Back in season 5, The Flash referenced one of the best evil speedsters to debut in the DC universe in recent years. Namely, Red Death, an evil alternate version of Bruce Wayne who possesses Barry Allen’s speed. Usually when the show name-drops a villain we can expect them to appear the following season. As it was, Red Death never appeared in season 6 and we’re not hearing that he’s turning up in season 7. Still, that hasn’t stopped fans from campaigning to get him in the show.
But who could bring the Red Death to the screen? Well, how about CW icon Ian Somerhalder? The Vampire Diaries star would be a great fit for the twisted Bat-speedster and if you don’t believe us, just check out the epic fan art below courtesy of digital artist Skull101ify.
As well as looking the part, Somerhalder would be the perfect person to play Red Death thanks to his previous turn in the DC multiverse. The actor portrayed Adam Knight in Smallville season 3, a character who was originally set to be a young Bruce before DC vetoed the idea (though a nod to the Caped Crusader still made its way into his name).
At one stage, the notion of any kind of version of Bruce Wayne appearing in the Arrowverse seemed far-fetched, but over the past year we’ve had two. First, Kevin Conroy played a Kingdom Come-esque retired Batman in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Warren Christie then joined the cast of Batwoman as Earth-Prime’s Bruce – or rather Tommy Elliot AKA Hush wearing a replica of his face. Another dark Bruce showing up on The Flash doesn’t seem out of the question anymore, then.
That said, again, we don’t actually know if Red Death is on his way. With season 6 truncated by the pandemic, Eva McCulloch’s Mirror Master is still the reigning big bad, but she’ll presumably be bested early on in The Flash season 7 to make way for a new uber-villain. Should it be Red Death, though? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.