The Flash: What was Joe West like in the comics?

8. He didn’t always approve of Iris and Barry’s relationship

On CW’s The Flash , Joe West was rooting for Barry and Iris to get together, even as they both dated other people. His comic book counterpart Ira didn’t come around as fast. The first appearance of Professor West was in The Flash issue 134. Barry reads about Iris’s father in the paper and notes that he’s a “famous scientist”. Barry calls Iris to see if she could facilitate an introduction, but she informs him that her father is already on his way to see him. When Professor West arrives, he gives Barry a piece of his mind. He wanted to know what Barry’s intentions with Iris were and why he hadn’t asked for his approval.

Barry and Iris were unsure how to tell Professor West that they were “just friends”. This was a contradiction to previous stories that clearly established that Barry and Iris were dating. By the end of the comic, Barry and Iris had set Professor West straight. Although his relationship with Barry improved, but that didn’t stop Ira from trying to set her up with someone else after their wedding (more on that later).