A look at the huge changes that could take place when Flashpoint comes to CW's 'The Flash'

The Flash star Grant Gustin has revealed the title of Season 3's premiere episode, and it's one that has Gustin and other comic book fans deservedly freaking out.

"FLASHPOINT," he wrote on Twitter. "This is not a drill."

Flashpoint, for those who may not know, was a 2011 story arc that changed the entire face of the DC Comics universe, and had Flash Barry Allen, the same Flash Gustin plays, as the focal point.

In the limited series, Barry Allen has used his speed powers to travel back in time and stop the murder of his mother, but this timeline change caused a ripple effect that made his present a hellish landscape where his fellow heroes were darker and more twisted, with Wonder Woman and Aquaman at war over Europe, Bruce Wayne dead and his father a murderous Batman, Superman raised as a government lab rat, and millions of human casualties amidst the super-powered carnage. Even when Barry, with the help of the elder Wayne, is able to go back and set things right, the present he returns to is not the original one he left. This was the launch of DC's controversial New 52 line of comics, which is currently being rebooted.

This arc makes perfect sense for the show to tackle. Time travel and its ramifications are a key theme for the series, and last season ended with Barry making the somewhat rash decision to save his mother's life, after choosing not to the season before. That puts him in the same position as his comic book counterpart before the start of Flashpoint.

The many alternate timelines of Season 3

But what does it mean for The Flash TV series to take on this now classic arc, which was adapted in 2013 as an animated film? According to Gustin, the show's Flashpoint will be its own take on the story.

There are so many ways the original arc could impact the next season, enough to fill a multiverse of plotlines. Here are some possibilities:

A speedster slowed:

Barry, like in the comic book, awakens in this new world without his powers. Though we just watched Barry regain his via the speed force, the accident that caused him to get those powers most likely never happened in this brave new world.

Brooding buddies:

Comic book Barry teamed up with Thomas Wayne to change the timeline, a dark and twisted version of an already twisted character. We've already seen dark dopplegangers of Barry's STAR Labs friends, but their new versions may not be the happy and well-adjusted heroes we've come to love. Or, like Flashpoint's Wonder Woman and Aquaman, they could now be bitter enemies.

No more WestAllen:

In the Flashpoint comic, Barry went from being married to Iris to her having a different husband and a child. While the show may not have such a drastic change, it's likely that Barry won't have the close relationship with the Wests that he once did, as he would have been raised by his parents. And as Iris and Barry can't seem to get their act together, they'll likely not be together. Yet.

Where's Wally?

The Flashpoint comic not only began the New 52, it also started an era of comics without Barry's nephew Wally, Barry's former sidekick and a former Flash in his own right. In the recent DC Comics event Rebirth, Wally finally returned, but this was after a 5-year absence. TV Wally has a different relationship with Barry -- a somewhat-brother this time around -- and he's relatively new to the show, but Barry might feel an urgency to undo what he's done when he sees that his new brother Wally no longer exists.

Evil returns:

While there are many villains and obstacles in the Flashpoint comics, one of the biggest is Barry Allen's nemesis Eobard Thawne. TV fans will recognize him as the villain of Season 1, and the man who killed Barry's mother. Like in the comics, the show could have Thawne return to fight Barry across time. Let's hope that Thawne is somehow still played by Tom Cavanagh.

There are so many ways the show can adapt Flashpoint for the small screen. It could last anywhere from one episode to the entire season. But one thing is certain: we're looking at a much darker and more intense year for the fastest man alive.

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