The Black Racer's corporeal form is Sgt. Willie Walker, who was paralyzed during the Vietnam War. Walker was contacted by the Source when Darkseid first brought the war of the gods to Earth, and told it was his responsibility to take on the role.
The Racer makes use of what appear to be skis as his means of transport, much like how the Silver Surfer, another Kirby creation, uses a surfboard. New Gods are collected by the Racer at the moment of their deaths, and taken to Hadis (the Fourth World version of Hades).
According to Captain Atom #42, the Black Racer represents "death as inevitability", whereas Death of the Endless represents "death as compassionate release". Nekron, meanwhile, represents "Death as the ultimate opponent". This has been contested by Neil Gaiman, who says that Death of the Endless is the ultimate incarnation of death in the DC Universe.
The Black Racer makes an appearance in #1, present at the death of Orion. As with the other New Gods, his appearance has been redesigned; he now wears a sleeker armor only faintly resembling his classic appearance (his skis now appear to be highly stylized boots), and his poles appear much like scythes.[5] The Final Crisis Sketchbook states that J.G. Jones and Grant Morrison decided to play up the Black Knight aspect of the character in this new design.[6]
The Black Racer also appears at the end of #2, pursuing Barry Allen/Flash and the God-bullet that has been fired backwards through time.[7] In issue #6, Wally West suggests that the Black Racer and the Black Flash are one and the same; in The Flash: Rebirth #2 this idea is mentioned once again.[8] In issue #7, Barry and Wally, chased by the Black Racer, bring him to a mortally wounded Darkseid, who he takes in their place.
The New 52
The Black Racer makes his first appearance after the Flashpoint reboot in the Darkseid War storyline, where the Anti-Monitor fuses him with the Flash and forces him to kill Darkseid.[9][10] However, the two are ultimately separated, with the Racer killing Volthoom and freeing Jessica Cruz from his influence before vanishing.[10]
Powers and abilities
The Black Racer has the power to phase through solid objects and bring death to those he has chosen with a single touch. He travels through the air by means of two cosmically powered celestial skis, which can accelerate to the speed of light. His ski poles can also phase through solid matter to deliver the Black Racer's death touch. As a deity, he is also immortal, and wears a cosmic armor that give him super strength and endurance. When he has finished delivering his message of death, the Black Racer returns to the comatose life of Sgt. Willie Walker until he is summoned anew.
Other versions
An alternate universe variant of the Black Racer appears in the JLA story arc "Rock of Ages".
An alternate universe variant of the Black Racer appears in Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger.
An alternate universe variant of the Black Racer makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Kingdom Come.
An alternate universe variant of the Black Racer appears in DCeased.[11]
^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. 46. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 315. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
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