Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for The Flash Season 9, Episode 4In The Flash Season 9, a new villain emerges — the Red Death, aka Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie). While shrouded in mystery until the final moments of Episode 3, we learn more about who the character is in Episode 4, "The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1." So, who exactly is the Red Death, and how did she become this season's Big Bad?
Who Is Red Death/Ryan Wilder in 'The Flash'?
Red Death's big reveal in Episode 4 came as a bit of a disappointment to some fans who were hoping the villain would be Bruce Wayne, the Red Death of Earth-52 in DC Comics. Instead, this version of Red Death in this season of The Flash is Ryan Wilder from another Earth where she was adopted by the Waynes. Though Red Death isn’t Bruce, it’s still refreshing to see a female villain in the mix, especially one played by Javicia Leslie who returns to the Arrowverse.
Following the Waynes’ murder, Ryan became the protector of Gotham. She defeated the likes of Hush, Simon Hurt (who, in the comics has connections to Barbatos, the deity that Earth-52’s Red Death works for), and her own brother (more on that later). Like the comic book version of Red Death, this Ryan became frustrated with how often the criminals would escape their imprisonment, so she became obsessed with increasing her arsenal. First, she created versions of the villains’ gadgets, but then she turned to her allies’ powers. In her timeline, she stole Flash’s (still played by Grant Gustin) speed and became Enemy #1. And in her effort to escape them, she fired a lightning bolt — it was meant for Barry Allen, but instead, it struck down Ryan’s closest friend, her timeline's version of Iris West (Candice Patton). Ryan is banished to the Arrowverse timeline, where she captures Barry and Iris in an effort to get home. But she loses and is stuck without the Cosmic Treadmill, so Team Flash has a new baddie on their hands.
The Red Death’s story demonstrates that there’s a pattern to the lives of any character who dons a Bat-symbol in the Arrowverse. Nothing good happens to people with "Bat" in their codename or team name. Just ask all the other Bats who have appeared in the franchise so far. All superheroes make sacrifices and face losses, but the Bat-people in the Arrowverse have really gone through the wringer.
The Bat Family Is No Stranger to Suffering in the Arrowverse, Starting with Batman
The Arrowverse is unique in that it’s a DC Comics franchise that doesn’t lean heavily on Bruce Wayne/Batman, but not necessarily by choice — DC wants the caped crusader to be strictly relegated to movies and therefore very rarely lets the CW Arrowverse use their most popular character. But that doesn’t mean Bruce’s presence doesn’t loom large in parts of the franchise. Bruce is Batman in Gotham City, but by the time viewers visited the city on Batwoman, Bruce had gone missing. It was his disappearance that brought Bruce’s cousin Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) back to Gotham, and she is eventually inspired by his actions to become the Scarlett Knight and new protector of the city.
Like in the comics, the Arrowverse Batman lost his sidekick Robin to the Joker and his crowbar. Batman’s presence was also blamed for the prevalence of increasingly violent villains like the Riddler, Joker, Killer Croc, and others. While these incidents aren’t all that different from that of his comic book counterpart, the Arrowverse’s Batman suffered a great deal of guilt, as well. During a battle with the Joker on a school bus, the bus hit a car and sent it hanging off the edge of a bridge. The car belonged to Bruce’s aunt Gabi Kane (Michelle Morgan) and in the backseat were her twins, Kate and Beth Kane. Bruce stopped the car from careening over and rescued Kate before leaving to save the inhabitants of the bus. He didn’t realize that the trunk of the car came loose soon after, seemingly killing both Gabi and Beth (what became of Beth was worse than death). Kate hated Batman because of this, which must have added to Bruce’s guilt. Batman eventually did kill the Joker, but that was years later, and he disappeared soon after, leaving Gotham in disarray and at the mercy of criminals.
We never meet the real Bruce Wayne on Batwoman. At the end of the second season, Kate Kane leaves to search for him. One can assume Bruce Wayne is still alive and has a better personality than his Earth-38 counterpart (Supergirl’s original Earth), a vigilante who Kara Danvers/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) describes as "nuts" and possessing "a lot of demons." And he’s definitely better off than his Earth-99 counterpart.
During the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event, Kate and Kara visited Earth-99 where they met a grizzled Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy). This version was aged, bitter, and angry. Earth-99’s Kate had followed his example and became a vigilante, but the path ended up killing her. Bruce then began to kill his own Rogues gallery, before turning to fight his friends. He fought and killed Superman, but the battle destroyed his body, leaving him in need of an exoskeleton to move. When Kara discovered Bruce’s murderous tendencies, he tried to kill Kate and Kara but ended up dying himself. So, being Batman is clearly bad news in the Arrowverse — but what about being Batwoman?
The Tortured Lives of Team Batwoman in the Arrowverse
Kate Kane’s young life had its own tragedies (losing Beth and being kicked out of military school because she was lesbian), but being Batwoman seemed to be a rewarding gig. That’s until her plane is shot down, and while escaping the wreckage she ends up battling Roman Sionis/Black Mask’s (Peter Outerbridge) men. She was then captured and subsequently tortured — her face and body were left disfigured and burnt, and her larynx was also damaged during the crash/fight. For months, Kate suffered, and her family was left to believe she was dead. Kate was then brainwashed into believing she was Sionis’ daughter Circe (Wallis Day) and tricked into becoming a villain. Team Batwoman was able to save her, but Kate, now permanently face-swapped to look like Circe, relinquished her cowl to Ryan Wilder, and chose to leave Gotham to search for her cousin, instead of reuniting with her long-lost twin Beth Kane/Alice (Rachel Skarsten).
If that’s what happens to Batwoman, imagine what her associates have to go through. Kate’s step-sister Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang) is an influencer and doctor, and part of Team Batwoman. She witnessed her mother being killed in front of her, by Alice, who is Mary’s other step-sister and is neglected to such a state by her own team that she turns into a new version of Poison Ivy. Plenty of trauma later, Mary gets better.
The other Team Batwoman member Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) literally dies. He’s killed by a racist police officer and is brought to life by the Desert Rose. But he doesn’t snap back to his old self. Luke suffers PTSD and suicidal ideation after being resurrected. When he becomes the superhero Batwing, Luke struggles to control his super-suit because of his PTSD. He does pull through in the end.
And now Ryan Wilder has disappeared in the present while another version of her is wreaking havoc in Central City. Ryan had a tough life as well, and as Batwoman, she discovered her long-lost mother Jada Jet (Robin Givens), and brother Marquis Jet (Nick Creegan), only for Marquis to turn into a new version of the Joker and come very close to destroying Gotham and Team Batwoman. Ryan saved the day and her brother. She was just getting her life back on track, and it seems the Red Death may have done something to her.
Even Gotham Knights, another CW show that doesn’t seem to intersect with the Arrowverse, begins with Batman dead in their world. So really, the warning is crystal clear: whatever you do, don’t be a Bat on the CW.
Having Leslie's Ryan Wilder Return As a Villain on 'The Flash' Is a Letdown
While it’s great that Javicia Leslie got to return to the Arrowverse after Batwoman was unceremoniously canceled, it’s a pity she’s doing so in a villainous role. Ryan Wilder on Earth-Prime is someone who has always fought so hard against injustice, it’s a shame her counterpart is so evil — she wants to stop criminals before they even think of committing crimes, and is willing to make Barry run himself to death so she can return home, despite the possible effect the cosmic treadmill might have on the timeline. Since this season of The Flash is likely the last time we’ll see Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder, it would have been better had she been fighting alongside Team Flash and not against them. It’s obvious that this other Ryan is struggling with the loss of her best friend, and the hand she played in Iris’ death, but perhaps there is some way of redeeming this character. Maybe Earth-Prime’s Ryan will appear and save the day?
New episodes of The Flash air Wednesdays on the CW.