Kid Flash (Iris West)

Iris West
225px Kid Flash, on the cover to The Kingdom: Kid Flash. Art by Mark Pajarillo
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Kingdom Come #3 (July 1996)
Created by	Mark Waid (writer) Alex Ross (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Iris West
Team affiliations	Teen Titans
Notable aliases	Kid Flash, Impulse
Abilities	Superhuman speed Intangiblitiy invisible aura to protect her body and clothes against air friction

Kid Flash (Iris West II) is a superheroine in the alternate future of Kingdom Come in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared in Kingdom Come #3 (July 1996).

Publication history

Iris West II/Kid Flash appears in issues 3 and 4 of the 1996 Kingdom Come mini-series. She subsequently appears in the Kingdom Come sequel, The Kingdom, starring in her own issue The Kingdom: Kid Flash (February 1999). Characters similar to this one appear in The Flash #143 (December 1998) and #146–149 (March–June 1999), as well as The Titans #23–25 (January–March 2001); however, it is not clear if they are the same character.

Fictional character biography

Kingdom Come

In the alternate future of the Kingdom Come series, Iris West II is the daughter of Wally West (the first Kid Flash, third Flash) and Linda Park, and the twin sister of Jai West. Both Iris and Jai inherited their father's superspeed abilities, but only Iris chose to use her powers for good, while Jai used his powers to become a slacker and has no interest in the "family legacy". Iris is constantly bitter that her father, who has almost completely given up his life to patrol Keystone City non-stop, never makes time for her but does make time for Jai, and considered him the potential successor to the Flash identity instead of Iris, despite her becoming Kid Flash.

In the sequel The Kingdom, Iris is recruited by Rip Hunter (along with several other heroes of her generation - Ibn al Xu'ffasch, Batman's son; Nightstar, the daughter of Nightwing and Starfire; and Offspring, the son of Plastic Man) to try to stop a madman named Gog from altering the past, before discovering it to be unnecessary due to Hypertime.

In The Titans #23–25 she becomes a member of a group comprising the children of the original five Titans: herself; Nightwing and Starfire's daughter Nightstar; Donna Troy's son Darkstar; the Red Hood, Arsenal's daughter; and Tula, Tempest's daughter. They return to the present in various Hypertimelines to save the existence of Donna Troy.

DC Universe

File:ImpulseIW.JPG

Iris West as the new Impulse. art by Ethan van Sciver.

In Flash #225 (October 2005), Wally West's wife Linda gave birth to a daughter named Iris. Initially, her only power is the ability to vibrate through objects. In Flash #240 (May 2008) Iris appears to grow into a teenager wearing a costume similar to her future counterpart. In issue 241, Iris now wearing a "kid flash"-like costume displays superspeed and states she may be faster than her father. However her joy is short-lived, as she ages into adulthood after defeating Gorilla Grodd. In Flash #243, Iris is returned to her original age, and her powers revert to molecular acceleration.

More than Jai, Iris is a living conduit for the Speed Force, with absolute mastery over it almost rivalling the one briefly gained by her father during the Dark Flash Saga. Mind-controlled by Queen Bee, she exhibited the power of forming "cocoons" of Speed Force, bubbles in which she could control speed and time, freezing her targets or hastening their metabolism to death. Moreover, she repaired the weakening connection to the Speed Force that was crippling her father. Badly traumatized by her ordeal, she refuses to give in to her powers again.

Her resolution wanes with the return of the first Reverse Flash, Professor Zoom, during the The Flash: Rebirth event. Since Jai's and Iris' connection to the Speed Force is still precarious, the attempts of Zoom to disrupt it force both kids to endure a large amount of crippling pain, until Iris decides to take the bulk of the Speed Power connection, freeing Jai but taking the pain for herself. At the last moment Jesse Chambers, guided by the late Johnny Quick, uses the Speed Mantra to save Iris' life, once again restoring her full potential.

Iris embraces her new role with childlike glee, choosing to take up the mantle of Impulse, which Bart used before he joined the Teen Titans as Kid Flash.

Impulse is later shown being recorded on Flyover, a social networking feature devised to help villains stalk and kill teen superheroes.

Powers and abilities

Iris West II has the same abilities as her father Wally West: superspeed, the ability to control and vibrate her molecules, and an aura that protects her from friction at high velocities. Iris is somewhat slower than her father because of her young age.

External links

• Profile on Iris West II