Savitar (comics)
| Savitar | |
|---|---|
 Savitar in Flash (vol. 2) #111. Art by Oscar Jimenez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Flash (vol. 2) #108 (December 1995) |
| Created by | Mark Waid (writer) Oscar Jimenez (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Abilities | Superspeed, accelerated healing, force field, time travel |
Savitar is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. An immensely powerful speedster that leads a cult dedicated to the Speed Force, he has battled Wally West, Jay Garrick, and Barry Allen.
The character appears on The CW's live-action television series The Flash, voiced by Tobin Bell and portrayed by Grant Gustin.
Contents
1 Publication history
2 Fictional character biography
3 Powers and abilities
4 In other media
4.1 Television
5 References
6 External links
Publication history
Savitar first appeared in Flash (vol. 2) #108 (December 1995), and was created by Mark Waid and Oscar Jimenez.[1][2]
Fictional character biography
Savitar was originally an unnamed pilot for a third-world nation who was to test a supersonic fighter jet during the Cold War. As he reached top speed, his plane was struck by what appeared to be lightning and he went down in hostile territory. Discovering he could defeat the enemy by moving at super-speed, he became obsessed, naming himself after the Hindu "god of motion" Savitr and dedicating his life to unlocking its secrets. As he studied, Savitar discovered new powers that no other living speedster has mastered. He can protect himself in a null-inertia force field, give speed and kinetic energy to objects or people, even those in a "rest state", and he could also heal his own injuries almost instantly.
Savitar's obsession gained followers, and he became the leader of a cult. In search of more knowledge, he sought out the only super-speed hero operating at the time: Johnny Quick. This encounter became a battle, the tide of which was turned with Max Mercury's arrival leading Savitar toward the Speed Force, but causing him to bounce off, both speedsters being thrown forward in time.[3] Emerging from the timestream before Savitar, Max Mercury became a mentor to the Flash family's various members and other speedsters, secretly preparing them against the day Savitar would exit the timestream.
Reappearing decades later, Savitar found that his cult had grown in his absence, awaiting his return. He recruited former Blue Trinity member Lady Flash (Christina Alexandrova), and discovered a way to use the woman's speed to divert all energy from the Speed Force to his own army of ninjas. He then sought to eliminate the competition: Kid Flash (Wally West), Impulse, Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick), Johnny Quick, Jesse Quick, XS and Max Mercury.
Wally's direct Speed Force connection prevented Savitar from stealing Wally's speed, and a coalition of just about every speedster (except for Red Trinity) foiled his plans. Hell-bent on at least destroying the Flash's world in retribution, Savitar led Wally on a worldwide race of destruction, until the Flash chose to give Savitar what he wanted: union with the Speed Force. His earlier encounter had shown him that the others who had arrived before would deal with Savitar as they saw fit.
In The Flash Rebirth mini-series, Savitar was able to escape from the Speed Force. He was run down by the Flash (Barry Allen) but Savitar disintegrates when the Flash touches him, leaving only a pile of bones.[4] It is revealed that Professor Zoom altered Barry's Speed Force connection to make the Flash shift in reverse, cursed to kill every Speed Force user with a single touch until a conflict between the Flash and Zoom.[5] Savitar, Lady Savitar (Christina Alexandrova) and Johnny Quick have been killed by this effect.[6][7]
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity where parts of Savitar's origin are used in the Top's origin.[original research?]
In DC Rebirth, Troia (a version of Donna Troy from an alternate future) recalls that Wally was killed by either Savitar or Brother Blood from that time.[8]
Powers and abilities
Savitar can move at super-speed, and is able to lend or steal speed from moving objects. He has accelerated healing due to increased metabolism and can generate a full Inertia force field.
In other media
Television
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A heavily adapted iteration of Savitar appears in The CW's live-action television series The Flash as season three's main antagonist, voiced by Tobin Bell and portrayed by Grant Gustin. Stuntman Andre Tricoteux portrayed Savitar's powered armor, and both Nicholas Gonzalez and Vanessa A. Williams portrayed impersonations of Dante Ramon and Francine West respectively.
Savitar is a time remnant (temporal duplicate) of Barry Allen/The Flash from a possible future with no loved ones and has embraced his dark side. His origins are a predestination paradox; he is a temporal duplicate of the Flash's future self to help fight Savitar. Although Savitar is defeated, the time remnant is spared but shunned by Barry's friends and family for being an aberration, thus goes back in time to set in motion his own creation. Naming himself after the Hindu god of motion, he is worshipped by his own cult as the multiverse's first metahuman with speed. Long-held myths reference Savitar throughout the multiverse with even Jay Garrick/The Flash believing these stories, and Abra Kadabra's timeline regarding Savitar as a nemesis worse than the Reverse-Flash, Zoom and the Thinker. Savitar manipulates Julian Albert into acquiring the Philosopher's Stone, through which Doctor Alchemy can re-empower metahumans from the Flashpoint timeline for his arrival. Savitar manipulates Wally West/Kid Flash into freeing him from his prison in the Speed Force, and convinces Killer Frost to be a personal enforcer. When Savitar reveals his true identity to Barry, it forces his younger self to confront his own dark impulses and temptations. Savitar's plan of Iris West's murder before Barry (which would result in his own creation) is ultimately ruined when H.R. Wells (Earth-19) impersonates Iris. To save himself, Savitar manipulates Vibe in order to fragment himself throughout all of the Speed Force and then goads his original self to give into dark impulses much like himself. But both efforts are foiled by Team Flash and Savitar is erased from existence after being shot by his intended victim. In season five, Savitar has a cameo appearance when Barry and Nora West-Allen time travel to season three's timeframe and observe his final battle.
References
^ Robinson, Ashley V. (22 November 2016). "The Flash: Secrets of Savitar". DC Comics. Retrieved 1 October 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Allan, Scoot (21 November 2016). "The Flash: Who is Savitar, and is He the New Fastest Man Alive?". GeekExchange. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ Flash vol. 2 #109 (Jan. 1996)
^ The Flash: Rebirth #1 (April 2009)
^ The Flash: Rebirth #4 (August 2009)
^ The Flash: Rebirth #2 (May 2009)
^ The Flash: Rebirth #3 (June 2009)
^ Titans #17
External links
Savitar entry on DCDatabaseProject- Arrowverse entry for Savitar
- http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2017/05/02/the-flash-we-all-know-who-savitar-is
