Dazzling DC Ladies Month
”Flash! Iris West, Central City citizen. Are you okay?”
↳Iris West / Iris West-Allen
First Appearance:
Showcase #4 (September–October 1956)
Who is she?
Iris West is a reporter from Central City and in the old DCU the wife of the Flash Barry Allen (in the New 52 there is an attraction between them but they are not married). Her preboot life was full of complications and tragedy. Her happy marriage and successful career had to stand many tests including her and her husband's „deaths” and returns, causing the both of them great distress.
To make matters more complicated Iris turned out to have been born in the 30th century and transported to the 20th to be adopted there by the West family. She'd never been told about the time travel and adoption but she'd always had suspicions about her origin which lead her to become an extremely inquisitive person – a trait soon to be useful in her career.
Iris ended up spending a short time in the 30th century learning about the future of the world and technology and even the later events in the lives of the Speedsters, becoming to an extent an oracle to them. During that stint in the future she also gave birth to the Speedster heroes the Tornado Twins (Don and Dawn Allen).
The New 52 had the Flash franchise completely rebooted, turning her into a young journalist with her whole life ahead of her. Iris has in the 2 years since the reboot already had quite a few notable adventures, however, such as being dragged into the Speedforce and having to fight for survival there and her conflict with her brother who turned out not to be who she thought he was...
What can she do? / What makes her unique?
Any version of Iris West is an expert reporter and an extremely brave person of great integrity. In the old DCU she has shown herself to be a wonderful wife and homemaker, being one of the maternal and nurturing characters of the Flash mythos, extending her care to all the Speedsters. As Wally West (her nephew) noted Barry Allen taught him how to be the Flash but it was aunt Iris who taught him how to be Wally West.
In the new DCU she is a young and ambitious woman, who's even in the early issues showed some superhero-worthy bravery. This version of her, despite her brash exterior, is also a loving and caring person as exemplified by her taking on the quest of saving her younger brother, for which she has had to sacrifice many things, including her past chance for a happy relationship with Barry.
Fan Reception / Position in the franchise:
Iris West has been a part of the modern Flash franchise from the very beginning, appearing first in the same issue Barry Allen made his debut in (the issue is by many considered the beginning of the Silver Age).
She is one of the most recognizable superhero girlfriends belonging to the now classic of them profession of a reporter (a number of other characters such as Lois Lane or Lina Park West – another woman of the Flash franchise come to mind) and showing great mettle in it (even writing a biography of her superhero husband) and her marriage to Barry was by many considered a favourite relationship in mainstream comics.
At the time when Barry was dead Iris still remained a well-loved character of the franchise proving that her role goes beyond that of love interest. Nevertheless fans were happy when the spouses reunited in Flash: Rebirth and when in the reboot of 2011 both characters were “unmarried” and de-aged many protests arose. New 52-only fans and old DCU fans who decided to stick around, however, do appreciate the still prominent role she has in the current ongoing, getting to showcase her journalistic skills and even gaining a speed suit.
Where can I find her?
New 52:
The Flash #1 - #9, #14, #16 - #23, #23.2 (villains month Reverse-Flash issue), #24
Old DCU:
Showcase #4, #8, #13 - #14
Flash vol.1 #105 – #106, #108 - #126, #129, #131 - #134, #136 - #147, #150 - #152, #154, #156 - #159, #161 - #163, #165 - #166, #168, #170 - #177, #179 - #186, #188 - #195, #197 - #204, #207 - #211, #217 - #218, #220 - #222, #224 - #225, #228 - #246, #248 – #257, #259 - #267, #269 - #276, #283, #300, #305, #350
Flash vol.2 #92 - #95, #97 - #101, #108, #110 - #111, #114 - #115, #117 - #119, #139, #142, #144, #180 - #181, #184, #187, #189, #198, #200, #205, #214 - #215, #223, #225, #234
Justice League of America #7, #80, #84, #92, #110, #154, #194
Green Lantern vol.2 #13, #20, #43
Brave and the Bold #53, #56, #151
Detective Comics #336
Superman vol. 1 #199, #220, #311
Super-Team Family #3, #11, #15
Teen Titans vol. 1 #44
Secret Society of Super-Villains Special
Flash Spectacular
World's Finest Comics #250, #275
Adventure Comics #460 - #462
Flash 50 th Anniversary Special
Impulse #10 - #11, #20, #22, #24, #51 - #53, #75, #84, #86
Impulse: Bart Saves the Universe
Identity Crisis #6
Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1, #10 - #13
All Flash #1
Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #6
Leginnaires Annual #3
The Flash Annual #8
The Flash 80-Page Giant #1
Countdown Special: The Atom #1 - #2
Final Crisis #3 - #4, #6 - #7
Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge #1 - #2
The Flash Rebirth #1 - #4, #6 (the return of Barry Allen)
Blackest Night: The Flash
The Flash: Secret Files and Origins
The Flash vol.3 #1 - #6, #8 - #9, #11 - #12
Flashpoint Reverse-Flash #1, Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #3
Standalone/retroactive/alternate universe stories:
DCU: Halloween Special 2010 (Iris is a supporting character in the story Time of Your Life)
JLA: Liberty and Justice – a stand alone JLA story featuring Barry as the Flash, Iris' role is supporting, recommended for Alex Ross art
The Life Story of the Flash – a biography of Barry Allen stylized as if it were written by Iris herself
Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #1 - #2, #4 - #5 (retroactive stories about the friendship between Hal Jordan and Barry Allen – published at a time both of the characters were dead in main continuity, Iris plays a relatively minor role but it is an enjoyable series)
Silver Age, Silver Age: Flash - „The Silver Age” was an event featuring new stories stylized so that they looked as if they came from that era
Wednesday Comics #1 – retro stories stylized to look like newspaper strips Iris' appearance is minor but the whole #12 issue series is lots of fun
DC Retroactive: Flash - The '70s
DC Retroactive: Flash - The '90s
DC: The New Frontier (2004) #2, #5 – a 6 issue series set in the 50s bridging the gap between the Golden and Silver Age, Iris' role is relatively small but the comic is highly recommended reading for any DC fan
Mostly complete chronology of DCU appearances
In animation:
Iris made a few cameos on Young Justice (episodes Downtime, Failsafe, Coldhearted and Bloodlines and issue 5 of the tie-in comic), she appears in Flashpoint Paradox (adaptation of the comic book event Flashpoint) and Justice League: New Frontier (adaptation of DC: The New Frontier)
Live action:
She appears in the pilot episode of the 90s Flash TV series. Her character is quite different, however, as she is not a journalist but a graphic artists and never gets married to Barry but rather leaves for France.
Other:
She appears in the Justice League novel Flash: Stop Motion.
