A surprising Arrowverse heroine has joined the cast of The Flash season 9. One of The CW's flagship shows and a staple of its DC Arrowverse franchise, The Flash season 9 will mark the final innings of Grant Gustin as the titular Scarlet Speedster, Barry Allen. The shortened final season 9 will contain 13 episodes and will be broken into at least two "Graphic Novel" storyline arcs, known as the eighth and ninth graphic novels respectively. Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen, Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton, Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia, Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk are among those returning for The Flash season 9 besides Gustin, all getting the chance to provide closure for their characters.Although The Flash season 9 will be shorter than the previous iterations, Barry will still have a number of rogues to face off against before he bids his ardent fans goodbye. For one, the superhero will likely have to deal with Cobalt Blue, a.k.a. Malcolm Thawne, after The Flash season 8 finale's post-credits scene unveiled a mysterious blue crystal in a lab in 2049. On top of that, Richard Harmon has joined The Flash season 9 as a new version of Captain Boomerang, a foe Barry encountered during the early seasons, so the conflict with him will also need to be resolved. Now, it appears that Barry will also have to fight an additional villain in his final journey.Related: Flash Theory Explains Cobalt Blue’s S9 Role (& Reverse-Flash Return)As new set photos shared by Suffering Sappho on Twitter reveal, Javicia Leslie, who played the protagonist Ryan Wilder in Batwoman seasons 2 and 3 after Ruby Rose's Kate Kane, has joined The Flash season 9 as the menacing villain Red Death. The set photos reveal Leslie in the iconic Red Death suit, which includes the Bat symbol infused with The Flash's lightning bolt. Take a look at the pictures below:

How Will The Flash Season 9 Will End of the Arrowverse

In DC Comics, Red Death is essentially an alternate version of Bruce Wayne - one who becomes distraught after the deaths of his sidekick Robin. Bereaved, the alternate Bruce sets his sights on The Flash's Speed Force, and believing he could put it to better use than the Speedster himself, he uses his Batmobile to merge with the Cosmic Treadmill, thereby absorbing Earth 52's Barry Allen and all his powers. Subsequently, he dons a new suit and assumes the identity of Batman: The Red Death and begins an unhinged massacre in Gotham while Barry's consciousness pleads him to mend his ways.

While the Arrowverse has seemingly died with the organizational restructuring at The CW, getting Leslie to play Red Death in The Flash season 9 is definitely a clever way for the network to pay homage to the lucrative franchise and the many characters it had introduced within. While some fans of Ryan Wilder's may not be pleased seeing Leslie in a darker light on The Flash after the cancelation of Batwoman, it will be interesting to see more of Leslie's range as she returns to the Arrowverse as an entirely different character. With Leslie's addition as Red Death, it's clear that The Flash will go out with a bang, fully leveraging the Multiverse in ways it has not been done before.

Next: The Flash Season 9 Is Finally Fixing An Arrowverse Villain Mistake

Source: Suffering Sappho/ Twitter

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