- "Hey, uh, I got a dissertation here from Oxford University about the myth of an ancient Hindu weapon called the Brahmastra. Legendary artifact with incredible powers, capable of... wait for it... creating metas."
- —Cisco Ramon and Barry Allen[src]
The Brahmastra, commonly known as the Philosopher's Stone is an ancient artifact used by Savitar and his avatar Alchemy. It is made of calcified Speed Force energy, and is the first ever artifact responsible for the creation of meta-humans in ancient times. It can also shoot powerful blasts of energy, fast enough to hinder a speedster because of it being pure, calcified Speed Force energy. Alchemy used it to return powers people once had in Flashpoint timeline as servants of Savitar. Alchemy kept it enshrined in a pillar on the altar in his lair.
History
The Brahmastra, known colloquially as the Philosopher's Stone, is an ancient stone in Hindu mythology made of calcified Speed Force energy, believed to be responsible for the creation of the first meta-humans.[1]
At one point after 2017, the rogue time remnant of future Barry Allen time traveled to the past and found the stone, which he used to create his armor and named himself Savitar, the God of Speed.[1] However, his original self from the future trapped him in the Speed Force using the Speed Force bazooka, and left the stone buried in a temple in the past.[1]
After having a hallucination of his sister, Julian Albert went on an expedition to find it. He found it after weeks of searching, but was unknowingly transformed into Alchemy and became a servant of Savitar as a result. For years following, he began blacking out and taking the form of Alchemy, which was Savitar controlling his mind while he had no memory of the events.[1]
In late 2016, Alchemy first appeared in Central City, stepping out of the shadows, having accompanied the Rival, and threw Barry back with a beam from the stone.[2]
When Wally began having dreams about his powers from the Flashpoint timeline, he and the rest of the team made plans to infiltrate Alchemy's lair. Wally would go to Alchemy with The Flash, Joe, and a handful of officers from CCPD following at a short distance in order to avoid Alchemy's immediate attention. In the fight that followed, Alchemy thoroughly beat down Barry with an array of beams from the stone. Wally couldn't resist temptation and touched the stone and it encased him in a cocoon-like container. Savitar then appeared and killed the cops present (except Joe) before attacking the Flash, which allowed Alchemy to escape with the stone.[3]
At Christmas, Alchemy prepared to use the stone on a specifically designed building to reawaken all Flashpoint metahumans when he was confronted by Barry and Jay Garrick. Savitar soon appeared and engaged Garrick while Barry fought Alchemy, the latter ultimately incapacitating his opponent and sealing the Philosopher's Stone back in its box, banishing Savitar before he could kill Jay.[1]
Cisco Ramon later ran a multitude of tests on the stone's container and determined that it was literally "nothing". Subsequently, Savitar appeared before him as his late brother Dante, tricking him into opening the box, allowing the speed god to appear in S.T.A.R. Labs, though Caitlin Snow managed to convince Cisco to close the box before Savitar could kill Barry and Wally. After using the Stone to talk to Savitar through Julian, Barry and Jay use their speed to open a portal into the Speed Force, throwing the Stone, still encased in the box, inside as a means to Savitar forever.[1]
When Barry and the others tried to communicate with Savitar again, he alluded to the fact that Barry might not have gotten rid of the stone after all, or there could be another. He tracked down Alchemy's acolytes to find that they had what appeared to be another container. However, Barry found that it was empty. Julian confirmed that there was no record of another stone which meant that this container had to be the same one. Caitlin revealed that a piece had broken off which she kept in order to try and use it to see if it would take away her powers. Wally was being taunted by visions of Savitar and was driven to stop him once and for all. Barry soon realized that Savitar was imprisoned in the Speed Force and that by throwing the stone into it, it only helped to ensure his escape. Wally took the remaining fragment of the stone and moved to create a portal to the Speed Force and throw it in. When he did, it created a force that pulled in Wally, exchanging him with Savitar.
Savitar kept the stone in his possession following his liberation from the Speed Force. When Barry tried to imprison him with the Speed Force bazooka, Savitar used the stone to render the weapon useless, allowing him to successfully kill H.R. Wells who has secretly disguised himself as Iris.[4]
Savitar then brought the stone to S.T.A.R. Labs and released its energy, causing a good deal of damage to the building, and completely destroying the stone itself.[5]
Powers and abilities
Known users
- Barry Allen/Savitar (formerly; erased from existence)
- Julian Albert/Alchemy (formerly)
- Wally West (briefly)
Known meta-humans affected
- Edward Clariss/The Rival (deceased)
- Frankie Kane/Magenta
- "Shade"
- Wally West/The Flash/Kid Flash
- Clive Yorkin
- Two currently unidentified individuals who left behind husks found by the CCPD.[6]
Appearances
The Flash
Season 3
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Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, the Philosopher's Stone is one of the Four Wonders of Alchemy used by Doctor Alchemy, giving its user the ability to rearrange the molecular properties of inanimate objects into the properties of other elements.
- The other three Wonders of Alchemy are the Secret of Perpetual Motion, the Universal Solvent, and the Elixir of Youth.
- Coincidentally, the Philosopher's stone shares its' name with the eponymous artifact of J.K.Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which featured Tom Felton (who portrays Julian Albert, the unwilling wielder of the stone) in the film adaptation.
- Historically, the Philosopher's Stone is a mythical artifact that Medieval alchemists tried to create in order to turn objects to gold or to make an elixir for eternal youth, or, more correctly, a metaphor for eternity, the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Similarly, Alchemy claims he uses the Stone help people achieve their true potential.
- Historically, the Brahmastra was believed to be a weapon of mass destruction used by the Hindu gods that could annihilate any target with powerful blasts of energy.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "The Present"
- ↑ "Paradox"
- ↑ "Shade"
- ↑ "Infantino Street"
- ↑ "Finish Line"
- ↑ "Untouchable"