Iris West-Allen


 * For her Earth Two equivalent, see Iris West (Earth Two).

"Think about your best friend. It could be your wife, your father, maybe someone you grew up with. It's the person you can't wait to talk to at the end of the day. The person who knows everything about you, who roots for you. Now imagine you discover your best friend has a secret - no, not a secret, a universe of secrets - would you confront him? Would you stay silent? Either way you know nothing will ever be the same again."

- Iris West on Barry Allen

Iris West (born c. 1989) is a journalist for the Central City Picture News, a former waitress at CC Jitters, and a psychology graduate student. Iris is also the daughter of Joe and the late Francine West, the older sister of Wally West, and the best friend of Barry Allen, for whom she has at times expressed underlying romantic feelings. Iris is also the former fiancée of the late Eddie Thawne.

Early Life
Iris was born sometime around 1989 to Joe and Francine West in Central City. When Iris was very young her mother nearly overdosed on drugs while Joe was at work; Francine had left the oven on and subsequently ended up unresponsive on the couch, causing Iris to call the police. Before Joe and his partner were able to arrive on the scene, the stove caught fire and Iris was almost killed; she was standing in front of the flames when Joe and his partner finally reached her, but the pair managed to get both Iris and her mother to safety. Iris repressed her memories of this event and after Francine left Joe told Iris that her mother had died, not wanting his daughter to grow up believing that she'd been abandoned. Instead, Joe told her stories of the mother he knew Iris deserved, not the mother Francine really was. However, both Iris and Joe were unaware that Francine was pregnant with another child - a son - when she left them for a life in Keystone City.

At school Iris met Barry Allen and the two became best friends, though Barry secretly harbored a crush on Iris that he was never able to vocalize during their childhood. Ironically, Iris held those same feelings for Barry, and though the two never acknowledged their romantic interest in each other, both Joe and Barry's parents were well aware of the connection between their children.

Original Timeline
Having never grown up in the same household and with nothing to inhibit their romantic feelings, the original Iris West and Barry Allen fell in love and would eventually be married. At this point, Iris adopted Barry's surname and was referred to as "Iris West-Allen." She later used this name professionally as a reporter at Central City Picture News. Around 2020, a particle accelerator created by Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan endowed Barry with enhanced speed and a connection to the Speed Force, allowing him to become the hero known as "The Flash", though it's currently unknown if Iris knew of her husband's secret. In 2024, her The Flash engaged in a battle with his archenemy, Reverse-Flash, along with Green Arrow, The Atom, and Hawkgirl atop two oil trucks in the streets. The battle ended with both speedsters vanishing in an explosion of light, and Iris wrote a front page article on the subject titled "Flash Missing Vanishes In Crisis".

Current Timeline
When Barry was 11 years old in 2000, his mother, Nora was murdered by the Reverse-Flash and his father, Henry, was convicted for her murder. Barry was subsequently adopted by Joe and went to live with him and Iris. Early on, however, Barry repeatedly attempted to run away. One time when Joe went to get groceries, Iris allowed Barry to run away, refusing to tell her father exactly where to, despite him understanding the implication.

Sometime in high school, Iris' appendix burst and she was sent to the hospital.

After Barry entered a coma, Iris began visiting him frequently. She was said to talk a lot while at S.T.A.R. Labs.

Discovering Barry's Secret
Just as Eddie was about to propose to Iris, they were attacked by the Reverse-Flash. Iris quickly recognized him as Nora Allen's murderer and pleaded with him not to hurt anyone else. The yellow speedster refused to answer and moved to kill her, but the arrival of Barry arrived as The Flash prompted the Reverse-Flash to abduct Eddie and fled. The Flash assured a distressed Iris that he would find Eddie and as he sped off a surge of lighting passed from Barry to her. In that second she remembered that she only experienced it before when she touched Barry while he was still in a coma after the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded. In that second she realized and still in shock that Barry was the The Flash.

When Iris figure out that Barry is The Flash, she confronted him about his activity as The Flash, telling him that she was disappointed about why he lying to her about his secret identity, but nonetheless she was able to help Barry overcome Grodd's psychic attack and rescue Joe.

Since then, Iris has become an active member of Team Flash, and occasionally use her contact with Barry to deal with some meta-human cases.

Personality
Iris wants nothing more than to help and care for those around her. She's highly intuitive and has an innate curiosity, being amazed and intrigued by the fantastical events that are happening in Central City, particularly the Flash. After becoming a reporter under Mason Bridge, she becomes even more so in investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding Harrison Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs.

Iris can be quite stubborn and holds true to her morals, despite what others may want of her. Iris is also a bit of a risk taker and more often doesn't hesitate to take action when need be as seen when she helps take down Tony Woodward and William Tockman. Her ability to gather and analyze evidence and come to accurate conclusions is also noteworthy.

When she finally figures out that Barry is the Flash - and finds out Barry, Joe and Eddie - people she's explicitly trusted all kept it from her, she feels immensely betrayed and disappointed. However, soon after she came to overcome her feelings of betrayal and proved her worth to the team and reconciled with her father since he pushed for her to be kept in the dark after Grodd's attack.

Iris has shown to care about Barry a great deal since they were kids, having thought of him as a brother figure, unaware Barry has actually been in love with her since childhood. As such she can be seen as a little oblivious in regards to Barry's feelings for her until he confessed he loves her. Despite being in a committed relationship with Eddie, Iris showed slight jealousy when Barry started going out with Linda Park. This suggests, and later confirmed, that she is unaware of her own romantic feelings for Barry. Eventually in the wake of Mark Mardon's impending tsunami threat Iris, fear about they were about to die, finally realized her feelings and she and Barry shared their first kiss. However, since Barry inadvertently erased those events she remains unaware of these feelings deep down.

The Flash: Season Zero

 * "The Strongman Cometh"
 * "Who Let the Chimps Out?"
 * "A Goodnight Hiss"
 * "A Captive Audience"
 * "Showtime"
 * "The Big Finale"
 * "Smoak Signals part 2" (mentioned)

Trivia

 * In an erased timeline, under the threat of Weather Wizard's tsunami, Iris admitted to Barry she loved him and they shared a kiss. She also discovered Barry was the Flash. However, because Barry later time traveled he ruptured the time continuum and these events were erased in the alternate timeline.
 * In a second erased timeline Iris, presumably, along with everyone in Central City, was killed by Vandal Savage using the Staff of Horus in his efforts to kill Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders. However, due to Barry Allen changing the time continuum this disaster never occurs.
 * Iris is shown to have a crush on Oliver Queen.
 * Joe and Francine planned on naming her Wallace if their first born child was a boy.

Behind the scenes

 * In the DC comics, Iris West is the fiancée and later wife of Barry Allen, the second Flash.
 * In the DC comics Iris is Caucasian.