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I am Vandal Savage. Immortal master of millennia. 
- — Vandal Savage src
Vandal Savage, born Vandar Adg, is an immortal caveman supervillain.
Contents
History
Origins
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 to find a way to move Earth out of the orbit, using the Moon's magnetic field. 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, while the League destroyed the Moon itself. Savage was trying, like he did for his whole existence, to avoid Earth from being hit by the Totality, which contained power that would Doom humanity and the Multiverse with it. Vandal's last action was to send his knowledge to Martian Manhunter, so that he could understand that the Totality approaching Earth was the first step towards the end. Still, his plan did not work as Manhunter and the League already decided to let the Totality reach the planet, hoping it would be useful for the regeneration of the Multiverse. Luthor, who killed him, opposed him so that he could not stop what was set in motion with the rupture of the Source Wall.[2]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Abilities
- Telepathic Resistance
- Equestrianism[6]
- Genius Level Intellect
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Leadership
- Swordsmanship[6]
- Toxic Immunity[11]
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
- 112 Appearances of Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
- 28 Images featuring Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
- 11 Quotations by or about Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Vandar Adg (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Deathstroke (Volume 4) #25
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Justice League (Volume 4) #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Superman Annual (Volume 3) #3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 DC Universe Presents #10
- ↑ Demon Knights #1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1
- ↑ All-Star Western (Volume 3) #17
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #17
- ↑ Trinity of Sin: Pandora #2
- ↑ DC Sneak Peek: Justice League United (Digital)
- ↑ Challenge of the Super Sons #7
  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 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. |
 Secret Society of Super-Villains member |
 This character, team or organization is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice Society, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice Society Villains" category. |
 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." |
