SAVANT

Real Name: Kenesha

Class: Extraterrestrial (Kherubim)

Occupation: Archaeologist, superhero

Group Affiliation:

Known Relatives: Lord Majestros (Majestic, father), Lady Harmony (grandmother, deceased), Lady Zannah (Zealot, mother), Nikolas Kamarov (Winter, half-brother)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: NYC, NY, Earth-50

First Appearance: WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #11 (June, 1994)

Powers: Like all Kherubim Savant was extraordinarily long-lived and possessed superhuman strength and durability. Savant possessed the seven-league boots which gave her the powers of teleportation and superspeed, and a bag that had no bottom.

History: Kenesha was the child of elite Kherubim warriors Zealot and Majestic. Zealot did not want motherhood to interfere with her duty as a warrior, so her mother Lady Harmony passed off Kenesha as her own child, and Kenesha grew up thinking Zealot was her sister.

(Zealot (Wildstorm) #2 (fb), 3 (fb)) - During the galaxy-spanning war of the Kherubim against the Daemonites the Kherubim sent a ship to Earth to establish a base there. Several warriors were aboard the ship, including Zealot, Majestic and Savant. After a Daemonite attack the Kherubim ship was about to crashland on Earth. Promethos begged Zealot to free him from captivity so he’d have a chance to survive. She reminded him that he was in the brig for mutiny, but he pleaded that he didn’t deserve to die and played on their past relationship. Majestic told her to ignore him, and went to find her sister Savant, but Zealot reluctantly freed him. Zealot said honor demanded he remain her prisoner, but Promethos took Savant hostage, threatening to snap her neck if Zealot didn’t give him complete freedom. Zealot launched an escape pod that took her, Promethos and Savant to safety. Promethos said they could rule Earth, and Zealot responded that she was but a child when she first met Promethos and he trained her, but as an adult she realized he was a creature of pure ambition while she was a woman of honor. Zealot freed Savant, breaking Promethos’ thumb. Promethos promised they’d cross paths again.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #11-13) - Cordelia Matheson studied an exhibit on Anteocles of Thrygia, a soldier and statesman contemporaneous of Alexander the Great, in the Smithsonian. The curator Charles Russell introduced himself, impressed by the granddaughter of the woman who’d bequeathed an entire wing to the museum. Their talk was interrupted when her “sister” Zealot sent her an emergency distress signal. Tapestry and her lover Soma had captured the WildC.A.T.S looking to alter their past and make Lord Emp loyal to her and sent the Triad after Zealot and her allies Miranda Tai and the Huntsman. Cordelia contacted Soldier, saying she needed his help and ordering him to forget his old grudges against Zealot. Cordelia said she was going to contact Majestic to help them save the WildC.A.T.S. The Triad pursued Zealot, Miranda and Huntsman, with H.A.R.M. launching missiles that scorched whole city blocks in Brooklyn. Attica was concerned about the attention they were attracting and suggested moving in for the kill in close quarters. Tapestry continued to reweave the histories and souls of the WildC.A.T.S making them into her loyal servants. Voodoo’s Raksha demanded to be fed, so Lord Emp called his assistants Jules and Stansfield to meet them and act as a sacrifice. Voodoo rebelled against hurting her friends, fighting the Raksha on the psychic plane. Huntsman was prepared to make a final stand against the Triad, asking Zealot to guard Miranda. Zealot’s wounds she’d suffered from the Raksha grew infected and she felt herself becoming possessed., but fought off the demonic control. Huntsman fought bravely, but was seemingly incinerated by Slag, who was always pleased to inflict pain. Miranda had a violent reaction to Huntsman’s seeming passing and Zealot went into battle against the Triad, but was surprised to find Huntsman unharmed. Zealot tapped into her magical abilities, casting a spell that turned slag back into a human being. Huntsman was impressed, but Zealot told him she’d just damned her soul. Savant, Majestic and Soldier arrived in time to take out the rest of the Triad, but Savant was distraught that they’d arrived after Zealot had been forced to cast a spell. Grifter arrived on the scene to offer his support as they prepared to confront Tapestry. Tapestry was watching them through a scrying spell and gloated that Zealot’s soul would forever belong to her. Jules and Stansfield, trusting Voodoo implicitly, lent their lifeforce to her to help her exorcise the Raksha. Zealot and company battled against the WildC.A.T.S and Alabaster Wu, who were now all loyal creations of Tapestry. Zealot and Tapestry engaged in a sorceress’ duel, but were quickly stalemated. Miranda Tai took a shard of an Orb of Power from Savants bag, swinging the battle in Zealot’s favor. The battle left Tapestry injured, and Soma fled with her, telling Zealot he’d kill her for harming his mistress. Savant told everyone that the magic Zealot used was learned from Tapestry herself, who’d always wanted to craft Zealot in her old image. She claimed the power was bound to corrupt Zealot, and she had to die. Majestic said that as a Kherubim lord hee agreed and had the authority to pass sentence on Zealot. Zealot agreed that she would eventually be unable to control her magical powers, and wished she could purge herself of them. Voodoo came to her aid, helping her purge Tapestry’s magic, and in the process returning the WildC.A.T.S to normal. Emp agreed to give Alabaster Wu the Brooklyn dockyards so that he could resettle his people and save lives.

(WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams (Image) #17) - Savant rested in her private quarters of the Smithsonian, planning for her next mission. She admired a trinket from ancient Atlantis and reflected on the good times she had in the now sunken city.