- "Today I was saved by the impossible, a mystery man, the fastest man alive. Then a friend of mine gave me an idea for a new name, and something tells me, it's going to catch on."
- —Iris West on The Flash[src]
Iris West is a journalist for the Central City Picture News, a former waitress at CC Jitters and psychology graduate student[1]. She is also the daughter of Joe West, the best friend and foster sister of Barry Allen who she has romantic feelings for, and the girlfriend of Eddie Thawne. She is also destined to marry Barry Allen and become known as Iris West-Allen.
Biography
Early life
When Barry Allen was taken in to their home after his mother's murder and father's incarceration, Barry repeatedly ran 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.[2]
Living in Central City
After Barry entered a coma, Iris began visiting him frequently.[3] She was said to talk a lot while at S.T.A.R. Labs.[4]
Barry awoken from his coma
Nine months later, Iris was working at Jitters when Barry walked in, having woken up. They embraced, she being thrilled to see him, and they headed to Central City Police Department to see Joe. Right as they arrived, Joe and his new partner Eddie Thawne were heading out. Iris greeted him rather coldly, telling him not to keep her father waiting. Promptly after this, Barry stopped a criminal across the room using his super speed, freaking him out. He said farewell to Iris and promised to call her later. A while after, Barry met Iris back at Jitters, where he watched on as she kissed Eddie. She noticed him and they went for a walk, where she explained how they'd gotten involved, especially that she hoped he'd keep it a secret. Midway through their conversation, a police car involved in a chase skidded towards them, when Barry grabbed Iris and rolled away. The chase eventually led to a car explosion, which eventually brought police and paramedics. Joe among them, he scolded Iris for chasing danger. When he began yelling at Barry, she tried to intervene, but he refused to stop, causing Barry to walk off. However, they eventually made amends.[4]
A while later, Iris and Eddie went to grab some fro yo, however before they could reach there, they were involved in a car crash. Iris wasn't injured, though as she stepped out of the car, a number of cats from the Central City Zoo began to approach.[5] Eddie attempted to nudge them back with pool toys from a car, to very little success. However, The Flash intervened, zapping them with static electricity, making it appear as if Eddie had done it. Iris admired Eddie as he talked to animal control and they soon left.[6] A short while later, Eddie and Iris attended a sports game. At half-time, Eddie labelled the surprise of a circus as "crappy", to which Iris simply mocked him, asking if he was afraid of the circus.[7] Eddie attempted to go get extra beer, but Iris forced him to stay, kissing as he sat back down. Soon Mr. Bliss used his powers to strike fear in to everyone, causing Iris to hallucinate Barry's lifeless body in a coma.[8] She was soon rushed out of the stadium by The Flash. She was surprised to see Cisco and Caitlin, who had just arrived, claiming to be there for the circus.[9]
Iris went to see Barry at his lab, where she blamed him for her studying journalism, which she described as boring. She reminded Barry of the Simon Stagg event that they were attending together, where he would help her sort through the scientific language, and Barry promised to go home and change as quickly as he could. Eddie walked in and despite acting only slightly friendly towards Iris, Barry reminded them of how he knew about their relationship, and Eddie thanked Barry for keeping their secret. At the event, Barry and Iris walked around with the former explaining to the latter about what it was Stagg was being praised for. After Stagg walked past, Iris attempted to get a comment for her article, though he refused to say a word. Following an encounter with gunman, Barry fainted outside of the building to be found by Iris, when he claimed to be looking for their number plate. Barry and Joe walked off to talk, while Iris talked to Eddie. A while later, Iris queried as to why Joe was mad at Barry. He passed it off a work stuff, though he was confused why she was mad at him. She mentioned his promise to give her scientific background for her article, and how he didn't show. Due to this, she had to find another topic if she didn't want to fail the assignment. He attempted to convey what was going on, albeit in slow motion as he was unable to tell her otherwise. Barry then got called to S.T.A.R. Labs and Iris promised to finish their conversation later. That night at Jitters, Barry apologized for acting distant, though reassured her that he was good at being her friend. Leading from that, he offered to pick a new topic for her article, however she'd already found one. She started explaining how her article was on "the streak" that had saved people around the city, unknowing to her that it was Barry. He called it science fiction, though she decided that it could be an answer to what had really happened on the night of his mother's death.[2]
Sometime later, Barry and Iris went to see a zombie movie together at the Vogue Theater. As they began walking out, Barry began to ramble about actually real zombies in nature, a topic which bored Iris. She instead began talking about "the streak", a topic which had interested her as of late. As she went to show Barry what she claimed to be proof, she received a call from Eddie. Despite having eaten a lot already, Iris and Barry soon went to grab some more food to eat. The following day, Iris walked in on her father watching tapes of Henry Allen in jail. He passed it off as work and she answered the door, finding Eddie, to her surprise. Before they could embrace, she alerted him as to her father, causing Eddie to lie, leading to them having to go back to a crime scene. Before the detectives left, Eddie expressed his frustration at their secret, suggesting that Iris was killing it. Taking this in to account, Iris later visited Eddie at the police precinct, claiming that they needed to talk. She explained her fear of losing Eddie if she admitted to it as being real, hence her secrecy, but rather than keeping it secret any longer, kissed him in full public view. That night, the two visited Joe in hospital after his toxic encounter with The Mist. They decided to finally tell the truth about their relationship, but Joe revealed that he was already fully aware, after all he was a detective. Though wanting to shoot him, Joe promised not to due to Iris deeply liking him.[10]
At the precinct, Iris brought coffee for Barry and her father, though he was still mad at her for dating his partner. Iris then told Barry that after her journalism class, she started a blog that documents The Streaks appearances, claiming it's an important topic. Iris began to explain a situation that occurred earlier in the day involving The Streak, though Barry told her he wasn't comfortable disguising a police investigation with her. She was told by Barry that the blog will attract nothing but crazies and trolls. Iris then met Felicity Smoak, who Iris believed is the perfect woman for Barry. Iris invited Barry to take Felicity to Trivia Night and join her and Eddie's team. At Trivia Night, Iris assumed Felicity liked Barry, due to the fact that she wore a dress as well as hesitated when Iris asked Felicity if she was in a relationship. Back at home, Iris asked why her father was giving the silent treatment and told him that she won't drop out of her relationship like she had to when she applied for the police academy. Her father told her that he only fears that he would lose his focus, seeing Eddie as her boyfriend, not his partner and fears that if Eddie ever got hurt, Iris would see him differently. Her father later supported the relationship, after Eddie proved himself and saved Joe's life.[11]
Personality
Breathtakingly beautiful and intelligent, Iris has a kind, witty and very open personality. A known chatterbox and foodie, she's a warm, passionate, optimistic and affectionate young woman, whose charm has won over most who've come across her.
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 stop Tony Woodward and William Tockman. Her ability to gather and analyze evidence and come to accurate conclusions is also noteworthy.
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, fearing 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.
Appearances
Arrow
Season 2
- "The Man Under the Hood" (mentioned)
The Flash
Season 1
- "Pilot"
- "Fastest Man Alive"
- "Things You Can't Outrun"
- "Going Rogue"
- "Plastique"
- "The Flash Is Born"
- "Power Outage"
- "Flash vs. Arrow"
- "The Man in the Yellow Suit"
- "Revenge of the Rogues"
- "The Sound and the Fury"
- "Crazy for You"
- "The Nuclear Man"
- "Fallout"
- "Out of Time"
- "Rogue Time"
- "Tricksters"
- "All Star Team Up"
- "Who is Harrison Wells?"
- "The Trap"
- "Grodd Lives"
Comics
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)
Gallery
Promotional images
Trivia
- In the DC comics, Iris West is the fiancé and later wife of Barry Allen, the second Flash.
- In the comics Iris is Caucasian.
- In "Out of Time", under threat of Weather Wizard's tsunami about to destroy Central City, Iris admitted to Barry she loved him and they share a kiss. She also discovered Barry is the Flash. However, because Barry later time traveled he ruptured the time continuum and these events were erased in the alternate timeline.