One of the first things Savitar said in The Flash Season 3 was, “You are the past, whereas I am the future, Flash.” This was the first tidbit that reminded comic book fans of a Flash arc called “Out of Time,” which featured Barry Allen as The Future Flash. Barry’s future self essentially wanted to kill his younger self to fix the speed force. So far, Savitar and The Future Flash seem to have a similar agenda, so much so that a lot of people began to wonder whether Savitar could actually be The Future Flash himself.
Here's an excerpt from the comic book:
“There’s only one thing left to fix — this tear. Once I realized the Speed Force was leaking, I spent years searching for its location. By the time I found the wound, it had grown immense. There was no way to repair it. But I had a theory — that with a large enough detonation of Speed Force energy thrust back into the tear, it could be sealed off,” the older Barry explained to his younger self. “You’re the sacrifice. You’re a vessel of the Speed Force. When you die, that energy erupts out of you. It’s the charge I need to fix this damage. (Via CBR)”
Jay Garrick said Savitar comes for powerful speedsters who he sees as a threat. Jay knew Savitar as only a myth until he saw the evil speedster in person. What’s interesting is what we know about Savitar’s agenda so far shares the essence of what The Future Flash intended to do in “Out of Time,” which is essentially to be the ‘god of the speed force’ by protecting it from manipulation.
“He’s preparing for a battle with you. You are threatening his power. If Savitar has come for you once, he’ll be back,” Jay tells Barry during The Flash Season 3.
When Savitar says, “You put me here,” to Barry in the midseason finale, he could be speaking more figuratively than literally. Savitar could be a figment of the Flashpoint timeline, trapped inside the speed force. We didn’t see Barry Allen as The Flash in the Flashpoint timeline. In the Flashpoint reality, Wally West was the one who called himself The Flash. Even if it was Wally who trapped Savitar in the speed force in the Flashpoint timeline, Wally’s actions wouldn't have happened if Barry didn’t create Flashpoint. That could be what Savitar is referring to when he says “you trapped me in here.”
There’s also physical hints giving credence to The Future Flash theory, like the costume changes made to Savitar. His suit isn’t like the comics at all. He actually looks more like The Future Flash -- the blue lightning, silver metal and larger mask. As the younger Flash fights his future self in the comics, the elder Barry scolds himself, saying, “Your costume is just clothes. All flash, no substance. If only you knew the enhancements I made in the coming decades.”
Barry’s message from 2056 is also quite suspicious. During the crossover, everyone just assumed the message had to do with The Dominators, but that’s 40 years we’re talking about. The Dominators could be just the beginning of the “war” future Barry describes in his message to Rip Hunter and the Legends.
“A war is coming, Captain Hunter, and at some point you’re going to be called back to Central City to fight it, so you need to know that — while you and your team have been in the temporal zone — I made a choice that affected the timeline,” Barry tells Rip Hunter in the message. “As you know, whenever you alter the past, those changes affect the present and get compounded in the future. When you return, you will be in a new timeline I created, where everyone’s past and everyone’s future has been affected, including yours. When you come back, don’t trust anything or anyone, not even me.”
That future message, combined with the prophecy Savitar shared with Team Flash during the midseason finale, have a similar sentiment. Both suggest someone on Team Flash will betray the rest, and it’s clear Barry doesn’t even trust himself in the present or future.
“One shall betray you, one shall fall, one will suffer a fate much worse than death."
This prophecy is likely directed toward the West family. Wally could be the traitor, Iris will fall, and Joe will suffer a fate far worse than death without any of his children -- that is, if future Barry Allen is really Savitar.
What’s more is Wally’s place in all of this. In “Out of Time,” Wally died. Barry was ridden with guilt and traveled back in time to save Wally by killing the younger version of himself. The blast to the speed force made Wally faster and he used it to travel back in time again, sacrificing himself to save Barry and heal the speed force.
Barry is reliving this same scenario in The Flash Season 3 after witnessing Iris’ impending death. Everyone reassures him that heroes make mistakes and he’s no god. Which is interesting because while Savitar considers himself a god, he also says the beliefs of others are the only thing that makes him one.
The biggest question about Savitar right now is how he knows so much about Barry Allen. He told Barry, “I know your strengths. I know your weaknesses. I know you better than you know yourselves.” One explanation of how he knows so much is he’s actually Barry Allen.
Even considering this theory, it still seems far more likely Savitar is just taking psychological inspiration from The Future Flash arc. Savitar is kind of like an evil version of Future Flash -- an evil speed force iteration of future Barry Allen. After all, The Future Flash option seems a bit much for a show where a huge arc like Flashpoint only lasted one episode.
The Central City Newspaper clipping that says Barry vanishes in crisis in 2024--the same newspaper that suggests Iris dies -- makes the theory a bit more confusing. Barry must not vanish for good in 2024 if he was able to send a message to Rip Hunter from 2056, unless the messages were sent from two different timelines. I don’t think the message from 2056 could be from the Flashpoint timeline (at least I don’t think that’s how alternate reality’s work). If Savitar is indeed the Future Flash, that would mean the message from 2056 would have have to been sent before Barry became the evil speedster.
Even though it’s a compelling theory, all the puzzle pieces for the Future Flash story aren't there yet, but it’s certainly an interesting thing to keep in mind.. Do you think Savitar could actually be Future Flash? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
