Get to Know a Villain: Vandal Savage
In honor of last week’s #Flarrow event and the upcoming premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, we’re talking a look at one of DC’s most enduring jerks.
Name: Vandal Savage
Aliases: Vandar Adg, Kgafre, Cheops, Cain, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Kahn, Blackbeard, Vlad the Impaler, Jack the Ripper, Alonso Perez de Guzman
Born: Prehistoric Era
Died: Newp.
Abilities: Enhanced physiology, immortality, tactician, genius level intellect, combat skills
First Appearance: Green Lantern #10 (1943 or 1944 depending on source consulted)
The Story:
Vandal Savage was born Vandar Adg in 50,000 BCE. He was leader of a tribe of Cro-Magnon folk and obtained his powers after being exposed to a radioactive meteorite (I know, right?).
He first appears in “history” as leader of the Illuminati, leading the group’s assault against, and conquest of, Atlantis.
He has claimed to be several different historical geniuses/big bads (see aliases), though after a time in the spotlight, Savage became concerned about being murdered or accidentally killed (hmmm, wonder why) and moved behind several different thrones including those of: Erik the Red, William the Conqueror, Napoleon, Otto Von Bismarck, and Hitler.
He bragged about all of this mind. Making him an enabler of war at best and, at worst, Hitler’s muse. Can you imagine how horrific a being one has to be to inspire fucking Hitler?
Vandal Savage is one of the Justice Society Of America’s enduring nemeses and spends a great deal of time attempting to capture its members, focusing specifically on Jay Garrick and Barry Allen (Flash… er…es?) and Hawkman.
He transferred is hatred and viciously scheming sights to the Justice League when they replaced the JSA. He had a particular dislike for Resurrection Man and Wally West (what is it with this guy and Flashes anyway?)
Savage did a stint as a drug dealer (which sort of seems like a step down from Alexander the Great but hey, no judgment) pushing a high powered form of speed called Velocity 9. He injects Wally West, which results in the later losing his powers. Savage is injected in turn and forced to flee.
Honestly, it gets pretty murky from there. A lot of story lines, a lot of incarnations, a lot of enemies. At the root of it all is the fact Vandal Savage is a massive douchebag who does really, really bad shit to alleviate the boredom of immortality.
The good news is that, despite effective immortality, he can get drunk.
After the 2011 reboot, Savage took a spin as a more likable rogue alongside Etrigan and Madame Xanadu. It didn’t last long.
Also of note: Savage apparently rules an alternate-timeline intergalactic empire in the Star Trek–Legion of Heroes Crossover. Because that makes… sense? Whatever. He captures Q, screws history up and then loses his evil empire when Q is freed in the past (remember, I don’t make the news, I just report it).
Grant Morrison, likely under the influence of something – I’d have to check Supergods to verify the timeline of illicit experimentation – created Vandal Savage, interdimensional pirate from Earth-40, an alternate populated by pulp villains. Actually, this one sounds sort of cool. I may need to dig around in the Multiversity archives for it.
And that’s about it. I’m sure he’s more interesting than my sources make him out to be? Guess we’ll find out in January.
Sources: DC Comics Database Wikia, Wikipedia
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