After nearly a decade on television, The Flash is racing toward its final season, bringing the Arrowverse as a whole to a conclusion with it. In its abbreviated 13-episode 9th season, it will have to somehow put a bow on one of the most successful television shared universes, all the while doing the same for The Flash's story in particular. One way in which it's doing so is by bringing back old villains... sort of.Photos have been released of Captain Boomerang in the show's final season, and it's clearly not the same guy from before Crisis on Infinite Earths. Played by a different actor, having a different costume and name, this Cap is apparently the other guy's son. This could give The Flash his own version of Arrow's Prometheus in his final season.RELATED: Superman & Lois Could Save the Arrowverse - If It Can Be Saved

Owen Mercer Is the Captain Boomerang of The Flash Season 9

The sole image so far or the new Captain Boomerang has been posted on Twitter, and it's a much more "classic" take on the villain. Wearing a brighter costume than the first Arrowverse take on the villain, as well as the signature Boomerang toboggan, this Captain Boomerang seemingly came straight out of the comics. The guy in said threads is also different, with Boomerang now being played by Richard Harmon instead of Nick E. Tarabay. That's because this isn't George "Digger" Harkness, but his illegitimate son, Owen Mercer.

Owen Mercer debuted in the controversial Identity Crisis #2 and was created by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales. Mercer was never raised by his dad, but he did form a bond with him. This saw him take on the Captain Boomerang persona after Harkness' death, even joining the Rogues and finding that he enjoyed working with them. The use of Owen Mercer instead of Harkness in the final season of The Flash makes sense, as the elder Boomerang died in the finale for the fifth season of Arrow. Ironically, by bringing in Captain Boomerang's son, The Flash could introduce a villain very much like the central foe of Arrow Season 5.

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Richard Harmon's Captain Boomerang Will Be The Flash's Prometheus

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The most likely storyline for the introduction of Owen Mercer is that he takes up the mantle of Captain Boomerang to seek vengeance for his father. Said father was much more of a threat to Green Arrow than The Flash, though the two teamed up to stop him. With Green Arrow dead and Harkness deceased, Mercer may see The Flash as the only logical target for the rage he feels about his father's death. The storyline is actually fairly similar to that of Prometheus in Arrow, who targeted Oliver Queen due to him having callously killed Prometheus' father in the past.

It's a pretty easy setup for a storyline that also serves a greater purposes for The Flash's final season. For one, it introduces a storyline that harkens back to the show's first season. Secondly, it firmly establishes Captain Boomerang as a Flash villain without Green Arrow's involvement. Lastly, it uses a version of the character that's never really used outside the comics. This should set things up for a thrilling and thematic goodbye to the Flash, with one of his first villains, much like the weapon he uses, coming right back at him.

The Flash Season 9 begins airing sometime in 2023.