with the other New Gods, his appearance has been redesigned; he now wears a sleeker armor only faintly resembling his classic appearance (his skis now appear to be highly stylized boots), and his poles appear much like scythes. The Final Crisis Sketchbook states that J.G. Jones and Grant Morrison decided to play up the Black Knight aspect of the character in this new design. The Black Racer also appears at the end of #2, pursuing Barry Allen/The Flash and the God-bullet that has been fired backwards through time. In issue #6, Wally West suggests that the Black Racer and the Black Flash are one and the same; in The Flash: Rebirth #2 this idea is mentioned once again. In issue #7, Barry and Wally West, chased by the Black Racer, bring him to a mortally wounded Darkseid, whom he decides to take in their place. The New 52 The Black Racer makes his first appearance after the Flashpoint reboot in the Darkseid War storyline set in The New 52. When his master went to war against the Anti-God, he was summoned to destroy Darkseid's enemy, but the latter stripped the Racer of Darkseid's grasp and merged it with a being of speed as the weapon to deliver a deathly blow against the Dark God, finally killing the despot of Apokolips. The Racer was quick to seize control of his new host's mind, but his efforts were almost negated by the Flash's will to resist his corrupting ideals, instigating a conflict among the two. The Black Racer was separated from The Flash by the powers of the child of Superwoman and Alexander Luthor, who possessed the same ability to absorb the super powers of others as his father. However, the Racer could not be absorbed, and instead was only separated from its host. As it needed to claim a life before it could disappear, it struck Power Ring; Jessica Cruz was spared and instead the life of Volthoom was claimed, and his ring destroyed. The Racer then vanished. Powers and abilities The Black Racer has the power to phase through solid objects and bring death to those he has chosen with a single touch. He travels through the air by means of two cosmically powered celestial skis, which can accelerate to the speed of light. His ski poles can also phase through solid matter to deliver the Black Racer's deathstroke. As