Ahead of this week’s episode of The Flash, we caught up with Candice Patton at her very first MCM Comic Con to discuss being a kick-ass reporter, how Iris is evolving, and creating a character that opens new doors for inspiring young girls.
Are we going to see more of Iris as a reporter?
We will see more of that, hopefully more in this season, we haven’t shot much yet. In episode 3 you definitely get to see Iris be a bad-ass reporter. I think it’s tease of what is to come for Iris later in the season. I am always advocating for more of that because that is how we know Iris in the comic books, this kind of ace, badass reporter, so I just don’t know when that is going to kick into full gear. But what I have always loved about Iris is that for her as a character we see the slow burn of her evolving as a woman. In Season 1, she wasn’t perfect, and she didn’t have everything together. It’s nice to see her evolve on screen.
What is it like to play a female character who isn’t defined by the male protagonist in her life?
It’s actually quite nice, I’m always fighting it in the fandom, and in the reporting world, people are always like “When does Iris get with Barry? When is that going to happen?” I’m always saying we as women and as characters, are so much more than the men we are associated with. So I am always trying to advocate that for Iris. Hey, it would be great to see her with Barry, because they are an iconic couple, right? So it’s fun that that is a possibility with our show. but what I get excited about is her agency in life and what she can contribute to the Flash.
Were you a fan of the comics?
Comic books, in terms of the actual comic, I didn’t grow up with toss, they weren’t really available to me. But I did grow up with the Saturday morning cartoons. So I’m very familiar with Batman, Superman. Huge Batman fan. I’ve seen every batman movie. I love Batman. I was very familiar with this comic book idea, but I didn’t know much about The Flash, I’d never read a Flash comic book, and so when I started to do that, and I still do it now until this day, we keep the comics, my makeup artist keeps them on her table, so when I’m getting ready I can flick through. It’s still surreal, because Iris is white. I’m reading this stories going “Wait, that’s me!” And it’s a really cool thing because as a kid, when I was watching Batman or Superman, and I’m watching the Lois Lane’s or the Vicki Vale’s it was never an imagining that I would ever get to play that ingenue. So it’s cool that, that’s happening and a lot of girls are watching that and are inspired.
The Flash airs on Sky1 every Tuesday. You can find out more about the characters and the comics that inspired them by picking up the latest edition of 100 All-Time Greatest Comics.
