7 Times The Flash Improved DC Mythology (& 4 Times It Failed)

6. How Iris Found Out

The Flash Barry Iris
The CW

One major improvement that The Flash has made to the mythology of DC Comics and the Scarlet Speedster is just how exactly Iris West found out that Barry Allen was the Flash.

Despite how Iris was pretty much the last of those close to Barry to find out that he was indeed Central City’s Sultan of Speed, at least she found out in a rather brilliant way.

If you remember, the TV series had Iris putting two-and-two together once a touch from Barry gave her an electric shock as he’s about to go and help out Eddie Thawne. This coming on the back of Iris previously finding out this secret after Barry Allen stopped Central City from being flooded… only for that to be wiped out of existence after Barry accidentally went back in time.

How The Flash handled Iris finding this secret out is a major upgrade on the established lore of DC Comics, of course. You see, in the funny books, Iris – who is dating Barry Allen at the time – finds out that her beau is the Flash after he talked about it in his sleep.

Advertisement
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.