Isn’t it nice when franchises are friends? Take, for example, the premiere of IT: Welcome to Derry on HBO, which includes not one, but two Easter eggs for fellow Warner Bros. Discovery property DC Studios, thanks to the appearance of a classic issue of The Flash, followed hot on its heels by a tee up for upcoming movie Clayface. There are more reasons for both references, but awww… Franchise friends!
To recap how the moments happen, and spoilers past this point, they’re both centered around Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim-Fidler). In the first, about 35 minutes into the episode Teddy’s father, who is credited as Rabbi Uris (Dmitry Chepovetsky), is yelling at him at the dinner table about the realities of the Holocaust (they are Jewish, you see, and so therefore eat matzah ball soup and challah at dinner, as all we Jews do).
“We are Jews, Theodore, we know better than anyone the real horrors of this world,” the dad says after explaining that the Nazis created lampshades made of Jewish skin during the Holocaust. That’s when he spots a comic book hidden next to Teddy, and becomes furious. “Reality is terrifying enough as it is. Cut it out with the fantasy.”
He then tosses the comic book across the room, which is pretty rude because this is a classic issue. Titled “Flash of Two Worlds,” written by Gardner Fox with art by Carmine Infantino, the story appeared in The Flash #123 in September of 1961 (IT: Welcome to Derry takes place in 1962, so the timing is sort of right), and is generally considered the comic that introduced the concept of the multiverse, as it brought together — you guessed it — two Flashes. Specifically, Barry Allen, the at-the-time current Flash, and Jay Garrick, the original Flash.
It’s possible this is in here because IT: Welcome to Derry is part of the Stephen King multiverse. But more likely it’s a direct reference to director Andy Muschietti’s 2023 movie The Flash. That very loosely adapted the “Flash of Two Worlds” storyline, or at least riffed off of it. Muschietti also directed both IT movies and the premiere episode of Welcome to Derry, as well as developing the series and serving as Executive Producer. That said, The Flash was a box office bomb, generally critically lambasted, and is at least partially credited with the demise of the DCEU (DC Extended Universe), leading to its replacement by James Gunn’s DCU. Point being, not the movie I would personally reference in the next thing I worked on, but I am not Andy Muschietti.
Perhaps even weirder, though, is that this scene is immediately followed by Teddy reading another DC comic. That’s Detective Comics #298 from December 1961, written by Bill Finger with art by Sheldon Moldoff. This one finds Batman and Robin tangling with villain Clayface for the first time (here called “Clay-face”), and is likely included because Pennywise (Bill Skårsgard), the villain of the IT franchise, can change his shape into many forms. As Batman says on the cover of the issue, “The fantastic character, Clay-face, can mold his body into any shape!”
While that follows a little more directly in connection to IT, the Easter egg once again feels like a bit of franchise cross-pollination. That’s because DC Studios is currently prepping a Clayface movie for 2026 release. The body horror movie is likely right up the alley for viewers of IT, so beyond riffing off the 1960s time period and giving a thematic tie-in, is also a bit of stealth whisper campaigning for the upcoming movie. Kismet! Get that promo train rolling!
Will these DC Comics and DC Studios tie-ins continue in the following episodes? Perhaps they can reference a “game of thrones” of some sort. Heck, perhaps Pennywise kicks back and watches a bunch of Discovery Channel! Who cares! Advertorials, baby! HBO is in its IP era and loving it.
IT: Welcome To Derry Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of IT: Welcome To Derry premiere on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max at 9pm ET.
Here’s the full list of episodes in IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 with premiere dates:
- Sunday, October 26, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 1
- Sunday, November 2, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 2
- Sunday, November 9, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 3
- Sunday, November 16, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 4
- Sunday, November 23, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 5
- Sunday, November 30, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 6
- Sunday, December 7, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 7
- Sunday, December 14, 2025: IT: Welcome To Derry, Season 1, Episode 8 *Season Finale*
Where To Watch IT: Welcome To Derry
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