his son Bruce is murdered in Crime Alley.

The reason for this alternate timeline turns out to be Barry’s decision to go back in time and save his mother from being murdered by the Reverse Flash, setting off a ripple effect that changed the entire universe. As the only one who remembers the correct timeline, Barry seeks to get his powers back and unite the Justice League.

The storyline was adapted in the animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, released in 2013.

What will this look like in the TV universe?

The mega superhero crossover will probably be on a smaller scale than the comics — Superman is out of the picture already, and we’ve only got hints that Batman exists. Most likely Green Arrow will take Batman’s role and Supergirl will soar in as a Superman surrogate. It’s the Legends of Tomorrow heroes who are the wild cards, they could add a fresh twist to an alternate universe crossover.

Needless to say, they probably won’t be happy with Barry, whose actions will have bigger consequences than he could possibly imagine.