Who Is Savitar In The Flash? The DC Villain's True Identity Explained

Savitar, the self-styled "God of Speed," may be one of the Flash's most terrifying enemies. Introduced in the pages of "The Flash" #108 in 1995, Savitar became the main antagonist of "The Flash" season 3 on The CW. In the comics, the character was primarily an enemy of Wally West's version of the Flash, though he also faced off with Barry Allen and Jay Garrick, as well as other members of the Flash family. Most notably, the CW TV series not only pitted Savitar against Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) but also gave the villain a much more personal connection to the hero than his comic book counterpart had with any iteration of the Scarlet Speedster.

While Savitar has been a fairly minor antagonist in the "Flash" comic books, appearing in relatively few Flash stories, in The CW's "The Flash" he truly lived up to the moniker of the God of Speed. Scrapping the character's comics look, which in true '90s fashion combined random armbands and spandex with a lot of exposed skin, "The Flash" turned Savitar into a towering, armored titan. The mystery of Savitar's true identity was itself a central plot point for much of "The Flash" season 3, and the ultimate reveal was truly shocking, pushing Barry Allen into darker territory than he had ever experienced before.

In the 20th episode of "The Flash" season 3, Savitar finally unmasked himself to Barry Allen to reveal ... Barry Allen. Yes, Savitar appeared to be a version of Barry from the future, his face heavily scarred from a battle Barry had yet to face. However, it was quickly revealed this wasn't Barry's true future self, per se, but a time remnant instead.

Time remnants are versions of speedsters created when they duplicate themselves via time travel. For instance, in the "Flash" season 2 finale, Barry created a time remnant to help him defeat Zoom, aka Reverse-Flash, by running fast enough to travel back in time by a few seconds. This meant the Barry who had just traveled back in time appeared alongside the version of himself who had yet to do so. However, now that the two Flashes were present at once, the marginally younger Flash no longer needed to travel back in time, allowing both to continue co-existing. The paradox of the second Flash's existence was preserved by the Speed Force. Still following?

The time remnant who helped Barry defeat Zoom gave his life doing so. However, at some point in his future, after Savitar had killed Iris West (Candice Patton), Barry wound up creating more time remnants to defeat Savitar. One of these survived the battle but was rejected by Team Flash for not being the "true" Barry Allen. This drove the remnant to a dark place, and he vowed to become a god to escape his pain.

While the true identity of Savitar in The CW's "The Flash" was a major plot point and a reveal that made his enmity with Barry Allen incredibly personal, the character's true identity was of little consequence in the comics. The comic book Savitar had originally been a test pilot for an unspecified third-world nation during the Cold War. When lightning struck the super-sonic jet he was flying, as he approached top speed, the pilot was transformed into a superhuman speedster. However, this pilot has never been named and has only been known by the name he took from the Hindu god of motion, Savitar.

In his own time, Savitar fought the speedsters Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, which ultimately resulted in both Savitar and Mercury being thrown forwards in time. When Savitar eventually arrived in the present, he clashed with the Wally West iteration of the Flash and the Flash family. In the comics, Savitar also founded a cult, feeding into his perception of himself as a god. After traveling through time, though, he found his cult had not only survived but had grown in numbers.

Savitar was eventually killed by Barry Allen, who had recently been returned to life but given the power to kill speedsters with a touch by Professor Zoom. It was later revealed that Savitar was not dead but trapped in the Speed Force. This original version of Savitar briefly returned in DC's New 52 continuity.