Samaritan is the titular posthumous overarching protagonist of the 2022 film of the same name.
He was the hero of Granite City, a superpowered man who protected the city from all threats, including that of his brother, Nemesis. While mentioned throughout the film, and with signs pointing to character Joe Smith being a retired Samaritan, Samaritan is ultimately revealed as dead. Regardless, his influence remained in Granite City, with many residents, including the main character Sam Cleary, believing him to still be alive. As a superhero, Samaritan wore an armored suit tinted blue, with a mask that only exposed his eyes and a chestplate bearing his S-shaped symbol.
He was portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, who also played his brother, though his face is seen only for a brief moment before his death. While Samaritan first appeared in a 2014 graphic novel of the same name, said graphic novel was based off the movie script, then unproduced as just a spec script.
Biography[]
Samaritan and his brother, Nemesis, were superhuman twins born in Granite City, the origin of their powers unknown, but seemingly a genetic mutation. When they were in school, their powers were revealed when a group of bullies attempted to attack them, and the brothers punched the bullies through walls and lockers. Some people of the city, terrified of the brothers and their power, rallied against them and set their house on fire, killing their parents, but the brothers survived. In the wake of the incident, Nemesis grew to hate humanity for what it had done to him, and became a supervillain who sowed anarchy and chaos throughout Granite City. Samaritan, on the other hand, vowed to use his powers for good, aiming to stop his brother and keep the innocent safe.
The two grew into adulthood, adopting their costumed identities, and battled across the city for many years, as Samaritan acted as a vigilante, saving the populace from common crimes, acts of Nemesis, and other disasters, becoming idolized by many. However, the city's poorer and criminal population tended to have a negative view of Samaritan, seeing him as just another police officer, who they saw as only protecting the wealthy and high-class. Additionally, throughout all their battles, Nemesis and Samaritan remained evenly matched. Eventually, Nemesis forged a sledgehammer charged with both his own blood and the hatred he had accumulated against the populace and Samaritan, giving him an edge over the hero.
Samaritan and Nemesis' final battle
With his hammer, Nemesis attacked the city's power plant, rupturing many critical areas to set the plant to blow, drawing Samaritan in as the plant caught on fire. The two fought, and while Nemesis gained the upper hand with his hammer, the battle eventually went to the roof of the burning plant, where Samaritan successfully disarmed Nemesis and took the hammer for himself, striking Nemesis to the ground with it. He then raised the hammer, in the right position to bring it down for a fatal blow to Nemesis. Nemesis, beaten, simply ordered his brother to finish the job, but Samaritan refused to kill his brother, instead tossing the hammer aside. He turned to leave, but then, the roof he was walking on caved in, right above roaring flames. Samaritan managed to grab on to a half-melted beam to avoid falling, and Nemesis, seeing how his brother had spared him, rushed to his aid, reaching down to pull him up. However, just as Nemesis grabbed hold of Samaritan's mask and hand, the beam broke off, and Samaritan slipped out of his brother's grasp, falling into the flames and dying from the heat of the exploding plant, leaving his mask behind.
After Samaritan's death, Nemesis had a change of heart, abandoning his hatred and throwing his hammer and mask into the flames as well, making it appear that he too had died in the battle, his life of villainy over. For 25 years after the battle, many residents of Granite City made theories about Samaritan being alive, culminating in a young boy named Sam Cleary seeing Nemesis, now in his civilian identity of Joe Smith, perform superhuman feats. Although he believed Joe was Samaritan, Joe later revealed the truth of the battle to Sam and a gang led by the crime lord Cyrus when the latter attempted to revive Nemesis' image to take control of the city. Although Samaritan was truly dead, Joe ultimately became a hero in his own right, and the spirit of Samaritan lived on with the people.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
- Superhuman Strength: Samaritan, like his brother, possessed superhuman strength with an unknown upper limit.
- Superhuman Durability: Samaritan's body was far more durable than the average human, able to bounce bullets off himself.
- Fast Regeneration: Samaritan could quickly regenerate from internal wounds, like broken bones, within less than a minute, with full recovery of all motor functions.
Abilities[]
- Martial Artist: Samaritan was a master martial artist, able to overpower armed opponents, including Nemesis, who had equal strength levels and was wielding a mystically charged hammer.
Weaknesses[]
- Durability Limit: Like his brother, Samaritan was not completely invulnerable, as his body was still susceptible to internal injuries from high-power impacts.
- Overheating: Samaritan's own regeneration creates excessive amounts of heat as it works, enough to make his body start literally steaming. If he were to overheat too far, Samaritan's heart would explode, and this also makes him vulnerable to the heat of flames and explosions. To negate this, Samaritan must quickly cool off his body upon regeneration or otherwise overheating.
- Nemesis' Hammer: Nemesis' hammer, forged with his blood and mystically charged with his hatred against humanity and his brother, was capable of easily harming Samaritan.