Since he made his debut ahead of the midseason finale, Fans of The Flash have had one question on their minds — who is Savitar?
While we know that the character has a checkered history in the Flash comic books from DC Comics, the television incarnation on The CW is likely to play out a little differently.
Which leaves the field wide open for interpretation…
Savitar was first introduced to the comic book series back in 1980s by acclaimed writer Mark Waid.
In the comics Savitar was a Cold War pilot from a third-world nation. When he got struck down by lightning he discovered he had speedster powers.
The name Savitar derives from the Hindu religion, in which Savitar is the Hindu god of motion.
Much like the god, the comic book version of Savitar and indeed the television version of him gains more power as he takes on followers. In the comics he’d eventually form a speed cult, and this has been hinted at a few times in the television show.
However we still do not know who Savitar is in the series.
But here are a few of the popular theories that have been doing the rounds.
Some people think that Savitar is actually a future Barry Allen who has turned to the dark side because he wasn’t able to save his friends.
In the series Barry is constantly wrestling with his own guilt and responsibility toward his friends and family, and most of this season has focused on Flashpoint and Barry trying to put things right.
So in some ways it would make sense for it to be a future Barry Allen.
Another theory is that it’s H.R. Wells. For the last couple of episodes H.R. Wells has not been as much of a focus, but the character does write pulp stories in which he features himself as a hero.
He’s also taken Wally West aka Kid Flash under his wing and aided in training him.
Moreover, it was H.R. Wells that pretty much encouraged Jesse Quick to confront Savitar and find a weakness, which had her going against Barry’s orders.
We don’t think Savitar would be H.R., though, given that the creators pretty much used another version of his character in the first season as the “Big Bad” when Reverse Flash used the body of Dr. Harrison Wells to hide in plain site and train Barry.
Another theory is that it might just be Eddie Thawne. We got to see Eddie in the episode ‘Into The Speed Force’ and the character does have some unresolved issues with Barry over Irish West.
In the first season Eddie was supposedly wiped out of existence when Barry defeated Eobard Thane aka Reverse Flash.
So what’s your theory? If you have one, please share in the comments. We’d really like to know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=677Qdv-mr_U
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.