There’s no denying that Barry Allen has faced some formidable opponents throughout the two seasons of The Flash we’ve seen him in to date. Reverse Flash plagued Barry’s existence from his early childhood and returned to complete his mission during the show’s first season, while the second season saw evil speedster Zoom hoping to wipe Barry out and steal his speed for himself.
Now, in The Flash's third season, Barry will be facing yet another villainous speedster in the form of Savitar – a character from the DC comic books created by Mark Waid and Oscar Jimenez and introduced in 1995.
Speaking at EW PopFest, actor Grant Gustin promised the Big Bad would be coming "very, very soon," whilst producer Greg Berlanti added: “He’s the God of motion, so Flash is up against his biggest foe yet.” The producer also spoke about the current timeline The Flash is taking place within, explaining why he’s not entirely sure things will be able to go back to the way they were in the earlier days of the series:
“I’m not sure that we can [return to the original timeline], given what we’ve established. If we’re not challenging ourselves and creating new territory and new obstacles for the characters, I think it’s less rewarding to watch and probably less rewarding to play. We like to grow ourselves and grow our characters.”
It would seem fans of The Flash can rest assured Savitar is going to be providing some chaotic and action-packed storylines and scenes moving forward, without the possibility of erasing his existence by simply returning to a former timeline. Egotistical and speed-obsessed within the comic book universe, Savitar dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of motion and learned powers that no-one else had ever been able to master, even becoming the leader of his own cult after picking up legions of dedicated followers.
Savitar’s inclusion in the third season of The Flash may see the show injected with yet another dose of speed, but some fans may be fed up of seeing Barry fight powerful speedsters time and time again, especially when they play such an integral role in the entirety of the season.
With that being said, Savitar isn’t the only Big Bad we can expect to see action from throughout the rest of the season. We’ve already seen Barry’s battles against ‘sleeper’ metahumans in recent new episodes - brought to life by Doctor Alchemy - and there’s no signs of the mysterious character slowing down any time soon.
The Flash continues Tuesday with ‘Monster’ at 8pm on The CW.
Source: EW