The Flash doing Flashpoint

As many fans suspected after that jaw-dropping finale, The Flash will officially be depicting the seminal DC Comics storyline Flashpoint in season 3.

Grant Gustin revealed the news on Twitter Monday, first teasing that he’s read the premiere script, the title of which he wouldn’t divulge. But after executive producer Greg Berlanti gave his permission on Twitter, Gustin tweeted that the title of the season premiere is “Flashpoint.”

For the uninitiated, Flashpoint preceded DC Comics’ 2011 relaunch of 52 of its titles — dubbed The New 52 — where storylines converged for a crossover arc, which was written by Geoff Johns, now an executive producer on The Flash and the Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics.

In the story, Barry Allen finds himself in an alternate timeline in which his mother is no longer dead, and most of the world’s heroes are more like villains these days — Aquaman is at war with Wonder Woman; Batman is Thomas Wayne, not Bruce Wayne; Captain Cold is actually a Central City hero named Citizen Cold.

Though Barry believes the Reverse-Flash to be at fault for the changes, it’s revealed that Barry himself altered the timeline by going back to save his mom. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what Gustin’s Barry Allen did during The Flash’s season 2 finale.

The move signaled the possibility that The Flash would go down the Flashpoint route in season 3, which has now been confirmed. What this actually means for the show, however, remains to be seen. While The Flash probably won’t introduce characters like Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Batman because of DC’s film division, the show has a tendency to put a twist on the comics. Take the powerless vigilante angle: The Flash has already toyed with the idea that Robert Queen (Jamey Sheridan) was The Arrow on Earth-2 instead of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), which could be easily transferred to the Flashpoint storyline.

Now the question remains: How will this effect Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl especially considering the shows will be crossing over for a four-way event in December? Technically, those storylines could feasibly continue without a direct effect — these heroes move on in this timeline, while Barry has created an entirely new timeline in which his mother never died. Or — hold onto your hats for a moment here — we could see Flashpoint leading up to another comic book storyline: Crisis on Infinite Earths, which The Flash has also been teasing since its pilot, with the crossover potentially serving as the episode that realigns the timelines and maybe even brings Supergirl to our Earth. But those are theories for another time.

The Flash returns Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.