The Flash Season 9 is expected to feature many twists and turns, but a new batch of set photos took the surprises to another level by featuring unexpected Arrowverse villains.
The CW president of entertainment Brad Schwartz previously teased that the team has "delivered an epic final season" for The Flash while also confirming "plenty of twists, guest stars, and surprises" that will excite fans.
The first three episodes already achieved that promise by showcasing Javicia Leslie's Red Death in mind-blowing fashion, but it seems that the big reveal is only the beginning.
The Flash Season 9 Brings Back Several Major Arrowverse Villains
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for The Flash Season 9's finale.
Canadagraphs shared a new batch of set photos from The Flash Season 9 finale, confirming the return of several major villains from previous Arrowverse seasons.
Alongside Eddie Thawne's Cobalt Blue debut, the set photo revealed the first look at an Arrowverse villain crossover featuring Tom Cavanagh's Reverse Flash, Godspeed, Teddy Sears' Zoom, and Savitar going up against Grant Gustin's Flash and his allies.
Accompanying Flash are Cecile Horton, Allegra, Chillblaine, Khione, and Nora West-Allen (XS).
How Did Flash's Major Villains Return?
This supervillain crossover is surprising, mainly because these Arrowverse characters have already died in previous seasons. It is unknown how they all came back, but it may have something to do with various factors, such as time travel shenanigans, the Negative Speed Force, or both.
Given that a resurrected Eddie Thawne (as Cobalt Blue) appears to be running the show, he is likely the main reason why these Arrowverse villains are back in the first place.
After Flash defeated Reverse Flash in The Flash Season 8, its post-credits scene teased that Cobalt Blue might be the new avatar of the Negative speed force. In the comics, Malcolm Thawne (Cobalt Blue's alter-ego) has a deep hatred for Barry Allen, and he uses this to fuel his rage and become a villain.
It's possible that Arrowverse's Eddie Thawne saw the happy ending that Barry and Iris West-Allen had after his death in Season 1, thus making him jealous. This jealousy could've been exploited by the Negative Speed Force to turn him into its new avatar: Cobalt Blue.
With the guidance of the Negative Speed Force, Cobalt Blue could've brought time remnants of Flash's past villains into the present day, leading to the emergence of Reverse Flash, Zoom, Savitar, and Godspeed.
It remains to be seen how Team Flash would defeat every powerful speedster villain shown in the set photos, but the show could pull off some surprises and bring in some more Arrowverse guest stars to level the field.
New episodes of The Flash Season 9 premiere on The CW every Wednesday.
