The Flash

As a young boy, Barry insisted on coming to the aid of his classmates, which often got him beat up by bullies. But his life truly changed when one night his mother was killed by a strange yellow-and-red blur. Barry's father Henry was tried and convicted of the murder, and Central City police detective Joe West took Barry in as his son.

Inspired by Henry's medical skills and Joe's dedication to law and order, Barry studied to become a forensic assistant and is remarkably gifted. However, he also began researching cases of the strange and unexplained hoping to find an answer to how his mother died.

Life changed again for Barry when he was struck by a bolt of lightning from a storm generated by an out-of-control particle accelerator. The electricity, combined with the chemicals in Barry's lab, gave him an accelerated metabolism allowing him to run at over 700 miles an hour.

With the help of his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry has created a superheroic persona for himself as The Flash, Central City's unseen guardian. While fighting criminals who gained powers from the accelerator explosion, Barry also tries to clear his father's name.

The daughter of police detective Joe West, Iris was childhood friends with neighbor boy Barry Allen. When Barry's mother died and his father was sent to jail for murder, Joe took Barry in because he knew the boy from his daughter.

Iris is currently studying in college and working at a coffee shop to make ends meet. She is secretly dating Eddie Thawne, Joe's partner with the police.

A young, cocky police detective trying to make a name for himself, Eddie transferred to Central City from Keystone and has made a name for himself by bringing in crooks without always worrying about the niceties of the law.

Eddie is secretly dating his partner Joe's daughter Iris. Iris doesn't want to tell her father about the relationship and Eddie agrees with her that it wouldn't be smart.

Caitlin has a degree in bio-engineering and came to Central City to work at S.T.A.R. Labs. Her fiancé was at the demonstration of the particle accelerator and killed when it exploded.

Since then, Caitlin has buried herself in her work, which for the last nine months has been treating coma patient Barry Allen. He recently emerged from his coma with superpowers and Caitlin has been studying him, fascinated.

A young cocky Hispanic, Cisco has a natural talent for taking things part and putting them back together again better than before. It was this talent that brought him to the attention of Harrison Wells, the owner of S.T.A.R. Labs.

Cisco has loaned his talents to Barry Allen, designing a friction-proof suit and a lightning-shaped communication headpiece that can function despite the high speeds that Barry travels at.

The daughter of police detective Joe West, Iris was childhood friends with neighbor boy Barry Allen. When Barry's mother died and his father was sent to jail for murder, Joe took Barry in because he knew the boy from his daughter.

Joe has continued with the police force since then and is a respected detective in the ranks. He as raised Barry as if he were his own son. However, until recently Joe didn't believe Barry's crazy theories and was sure that Henry Allen was guilty of murder. Since he has learned that Barry has super powers, Joe has had to reassess a lot of his beliefs.

The CEO of S.T.A.R. Labs, Harrison used his money to create a state-of-the-art scientific research facility in Central City. He then sought out the brightest minds in the world and brought them to work with him.

However, when his pet project, a particle accelerator, blew up on its test run, Harrison was crippled and his reputation ruined. Now he seeks to redeem himself by helping Barry Allen deal with the metahumans who were created by the release of energy from the accelerator.

In fact, much of this is a lie. Harrison is not crippled although he pretends to be. And he either comes from the year 2024 or has knowledge of it, and knows that Barry was destined to become the Flash. What his true objectives are remain to be seen.