Last week, it was reported by news outlet Entertainment Weekly that Iris West (played by Candice Patton on The CW's hit television show The Flash) would be stepping up as the leader of the S.T.A.R. Labs team in the show's second season, and the story made its way around the web (you can read my original article on it here). Now, Patton has taken to this weekend's DragonCon to say that this has been massively misreported.
During the The Flash Panel, Patton was asked how her character's strengths that were shown during the show's first season would play into Iris assuming the leadership role for the team, to which Patton revealed that the story has been wildly misreported. On the matter, Patton had this to say:
"I don't know where you guys are hearing this, but I think it's a gross exaggeration that Iris is going to take over leadership at S.T.A.R. Labs. What I will say is that she does encourage Barry Allen to come back to S.T.A.R. Labs and get the team together and keep fighting to protect Central City. As far as being a leader at S.T.A.R. Labs? No, that doesn't happen. Iris has a job. She works at Picture News and we know her as this iconic reporter and what I will say about her strength is that this season we will see her step into that role which I am very excited about because I think she has a lot to offer Team Flash in that way."
You can check out the panel in its entirety in the fan-filmed video below, and you can see Patton discuss the leadership role at approximately 25:05.
So, it seems that, while fans will see Iris become closer to her comic book counterpart in the sense that she will become more of the "iconic reporter" that she is in the source material, but she will NOT be assuming the title of team leader.
The original quote that caused the misinterpretation was Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg talking about Iris West's role in the new season. While it is easy to understand how the quote was interpreted the way it was, it certainly isn't a stretch to say that he was most likely just talking about her role in the premiere episode of the show's second season. You can check out the original quote below.
"Iris slides into [the role] very naturally. She's a born leader. One of the best things in the premiere is Barry decides that he wants to work alone because he doesn't want to risk anyone else's lives, and Iris is really the one who gets the band back together again. She's the only one who can stand up to Barry"
What do you guys think? Did you want to see Iris West assume the role of team leader, or are you happy to hear that this won't be the case after all? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to share and hit that thumbs up!
The second season of The Flash premieres on October 6, on The CW.
Following the defeat of Barry Allen's arch-nemesis Eobard Thawne (aka Reverse Flash), Team Flash quickly turned their attention to the singularity swirling high above Central City, which fans last saw consuming everything in its path. Armed with the heart of a hero and the ability to move at super speeds, Barry charged into the eye of the singularity, but will he actually be able to save his city from impending doom?