A Cold War pilot for a third-world nation, the man who would become known as Savitar

was to test a supersonic fighter jet. As he reached top speed, his plane was struck by
what appeared to be lightning, and he went down in hostile territory. Discovering he
could defeat the enemy by moving at super-speed, he became obsessed with it, naming
himself after Savitr, the Hindu "god of motion", and dedicating his life to unlocking its
secrets. As Savitar studied, he discovered new powers that no other living speedster has
mastered. He can protect himself in a null-inertia force field, give speed and kinetic
energy to objects or people, even those in a "rest state", and he could also heal his own
injuries almost instantly.

Savitars obsession gained followers, and he became the leader of a cult. In search of
more knowledge, he sought out the only super-speed hero operating at the time: Johnny
Quick. This encounter became a battle, the tide of which was turned with the arrival of
Max Mercury, who led Savitar toward the Speed Force, but caused him to bounce off,
both speedsters being thrown forward in time[1]. Emerging from the timestream before
Savitar, Max Mercury became a mentor to the various members of the Flash family and
other speedsters, secretly preparing them against the day Savitar would exit the
timestream.

Reappearing decades later, Savitar found that his cult had grown in his absence,
awaiting his return. He recruited former Blue Trinity member Lady Flash (Christina
Alexandrova), and discovered a way to use her speed to divert all energy from the
Speed Force to his own army of ninjas. He then sought to eliminate the competition:
Flash (Wally West), Impulse, Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick), Johnny Quick, Jesse
Quick, XS, and especially, Max Mercury.

Fortunately, Wallys direct line to the Speed Force prevented Savitar from stealing his
speed, and a coalition of just about every speedster (except for Red Trinity) foiled his
plans. Hell-bent on at least destroying the Flashs world in retribution, Savitar led Wally
on a worldwide race of destruction, until Flash chose to give Savitar what he wanted:
union with the Speed Force. His earlier encounter had shown him that the others who
had arrived before would deal with Savitar as they saw fit.

In The Flash Rebirth mini-series, Savitar was able to escape from the Speed Force. He
was run down by the recently returned to life Barry Allen; however, when Barry touches
him, Savitar disintegrates, leaving only a pile of bones.[2] It is revealed that Professor
Zoom altered the Speed Force and Barry to make the Flash shift in reverse, cursed to
kill every Speed Force user with a single touch, though it seemed to be undone by the
defeat of Professor Zoom during the conflict between the two speedsters.[3] Thus far,
Savitar, Lady Flash (Lady Savitar at the time) and Johnny Quick have been killed by
this effect.[4][5]

In The New 52, a reboot of the DC Comics universe, parts of Savitar's origin are used in
the origin of the Top.