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Iris West and her twin brother, Jai, were born to the third Flash, Wally West, and his wife Linda Park.

Although the twins were initially miscarried as the result of an attack by Zoom,[1] Linda's pregnancy was miraculously restored during a later battle.[2]

When Wally went into the Speed Force during a battle with Superboy-Prime, he brought Linda and the infant twins with them.[3] After spending some time on an Earth-like world inhabited by an alternate version of Jay Garrick,[4] they traveled to another planet occupied by technologically advanced aliens who had had dealings with a Flash in the past.

When they were first born, Iris and her brother exhibited no signs of having inherited their father's powers. However, after turning three months old, their metabolisms sped up and they began to age rapidly and exhibit powers. Their alien hosts taught Linda the basics of operating machinery to stabilize the growing twins' powers.[5]

The West family was suddenly brought back to Earth during an adventure involving the Justice League, Justice Society, and Legion of Super-Heroes.[6] They moved back to Keystone City, and Linda set up the alien devices in their basement. Afraid that the twins could age to their own deaths sooner rather than later, Wally began training them how to use their powers as heroes, hoping to let them live their lives to the fullest.[5][7]

While aiding their father battle Spin and Gorilla Grodd, Iris and Jai were captured by Brother Drive and Brother Think, two members of the Dark Side Club who claimed that the twins were Forever People with great potential. Immediately after capture, Iris began to experience another rapid growth spurt, aging her to late adolescence.[8] This gave her full superspeed like her father, which she used to free herself and Jai.

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Iris as an adult

After helping their father defeat Grodd, she had yet another spurt, aging into adulthood.[9] She continued aging rapidly, becoming an elderly woman. Wally sought the help of Nzame, an infant gorilla with healing abilities, to try and halt the process. However, this plan backfired, as Iris seemingly withered away and died before her family's own eyes.[10] However, this turned out to be simply a hallucination created by Grodd. Though alive, Iris was still quite old.

The twins' rapid aging was cured when Wally discovered that their genetics were not the cause, but rather the death aspect of the Speed Force. He brought them both into the Force. While there, Wally drew the blackness out of her, turning her back into a girl.[11]

More than Jai, Iris is a living conduit for the Speed Force, with absolute mastery over it almost rivaling 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 Forces, 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 crippling her father. Badly traumatized by her ordeal, she refuses to give in her powers again.

Her resolution wanes with the return of the first Reverse Flash, Professor Zoom, during the The Flash: Rebirth event. Since Jai and Iris' connection is still precarious, the attempts of Zoom to disrupt the Speed Force 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 in 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.

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This history is continued in The New 52 at Iris West II (Prime Earth).
The DC Universe was rebooted in 2011 as part of the Flashpoint event. This was an attempt to simplify continuity, and make DC Comics more accessible to new readers. Prior to this, mainstream comics took place in New Earth continuity since the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. The continuity established following Flashpoint is Prime Earth.


Powers

  • Speed Force Conduit: Speed force conduits possess a connection to the Speed Force, a cosmic force that allows its users to push the boundaries that keep time and space. As a conduit of the Speed Force, all aspects of their physiology are accelerated and enhanced.[12]
    • Accelerated Healing: By having a connection to the speed force, every speed force conduit has an incredibly fast healing ability and can heal from most injuries in seconds and devastating injuries in minutes.[13]
    • Enhanced Senses: The Speed Force enhances the speedster's senses, allowing them to perceive and process thoughts faster than the normal person.[14]
    • Phasing: Speed Force conduits can tap into the Speed Force to vibrate their molecules in a way to achieve intangibility for short bursts, allowing them to phase through objects.[15]
    • Speed Force Aura: The Speed Force manifests an aura around the speedster and whatever they are carrying, protecting them from adverse effects of their speed, such as friction with the air.[16]
      • Superhuman Durability: The Speed Force Aura also protects speedsters from kinetic impacts, which in turn, makes them much more durable and resistant to injury than any normal human.[17]
    • Superhuman Stamina: The Speed Force grants its conduits with a great increase of stamina, allowing them to fight or run much longer than the average person. Although a great increase, it is not unlimited.[14]
    • Superhuman Speed: The universal factor of being a Speed Force conduit grants its user with imperceptible amounts of speed. All powers that conduits possess derives from their speed.[14]. This also confers:
      • Superhuman Agility: The speedster's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to superhuman levels. This allows them to easily maneuver while moving at superhuman speed.[14]
      • Superhuman Reflexes: In conjunction with their enhanced senses, The speedster's reflexes are heightened immesurably, allowing them to dodge or react faster than normal.[14]
    • Vortex Creations: Speed Force conduits are able to create vortices of air by running in circles or rotating their extremities at super-speed. These vortices can be used for a number of effects.[18]

Weaknesses

  • Accelerated Aging: (Formerly) Jai and Irey aged at a dangerously rapid rate until they were cured.

Related

External Links

Footnotes



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Flash Family member

This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of The Flash, and a member of the Flash Family of speedsters. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Flash Family members" category.

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