The laws that exist regarding comic book films clearly state that for every superhero that exists, they must have a villain.

This latest entry in the DC Universe however, takes things to a whole new level, by having hits superhero also the villain, and in a quirky nod to the film, it transcends the multi-verse.

So for a number of features now the character Barry Allen has been portrayed admirably on screen by rising star Ezra Miller. But despite his clean cut image on film, Miller’s personal life has been anything but, with some disturbing allegations made over his dubious conduct. So much so that despite all his hard work, this is likely to be Miller’s swansong, not only as Barry Allen, but quite possibly also to his entire acting career.

This rather ugly scenario begs the question then, is it wrong to like The Flash?

It starts off like any other day in Central City for Barry Allen (Miller), with Barry running late for work, despite being the fastest man on the planet.

He has things on his mind, such as the upcoming murder case against his father, who was accused of killing Barry’s mother. It’s an event that has tortured Barry for years, as he still carries the grief around in him.

It then dawns on him however, that he actually has the power as The Flash to travel at such speeds, he can actually travel faster than the speed of light, thus travel through time. This means that he has the ability to not only travel back through time, he can return to the period of his mother’s death and save her.

And that’s exactly what he does, but it doesn’t take him long to realise that travelling through the fabric of time has some serious consequences, that he alone cannot fix.

So this entry in the DCU is an interesting dichotomy; on the one hand it just so happens to be the most entertaining DCU film in years, but at the same time its young star is facing some serious charges that mean that it’s unlikely that he’ll wear the superhero costume any time soon.

It gets worse. It could be argued that it’s possibly the first DCU title that competes with the very best of the MCU, in terms of enjoyment. And a lot of that has to do with Miller and his performance. To be fair, it also has a lot to do with Andy Muschietti’s assured, almost fan boy direction, as well as a hugely enjoyable script, with its many twists and turns, and superb cameos.

For years DC have struggled with their superheroes, not for a lack of heroism, but personality. Many of them are, putting it bluntly, on the dull side. Miller’s Flash however certainly has sparks and sizzles.

It’s fair to say that borrowing the Marvel’s concept of the multiverse initially seems like cheating, but the truth is, DC came up with the concept in their comics first. So it kind of makes you wonder how they’ve come to the multiverse party so very late to the big screen, with such a mind-blowing concept up their super sleeves. Still, they kind of make up for lost time with this frantic and frenetic storyline that works incredibly well.

But although it received positive reviews, audiences kept their distance, with the film only managing a pitiful $270 million at the box office, against a budget of around $200 million.

There’s no doubt however that the charges brought up against Miller destroyed any chance of this film being a success, which in all fairness it deserved to be.

Its home release however does give it another opportunity at finding its audience, but will Miller’s antics off screen ultimately prevent that? Only time will tell. But it’s unlikely he will be forgiven any time soon.

Luckily for Warner Bros. The possible loss of Miller doesn’t necessarily mean the end of The Flash. As this and other films in the multiverse have shown, different versions of superheroes can be played by different actors, so replacing Miller with another actor is an easy fix, especially as audiences are more than aware as to what the multiverse is capable of.

But where does that leave Miller? Well as of now, very much out in the cold, and it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future, as well as the outcome of the various cases brought against him to be taken into consideration. A genuine talent, as he’s already proven with a number of roles, where he has managed to self sabotage a truly promising career, as well as ruin a good thing within the DCU.

Although Miller’s behaviour has been highly questionable, the fact that he’s yet to be charged should make it a little easier to come away from his Flash and absolutely love it. It is one of the most imaginative, creative and entertaining films in the DCU for some considerable time, and no one can take that away from the hundreds of the cast and crew involved in making it.

Ezra Miller may well be the villain of the piece, off screen at least, but his Barry Allen is one helluva hero, proving to be truly one bright spark in the DCU.