| Timewalker | |
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Timewalker. From Timewalker #1, art by Don Perlin. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Valiant Comics |
| First appearance | Archer and Armstrong/Eternal Warrior #8 (March 1993) |
| Created by | Barry Windsor-Smith |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ivar Anni-Padda |
| Abilities | Immortal. Able to detect time arcs. Super-human strength and increased healing speed. |
Ivar the Timewalker is a character in the Valiant Comics universe. Created by artist and writer Barry Windsor-Smith, he first appeared in Archer and Armstrong #8 (March 1993) which was a flip book with Eternal Warrior #8.
The original series was 15 issues, was a central character in "Valiant: 1999 And Beyond" and was subsequently revamped for the VH2 Universe in 1998.
Contents |
Originally, there were meant to be two immortal brothers in the Valiant Comics Universe - Gilad, the Eternal Warrior and Aram the other, better known as Armstrong. Each is older than recorded history although Gilad is the elder by two years. It was later revealed, in Archer and Armstrong/Eternal Warrior #8 (The Musketeers Special) that there was a third brother, Ivar, who was the eldest.
Like his brothers, Ivar is immortal, ages very slowly, is exceptionally strong and fast, and is able heal quickly. However, he also has the unique ability to sense "time arcs" that allow him to pass from one time period to another but he has no control over what time period the "time arcs" will take him to. He travels these arcs as often as he can, searching for the arc that will lead him back to ancient Egypt and the woman he loves.
Because he has no control over what time period the time arcs take him, Ivar could be in the future one day and the past the next. He tries to carry gum with him as it pleases people throughout history, such as Genghis Khan. [1]
Several of Ivar's time-arcs have taken innocent people instead of him. Many of these end up in London circa 1992. They successfully kidnap Ivar. Along for the chaos is his brother Armstrong and and the man's monk apprentice Archer, both of whom star in the series Archer and Armstrong. The monk sticks up for Ivar because his admired mentor Armstrong does. There is a planned lynching at Stonehenge. [2]
Ivar has become involved in many historical periods, such as a 1950's era movie studio re-telling of the story of Moses.
The events of the Harbinger Wars, first put into motion in the Harbinger series and later shown briefly in Rai #0, are fully documented in Timewalker. In Timewalker issues #6-8 Ivar finds himself in the middle of the Harbinger Wars. Having seen the future devastation he tries to recruit Faith Herbert (aka Zephyr) to talk the renegades out of war but she only exacerbates things by calling for the renegades to take the battle to Toyo Harada.
When the Valiant universe was rebooted as part of Acclaim Comics, Ivar and his brothers remained largely unchanged. In this version Ivar is still the eldest and is still a time traveler although he has acquired a device, which he wears as a wrist band which gives him some control over his time jumps. However, the device is imperfect. For example in one story he tried to set it to take him to the flight of the zeppelin Hindenburg but instead it takes him to a future where the superhuman character named Zeppelin leads a resistance movement.
Timewalker is also featured in a two part limited series where he teams up with the time-tossed heroic Native American called Turok. They become involved with the villain Master Darque. [3]