The Flash has spent the last few years distributing superpowers to various characters beyond just Barry Allen as the Scarlet Speedster, but Iris always had to rely on her wits and her instincts rather than any kind of meta abilities. Soon, however, Iris' status will change when she temporarily gains Barry's superspeed powers. While Barry is sidelined without any superpowers, Iris will hit the streets to try and fill his shoes as the speedy savior of Central City. We still have a little bit of a wait before the episode airs. Luckily, The Flash has released some first look photos at Iris in action as a speedster. Take a look!
The very first image of Iris as a superpowered hero only showed the top half of her costume, and Candice Patton was posing rather than preparing to race into battle as Iris. In this photo, we see more of Iris' look as a speedster. She's gone for a costume that's very different from Barry's, as it is black and white rather than red and involves a mask rather than a cowl. Of course, her outfit was probably thrown together pretty quickly after she ended up with the superspeed powers. I doubt Cisco was holding on to a friction-proof suit just Iris' size on the off-chance that she would someday become a speedster. Besides, all signs point toward Iris only having superspeed for a limited time.
She'll gain her superspeed after Team Flash encounters another of The Thinker's bus metas, called "Melting Pot." He has the ability to switch people's DNA and ends up swapping Iris' with Barry's just as a new threat faces Central City. With no time to spare, Iris suits up as the city's speedster while Barry must stay behind and try to fill Iris' shoes as leader of Team Flash. Iris will presumably only be a speedster for as long as it takes for Team Flash to defeat Melting Pot, although it's possible that she'll have her powers long enough to kick off a story that would result in a lot of answers about that mystery woman. What we can say for sure is that Iris won't shy away from danger during her tenure as the Central City speedster:
Iris will evidently be drawn into a burning building during her time as Team Flash's requisite speedster, and she definitely has a game face on, which is undoubtedly for the best. While her suit is probably fireproof thanks to Cisco, she has a fair amount of exposed skin, not to mention a ponytail. Even if she has Barry's superhealing abilities, speeding into a burning building after spending years without any powers at all takes a lot of nerve. Kudos to Iris! Unfortunately, another picture has hit the web to reveal that not everything will go Iris' way while in that burning building:
Poor Iris looks pretty rattled in this image, and something tell's me it's not because of the fire. Judging by the countertop behind her, Iris is standing up in the photo, and she's looking way up at whatever is freaking her out. Perhaps The Thinker emerged from his lair in the pocket dimension and is hovering over Iris. Alternately, maybe one of the new villains who will debut in Season 4 turned up to throw a wrench in her plans. Then again, who knows? Maybe she's just seeing a whole lot more fire. We'll have to wait and see.
Iris will make her debut as a speedster on Tuesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule and our 2018 Netflix premiere guide.
