Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)

History

Vandar Adg was born in the 47th millennium BCE, in what would one day be the Perigord Noir region of France, as the son of the chief. One spring, there was a territory dispute between his clan of Neanderthals and a group of Cro-Magnons. However, a bright shooting star caused a halt to the hostilities, which Vandar used to kill the rival chieftain. His father claimed the kill, and when the clan went to see the fallen shooting star, his father claimed that, too. But Vandar felt hurt, and wanted the acclaim he felt was due. He killed his father with the strange glowing rock, even as it wrought fearsome changes on his body, and when his clan tried to punish him for the murder, he killed them too.^[3]

His clan had regarded the meteor as evidence of the benevolence of the Sun, their god, but as Vandar's life extended to a superhuman degree, his religious view would become more complex, and he would enact intricate ritual sacrifices in honor of the deities he thanked for his gift of immortality.^[4]

A Life In History

Vandar tried to found empires, but all of his efforts ended in collapse, and this frustrated him.

In 121CE, Vandar heard of the Han Dynasty, one family that had controlled a vast empire for centuries. Wondering what they could teach him, Vandar raised an army and warred against them. His soldiers mangled his name, calling him "General Sha". Vandar was disappointed to discover that the Han rulers were nothing special, but he found a friendship with Zhang Heng, a local astronomer and genius. After he told Zhang his story, Zhang realized that other meteors like Vandar's would pass by the Earth on a predictable timescale, but he refused to give the information. Enraged, Vandar killed Zhang.^[3]

Vandar drifted west, somehow becoming affiliated with the Vandals, even gaining the moniker "Vandal Savage". After the most recent fall of Camelot, Vandar found himself in the town of Little Spring, and wound up accidentally founding the Demon Knights.^[5]

Leaving the Demon Knights, he fought in the crusades among the Knights Templar as "Sir Savage". In 1097CE he met Pandora at Antioch, with whom he shared an instant animosity.^[6] In 1543CE, he journeyed to Rome to meet Niclaus Copernicus, whose work he had been funding in the hopes of finding the meteors that Zhang Heng had predicted. After reviewing Copernicus' notes, he vowed that if the Sun could displace the Earth as the center of the universe, then he would replace God as the center of human morality. When he discovered that Copernicus had neglected the asteroid hunt to write his book, Vandal Savage killed him.^[3]

In the 1880s, he used his own immortal body to carry a plague into Gotham City as part of a plan to harrow the human race and kill millions. Despite the plague turning the poorer neighborhoods into a butcher's workshop, Vandal's plan was stopped by Jonah Hex.^[7]

Vandal Savage aided the Nazis in some capacity, so that in 1941, when another of the meteors Zhang had predicted neared Earth, he was able to commandeer Albrecht Krieger, a man who had gained metahuman powers from the Nazi astronaut program, to drive him to it in a rocket. Though initially blindly following Vandal, Krieger turned the rocket around when he saw how deranged Vandal was. When they crash landed, Vandal kicked Krieger to death.^[3]

Vandal Savage hired a brilliant scientist named Lionel Luthor to help him uncover the secrets of the Multiverse and Perpetua. Eventually, Lionel would become too ambitious and kidnap Martians including a young child and when experimenting on him, alerted the Blackhawk Program and they forced him to brainwash Lionel and abandon his project.^[8]

Just over a decade ago, he was living as Jon Savage in an American suburb when it was time to please his gods. The police regarded the crimes as the work of a serial killer they called "the Vandal". The profiler who finally cracked the case led the squad that took him down, but was tragically killed in the process. Savage was sent to jail for the murders.^[4]

Modern Adventures

After ten years in prison, he helped his captors find a serial killer who copied his work. In this, he worked alongside his estranged daughter Kassidy.^[4]

During the attack of the Crime Syndicate, he was rescued from prison by the Secret Society and given a position of seniority.^[9]

In the wake of the Convergence, he was listed as a possible recruit for the Justice League United.^[10]

Aided by several of his children - who had become metahumans in their own right - Vandal Savage began to gather resources to take advantage of the coming of one of his meteors. Key somehow to his process was to oppose Superman at every turn.^[3]

Vandal Savage put together a team of Neanderthals called the Injustice Gang but during their meeting, Lex Luthor arrived and beat Vandal to death with a fragment of The Totality; one of the only things able to permanently kill him.^[2]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Immortality
  • Accelerated Healing
• Superhuman Strength
• Superhuman Durability

Abilities

• Equestrianism^[6]
• Genius Level Intellect
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
• Leadership
• Swordsmanship^[6]
  

Notes

• Vandal Savage was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell, first appearing in Green Lantern #10. However, in the Prime Earth continuity Vandal Savage first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell and Diogenes Neves.

Related

• 79 Appearances of Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
• 21 Images featuring Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
• 8 Quotations by or about Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
• Character Gallery: Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)

Footnotes

Prehistoric Character(s) This character is or was from the Prehistoric Era, thousands of years in the past, including but not limited to the time of Dinosaurs and the dawning of the species of man. These stories occur traditionally before history was formally recorded, and civilization developed completely. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Prehistoric Characters" category.

Secret Society of Super-Villains member This character is or was a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, a cadre of super-villains who band together to accomplish feats no one super-villain can do alone, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Secret Society of Super-Villains members" category.

Superman Villain(s) This character is or was primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category."

Justice League member This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.