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The Flash is all set to end its nine-year-long run as the final season of the show has begun airing. Since its release in 2014, the series has been one of the premiere showcasing of CW's Arrowverse. Now it looks like for season nine, the creators have decided to give Barry his biggest challenge, with Red Death being introduced as a villain.
Red Death in season nine of The Flash is quite different from Red Death in the comic books. Connecting to the lore of Arrowverse, some huge liberties were taken with the character, leaving viewers wondering who Red Death was.
Exploring the origins of Red Death - The villain in The Flash season nine
Red Death was a character created by Scott Snyder and Creg Capullo, and he first appeared in the comic Dark Days: The Casting #1 in September 2017. The villain is basically the evil version of Bruce Wayne from Earth-52, who tapped into the Speed Force and got corrupted.
The story behind this Bruce Wayne is quite similar to the Batman fans know and love, but his motivation to become a villain is still driven by his loss.
As Batman, he fought crime alongside his Robins, however, through the passage of time he would continue to lose Robins in battle. Not being able to take the guilt of it, he would become more extreme while fighting crime and push his limits.
When the sole existence of Earth-52 was challenged, Bruce decided to ask Barry to give him the powers of the Speed Force, but, Barry declined his offer. This prompted Bruce to defeat all of The Flash's rogues, and obtain their weapons, which then helped him defeat Barry.
Bruce would tie up Barry to the hood of the Batmobile, which would have been enhanced with the help of the cosmic treadmill. He would then ram the Batmobile into the Speed Force. This would cause Barry to merge into Bruce and get trapped in his body, giving him the powers of the Speed Force.
Bruce would then kill the entirety of his rogues gallery, but wouldn't be able to save his world in the process.
He would then be visited by the Batman Who Laughs, who promised him that his world would still survive if he helped him conquer the Multiverse. This is what would cause him to become the Red Death. However, it looks like The Flash season nine is changing up some important aspects of the character.
Javica Leslie's Batwoman takes up the Red Death mantle in season nine of The Flash
The latest season of The Flash saw the return of Javica Leslie's Batwoman in a way no one expected. Touted as the season's biggest reveals, fans saw Ryan Wilder reveal herself to be Red Death, which is quite a departure from the comics where Bruce Wayne took up the mantle.
While it's not confirmed as to why Ryan Wilder is Red Death, the multiverse equation is pretty much out of the question here. It is especially so considering the Crisis on Infinite Earth's crossover of the Arrowverse saw the entire destruction of the multiverse. So, if Ryan reveals herself to be from the multiverse trying to save her own world, this would pretty much contradict the events of that crossover.
Whatever it may be, it's an interesting reveal to see considering season nine of The Flash has set up a pretty huge battle for Barry. Here's hoping fans get an answer soon for why this Red Death wears the face of Ryan Wilder on the show.
