Savitar

"Savitar"
Biological Information
Status	Alive
General Information
Occupation	Leader of his cult Self-proclaimed "God of Speed" Self-proclaimed ruler of Speed Force
Alter ego	Savitar Alchemy (formerly; possessing Julian)
Actor	Andre Tricoteux (motion capture) Tobin Bell (voice; uncredited) Tom Felton (possessing Julian Albert) Nicholas Gonzalez (as Dante Ramon)

"You may serve the Speed Force, Flash, but I rule it. You are only a man, but I am a god. Your god. I am Savitar!"

—Savitar to the Flash^[src]

"Savitar" is the assumed name of an ancient and unimaginably powerful speedster with a metallic appearance. He dubs himself as the "God of Speed". He was also called the Dark Lord by an acolyte of his cult, which he led himself through an avatar known as Alchemy, preparing worlds for his arrival. He also keeps referring to himself as "the Future". According to stories and myths learned by Jay Garrick, he is the first meta-human speedster in the multiverse, who is presumed to originate from Earth One.

Biography

Early life

The man who would become Savitar at some point discovered and used the Philosopher's Stone that transformed him into a metallic creature, named after the Hindu god of motion. He dubbed himself the "God of Speed" and founded a cult. Over the centuries, Savitar travelled throughout the multiverse with the Philosopher's Stone in hand, seeking out the most powerful Speedsters who threatened his power to battle before taking over their Earths. Before each encounter, he would possess a person and use them as a medium under the alias "Alchemy" to 'prepare' for his arrival by having "Alchemy" create meta-human armies for Savitar to command. At some point after 2016 he learned of Barry Allen/The Flash, a speedster from Earth One and travelled there to kill him. He also became familiar with the other members of Team Flash including Iris West, Joe West, Cisco Ramon/Vibe, Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost, Wally West and Harrison Wells. He also encountered Jay Garrick/The Flash, a speedster from Earth Three. Somehow Savitar was imprisoned within the Philosopher's Stone by Barry in a place outside of time, for which Savitar swore revenge.

At some point before 2012 Savitar appeared to Julian Albert in the form of his deceased sister Emma and told him of the Philosopher's Stone, claiming it could bring "her" back to him. Julian spent years searching for it and in 2012 funded an exhibition in India and found the container it was sealed within. After opening it however Savitar was released and possessed Julian and killed the other members of the exhibition. While Julian tried to escape Savitar by fleeing to America he continually possessed Julian and he unwillingly became the newest Alchemy. For the next few years Savitar, as Alchemy, sought out followers for his cult, seeking to slay a younger, less powerful version of Barry. He also somehow became aware of the Flashpoint timeline and all the meta-humans from it.

Under his Alchemy guise Savitar began seeking out individuals who were meta-humans in Flashpoint and restored their memories and extorted them into find him. Once they did Savitar promised to restore their power in exchange for their loyalty. He did this to Shade and Clive Yorkin. Savitar then sought out Frankie Kane, a teenage girl with dissociative identity disorder, and restored her memories of Flashpoint and told her to find him. Once she did Alchemy offered to restore her powers in exchange for her service. While Frankie was reluctant her other personality "Magenta" agreed and Alchemy restored her powers.

Alchemy and The Rival confront The Flash.

Savitar then communicated with Edward Clariss, who was a speedster named "The Rival" in Flashpoint, and restored his memories of his Flashpoint life and told him to find him. Once Clariss arrived, he begged Savitar to make the visions stop but Savitar asked if he really wanted the visions to stop, or if he wanted them to come true and to have speed once more. Clariss confessed that he did and Savitar promised to restore his power, in exchange for his loyalty and using the stone on Clariss, he became "The Rival" once more.

Savitar kills Edward Clariss.

Alchemy observed as The Rival fought The Flash which ended in a draw, though The Flash was unaware Alchemy was watching them. Later when The Flash confronted The Rival at the Prescott Sawmill, Alchemy attacked The Flash and upon being asked what he wanted, he claimed to be helping people achieve their potential because he was preparing the world. The Rival then fought The Flash again but was defeated by the combined power of him and Vibe. When Clariss was incarcerated in Iron Heights Prison, Savitar scolded him for his failure and Clariss begged for a second chance, but Savitar appeared inside his cell and attacked him. After tossing him around he struck a fatal blow that killed Clariss before he hit the ground.

Alchemy manipulates Magenta into killing her foster father.

Later after nearly killing her abusive foster father Magenta approached Alchemy, angry that Frankie continued to resurface as Alchemy promised her freedom from Frankie and her foster father. Alchemy told Magenta if she wanted Frankie gone she'd have to show her that she was in control, and this led to Magenta almost destroying a hospital full of innocent people to get revenge on her foster father. However, Frankie was talked out of it by Barry and Jesse Quick and she left Central City as a result.

Alchemy attacks The Flash after failing to persuade Wally to restore his powers.

Savitar then sought out Wally and restored his memories of Flashpoint. Knowing Barry would do all he could to prevent Wally from finding him Savitar sent Shade after him as a distraction, while he communicated with Wally and urged him to seek him out. When Wally locked himself in the pipeline Savitar began torturing him to persuade him, to no avail. When Shade was captured Salvitar simply began torturing Wally more intensely until he eventually sought him out.

Savitar battles Barry.

In an effort to lure Alchemy into a trap, Team Flash and a CCPD strike team followed secretly behind Wally West as he approached Alchemy about his visions of Flashpoint. Wally stalled Alchemy long enough to allow the police and Team Flash to storm the hideout. Alchemy and his cohorts were subsequently surrounded and shackled. Flash triumphantly stood before Alchemy and went to unmask him. Just as he was about to do so, an earthquake shook the hideout and suddenly a small blip of light began racing around the hideout, killing all of the cops and freeing Alchemy's followers. Realizing the blip of light was a speedster The Flash attempted to pursue it but it's speed was far beyond his, and Barry was brought down instead. As Wally West became trapped in a cocoon-like container, the mysterious speedster pinned a distracted Flash to a wall, though when Joe looked at them he could only see Barry. The new speedster was invisible to him. Finally able to see the enemy speedster, the Flash saw it as a heavily armored, very tall, robotic looking person, identifying itself as Savitar, the god of speed. Savitar then produced a long curved blade from his gauntlet and prepared to finish off the Flash. [6]

Luckily, the Flash was saved at the last second by the timely intervention of Joe West who managed to shake off his attackers and opened fire on Savitar even though he couldn't actually see the speedster. The bullets however deflected harmlessly off Savitar's armour. Ignoring the interruption, Savitar raced out of the lair with the Flash in hand and proceeded to drag, pummel and throw him all across Central City like a rag-doll by somehow using his speed to open up dimensional breaches to various locations around Central City, finally coming to a stop at the waterfront, whereupon Savitar began to savagely beat down his quarry. As the Flash lay broken and bleeding at his feet, Savitar declared the Flash to be beneath him and announced that he (Savitar) was the future while the Flash was the past. Having said this, he grabbed the Flash by the throat and prepared to once again skewer the speedster with his gauntlet-blade. Before he could do so however, the Flash was saved by the sudden arrival of Vibe and Caitlin Snow, who used her ice-powers to freeze Savitar in place and reveal him at the same time but inadvertently harming the Flash too. The ice though did not last long and Savitar soon burst out of his ice-prison and sped off.

Later Savitar sought out Julian while he was in the hospital though he told Savitar to stay away from him but Savitar confronted him anyway, telling him that only together could his return be achieved. Savitar then possessed Julian and at the C.C.P.D. took retrieved his Alchemy outfit to continue his plan. ^[6]

Fighting the Flashes

Savitar fights Jay Garrick.

With Julian resuming his Alchemy persona, Savitar prepared once again to target the Flash. He ordered Alchemy to use a specially designed building in Central City to refract the energies from the Philosopher's Stone and bestow powers on all the metahumans in Central City from the Flashpoint timeline at once. Their efforts were interrupted once again by the arrival of two Flashes; Barry having joined forces with the Earth-3 veteran speedster Jay Garrick. Before they could do anything to Alchemy, Savitar appeared out of nowhere. While Barry dealt with Alchemy, Garrick squared off against Savitar but was completely outmatched by the metallic speedster, who viciously pummeled, threw around and beat down the elder speedster all across Central City, finally coming to a stop in an alley. Savitar angrily told Garrick that this was not his fight and unsheathed his gauntlet blade to kill him. Garrick was saved however when Barry sealed the Philosophers Stone back in its chest, causing Savitar to disappear into thin air. 

Savitar prepares to kill Barry and Wally.

Looking to continue the fight, Savitar chose to bide his time in order to figure out a way back. He began telepathically manipulating Cisco Ramon using an image of his dead brother Dante to convince him that the Philosopher's Stone could bring him back. Entranced by the stone's power, Cisco opened the chest, releasing Savitar once again just as the the Earth-1 Flash arrived in Cisco's lab. Savitar then seized the Flash and brought him to the Star Labs speed lab whereupon he began to mercilessly beat up the Flash yet again. As he did so, he was stalled by the sudden arrival of Wally who went to attack him but was merely seized by the throat by Savitar and thrown across the room into Barry. As the two speedsters lay defeated on the ground, Savitar unsheathed both of his wrist blades and moved to kill them both. He was however prevented from doing so at the last second when Caitlin convinced Cisco to accept his brother's death and close the chest containing the Stone, sealing Savitar away again.

Savitar speaks through Julian.

Fuming from his latest defeat and Alchemy's constant failures, Savitar suddenly felt Julian's consciousness connected to the Stone, established a psychic connection through him and found himself face-to-face with Team Flash. He berated them for not bowing to him only to be derided for his claims to be a god. Seeking to rattle them, Savitar revealed intimate knowledge of each of the Team Flash members as well as a chilling warning about their future; one would betray them, one would die and one would suffer a fate worse than death. The Flash demanded to know who Savitar really was and what he wanted to which Savitar responded that he wanted to take back everything that the Flash had taken from him before he would destroy him. Confused, Flash angrily asked why Savitar didn't follow through with his threats right away before realising that without the Stone, he literally couldn't. Enraged, Savitar revealed the reason for his vendetta; that it was in fact a future version of Barry who had trapped him 'in eternity' and vowed that he would rise again. Disconcerted, Barry disconnected Julian from Savitar. ^[1]

Possible future(s)

Savitar, after somehow escaping the Speed Force, about to kill Iris.

In one potential future of May 2017, Savitar somehow escaped the Speed Force and kidnapped Iris. Flash confronted Savitar with a captive Iris, who claimed to finally be "free" of The Flash. Despite The Flash's pleas, Savitar simply told Flash that he "lost" and stabbed Iris before Flash could get to him in time, and Savitar fled as Flash was left to his loss. In a slightly altered timeline H.R is present on a nearby rooftop with a rifle aimed at Savitar, though this did not change Iris' fate. Seemingly unbeknownst to Savitar or Flash, a younger version of the scarlet speedster from 5 months before was watching the event from the nearby trees, though he was pulled back to his own time by the Earth-3 Flash. As noted Jay Garrick, the future is always changing based on the choices people make in the present, indicating Iris may not suffer this fate. The fact that Barry is now armed with his knowledge supports this. Alternatively however, as H.R. said regarding the future, Barry's very knowledge of these events may lead to Iris' death in his attempts to prevent it.

Personality

The spitting image of an ego-maniac with a God complex, Savitar believes himself to be a god in every sense of the term. He claims to 'rule' the Speed Force instead of 'serving it' like Barry does and as such he looks down on all others including fellow speedsters with contempt and derision. He believes that he is meant to be worshiped and bowed to by all and has a loyal cult following that he seems to appreciate enough to aid in times of need. At the same time, he appears to have a measure of insecurity when it comes to other speedsters. Reveling in his status as the fastest there is, he refuses to let other speedsters challenge that claim, driven to destroy them before they can pose a true threat from their own growing speed. Savitar also has a short temper and is obsessed with revenge on the Flash for imprisoning him.

Savitar is merciless and cruel toward his opponents as evidenced by his murder of the CCPD officers in his lair, his savage beat-down of the Flash all across Central City and his willingness to kill the Flash without a second's hesitation.

Powers and abilities

Powers

• Speed Force connection/Meta-human physiology: Savitar possesses an extraordinarily potent connection to the Speed Force, being the first man to gain a connection to it. His control and power in the Speed Force's usage greatly exceeds all other known users to the point that his potency made him claim to be a god and the "ruler" of it. Even within Edward Clariss' prison cell with a meta-human power dampener, he could fully use his powers. However, this may be due to the fact that Savitar's essence is contained within the Philosopher's Stone. Despite his seemingly unmatched power, a future Barry Allen was able to defeat and seal him away somehow. Due to the Philosopher's Stone, he went through a metamorphosis into a massive, metallic and demon-like form endowed with inconceivable power.
  • Accelerated healing factor: Savitar's regenerative powers are far stronger than those of a normal speedster's. Even after being frozen solid by Caitlin Snow, he showed no signs of slowing down. Having been around since ancient times, it can be theorized that his prodigious healing factor is responsible for keeping him alive all that time, granting him immense longevity if not sheer agelessness. Also, he has a fully metallic form, which in itself removes the need for a healing factor.

    

    Savitar's speed trail.

  • Electrokinesis: When moving at super-speed, Savitar generates white lightning.
  • Invisibility: An ability unique to Savitar, he is able to completely hide his visible presence from all around him should he choose. Only other speedsters are able to bypass this power and perceive him. Cisco Ramon was able to see him in one of his vibes.
  • Superhuman agility: Savitar possesses inhuman bodily coordination, balance, equilibrium, and dexterity. He is able to change direction immediately, thus allowing him to make sharp turns and easily maneuver while moving at immense speed.
  • Superhuman durability: Savitar's fully metallic form grants him enormous durability. Despite Joe West unloading a full clip of bullets on him, each shot merely ricocheted off him.
  • Superhuman speed: Savitar is unfathomably fast, greatly belying his massive size and build. His speed allowed him to race around Alchemy's lair and instantly kill multiple cops in milliseconds. Only other speedsters can see anything. Despite Barry's own speed exceeding his other speedster enemies, his own movements were still slow-motion in comparison to Savitar, who effortlessly countered and outmaneuvered the Flash. He later showed equal dominance against the veteran speedster Jay Garrick and simultaneously against Barry and Wally.
    • Bodily vibration: When Savitar was encased in sub-zero ice, he was able to almost instantly break free from his confinement.
    • Dimensional travel: Savitar's speed is so intense, with a sudden movement he can open dimensional breaches, enabling him to shift and warp about and appear out of nowhere to new locations. Combined with his raw speed, the actions can appear as if he is at multiple places at once. He is also able to use this power to travel throughout the Multiverse. This is shown by the fact that he knows Jay Garrick.
    • Geokinesis: Savitar is somehow capable of generating earthquakes with his speed.His ability to create earthquakes is likely due to the absurd amount of kinetic energy he transfers into the ground with every step he takes.
    • Superhuman momentum: Savitar can generate great amounts of physical force through the kinetic energy his immense speed generates. This allowed him to knock several cops into the air when running past and killing them when he first encountered Barry.
  • Superhuman perception: Savitar is easily capable of keeping up with and perceiving the movements and actions of speedsters.
  • Superhuman stamina: Savitar's body can handle the stresses of superhuman racing without noticeable distress.
  • Superhuman strength: Savitar possesses a level of increased strength, able to lift and drag a fully-grown man off the ground by their throat, all with a single hand. He was able to pummel and toss around the Flash, Wally West and Jay Garrick with one hand and, with one punch, he was able to send Jay Garrick flying over a building.
• Philosopher's Stone connection: Savitar's connection to the Philosopher's Stone allows him to invade the minds of others.
  • Possession: Once establishing a strong enough connection to a person's mind, Savitar is able to completely overshadow their actions, turning them into his unwitting pawn, and possess them, as he did with Julian Albert to turn him into "Alchemy", and enabling them to wield the power of the Philosopher's Stone.
  • Telepathy: With his connection to the Philosopher's Stone, Savitar is able to manipulate others' minds. He can telepathically communicate with them and project illusions that only they can see. This power can still be used even while sealed away in the box. However, it is considerably weakened, as he can only prey on a person's insecurities, such as creating illusions of their lost loved ones, to con them into releasing him.

Abilities

• Master manipulator: In his avatar as Alchemy, Savitar convinced Edward Clariss and other reborn meta-humans to become agents of his will. He was also able to advise and keep in line the rebellious Magenta. As Alchemy, he spoke to his cult members, leading them together to believe that he is a deity. Savitar himself manipulated Julian Albert and later Cisco Ramon to release him, using their own feelings against them.
• Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: Savitar is a capable fighter as evidenced by his rapid victory over other speedsters like the Flash. His style is not as refined as Eobard Thawne's but is as savage as Zoom's; he uses his extraordinary speed to land powerful blows and throw his opponents around with lots of momentum.He often incorporates his intradimensional breaching to switch the terrain to his preference in an instant, keeping his opponent disoriented and off guard.

Weaknesses

• Extreme cold: Much like other speedsters, Savitar seems to be weakened or at least momentarily stunned when exposed to an extremely cold environment. This was proven when Caitlin Snow used her metahuman freezing powers on an invisible Savitar. However, his powers allowed him to shortly afterwards break free and recover enough to zip away.
• Philosopher's Stone connection: At some point, Savitar was defeated by a future Barry Allen and sealed away. Savitar can only maintain his presence in the world while the Philosopher's Stone is in contact with the world outside of its containment vessel.

Equipment

Former equipment

• Philosopher's Stone: Savitar himself possessed this artifact long ago, using it to hire new meta-humans. It is also the source of his power. He used this artifact until being defeated and trapped in it by a future Barry Allen.

Appearances

The Flash

Season 3 "Flashpoint" (voice; as Alchemy) "Paradox" "Magenta" (voice; as Alchemy) "The New Rogues" (video footage; unseen) "Shade" "Killer Frost" "Invasion!" (mentioned) "The Present" "Borrowing Problems from the Future" (vision) "Dead or Alive" (mentioned) "Untouchable" (mentioned) "Attack on Gorilla City" (mentioned) "Attack on Central City"

Trivia

• Savitar is the first speedster to be able to move so fast that he becomes invisible, though how he accomplishes this feat is still unknown. This in an ability in the comics, where conduits of the speed-force can move so fast that they are invisible to normal humans. So far, only other speedsters can see him, even while he is standing still, appearing invisible to humans and through cameras.
• Savitar is, so far, the only main antagonist of The Flash who didn't make his debut on the first episode of the season he appears in. His voice is heard on Flashpoint, but he didn't make his first full appearance until Shade.
• Savitar is the only speedster that generates white lightning, as opposed to yellow (Barry, Jay, Wally, and Jesse), red (Eobard and Edward) or blue (Hunter and Eliza).
• Savitar is the only speedster so far who has demonstrated the ability to open dimensional breaches to different locations on the same Earth.
• Despite his pathological need to challenge powerful speedsters, Savitar has oddly never crossed paths with speedsters like Zoom or the Reverse-Flash despite their power greatly exceeding Barry's for extended periods of time.
• Every time Savitar's ripped from this world and back to imprisonment, the hole he's pulled through is shaped like a lightning-bolt.
• Savitar can access his speed while in the metahuman power dampening cell. Though not yet explained, it's most likely due to the fact that his essence is contained within the Philosopher's Stone, and that his physical manifestation is simply an extension of this, which is why his powers weren't negated, as the stone was not in the cell. It's also possible that because Savitar has a fully metallic form, he isn't considered human, so the cell may have not affected him for that reason also.
• Savitar is the only speedster-villain thus far to have defeated three rival speedsters in a single episode; Barry, Jay and Wally.

Behind the scenes

• In the DC comics, Savitar was an enemy of Wally West as the Flash, an ex-pilot obsessed with speed, who named himself after Savitr, the Hindu god of motion, and dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Speed Force. He discovered creative ways of using the Speed Force and tried to kill every other speedster on Earth, transferring their Speed Force connections onto himself.
  • Similarly to how it's depicted in The Flash TV series, Savitar was able to use the Speed Force to make himself invisible to non-speedsters in the comics.
• Savitar's metallic appearance and white lightning are similar to the DC comics character Godspeed.