Daniel West (character)

Daniel "Danny" West is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writers-artists Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, and first appeared in The Flash #0 (November 2012). He is the most recent character to take up the Reverse-Flash mantle. Furthermore, he is the younger brother of Iris West and father of Ace West.

Daniel West
Daniel West / Reverse-Flash as depicted in The Flash #23 (November 2013). Art by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Flash #0 (November 2012)
Created by	Francis Manapul Brian Buccellato
In-story information
Alter ego	Daniel West
Species	Metahuman
Place of origin	Keystone City
Team affiliations	Suicide Squad
Partnerships	Ace West (son)
Notable aliases	Reverse-Flash
Abilities	Superhuman speed, agility, stamina, and reflexes Time travel Can sense and absorb the Speed Force from its users

Publication history

Daniel's first appearance occurred as a teenager in The Flash #0 (November 2012). The story was set five years before the present and he was only identified on-panel as Danny.^[1]

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato first revealed that Reverse-Flash would appear in The Flash in November 2012. According to them, the inclusion of Reverse-Flash in the series was not due to them wanting to include the character, but because they felt it was the "natural place to go". Manapul stated that originally, they planned on not using the character until later in the series, but decided to include him due to where the story and characters were heading.^[2]

Fictional character biography

Daniel West is the younger brother of Iris West, whose mother died while giving birth to him. Their mother's death drives their father William to become an alcoholic and abusive towards his children, blaming Daniel for his mother's death. At the age of 12, Daniel pushes William down the stairs in response to his actions, crippling him.^[3]

Daniel runs away from home and becomes a small-time thug. During a heist, he is defeated by the Flash and sentenced to five years in prison.^[3][1] Daniel is paroled and released from prison around the same time Gorilla Grodd invades Central City. He attempts to escape from Grodd and the Rogues, but crashes into a car which is powered by a Speed Force battery. Daniel gains Speed Force-based powers and is fused with shrapnel, gaining an organic layer of armor.^[4]

Daniel dubs himself the Reverse-Flash and begins killing those with Speed Force abilities to drain their speed so he can travel back in time and kill his father. He succeeds, but the Flash convinces him not to go through with his plan, and Daniel gives his Speed Force energy to him so they can return to the present.^[5]

Daniel later regains his powers and is recruited into the Suicide Squad. However, he is killed during a mission after being sucked into a vortex.^[6][7]

In other media

Elements of Daniel West are incorporated into an alternate version of Wally West who appears in The Flash, portrayed by Keiynan Lonsdale.^[8]