The Flash: The Death of Iris West

The Flash (1959-1985) #270-284

by Cary Bates, Alex Saviuk (Illustrator)

Run for your life!

When a bolt of lightning struck a labratory cabinet full of chemicals, police scientist Barry Allen gained super-speed abilities. Using his newfound powers to fight crime, he became Central City's greatest hero—the Flash!

Thanks to his enhanced speed, Barry can cover great distances in the blink of an eye and vibrate his molecules so quickly that he can pass through solid objects. But not even the Fastest Man Alive can dodge calamity when his beloved wife, Iris, is murdered.

Grief-stricken, the Flash launches a one-man crusade to bring his wife's killer to justice, with all evidence pointing to an escaped metahuman convict. But is all as it seems, or is someone else responsible for masterminding the darkest moment in Barry Allen's life? Whoever the killer may be, they're about to learn that you can't outrun justice...especially when the Scarlet Speedster is on your trail.

The The Death of Iris West collects The Flash #270-284 and recounts one of the most iconic story lines in pre-Crisis history.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Adventure, Comic Book

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

About the author

Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on The Flash and Superman.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, thank you DC for finally reprinting this. This is one of those famous pre-Crisis stories I've always wanted to read but could never find it. Now that I've read it, It's OK. I was surprised at the long form storytelling from back in 1979-80. I assumed these would all be one and two issue stories but there are continuing undercurrents throughout the run. I was surprised at how much Flash's Rogues took a back seat during this. Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang and Heatwave only show up for a few pages with two longer stories featuring The Clown and Reverse Flash. It's pretty shocking that DC killed off Iris Allen at the time. Those kinds of deaths didn't really occur back then. But given how weak and whiny Iris was portrayed in this, I wasn't that upset by her death. It's a big difference from the strong, confidant woman she's been portrayed as post-Crisis. There are quite a few artists on this run but they all have the same DC house style of the time so you don't even notice when the artist changes.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, the title should be THE DEATH OF IRIS ALLEN. That aside, I read these issues as they were released originally. In fact, after reading fifty issues, more or less, I believe issue 284 was the last issue of the title that I read other than issues 300 and 350.

There are some good stories here, and I remember how devastated that Iris was killed and the reveal of her killer.

Recommended!

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como falei em outro review, os quadrinhos de super-heróis dos anos 1960 e 1970 são bastante cansativos de ler porque era uma lei tácita de que todos os quadros dessas histórias precisassem ter texto. Dito isso, A Morte de Iris West é uma das últimas histórias mais importantes do Flash Barry Allen antes da Crise nas Infitas Terras exterminá-lo. Assim a gente entende como o personagem de Barry, na maioria das histórias é uma criatura dura, reta, bidimensional, pra não dizer chata, comparado com seu sucessor Wally West, sobrinho da Iris que morre nesta edição. São os personagens ao redor de Barry que trazem a dinâmica para esse encadernado, como a própria Iris. As histórias ficam cansativas - e temos muitas delas nesse encadernado - pelo excesso de texto. Assim como no encadernado do Aquaman, um dos destaques aqui são as capas "groovy", principalmente as feitas por Dick Giordano. Eu já tinha esse encadernado em mãos há um bom tempo, mas foi só a partir da leitura do encadernado do Aquaman que tomei coragem para enfrentar essa que é considerada uma das grandes histórias clássicas do Flash.

[Christopher M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Iris. Not only is she fridged but it's in the title, they get her name wrong (she's been Mrs Allen for over a decade), her death is initially offstage, and it doesn't even develop the male characters; Barry is reconciled in about 3 issues and her well established absent-minded dad and superhero nephew don't even speak. But as the first proper Flash "graphic novel" (255 pages when previous stories tap out at around 34) it is packed with plot, with corrupt cops, drug smuggling, unethical experiments on convicts, an underage psychic groupie and a bit of time travel. So no depth, but the pace never lets up until the shock reveal that the murderer is exactly who any Flash fan would have guessed from the title!

[Aric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I read some of the issues when I was a kid and when I saw there is a graphic novel which compiled the story line of the murder of The Flash's wife nostalgia convinced me to give it a read.
And.....yeah, it really does not hold up over time at all. The writing is pretty bad. The artwork is ok but not impressive.
There is another criticism I would like to make but the words to articulate it escape my insomnia addled brain at present.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of one of the greatest Silver Age stories out there. In the late 70s/early 80s, Barry and Iris had that wholesome kind of relationship that DC would later bestow upon Lois Lane and Clark Kent. They tried to portray them as real characters with real struggles. Mixing a family life and superheroing shouldn't be easy. Their relationship gets the ultimate test in this storyline.

Yes, Silver Age can be a bit cheeky at times. Yes, it can also be totally absurd when it doesn't mean to be. That's part of the fun of the Silver Age, though.

This is also a good example of longer form storytelling that wasn't too common at the time. Lots of comics would go from issue to issue with little to no story carrying over. This story featured Iris and Barry right out front and the Rogues (Mirror Master, Heat Wave, and Captain Cold) are just thrown in the background as quick foils to be overcome.

Also, at what point in the Silver Age did Barry gain total control of his molecules? That would make him WAY too powerful, I'd presume.

Bonus: The Flash's fiercest 70's era weapon...the karate chop at superspeed!
Bonus Bonus: The evils of dyslexia! The supervillain is evil because his receptors are wired backwards?

[Eric Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very difficult to rate. It is very much a product of its time, a late 70's Superhero story. In that regard, it succeeds incredibly well, even surprising me at moments with more nuance than is typical of the time period. However graded with modern comics, it falls a bit short. My biggest issue is characters acting completely unrealistic at times. As the title suggests, Barry's wife dies and his mourning process is very brief and bizarre. Making the whole impact of her death not very impactful. Definitely worth reading if you are a Flash fan, or want to see Reverse Flash in his prime. But this isn't a comic I'd recommend to anyone outside that group.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll grant a little positivity for some decent artwork in the first half of the book, but overall it’s pretty bad. Iris is actually killed off-panel, and the eventual explanation is idiotic and requires expert forensic scientist Barry Allen to completely miss clues. Cary Bates churns through a continuing story, resolving plot points in offhand ways, and resorting to an asspull to reveal who *didn’t* kill Iris (something that should have been obvious — she didn’t die as a result of Clive Yorkin’s life-sucking powers.)

Overall, a story that did not age well at all….

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un cómic clásico en la historia de Flash. Que como podemos ver es tal vez uno de los personajes más trágicos de DC. Barry Allen reparte su vida entre su trabajo como científico y sus constantes aventuras contra los malos. Eso hace que no tenga casi tiempo para su esposa Iris West. Y una serie de catastróficas desdichas se juntarán para desgraciarle la vida.
Viendo lo que le ocurriria años despues en Crisis en tierras infinitas solo puedo compadecer al bueno de Barry Allen.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Flash: The Death of Iris West

A costume party leads to the murder of Iris West, wife of Barry Allen, the Flash. Overcome with grief, Barry has no shortage of suspects and must use not only his superpower but his skills as a forensics specialist to uncover the culprit.

A well drawn and well thought out storyline that shows the consequences of being married to a metahuman and the true cost of being a superhero.

[Allen Setzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story that doesn’t give away the mystery unless you’ve read plenty of Flash comics before. Well paced and fluid storytelling. My only gripe is the last issue which definitely feels like a lazy way to wrap up the arc.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Flash books are always fun. Have yet to let me down every time I read back issues.