Back in August, it was announced that Wally West would be coming to The Flash on The CW. Wally would be played by Keiynan Lonsdale.

In the comics, Wally was Iris West's nephew. Even when re-introduced in The New 52, the family relationship remained the same. In this week's "The Fury of Firestorm," we discover that Wally will not be Iris' nephew.

We recently discovered that Iris' mom was actually alive. She was on drugs when Iris was very young and Joe tried getting her to go through rehab. She eventually disappeared and Joe thought it would be easier to tell his daughter her mother died rather than the truth that she left her. With Francine back in town, she wanted to get to know her grown daughter. When Iris stated she didn't need her or to see her, Francine revealed she was dying.

Iris later did some investigating. She discovered the truth. Francine was dying but there was more. Francine had a son who was born eight months after she left Central City. The big question is who is the father? Does this mean Wally is Iris' brother? We're assuming this is actually Wally. It adds a slight change to Wally but allows for him to enter the show without being too young. If Wally is Joe's kid, why would Francine leave without revealing this fact to Joe? If she was struggling with a drug dependency, would raising a kid on her own be the best thing when her husband was doing a great job with their daughter?

What are your thoughts on Wally now being Iris' brother (or half brother)?

Is Joe the father? Wally was born 8 months after unless she cheated Joe with somebody else.

@vitalius: that could part of why she left. Seems weird she'd leave and not tell him he had a son. "You can keep our daughter, I'll just keep our son." Unless she gave up the son instead of telling Joe and having him live with them. Which doesn't make sense but I guess that's what doing drugs can do to ya.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh...

I totally blanked on that when I was watching. That actually makes this whole thing much more interesting. I thought all this was just a character growth for Joe and Iris.

Stop. Altering. Characters. So. Much. Its getting ridiculous. "Connor hawkes joining legends of tomorrow, but hes not. olivers son" then why bring him in?? "Check out the new original character thats taking the firestorm mantle" then why did you spend so much time with ronnie and introduce jason rusch?? "Say hello to curtis holt, hes frlicitys new friend, and hes gay" you do realize hes a straight character in the comics with a wife and child and that his name is michael holt?? "Speaking of gay characters, you know barbara kean? Ya shes a lesbian now" ok then what about her having jim gordons children after they get married?? Im fine with lil changes but seriously, please stop with stuff like this.

@zackattack93:

Stop. Altering. Characters. So. Much. Its getting ridiculous. "Connor hawkes joining legends of tomorrow, but hes not. olivers son" then why bring him in?? "Check out the new original character thats taking the firestorm mantle" then why did you spend so much time with ronnie and introduce jason rusch?? "Say hello to curtis holt, hes frlicitys new friend, and hes gay" you do realize hes a straight character in the comics with a wife and child and that his name is michael holt?? "Speaking of gay characters, you know barbara kean? Ya shes a lesbian now" ok then what about her having jim gordons children after they get married?? Im fine with lil changes but seriously, please stop with stuff like this.

Agreed. By the way, "Welcome to the 'Vine @zackattack93"!

@heraldofganthet: thanks. I look forward to complaining about stuff like this lol

Too be fair? This is all due to Thawne screwing up the time stream as it's VERY much implied had he not done that? We'd be seeing a closer DC Universe.

@g_man: It´s obvious Joe will "adopt" Wally in the end, but 8 months are just weird. Plus if Wally isnt joe´s son, they could explore Wally´s father plot later in the series.

Not sure what you meant there. The kid was born 8 months after Francine left Central City, not 8 months after Iris was born, if that's what you were questioning. Iris was very young when her mom left.

@zackattack93:

thanks. I look forward to complaining about stuff like this lol

LOL! You'll do great around here, I'm sure of it!!;)

@smart_dork_dude:

Too be fair? This is all due to Thawne screwing up the time stream as it's VERY much implied had he not done that? We'd be seeing a closer DC Universe.

I can somewhat deal with alternate reality versions of beloved characters up to a point. I loved the Jet Li movie "The One" and I'm old enough to remember the Pre-Crisis DCU (I know I'm showing my age, but we'll look past that for now lol!:) But changing a character's race or gender (except in the case of Earth-11) is completely unnecessary and in my opinion shows pure laziness on the part of the casting director(s). Any idea how many out of work actors live off of waiting tables in Hollywood just dreaming of their "big break"? A starring role on a comic book based property would easily fit that description, especially if the show gathers a huge fan following. So how many of these waiters, waitresses, valets, etc... are out there that look just liketheir potential comic counterparts? If they were offered the job anyway...

That's my issue with the pallete swap obsession (and Gotham making Firefly a chick as well). They're not even trying to cast actors that look the part or they arbitrarily make characters who've never once displayed such traits or behavior patterns as openly homosexual for the sake of so-called diversity(here's looking at you Barbara Gordon, whoever the hell Curtis Holt is, and Post Flashpoint Alan Scott). Ridiculous. And it needs to stop because it adds nothing to the story that is worthwhile or worth learning. It (the pallete swapping) may also be the reason that the Fantastic Four remake bombed so badly, but that's for another time perhaps.

They'll be casting Daniel Radcliffe as Martin Luther King Jr. before all is said and done (*smh*)...

@g_man: I ment that only being 8 months is wierd because she probably didnt meet anyone new and got pregant. But it seems that they are alluring that she cheated on Joe or that Joe is the father.

@zackattack93 said:

Just to clear up somethings Jefferson Jackson is a comic book character with connections to Firestrom. Michael Holt wife is dead and child was never born and is an atheist in the comics and none of that is gonna be in the show. And Barbara Kean is beisexually and after everything she's done in season 2, there's no why Jim having kids with her unless she drugs and rapes him or steals his sperm.

@vitalius: She could've been cheating on him. Maybe with a drug-dealing buddy or something. If she was so heavy into drugs and Joe was trying to get her into rehabs, it'd be hard to say what sort of romantic relationship they were having, even if married. So maybe while he was carrying the load of taking care of Iris and getting her off to school or daycare and being a cop, she found someone else. It just seems weird that if she left because she was trying to cope with her drug dependency, why would she add on the task of raising a child alone while also kicking a drug habit when her husband was doing an excellent job raising their daughter? I'm not saying she couldn't do it but it's not like they're painting her in the best light.

i'm looking forward to seeing wally west.

@g_man: She sure was never been painted in the best light and the missing information seems to be missing for making drama. Plus where is Wally now? This seems to be perfect time to show up unless he was busy somewhere less.

An interview with the show runners confirmed that Wally will be Joe's son. I prefer in the comics how the Iris/Wally relationship is a nephew/aunt relationship where Iris was a mother figure to Wally. I think in comics family connections are overused. The villain or hero is always a brother, mother, father, etc. Maybe its cause I have a lot of cousins, but I would have liked to see an extended family dynamic. Either way I'm looking forward to their approach of the character.

would it really have been so hard to just say Iris had a brother in college during the flashbacks? god i'm really starting to hate this show

I dont mind the change. I was wondering how they were gonna handle it anyway. If Wally was going to be Iris' nephew then they would have to introduce her mother, Iris having an older brother, a sister in law and finally Wally. Seems to be cutting corners but I feel its just makes sense and simpler.

what is the possibility what he is Daniel West...??

it's not because wally west was already cast as a young male. the baby was born 8 months after She left, so the time frame doesn't make sense. Daniel is younger than iris, but has a 16 year old son?

I think Joe is Wally's father. If he weren't, Wally wouldn't keep his last name, West.

Unless...Wally was born from a different father, whom Francine had a secret affair with or after she left Central City. So Francine lied to Wally that Joe is his father, not biologically.

@nightfang: again in fine with some changes,it makes sense if its a film/tv adaption, but the producers are so worried about diversity and equality, wich i have no problems with, but when it gets in the way of storytelling and kinda messes with the characters, almost always in a bad way,it makes me not want to watch the show. And this whole wally west thing is being introduced WAY to early. Flashs problem is wasting characters and introducing too many, one of the reasons i stopped watching it after the 2nd episode of season 2.

@w0nd: According to continuity, maybe he is daniel west but wally is not related to him...??

His name is probably Daniel West but goes by Wally..sorta the opposite of "Laurel" Lance.

Wally West is Joe West son, i like this.

@mrkareemruiz: me too.

That's cool, I don't mind the change in the comics New 52 he's Iris's nephew, so the show her half brother...not a big deal.

I like the new firestorm merge, reminds me of the New 52 comics especially.

Also I have to say Man-shark considering the budget looked sweet, did not expect that lol. And at first I thought Zoom has to be E2 Wells, but now not so sure and I doubt they'd do that Wells/RF thing again, I get the vibe that Zoom is someone who has traveled the multiverse of DC killing speedsters to amp himself. Just one theory I have. I'm still wondering why and how he didn't get sucked up into the black hole/portal like Jay did.

ok but Iris would still have to have brother or sister out there, they already casted an actor for Wally "West"

http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/468853-wally-west-joins-the-cws-the-flash

same last name

so that would mean a 20 something year old has a 16 - 18 year old kid... did they have the baby when they were 4 years old?

so you have daniel west introduced, and then out of no where wally west, who happens to have the same last name but no connection to iris at all?

Seems kind of confusing and complicated no?

I understand the need for shows to differrantiate from the source material. However when it gets to a point that you feel like characters are different people now... the 'names' they use are feel like just to bring in publicity and nothing else.

Now I am not saying it is not THAT extreme here. Far from it but every little change makes me go and say '' Huh ? why did they decide to change that ? '' and I cannot find a proper answer other than ''being more inclusive'' and sure it is a noble goal to have a diverse , more inclusive show , especially for TV and superheroes BUT again it kinda changes the character itself they suppose to represent in a way that you might've just create a new character.

I guess I can always say this is just another world in the Multiverse and move on from there. Easier to justify the differences from the comics that way.

Well, either way, I am excited to see what their take will be on Wally. I just hope it will be like his Pre-N52 rather than the generic black kid with troubles story they pushed in the N52...Who thought that would be a good way to change Wally is BEYOND ME.

For a show which heavily relies on parallel dimensions and time travel....you really are not thinking outside of the box!!!

@abdullahzubair: EDIT**

I did some digging

Where’s Wally? Iris’ investigative chops led her to uncover that her mother secretly had another child eight months after Francine left Central City — a son with a name that should be familiar to DC Comics fans: Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale). In comics canon, Wally is Iris’ nephew, not brother, but Kreisberg admitted that they dismissed the possibility of contorting Iris’ family tree to fit the comics fairly early on.

“We have these ideas in the previous season so we always knew we were leading up to this, and rather than them suddenly having some cousin that inexplicably… We always hated on TV shows that it’s year two and somebody’s like, ‘Well, Cousin John’s coming!’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, good ol’ Cousin John!’ who no one ever mentioned before. It was always weird.

The notion that they don’t know Wally was where that came from, and then that was the idea that Francine was still alive and then that whole storyline,” Kreisberg explained.

“Iris is now in the position that Barry was in last year – she’s keeping a secret to protect somebody and she’s going to find that, for all of her anger at Barry and Joe from last year, keeping this secret is not going to be so easy and it’s going to be weighing on her before she finally decides to take some action in an upcoming episode.”

@wowlock: I am treating this like the new star trek movie. Thawn screwed up the time line so much things are happening slightly off.

The core show isn't a straight adaptation to begin with. Combine that with the fact that we have time travelling, alternate timelines AND alternate universes... Wally could be anything. He could be from the future, or an alternate universe, or the future of an alternate universe!

I lean towards he's going to be Iris' brother... but if you want to stick with there will be a Daniel West, then explaining where Wally comes from wouldn't be to far of a stretch for this series.

I think Joe is the father, if not there would be no reason for him to be called Wally West. It’s not like she continued with Joe and had to lie about the kid's father, she had already run away. Why put Joe’s name if it wasn’t his.

I just completed season 1 of flash and haven't seen any season 2 promo or episode so wally might be as you say the brother but this is a very lame excuse of changing someone from nephew to brother. They could've mentioned "cousin John" in the previous season!!! But I really wanted wally to be like 10 so that we could have an official kid flash!!! Besides the point, people loved first season of flash as it was true ot source material but now they are just going to get fans angry at this. You don;t need to change his history, it has taken years and years to develop and it can't get any better than it is in the comics

Honestly the problem with comic book shows/movies is they've become so common anyone thinks they could take a stab at it without knowing anything about the source material. Along with these new "re-inventive" takes on characters shows sheer laziness and disrespect to the audience they aim to cater to. In the same sense it would be like remaking Harry Potter and making Ron a black homosexual, it serves no point except to tastelessly try and pull in ratings. Just to be clear I'm all for the creation of new characters to promote groups because its great to have role models. New 52 Bunker is an original character who's homosexuality doesnt define him and hes just a normal person. I just don't want these new writers use established characters with decades worth of history and stories to push what is clearly a cash grab.

@abdullahzubair: Oh you didnt see who they cast as wally yet then? Yeah he looks like he could be anywhere from 16 - 18 years old.

Yup.. I actually haven't even seen the new 52 wally in his costume yet as well!!! I just have been falling behind on my comics a lot.. I have to give my igcse exams this june so don't have time for comics, novels, tv shows,etc. the little time i have is dedicated to movies...

@abdullahzubair: that's understandable then.Good luck with everything!

So no teenage Wally?

how old are barry and Iris? he could be 18 or 19