Warning: spoilers ahead for The Flash Annual 2021 #1!

The Flash just discovered an old speedster foe previously thought dead is alive and well. The Flash Annual 2021 #1 sees the return of Savitar, a speedster obsessed with becoming one with the Speed Force. This deadly speedster is dangerous enough on his own, but now he has received a major power-up.

Wally West has been traveling through time thanks to the Speed Force propelling him into the bodies of different speedsters. The last several issues have seen him as a prehistoric speedster, Jay Garrick, Reverse-Flash, and Bart Allen. The tour ends with the most tragic event of his past, as Wally is thrown back into his own body and the explosive events of Heroes in Crisis. And to top it all off, the Flash is having to fight an old foe he’d hoped never to see again.

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Created by the team of Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Brandon Peterson, Hi-Fi, Michael Atiyeh, and Steve Wands, The Flash Annual 2021 #1 returns Savitar to the DC Universe. Savitar was previously killed by the Flash with just a touch from Barry Allen back in DC Rebirth, but like many of DC’s heroes and villains, he’s been resurrected as part of the new Infinite Frontier era. However, this issue doesn’t just reveal that Savitar is back – it also reveals that he was actually the cause of the explosion at Sanctuary which killed several heroes during Heroes in Crisis. This was caused by Savitar embedding himself within the Speed Force, attempting to harness its full power. In The Flash Annual 2021 #1, he is ejected only thanks to Wally’s efforts to dislodge him from deep within the fundamental force of nature.

Savitar is aiming to be the “heir to the Speed Force,” becoming the ultimate speedster, in line with his usual claim that he is the “God of Speed.” In this issue, he is very close to achieving that title, managing to absorb enough of the Speed Force’s power to achieve a “raw connection.” Prior to his emergence, the Speed Force had been trying to reject him, causing the surges that Wally had to investigate. Savitar is a truly deranged villain, often served by his own cult. He has long been a thorn in the side of DC’s speedsters thanks to his ability to steal their powers, with only Wally escaping this effect thanks to his unique Speed Force connection.

Savitar’s return brings about a change in Wally’s abilities which will redefine the hero going forward, as DC’s new Flash absorbs the Speed Force’s surge energy, becoming the actual “heir,” as his foe wished to be. It’s an especially bittersweet victory given the reveal that Savitar is responsible for the deaths of Heroes in Crisis – a revelation that emphasizes what an incredible threat Savitar can be while also disabusing Wally of the belief that the explosion was his fault.

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Strangely, Savitar seems to believe that prior to entering the Speed Force, he was imprisoned by Barry Allen, and is teleported away by what seems to be New God technology once Wally has defeated him. It’s unclear where Savitar ends up after the fight, though it’s apparent he’s been imprisoned by some outside force. Given Savitar seems to have memories of a different version of Barry, it’s possible that the so-called “God of Speed” is set to become a player in DC’s unfolding multiversal narrative, given the Speed Force’s ability to bridge dimensional gaps. Wherever Savitar ends up, the new Flash wins the day, powered-up and ready to shut down the God of Speed the next time he returns.

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Samantha King
(831 Articles Published)

Samantha King is a Comic News Writer for Screen Rant. She has a B.A. in English & American Literature with a concentration in Shakespeare and a minor in Creative Writing from UTEP. She also has a M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas.

Samantha used to get in trouble for reading comics in class back in high school, but she gets the last laugh. She took a graphic novel course in college and now gets paid to write about comics. She runs her own blog at: www.therealworldaccordingtosam.blogspot.com

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