Solovar is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Solovar is a sapient gorilla and leader of a race of gorillas that first appeared as supporting characters of Barry Allen.
Solovar appears in The Flash, voiced by Keith David.
Publication history
Solovar first appeared in
The Flash #106 and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.
Fictional character biography
Solovar is the leader of
Gorilla City, a hidden city of intelligent gorillas. Renowned for his wisdom and psychic powers, he is virtually unchallenged, except by the villains
Gorilla Grodd and
Monsieur Mallah. The Flash helps Solovar escape after he is captured by humans and becomes his ally.
[ The Flash #106 (1959)]
Under Solovar's guidance, Gorilla City is a technological utopia. Eventually, he decides to reveal the city's existence and requests membership in the United Nations. After Gorilla City rebels kill Solovar,[ Justice League of America Annual #3 (1999)] he is succeeded by his nephew Ulgo and son Nnamdi. The former declares war on humanity and transforms the UN delegates and the Justice League into gorillas before they stop him.
In Blackest Night, Solovar is resurrected as a Black Lantern before the Flash kills him.[ Blackest Night: The Flash #1]
In The New 52 reboot, Solovar is the founder and first ruler of Gorilla City, regarded as the Forefather of his species. He and his species have existed since the apex of the Maya civilization and gain their abilities after it is destroyed by a Speed Force storm.[ The Flash (vol. 4) #14 (February 2013)]
Powers and abilities
Solovar possesses physical and mental abilities akin to those of Gorilla Grodd, stemming from the same meteorite that evolved them and the rest of their brethren.
[ The Flash (vol. 2) #69 (October 1992)] Though not as significantly developed as his evil counterpart, Solovar is a gifted mentalist in his own right. He is an able political activist, being king of his own highly advanced civilization and an accomplished diplomat with savvy knowledge of world affairs.
[ DC Comics Encyclopedia #1] Solovar, like all apes of Gorilla City, boasts an accomplished intellect. He was a contributing pioneer to the development of his nation's advanced science and technology, and knows all its workarounds. He also has the augmented physical abilities of all Super Apes of his homeland.
In Blackest Night, Solovar is reanimated by a Black Power Ring and gifted with all the abilities that come with being a Black Lantern, such as accelerated regeneration, emotional reading and consumption by removing the hearts of the living, simulation of old powers from his previous life and the typical functions allotted by a Power Ring.[ Blackest Night: The Flash #1-3 (2010)]
Other versions
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Solovar makes a minor appearance in Flashpoint as the original ruler of Gorilla City before being overthrown by Gorilla Grodd.
[ Flashpoint: Grodd of War one-shot]
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Solovar appears in Scooby-Doo Team-Up.
In other media
Television
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Solovar appears in the Challenge of the Superfriends episode "Revenge on Gorilla City", voiced by Michael Rye.
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Solovar appears in the Justice League two-part episode "The Brave and the Bold", voiced by David Ogden Stiers.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.] This version is an Albinism gorilla with white fur and black skin who lacks psionic powers and is Gorilla City's chief of security.
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Solovar appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Dead Reckoning", voiced again by David Ogden Stiers.
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An alternate universe variant of Solovar appears in The Flash two-part episode "Gorilla City", voiced by Keith David.
Film
Solovar appears in
, voiced by Darin De Paul.
Video games
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Solovar appears in Justice League Heroes, voiced by Nick Jameson. This version is an albino gorilla with white fur and gray skin.
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Solovar appears as a character summon in .
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Solovar appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by JB Blanc.
Miscellaneous
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Solovar appears in Young Justice #18 and #19. This version is the leader of a gorilla troop from Bwunda who were captured by a group of scientists led by the Brain and Ultra-Humanite and experimented on, gaining increased strength, intelligence and telepathy. In the present, Ultra-Humanite uses the gorillas to attack and capture the Team before they liberate them.
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Solovar appears in Injustice 2 as the kind yet ruthless leader of Gorilla City who shares Grodd's enmity towards humanity and seeks out aid from Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins to prune mankind's population to a more manageable size.
