| Speed Saunders | |
|---|---|
 Speed Saunders,Hawkman (vol. 4) #1. Artwork byRags Morales. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) |
| Created by | E.C. Stoner |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Cyril "Speed" Saunders |
| Team affiliations | All-Star Squadron |
| Abilities | Good detective skills, good brawler |
Cyril "Speed" Saunders is aDC Comics character, first appearing inDetective Comics as the first featured character in the anthology series around theGolden Age of Comic Books created byE.C. Stoner.[1] He is depicted as an adventurer and detective during the 1930s and 1940s. He would then later be revived in a supporting character role as the retconned grandfather of the currentKendra Saunders, and first cousin to the original Hawkgirl,Shiera Sanders Hall.[2]
Speed Saunders is the first featured character in the longest running seriesanthologyAmerican comic book series ofDC Comics namedDetective Comics in the first issue of the series starting in March 1937. He was regularly featured in the anthology series for about 50 issues.[3][4][5] In 1999James Robinson andDavid S. Goyer used the character inJSA Secret Files #1.
Cyril started as a G-Man, working in the FBI's River Patrol Division.[6] In addition to being a G-Man, he also seemed to be both an adventurer and detective depending on the needs of the story. He investigated murder cases, and also once fought with a mad scientist who'd transplanted a human brain into an ape.[7]
Eventually, it was revealed that he was a private investigator and later a member of theOSS. During that time he meetsWesley Dodds and the two become lifelong friends (JSA Secret Files #1 1999).
In 1938 Saunders became involved in theOffice of Strategic Services (OSS), participating in counterespionage operations throughoutWorld War II(JSA Secret Files #1 1999).
In the modern era, Cyril finds his orphaned granddaughter, Kendra Saunders; he takes her in and begins training her in hand-to-hand combat and other skills. He knows that she has a great destiny as the nextHawkgirl.
Cyril joined his friend Wesley Dodds on a trip toChina,Tibet, and theHimalayas. It is on Mt. Kailash that the two meet with the Gray Man. The two men receive the location of three babies, one of which is to receive the essence ofDr. Fate and so become the newest incarnation of that hero. Saunders leaves Wesley on that Mount to take the information toAlan Scott and theJSA, as well as toSanderson Hawkins (JSA Secret Files #1 1999).
Once in China proper, Cyril also contacts his granddaughter Kendra and gives her information on one of the babies. He tells her to go toVancouver,British Columbia and to protect that baby (JSA #2 1999).
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