The Flash - Season 1

[Nerys Myk]

Does Iris exist in the New 52?

Yes she's a supporting character in the Flash book. She introduced Barry to her nephew Wally a few issues ago. She's also whiter than Christmas in Alaska. Wally is black because his mother ( who married Iris's brother) is black. Any kids of Barry and Iris wouldn't have black ancestry because Barry and Iris aren't black.

Did the Tornado Twins join the Legion? I know Jenni Ognats/XS, who was Dawn Allen's daughter did.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Silly me thought I found a paradox.

I try to read Flash, but I retain nothing because it's awful.

Books I actually like, that I enjoy, I retain a lot of that.

My brain is winding down.

I am older than you think.

 

[shivkala]

Does Iris exist in the New 52?

Yes she's a supporting character in the Flash book. She introduced Barry to her nephew Wally a few issues ago. She's also whiter than Christmas in Alaska. Wally is black because his mother ( who married Iris's brother) is black. Any kids of Barry and Iris wouldn't have black ancestry because Barry and Iris aren't black.

Did the Tornado Twins join the Legion? I know Jenni Ognats/XS, who was Dawn Allen's daughter did.

The Tornado Twins in Post-Crisis were killed by the Dominators, who had secretly been controlling Earth. This was during a time when there was no Legion, as it disbanded after the Magic Wars. I guess this event was moved to 15 years earlier in the Post-Zero Hour Legion stories, making it over a decade before the Legion was formed.

 

[Christopher]

Nah, it isn't the Bronze Age anymore. Iris doesn't have to get killed on TV because she was killed in a comic from 40 years ago (and she got better). They have several other Irises to chose from.

Of course. This isn't the comics, it's a new creation inspired by the comics. They're not required to do things the same way. Most likely their Iris will be an amalgam of elements from various portrayals of the comics character plus newly created elements of their own -- such as the new character of Joe West and the new backstory of Barry and Iris growing up together.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Am I the only one who still finds it a little creepy because they're practically brother and sister?

 

[Christopher]

Am I the only one who still finds it a little creepy because they're practically brother and sister?

Except they're not. They grew up together, sure, but they're not biologically related, so there's no reason why an incest taboo should apply. They aren't even legal siblings, since Barry's surname is still Allen. Joe was his guardian but never his adoptive father.

There's precedent with Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers in The Six Million Dollar Man/The Bionic Woman. Jaime was initially introduced as a childhood friend of Steve's, but once she got her own spinoff, it was retconned that Steve's parents had become her foster parents after her own mother and father were killed when she was 16. So they both considered the same two people to be their mother and father, but that didn't stop them from getting engaged (and later having an on-and-off romance after that first engagement fell through for complicated TV reasons). Although, granted, they didn't grow up in the same household like Barry and Iris.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's not a legal or biological thing, it's more a vibe. It actually made it a little worse for me when they revealed that Joe knew and was OK with it, as it emphasizes that nobody in the show seems to notice or care.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Well, what is wrong about that?! It's not a big deal. So they grew up together, so what?!

 

[Nerys Myk]

It's not a legal or biological thing, it's more a vibe. It actually made it a little worse for me when they revealed that Joe knew and was OK with it, as it emphasizes that nobody in the show seems to notice or care.

It's possible Barry's crush predates his mother's murder and he's never looked at Iris as a sister, even when living in the same household.

 

[DWF]

The irony is that it would probably be safer for Iris at this point if she DID know the truth about Barry, because she would be a lot more careful about what she writes on her blog about him (or may even choose to shut it down altogether).

Good point. The problem with many TV plotlines about keeping secrets is that the characters would probably be better off if they didn't keep the secrets. For instance, let's consider another CW show, The Tomorrow People. The only reason the Tomorrow People were in danger of being killed and experimented on by the evil Ultra organization was because they hid their existence. If they'd gone public and gotten a good lawyer and a good PR person, they could've exposed Ultra's abuses and the company would never have been able to get away with it. Ditto with Orphan Black and the Clone Club.

A good PR person can't solve the basic issue of the fear beings like the Tomorrow Poeple can create.

Professor Charles Xavier: To Homo neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo sapiens, was an aberration. Peaceful cohabitation, if it ever existed, was short-lived. Records show, without exception, that the arrival of the mutated human species in any region was followed by the immediate extinction of their less-evolved kin.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's not a huge deal, hence my use of the word "little" in both posts, but for me it's one more tick against a romantic interest who's already ill-conceived for the reason that others have been touching upon--her being practically the only one in the main cast who doesn't know he's the Flash. You'd think that the creators of these shows would have learned by now that this just makes a character like her look self-absorbed, even if that's not the intent (Lana syndrome), which is worsened by the fact that there's a cute, quirky female character on the show who is in on his secret (Chloe syndrome).

 

[Christopher]

I do think it might work better if Iris knew Barry's secret but Joe didn't. Although I guess that would be too much like Arrow, where Quentin Lance is the designated "only person in the cast who doesn't know the hero's secret identity." But at least there'd be a valid reason for not wanting a cop to know about Barry's vigilante activities. The show has yet to establish a clear reason why Joe and Barry feel that Iris needs to be kept in the dark.

 

[davejames]

It's possible Barry's crush predates his mother's murder and he's never looked at Iris as a sister, even when living in the same household.

Yeah that's how it appears to me. Plus it's not like they grew up as toddlers together and Barry was a literal stepbrother. Barry only actually joined the family when he was 11, which almost makes him more of a long term houseguest than anything else, I'd say.

In any case, I guess I'm one of the few who actually really likes the dynamic and chemistry between Barry and Iris in this show (and can definitely understand why Barry would be so hung up on her).

And with how fast things are developing on this show, I get the impression it won't be long before she finally learns his secret. I can't see the writers wanting to keep her in the dark forever.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I can't see the writers wanting to keep her in the dark forever.

I can. It screams "formula", but it's a formula that should be abandoned.

 

[DWF]

In the old days a hero's secret indentity was important, but anymore it doesn't seem to matter so it's odd that heroes seem to need to run around with masks on. I'm sure that Iris will know the truth as long she doesn't feel that it's her duty as a reporter to report it. At this point Iris is something of a weak link.

 

[Professor Zoom]

With so many people that already know Barry's identity, it's weird that Iris doesn't.
But, then, it would also really be weird if everyone knew his identity.

Still. It only bothers me when I'm in conversations like this, most of the time, I'm enjoying the show enough, I don't care.

 

[davejames]

Yeah we're only 5 episodes in so far. I figure there should be at least ONE person who doesn't know Barry's secret already. Lol

 

[Christopher]

(and can definitely understand why Barry would be so hung up on her).

I'd agree if it were purely a matter of looks; she's gorgeous. But both in personality and performance, she strikes me as kind of shallow and unintelligent. I'm not really all that engaged by her except on a visual level.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

(and can definitely understand why Barry would be so hung up on her).

I'd agree if it were purely a matter of looks; she's gorgeous. But both in personality and performance, she strikes me as kind of shallow and unintelligent. I'm not really all that engaged by her except on a visual level.

Well, she obviously cares for him. For some guys, especially those without much relationship experience (of whom Barry seems to be one of, if his love for Iris goes back to their childhood and he obviously is uncomfortable seeing anyone else, as seen with Felicity), that - coupled with good looks - can be enough. Just like with Leonard and Penny on TBBT.

So, it's not so much understanding why one would be so hung up on her, it's why Barry would be so hung up on her.

She's really gorgeous, though.

 

[theenglish]

(and can definitely understand why Barry would be so hung up on her).

I'd agree if it were purely a matter of looks; she's gorgeous. But both in personality and performance, she strikes me as kind of shallow and unintelligent. I'm not really all that engaged by her except on a visual level.

I think that this is a fault of the material the character has been given so far. She's obviously supposed to very intelligent. She's a graduate student, after all. Unfortunately, we haven't seen anything that actually displays her intelligence. In fact, I can't even recall what her major is at the moment.

If she were a political scientist or an economist or sociologist then we as the viewers she see evidence of this expertise, hopefully being integral to the plot at some point.