Linda Park (comics)
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| Linda Park West | |
 Linda Park from Flash #217. Art by Howard Porter. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Flash (2nd series) #28 (1989) |
| Created by | William Messner-Loebs |
| In story information | |
| Full name | Linda Jasmine Park-West |
| Supporting character of | The Flash (Wally West) |
Linda Park (also Linda Park-West) is a fictional character in the DC Universe. She first appeared in Flash (2nd series) #28. Linda is Korean-American, although some artists mistakenly portray her as Caucasian. She is best known as the girlfriend, and later wife, of Wally West.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Linda Park is a television reporter for Keystone City and regularly dealt with Flash, whom she didn't like; during their initial meeting, she constantly hounded Flash about the recent thousands of dollars of property damage caused by his battle with the Porcupine Man. Despite this, Linda and Wally became friends on her first job for Keystone City’s KFMB Channel 4, when they teamed up to investigate the Celestial Enlightenment Ranch, a spiritual-retreat scam. After Wally helped Linda deal with her apparent possession by the spirit of an 800-year-old Irish bard named Seamus O’Relkig, they became close and soon began dating. Flash's love for Linda has brought him back many times from the Speed Force. After many obstacles- such as Wally nearly being killed by the Black Flash and Linda being abducted and all memory of her erased by Abra Kadabra (the last requiring the aid of an alternate version of Wally to return home and convince Kadabra to reverse the spell), they married.
She eventually became one of the hosts of the television program The Scene, which is similar to the (real life) program The View. Her co-hosts included Vicki Vale, Tawny Young, and Lia Briggs. Two episodes were shown in which they interviewed Wonder Woman on her career, which was shown in that title comic. Shortly after this, Linda left her journalism career, her relationship with Wally having made her unable to reconcile the public’s right to know against the superheroes’ chance to resolve a situation before people started to panic, instead studying medicine with the intent of becoming a pediatrician.
Linda soon became pregnant with twins, but during the early months of her pregnancy she was attacked by Zoom, which caused her to miscarry the twins. After Zoom was defeated, Wally asked the Spectre to remove the Flash's identity from everyone, but Hal Jordan's increasing lack of control of the Spectre meant that even Wally and Linda forgot who the Flash was. After she remembered, Linda left to rethink her life. She returned to Wally after taking some time away. A later battle between Zoom and Flash spontaneously restored her pregnancy when Zoom and the Flash travelled back in time to their original battle, Zoom unintentionally taking the brunt of the sonic boom generated by his future self and thus protecting Linda from the worst of the attack, and she gave birth to the twins upon Wally's return to the future.
In Infinite Crisis #4, a battle with Superboy-Prime caused Wally to disappear. He appeared in front of Linda, telling her he is disappearing. Holding the twins, Linda kissed Wally as they disappeared. It was later revealed by Bart Allen, returned by the Speed Force, that Linda is still alive, albeit in an alternate reality living in its version of Keystone City where time flows apparently faster (as shown by Bart reappearing in IC #5, where from his point of view, four years had passed). There, she is raising her twins with her husband.
Recently, seven members of the Pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes were discovered in the 21st Century by the Justice League of America. The seven Legionaries were sent back in time on a secret mission, in which they were use seven lightning rods, which would be struck by lightning, killing one member and resurrecting another. The Legion was successful in their mission, and surprisingly all seven Legionaries survived. However, there was an unexpected bonus. Wally, Linda, and the twins managed to 'ride' the lightning bolt and return to their homeworld, alive and well. In All Flash #1, the names of the West twins are revealed to be Iris and Jai.
In The Flash #231, it is revealed that, from three months into their "exile", the West family had been living on an alien planet that had previously been saved by the Flash. Linda has extended her medical knowledge with the advanced science of the aliens, thereby gaining the skills necessary to stabilize the speed-related powers of their children.
[edit] Other Versions
In Lord Havok and the Extremists #3, a version of Linda with the powers of the Flash is shown to be a member of Monarch's army.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Linda Park appears in an episode of Justice League Unlimited ("Flash and Substance") as a reporter covering the opening of the Flash Museum. Although she tries to hide it, she has a serious crush on the Flash (a character trait that contrasts with the comic book version). She was voiced by Kim Mai Guest.
- She appears in #38 of Justice League Unlimited. She manages to ask The Flash out on a date, while acknowledging his obliviousness of her feelings earlier.
Linda also features in Adventures in the DC Universe, playing a significant role in several issues.
A reporter named Linda Park makes a brief appearance in the pilot of The Flash 1990s live-action series, played by Mariko Tse, asking the Central City police department about their response in dealing with the recent gang attacks. However, there is no relationship with the Flash in this series, due mainly to the fact that the Flash in the series is Barry Allen rather than Wally West.
In a series of children's novels based on the Justice League animated series, Linda Park appears in Red Justice by Michael Teitelbaum. She has a date with Wally West which ends badly because of his inabillity to concentrate.
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[edit] External links
- More information on Linda
- Crimson Lightning - an online index to the comic book adventures of the Flash.
