Batwoman might be canceled but the character is not gone from the dwindling Arrowverse and The CW isn’t done with their creation Ryan Wilder just yet. Javicia Leslie is getting one more opportunity to play her and maybe tell the last chapter in this failed saga.
Where that takes her is unexpected and will redefine yet another twisted villain of DC and Batman lore with the usual race and gender flipping.
Set photos leaked by film scooper Canadagraphs to Patreon reveal Wilder is a villain in Season 9 of The Flash as she becomes the Dark Multiverse version of Batman known as The Red Death.
The DC Syndicate shared some of the shots on Twitter which you will find below, wherein Leslie can be seen in her Batwing-inspired costume and seemingly confronting Barry.
More set photos featuring @JaviciaLeslie as Red Death in the Final season #TheFlash
Via: @canadagraphs pic.twitter.com/WnmcLdmbCx
— The DC Syndicate (@TheDC_Syndicate) October 23, 2022
Canadagraphs added a scene description to their coverage that further reveals Red Death Ryan teams up with the lesser Flash foe of Rainbow Raider.
“The scene had the three of them on set doing a scene where Flash is standing at 1 end of the courtyard, Rainbow Raider was standing more near the middle, and Red Death near the other end of the courtyard,” the report says.
Raider then uses his abilities to get Barry to kneel and give Red Death the upper hand. “Flash walks slowly towards the other two, before stopping.”
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It continues, “Some dialogue is exchanged between them, before Rainbow Raider is standing over him forcing The Flash down to the ground, eventually laid out flat on his back. Red Death then walks over, stands over The Flash, and then does some type of clap motion, then they walk away.”
This scene was previewed in a still shared by Twitter user @ThemysciraBound. The post is down below.
It seems like #TheFlash really likes to lie down in the same plaza (Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza). He was here in Season 8 with the Godspeeds. In Season 9, he's lying down again with #RedDeath. #JavciaLeslie #GrantGustin pic.twitter.com/0ikAs9DrEJ
— Suffering Sappho (@ThemysciraBound) October 23, 2022
The above scenario is a little implausible because Ryan and Barry hadn’t met yet in continuity but Red Death has been mentioned in passing before.
In an episode of Season 5, where the villain to beat was Cicada played by Chris Klein, Central City Police Captain David Singh mentioned more people died at the hands of Cicada than Red Death or Zoom.
It turns out they were referring to Wilder and Batwoman back then, but despite the long and plodding wait, don’t expect much impact from her since it was teased at the end of last season Cobalt Blue was going to be the bad guy who closes out the show.
Although the danger of The Red Death is likely a one-off, the real issue people are having is with the sudden revamp of a character who has never appeared in live-action before.
As some of you may be aware, Red Death is the insane Speedster Batman from Earth-52 that first appeared during Dark Nights Metal in Dark Days: The Casting #1 dated September 2017. His origin was soon told in Dark Nights – Batman: The Red Death #1.
A member of the group going by the same name led by The Batman Who Laughs, Red Death was a Bruce Wayne who went mad and figured out how to merge with The Flash and gain his powers by driving into the Speed Force.
Wilder could be given the same origin but that is undetermined.