Waverider is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics universe. He was created by Archie Goodwin and Dan Jurgens, with the first version of the character, Matthew Ryder, first appearing in Armageddon 2001 #1 (May 1991).[1] A second version of the character is a Hypertime-line counterpart and partner of the original, who became Waverider after his superpowered doppelgänger's death during the storyline Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! (September 1994).
| Waverider | |
|---|---|
 The Matthew Ryder incarnation of Waverider as depicted in Superman: Legacy of Superman #1 (February 1993). Art by Arthur Adams. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Armageddon 2001 #1 (May 1991) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Matthew Ryder |
| Team affiliations | Linear Men Justice League |
| Abilities |
|
A third version of the character first appeared in Convergence: Booster Gold #2 (July 2015) as a reborn older version of the pre-Flashpoint Booster Gold (also created by Jurgens). After his transformation, he is instrumental to saving the multiverse in Convergence #8. His powers are the same as the original Waverider, but his knowledge and history are Booster Gold's.
Fictional character biography
editWaverider originated as Matthew Ryder, a scientist from a post-apocalyptic 2030 led by the villain Monarch. He built a time machine to travel to the past and prevent his rule, but was fused with the timestream, gaining the ability to travel through time and fly at high speeds.[2][3][4]
Making his way into the year 1991, Waverider predicted the futures of numerous heroes in his search for Monarch. However, when he encounters Captain Atom, their energies interact to create a temporal wave that enables Monarch to travel back in time. When Monarch later killed Dove, her partner Hawk became enraged, beat Monarch, and unmasked him, only to see that Monarch was his future self.[5]
Post-Armageddon
editWaverider and various heroes who he gathered defeated a demonic being called Abraxis.[6] Later, while Waverider was traveling through the time stream, he encountered an alternate timeline doppelgänger of himself, who was still a regular human (since Monarch's future reign had been erased). Following this, both Matthew Ryders joined the Linear Men, a group that contained time-traveling beings who protected the time stream, with the powerless Ryder eventually become the team's leader. Despite the Linear Men's policy of non-intervention in the timeline – to the point that Waverider was discouraged from preventing Superman's death during his first battle with Doomsday – Waverider helped Superman defeat Doomsday by transporting him to the end of time, where he was destroyed by entropy as the universe collapsed.[7]
In Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Waverider was killed by Extant and succeeded by his present-day self.[8] In 52, the second Waverider is killed by Booster Gold's robot Skeets, who was being controlled by Mister Mind.[9][10]
Successors
editLinear Woman
editWaverider's successor is Liri Lee, a member of the Linear Men who gained his powers after fusing with his corpse and became Linear Woman.[11][12][13][14]
Booster Gold
editDuring the Convergence event, Booster Gold becomes a new Waverider after Rip Hunter takes him into the timestream to save him from dying due to the effects of excessive time travel.[15]
Powers and abilities
editWaverider can time-travel at will, and is capable of accessing the time stream and monitoring it. He can also access a person's aura to view their past and future, fly at the speed of light, fire quantum energy blasts, and become invisible and intangible.
In other media
editTelevision
edit- The Matthew Ryder incarnation of Waverider makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of the Justice League.
- In Legends of Tomorrow, Rip Hunter's timeship is called the Waverider, with Gideon (voiced by Amy Pemberton) serving as the ship's A.I.[16]
Video games
editThe Matthew Ryder incarnation of Waverider appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[17]
Merchandise
edit- An action figure of the character was included as part of Mattel's Justice League Unlimited toy line in early 2006.
References
edit- ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Armageddon 2001 was the DC Comics event of the summer...Written by Archie Goodwin and Denny O'Neil, and drawn by penciler Dan Jurgens, Armageddon 2001 chronicled the birth of time-traveling hero Waverider.
- ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 467–468. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Armageddon 2001 #1 (May 1991)
- ^ Armageddon 2001 #2 (October 1991)
- ^ Armageddon: Inferno (April 1992)
- ^ Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey (January 1994)
- ^ Zero Hour #2 (September 1994)
- ^ 52 #26 (November 2006)
- ^ 52 #27 (December 2006)
- ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #3 (November 2010)
- ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #4 (October 2010)
- ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5 (December 2010)
- ^ Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 (February 2011)
- ^ Convergence: Booster Gold #2 (July 2015)
- ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 21, 2016). "Legends of Tomorrow EP Spills a Secret Behind the Big Lie — Plus: Grade It!". TVLine. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 29, 2024.