Tina McGee
Tina McGee is a fictional character appearing in The Flash comic book series published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Flash (vol. 2) #3. Tina McGee is a nutritionist and researcher for STAR Labs.
Tina McGee | |
---|---|
![]() Tina McGee from Flash (vol. 2) #3, art by Jackson Guice | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | The Flash vol. 2, #3 August (1987) |
Created by | Mike Baron (writer) Jackson Guice (artist) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Tina McGee |
Team affiliations | S.T.A.R. Labs |
Supporting character of | Flash |
Tina McGee made her live action debut in the 1990 television series The Flash as part of the main cast portrayed by Amanda Pays. Pays returned to portray a different version of Tina McGee as a recurring character in The CW television series The Flash.
Fictional character biography
She originally received a grant from Harvard to study Wally West's metabolism.[1] Her husband Jerry McGee did his own speed experiments and turned into the homicidal "Speed Demon". This resulted in a coma. Tina and Flash grew into a romantic relationship despite their age differences and Tina was legally still married at the times; she moves in with him. Various stresses, including Wally's domineering mother, break apart their bond.
![](../I/m/Tina_McGee_and_Wally_West.jpg)
The Flash loses his speed due to alien influence. Tina leads a research project, based at the Pacific Institute into restoring it. This causes Wally's speed to drastically increase, leaving a trail of destruction across the country.[2] Tina teams up with her now recovered ex and Flash's older detective friend Mason. While the trio quest to find the addled Wally, Tina and Jerry get back together.[3]
Later, Tina and Jerry unwittingly unleash the robotic intelligence Kilg%re among their own university colleagues. At this point, the entity is non-violent; despite taking over many of the people at the facility, all it wanted was to deeply experience life.[4]
Jerry and Tina become employees at Central City's STAR Labs.[5] They assist Flash multiple times, such as taking care of his injured ally, Cyborg.[6]
Tina later becomes head of the facility. She heads a project to discover what had happened to the speedster-empowering 'Speed Force' with Bart Allen, who was seemingly the only surviving speedster at the time.[7]
Other versions
In a possible future timeline observed by the time traveler Waverider, a super-powered crime lord threatens Tina McGee's life to force her husband Jerry to make anti-Flash weaponry in an attempt to draw a retired Wally West out of the Witness Protection Program. In this alternate future, Tina is still working at S.T.A.R. Labs; her colleague, Chunk, is murdered to force her cooperation.[8]
Arrowverse
![](../I/m/Tina_McGee_(Amanda_Pays).jpg)
- Tina McGee was the lead female character in the 1990 television series The Flash, in which she was portrayed by Amanda Pays. In the show, she helps Barry Allen control the speedster powers and aids in the crime-fighting as the Flash. Throughout the show, Barry and Tina appear attracted to each other, but always claim to be "just" friends and partners. It is implied that they develop feelings for each other, but they never act upon them (even up to the final episode). In the episode "Fast Forward", the Flash travels 10 years into the future, where he and Tina argue over their friendship and feelings, and share a kiss before the Flash returns to the present. The continuity of the series is retroactively established as a parallel universe designated Earth-90 of the Arrowverse multiverse during the 2018 Elseworlds crossover. Later, the next crossover, "Crisis on Infinite Earths", reveals that she and Barry were married at some point after the show's final episode but she died before the events in the crossover. Barry thinks of her as he sacrifices himself to destroy the Anti-Monitor's Anti-Matter Cannon.
- A different version of Tina McGee appears in the 2014 television series The Flash, once again portrayed by Amanda Pays.[9] This version is the director of Mercury Labs (a rival tech firm to S.T.A.R. Labs), a friend of Harrison Wells (Earth-1 version), and is later retroactively established as a parallel universe counterpart to the one from the previous series. In season one, her tachyon equipment gets stolen by Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash and later becomes the target of former employee-turned-criminal Brie Larvan. In season two, McGee figures out that Barry Allen is the Flash. She also is the first one on Earth-1 to encounter Harry Wells of Earth-2 and her life is threatened by Thawne's younger self before being saved by Barry. Tina informs of knowing Barry's identity after being saved from Hunter Zolomon's random violence. She later meets Dr. Henry Allen (played by John Wesley Shipp, Pays' co-star from the 1990 series), exchanging names.
References
- Flash (vol. 2) #3–4 (August–September 1987)
- Invasion! #1–3 (January–March 1989)
- Flash (vol. 2) #24–28 (March–July 1989)
- Flash (vol. 2) #36–43 (March–October 1990)
- Flash (vol. 2) #50 (May 1991)
- Flash (vol. 2) #183–188 (April–September 2002)
- The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1–6 (August 2006 – January 2007)
- Flash Annual #4 (1991)
- Friedlander, Whitney (September 15, 2014). "CW's 'The Flash' Casts Original Show's Heroine". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2014.