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[Waverider from Flash 94]
Real Name: Matthew Ryder
Known Relatives: Janet (wife), Alex (son), Karen (daughter)
Occupation: Guardian of time
Former Occupation: Scientist
Group Affiliation: Linear Men
Base of Operations: Vanishing Point
First Appearance: Armageddon 2001 #1 (May 1991)
See Also: Time and Hypertime

Ten years from now, Earth’s heroes were fated to die, betrayed and murdered by one of their own, who would then cement control over the Earth under the enigmatic name “Monarch.”

As a child, Matthew Ryder had been saved from the rubble of a collapsed building by a superhero—but, blinded by the sudden light, he had been unable to recognize who. Decades later, inspired by this pre-Monarch memory, and driven to desperation in the rigid, authoritarian world of Monarch’s reign, Ryder tricked his way into a time-travel experiment which changed him into Waverider, able both to travel through time and to see into a person’s probable future with a touch. Arriving in our time, he searched for the one who would eventually become the Monarch (see Armageddon 2001).

Once the crisis was averted, and Waverider had rescued his younger self from a collapsed building, he found a group of “time police” who called themselves the Linear Men, originally led by the Matthew Ryder from the new, free timeline. They clashed a number of times over goals; the Linear Men were devoted to protecting history, whereas Waverider was willing to alter history for the sake of the people living it. Eventually they came to an agreement, and Waverider joined the team.

During the Zero Hour crisis, Monarch discovered he had absorbed the essence of his former partner, and used this knowledge to become Extant. Extant subsequently battled and absorbed Waverider. In order to resolve the crisis, the alternate Matthew Ryder became the new Waverider in his alter ego’s place.

Text by Kelson Vibber. Do not copy without permission.

Top of Page Primary Sources

  • Armageddon 2001 (May–October 1991), Archie Goodwin, Dennis O’Neill
  • “Time and Time Again Again” - Superman #61 (November 1991), Dan Jurgens
  • “Time Ryders” - Superman #73 (November 1992), Dan Jurgens

Art

  • Flash (second series) #94 (September 1994) - Carlos Pacheco and Wayne Faucher or José Marzan, Jr.

Profiles

  • The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2004)

Significant Flash/Impulse Appearances

  • Flash Annual 4 (1991): “Family Business,” Mark Waid
  • Flash #94 (September 1994): “Reckless Youth Chapter 3: Just Do It,” Mark Waid
  • Impulse/Atom Double-Shot (February 1998): “Roll Back,” Dan Jurgens