Her name is Iris West-Allen, and she is the fastest woman alive. In "Run, Iris, Run," the March 13th episode of The Flash, a metahuman will transfer Barry Allen's super speed to his wife Iris, setting the stage for a major role reversal.
The CW has released both a synopsis for the episode and an official photo of Iris in her very own superhero costume, which she'll don in her efforts to protect Central City in Barry's stead. You can check out the photo and synopsis below.
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“Run, Iris, Run”— IRIS SUITS UP — Team Flash confronts a new bus meta, Matthew AKA Melting Pot (guest star Leonardo Nam), with the ability to swap people’s DNA. During a battle with Team Flash, Harold transfers Barry’s (Grant Gustin) super speed to Iris (Candice Patton). Now, with a new threat unleashed on Central City, Barry must act as the team leader while Iris takes on the mantle of superhero speedster in order to defeat their new foe. Harry Jierjian directed the episode written by Eric Wallace (#416). Original airdate 3/13/2018.
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It is unclear if Iris will go by The Flash when she is in costume; she does not have an official superhero identity at the time of writing. Despite its unique color scheme, her costume appears to have more in common with Jesse Quick's outfit than Barry's traditional scarlet ensemble.
The swap will likely play into Barry and Iris' existing martial problems. Since he returned from the Speed Force, Barry has struggled to see eye-to-eye with Iris, and the two event went so far as to attend couples therapy over it. This upcoming episode will likely play into this theme.
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While this is a first for The CW series, Iris has suited up in the comics before. For instance, in Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul's The Flash, Iris wore a special Speed Force suit that enabled her to travel at super speed, despite not having any powers of her own. Candice Patton, who plays the character on the show, has been vocal about her desire to wear this suit in the past: “I know about the Speed Force suit. I want it, I want it, I want it! Geoff Johns, I want it... I sent him photos, like, ‘You know about this happening.’ So he’s aware that I’m aware. I’m hoping eventually we’ll see that.”
Airing Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW, The Flash stars Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Candice Patton as Iris West, Jesse L. Martin as Joe West, and Tom Cavanagh as Harry Wells, with guest appearances from Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West and Hartley Sawyer as the Elongated Man.