Another DC Character Remembers Their Pre-Flashpoint Life

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Flash #52 by Joshua Williamson, Christian Duce, Luis Guerrero and Steve Wands, on sale now.

The DC Universe isn’t quite right. Since the return of Wally West in DC Universe Rebirth #1, the history and continuity of the DC Universe has felt.. Off. Small changes to the The New 52 continuity helped bring back aspects of the pre-Flashpoint timeline. The original Teen Titans had a place in history again, Tim Drake regained his time as Robin instead of always being Red Robin, events once out of continuity like Final Crisis and Cosmic Odyssey were once again referenced.

It seems the pre-Flashpoint timeline is overwriting The New 52 one slowly, but most people aren’t aware that it’s happening. Those that do — such as Wally West, who remembers his wife and children — are tormented by the memories of a life they lost, while most exist in a state of blissful ignorance, unaware of who they once were or the lives that were taken from them. This week, a pivotal supporting character seemed to remember one of their most important days of their life, and it may have major consequences down the line.

Love and Marriage

Things seem to be going rather well for Barry Allen and Iris West. Sure, they’ve been through a lot since Wally’s return, but for the first time since the Flashpoint, they’re a happy couple living together in cohabitating bliss. However, their clash with Hunter Zolomon triggered the Flash Family to face some memories from their previous lives and it can be hard to keep track of which memories belong to which timeline. One memory that Iris knows isn’t from this timeline, is her memory of her wedding, and her marriage to Barry Allen.

Barry and Iris were originally wedded in 1966’s The Flash #165 by Carmine Infantino and John Brome, in a story titled “One Bridegroom Too Many.” The issue lived up to its title as on the day of the wedding, Eobard Thawne disguised himself as his greatest enemy and took Barry Allen’s place in the wedding, nearly marrying Iris until his plot was foiled by The Flash. The pair lived happily until Iris was killed mysteriously in 1979’s The Flash #275, in which the couple attended a costume party together, someone drugged Barry and he woke up to find his bride dead.

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It was eventually revealed that Iris was killed by Eobard Thawne — who was in love with her — by vibrating his hand at super-speed through her head. Iris’ death was avenged and Barry moved on with his life. Barry fell in love once again with Fiona Webb, but Professor Zoom refused to allow The Flash to have any happiness and threatened to kill Webb the same way he killed Iris, forcing Barry to chase him towards the chapel and stop him. Barry killed Thawne when he grabbed the villain around the neck while he was running, essentially holding his head in place while his body continued to move forward at super-speed.

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30st Century Girl

That wasn’t the end of Barry and Iris’ love story by any means, as Iris had a secret she had been keeping from her husband; she was actually from the year 2900! She was born to Eric and Fran Russell in the 30th century but raised by the Wests in the present day, a fact she learned while married to Barry and a fact she managed to keep from him even after he told her the truth about his double-life as The Flash — though to be fair, she figured it out by then; Barry talks in his sleep. Upon her death, Iris’ soul was brought forward in time to the 30th Century, where her biological parents placed it into an identical body to the one she had before she died.

After the Trial of The Flash for the death of Eobard Thawne, Barry was reunited with Iris in the 30th century where they lived in peace as husband and wife for some time, until Barry was called back to action to help stop the Anti-Monitor’s destruction of the multiverse; an adventure he wouldn’t come back from. Barry left unaware his wife was pregnant with twins, and Iris was left alone in the 30th century to raise Don and Dawn Allen, who would eventually grow up to be the Tornado Twins. Don would later marry Meloni Thawne — a descendent of Professor Zoom — and together they had Bart Allen.

Bart was born with a condition which accelerated his aging due to his connection to the Speed Force, and Iris brought him back to the present to seek Wally West’s help, surprising her nephew who believed her to be dead. Iris remained in the present and wrote The Life Story of The Flash, the official history and biography of Barry Allen, whose identity was public since his death. Following the return of Barry Allen during Final Crisis, the couple were reunited, proving that death and time cannot stand in the way of true love within the DC Universe.

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A Whole New World

It might not seem too significant that Iris can remember her wedding to Barry, but it’s the latest moment in a story that’s been brewing since the start of DC Rebirth. The Shade even made reference to it at the end of the “Speed of Darkness” arc. in which he asked Barry to give his wife his regards, only to correct himself when he recalled not everyone could remember the way the universe was supposed to be.

With that in mind, Iris remembering her marriage to Barry is just the tip of the iceberg when you think about what would happen if everyone remembered the pre-Flashpoint universe all at once.

Here’s just a short list of characters, like Wally West, who had children in the previous timeline that they don’t have anymore; Aquaman, Arsenal, Green Arrow, Catwoman, Spoiler, Hawkman and Donna Troy. That’s not to mention characters who were married that are no longer married, or whose friends and loved ones no longer exist. The DC Universe is incomplete because it’s halfway between an old incarnation and a new one, thanks to the meddling of Doctor Manhattan and by stealing this time and these relationships from the DC Universe, he could cripple the entire hero community simply by returning their memories to them.

In the pages of The Flash, we’ve seen what happens to characters when they remember these lives. Wally West has been admitted to Sanctuary in order to process the loss of his missing children, while Iris is trying to deal with her recovered memories in private. Iris’ struggle with this knowledge will likely be a key plot point going forward in The Flash, especially considering the return of Bart Allen at the end “Flash War” which is something no-one but the readers know about yet.

Iris may just be the key to figuring out what’s going on with the two timelines and how to fix it, but in order to do that she’s going to need to put aside her pride and tell Barry what she remembers, so they can work together to fix what was lost, repair their marriage and possibly repair their entire timeline.