Savage Land

The Savage Land is a hidden fictional prehistoric land appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. Throughout time, it has served as a basis for many story arcs in Uncanny X-Men as well as in related books.

Publication history

The Savage Land first appeared in X-Men #10 (March 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional history

The Savage Land was created by the alien Nuwali at the behest of the other-dimensional, nigh-omnipotent aliens known as the Beyonders (not to be confused with the Beyonder of the Secret Wars). The Beyonders sought to observe the process of evolution under relatively controlled conditions and had the Nuwali set up a number of game preserves on several planets. One of these planets was Earth during the Triassic period where the Nuwali chose a valley in Antarctica surrounded by active volcanoes, where they installed a number of advanced technological devices in order to maintain a tropical climate. The aliens then stocked the area with all manner of Earth life over the following several millennia. They also brought over the Man-Apes, earlier hominid ancestors of Homo sapiens.

The Beyonders eventually grew bored with the experiment, and the Nuwali stopped maintaining the Savage Land during the Late Pleistocene (the Ice Age era). However, the self-maintaining technology that allowed the pocket of tropical climate was left running, and many species which became extinct in other areas of the Earth continued to thrive within the Savage Land.

Later on, a group of human survivors from Atlantis sailed to Antarctica before the "Great Cataclysm" which sank Atlantis into the ocean. There, they discovered a cavern where they found an immense climate-controlling device and harnessed the technology used to keep the Savage Land's volcanoes working. They named their location "Pangea", which is Atlantean for "paradise".

They mastered genetic engineering, which had been used on the Man-Apes when the Nuwali were still maintaining the Savage Land area. They used their genetic engineering techniques to transform other Savage Land inhabitants like the Golden People, the Lizard Men, the Reptile Men, the Tubantis, and others. The Atlanteans then forced them to work for them until these animal people revolted. After a time of war, the animal people demanded civil rights and the Atlanteans used technology to expand the Savage Land's surface area for the animal people to live in. When the Great Cataclysm struck, the Atlantean empire fell and thanks to the machines, the Savage Land locations were spared from sinking into the sea.

In more recent years, the Savage Land was rediscovered by Lord Robert Plunder, who took back a sample of the metal known as "anti-metal" or "Antarctic vibranium" with him. This mysterious metal had the ability to produce vibrations which would liquefy all other metals. Fleeing from those who sought to steal this discovery, Plunder took his eldest son Kevin with him for a second trip into the Savage Land. Unfortunately, the elder Plunder was killed by a local tribe of Man-Apes.

Kevin survived, thanks to the timely intervention of the orphaned sabretooth tiger later known as Zabu. He grew to adulthood in the Savage Land, becoming the adventurer known as Ka-Zar. Ka-Zar had many team-ups with the X-Men, who first revealed the Savage Land's existence, Spider-Man, and many other superheroes who had visited the Savage Land. He later met and married Shanna the She-Devil.

The Savage Land's existence is common knowledge throughout the world. At one time, there were press junkets, sponsored by the oil company Roxxon. Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker was sent and helped uncover Roxxon's unethical and dangerous manipulation of the local resources.

At one point, Spider-Man teamed up with Ka-Zar to save Gwen Stacy from Kraven the Hunter and Gog at the time when her class and J. Jonah Jameson were visiting the Savage Land.^[1]

Many villains have threatened the Savage Land, including Sauron, Garokk, Magneto, and Thanos.

In issue #257 of "The Avengers" the Savage Land was decimated by an evil alien named Terminus (or one of his pawns) when he destroyed the machines that maintained the tropical climate. Many of the Savage Land's native people were saved from the ensuing destruction by M'rin: The Warlord of The Skies who took them into her own native dimension to safety. Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Zabu wandered until the High Evolutionary (with help from the X-Men, M'rin and Garokk) restored the region and its creatures, allowing them to return to the Savage Land with their newborn son. The other natives who had taken refuge in M'rin's dimension returned as well.

Sometime after that, Spider-Man had Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy emigrated to the Savage Land after rescuing them from Ringmaster.^[2]

Evidence in the pages of the New Avengers suggests that S.H.I.E.L.D. is operating in the Savage Land, mining vibranium while using the indigenous population as slave labor, but these operations have been classified, and the operation was apparently decimated by a missile strike from the Helicarrier during an attack by the New Avengers. The team only survived thanks to Iron Man's force field.

The Savage Land is featured in the limited series Claws, serving as a place of revenge for Wolverine and Black Cat on Arcade and White Rabbit. After defeating the two villains, the heroes left them stranded.

In X-Men: Divided We Stand, Cyclops and Emma Frost were vacationing there until Archangel contacted them about San Francisco looking like the 1960s.^[3]

Alyosha Kravinoff fled to the Savage Land after Punisher sabotaged his zoo.^[4]

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Ka-Zar and Shanna discover Skrulls mining for vibranium. The New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers head toward the Savage Land where a downed Skrull ship was sighted. Luke Cage opens the downed Skrull ship and a large group of Marvel superheroes with older appearances and costumes come out, speaking as if they believe themselves to be authentic. They soon break out into a fight where the Spider-Man from the ship is killed by a Tyrannosaurus and regresses to a Skrull. The Hawkeye from the ship is killed by Ronin and regresses to a Skrull. This causes the superheroes from the ship to scatter into the jungle. The New Avengers' Spider-Man is knocked away by a Tyrannosaurus and ends up confronting Ka-Zar, Shanna, Zabu, and Sauron as well as some of the other locals (ranging from the Sun People, the Swamp Men, and the Tree People). At the point where Spider-Man accuses Ka-Zar and Shanna for being Skrulls, the Captain America from the ship attacks who thinks the same thing for Spider-Man.^[5] When the Captain America is hit by a dart coated in some type of poison, it regresses to a Skrull named Pit'o Nilli and is then killed by Shanna. The ship's Beast is trapped underground with Wonder Man. The two try to escape together, but Beast betrays Wonder Man as the two are about to return to the surface. During this, Iron Man uses an abandoned scientific facility nearby to try and recreate his original armor. When it came to the confrontation with both Avengers teams, the Savage Land natives, and the heroes from the ship, Mister Fantastic and Abigail Brand used a laser to identify the heroes from the ship as Skrulls. Ka-Zar joined the Avengers teams into fighting the Skrulls in New York while Shanna and the other Savage Land natives hunted down the remaining Skrulls hiding out in the Savage Land.

After the events of Second Coming during the Heroic Age storyline, Cyclops takes some time off to go hunting in the Savage Land during which he encounters Steve Rogers. Steve Rogers suggests to Cyclops that he brings the X-Men out of the shadows and into the light as heroes. Steve Rogers also arranges to have the president award Scott the Presidential Medal of Freedom which sways the people of San Francisco to welcome the X-Men back.

Around the same time following their defeat after the hunt for "spiders" in the Grim Hunt storyline, the Kravinoff Family are also currently residing in the Savage Land.

It is later revealed that Miek and the other Imperials and Natives from Sakaar that came with Hulk back in World War Hulk had settled in the Savage Land constructing a village called New Imperia.^[6]

During the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, Captain America ends up fighting Gambit in the Savage Land.^[7]

As part of the Marvel NOW! event, some of The Garden's evolution seeds had fallen into the Savage Land. While working to get it under control, the Avengers find that A.I.M. is also there where they test the extracted formula from one of the pods and tests it on their intern Dr. Jema. The formula puts a strain on Dr. Jema just as the Avengers arrive.^[8]

Conservational status

The United Nations of the Marvel Comics Universe considers the Savage Land an international wildlife preserve and forbids any commercial exploitation of its resources.^[9]

Points of Interest

There are some famous locations in the Savage Land:

• Altar of Death – This is where the Swamp Men perform their sacrifices to their gods.
• City of the Sun God – It is in ruins.
• Eternity Mountains
• Fallen Heights
• Gondora – A city that resided beneath a dormant volcano. It was destroyed when the volcano erupted.^[10]
• Gorahn Sea – An inland sea.
  • Naghen Island – An island in the Gorahn Sea.
  • Tubanti Territory – The domain of the Tubanti.
• High Evolutionary's Citadel – This was where the High Evolutionary resided when he once operated in the Savage Land.
• Lost Lake
• Mystic Mists
• New Imperia – A village inhabited by the refugees from Sakaar.
• Pangea – This location is where the Atlanteans had their colony and found the Nuwali technology there.
  • Athmet –
    • Pterons – It is the home of the Pteros.
  • Atlantea – The largest territory in Pangea.
    • Chotorea – A frozen region where the Snowmen live.
  • Mot –
  • Shalan –
    • Aerie Shalan – A city that is the home of the Aerians.
    • Botor – It is the home of the Tree People.
    • Mount Flavius – A mountain in Shalan.
  • Thonos –
  • Zarhan – An artificial part of Pangea that contains Lemuria and Pandori.
    • Lemuria – The domain of the Lemurans.
    • Pandori – The domain of the Cat People.
  • Zuvi Land –
• Sauron's Citadel – This is where Sauron resides.
• Skull Island – This island was attacked by the Swamp Men.
• Stock Lands
• Tabarr River
• Valley of Geysers – This is where Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, and Zabu fought Gregor.
• Village of the United Tribes – The representatives of the United Tribes reside here.

Savage Land races

There are many types of races in the Savage Land and Pangea. The Nuwali transported primitive man now known as the Man-Apes, which unlike the rest of the world thrived until the 21st century. The next arrivals were the Ancient Atlanteans who added the region as part of their empire. They used the Nuwali technology to mutate the Man-Apes into various Beast-Men to perform certain tasks. These slaves rebelled after the great Cataclysm and made Pangea their home. Many Atlanteans remained and their decedents became the various human tribes, with some clinging to the old ways and technology but most forget and resort to more primitive hunter-gatherer societies. Among the Savage Land races are:

• Aerians – The Aerians are a race of humanoids with large feathered wings which allow them to fly. Each member has a different color of skin and matching feathers (green, blue, orange, etc.). They are located in the city of Aerie Shalan which is located on a stone pillar high above Pangea. They are ruled by a technocracy, led by a chief scientist. Their technology advanced far beyond that of human scientists because they adapted and improved upon surviving antediluvian Atlantean technology. The Aerians became the principal allies of Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil in Pangea, who aided them in their war with the Pterons.^[11]
• Ape-Men – The Ape-Men consist of all the species of upright apes that developed into man. Each group lives in its own territory and has its own level of technology. The most advanced species of Ape-Man (the Neanderthals) are the most dominant human race of the Savage Land and are capable of bringing down even the largest of dinosaurs.^[12]
• Awakilius – The Awakilius are a tribe of pygmies that live in the Savage Land and are descended from the immigrants that came from Africa. Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil prevented the Awakilius chief from sacrificing a Lemuran.^[13]
• Bhadwuans – The Bhadwuans are a society of advanced people that live in the Savage Land that are the supposed descendants of the Atlanteans. They specialize in magic, they can fly, and they can discharge energy when they act in unison. The live in the mystical realm of Bhadwuan and watched the Earth for a millennium. Some Bhadwuans wanted to change the Savage Land's environment only for them to be stopped by Ka-Zar.^[14]
• Cat People – The Cat People are a nomadic cat-like race that dwell in Pandori, Pangea and in the periphery of the Lemuran society. They are a hunter and gatherer society. The Cat People worship and kill the Smilodons and other big cats that live in the Savage Land. These Cat People are much different from the Cat People that are associated with Tigra.^[15]
• Cliff Forest People – The Cliff Forest People are a tribe of humans that live on a steep cliff in the Savage Land. They were allied with the Durammi against an unnamed barbarian tribe.^[16]
• Dissians – The Dissians (also known as the Children of Dis) are underground yellow-skinned humanoids who are the descendants of the Dante's Crew. They reside in the underground city of Belasco beneath the Savage Land. Some Dissians can emit bursts of energy from their eyes.^[17]
• Durammi – The Durammi are a tribe of humans that live in a peaceful valley within the Savage Land. They were allied with the Cliff Forest People against an unnamed barbarian tribe.^[16]
• Ethereals – The Ethereals are a race of advanced humanoids that were genetically enhanced by the Nuwali thousands of years ago. Until recently, they were considered to be mythical by the other tribes of the Savage Land. They are culturally arrogant and hostile to outsiders.^[18]
• Fall People – The Fall People are a hunter-gatherer that live in villages, and are led by a chieftain. Their appearance and culture were similar to the Native Americans. Ka-Zar was very friendly with the Fall People, and their chieftain Tongah was his best friend. Most of the Fall People were killed in attacks by the Sun People and the extraterrestrial Quarlians. The Fall People later befriended the X-Men. The Fall People are a strong faction in the United Tribes.^[19]
• Golden People – The Golden People are a race of yellow-skinned humans that reside in the Savage Land. They are the descendants of the Gortokians of Subterranea. They are longtime allies of Ka-Zar and have salvaged Atlantean technology.^[20]
• Gondorans – The Gondorans are a tribe of humans that inhabit Gondora, a city in a dormant volcano. It was ruled by a God-Man whose actual name was Montgomery Ford, a rogue scientist from the outside world. He used technology to build the city and rule with an iron fist. Gondora has been destroyed with some of its inhabitants escaping.^[10]
• Gorankians – The Gorankians are a race of gray-skinned, ape-like, semi-intelligent, humanoid creatures with small tusks coming from their lower jaw, pointed ears, and surprisingly small amount of hair. They are tribal in nature and led by Etuban. The Gorankians are a hunter-gather society and are long-time enemies of the Uruburians. Ka-Zar helped settle their dispute by having them play different games which includes baseball in order to prevent an all-out war.^[21]
• Gwundas – The Gwundas are a race of primitive humans that live in the Savage Land. They are a hunter-gatherer society. Ka-Zar once saved their tribe from a Tyrannosaurus that they accidentally unleashed.^[21]
• Hauk'kas – The Hauk'kas are a race of Saurians that evolved from dinosaurs the same time way that humanity has evolved from apes. The Hauk'kas possess technology, culture, and civilization that rivals the human race. The Hauk'kas have a good knowledge of the superhuman side of the human race. A council of older Saurians serve as the leaders of the Hauk'kas. The X-Men first encountered the Hauk'kas when investigating the mysterious resurrection of Psylocke at the same time when the Hauk'kas were capturing the Saurians that the X-Men once helped to emigrate to the Savage Land. The Hauk'kas are currently on neutral terms with the human race.^[22]
• Hill-Forest People – The Hill-Forest People are a race of primitive humans that live in the Savage Land. They are an agricultural tribe when they stumbled upon a capsule containing Grond of Gondwanaland (who was placed in suspended animation by his creators). The Hill-Forest People worshiped the capsule until Grond woke up and was defeated by Ka-Zar.^[23]
• Jeriens – The Jeriens are a race of humanoid Pterosaur-like creatures that live in the Savage Land.^[24]
• Kantos – The Kantos are a race of primitive humans that live near an underground river.^[23]
• Karems – The Karems are a race of primitive humans that live in the Savage Land. They are a hunter-gatherer society. Many of the Karem were abducted by the Nuwali and Plunderer using the Motyka Bone (a teleportation bone that was lost for centuries), but were rescued by Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil.^[25]
• Klantorrs – The Klantorrs are a race of Saurian-like beings with Pterosaur-like wings that inhabit the forest-country surrounding Palandor. They have a taste for human flesh. Possibly resulted from the genetic tinkering of the ancient Atlanteans just like the genetic tinkering that resulted in the creations of the Aerians and Pterons. They have occasionally hunted the Palandorians.^[26]
• Lemurans – The Lemurans are a society of humans that inhabit Lemura, an area of the section of Pangea known as Zarhan. Their level of technology is the same as Medieval England. These humans are strongly loyal to their monarchy. The Lemurans were longtime allies of the Pterons.^[21]
• Lizard Men – The Lizard Man are a lizard-like race that were one of the Beast-Men created by the Ancient Atlanteans. There had been two different Lizard Men that lived in the Savage Land where they are much different from the Lizard Men of Subterranea and the Lizard Men of Tok (from the Microverse).
  • Lizard Men of Vala Kuri – The first group of Lizard Men are a hunter-gatherer society and reside in the city of Vala Kuri. The Lizard Men of Vala Kuri are peaceful in nature. They are protected from the Sun People by Ka-Zar and Garokk. They have ancestors in the Reptile Men and the Waidians.^[19]
  • Queen Iranda's Lizard Men – The second group of the Lizard Men were actually a group of mystically-altered humans that went missing from their village and turned into Lizard Men by Queen Iranda. When Ka-Zar comes to their aid, he barely escapes them and manages to escape with Queen Iranda's crown which regressed Queen Iranda back to a lizard and the Lizard Men back to their human forms.^[27]
• Locot – The Locots are a society of hunter-gatherers that have been at war with the Noweks.^[28]
• Man-Apes – The Man-Apes are tribal, highly primitive cave-dwelling humanoids that resemble Neanderthals. These savage creatures were the first humanoid beings native to Earth to inhabit the Savage Land. Atlantean scientists used Man-Apes as subjects in the experiments by which they created the various non-human races of the Savage Land. The members of the Man-Ape known as Maa-Gor's tribe are said to have been the last living Man-Apes in the Savage Land. Ka-Zar killed all the male Man-Apes of Maa-Gor's tribe except for Maa-Gor himself. It seems likely that the Man-Apes are the only remaining humanoids on Earth that hasn't had their genome tampered with, like the other races in Savage Land or like the humans in the outside world were experimented with by the Celestials.^[29]
• N'Galans – The N'Galans are humanoid dinosaurs with possible links to the Lizard-Men and are a hunter-gatherer society. Most are highly superstitious. Kraven the Hunter's trainer Gregor forced the N'Galans to work for him when he served the interests of Pillard in the Savage Land.^[14]
• Neo-Men – The Neo-Men are a society of mutated humans that were mutated by Nuwali technology.^[30]
• Nhu'Gari – The Nhu'Gari are a race of mutated humans with winged forms. They were actually altered by the radioactive properties of Hidden Valley which also provides them with telepathy. The Nhu'Gari once allied with Magneto. Their city was later destroyed by volcanic upheavals.^[31]
• Nowek – The Noweks are a society of hunters and gatherers that have been at war against the tribes that are less developed.^[28]
• Palandorians – The Palandorians are a tribe of humans that live on an island surrounded by a lake in the original Savage Land. They live in the city of Palandor and rode giant lizards. Their culture likely derives form ancient Atlantis (same as the Lemurans). The Palandorians were often preyed upon by the Klantorrs. During the reign of Queen Omel, the Palandorians performed human sacrifices which ceased when a mutated Apatosaurus destroyed the temple which killed Queen Omel.^[26]
• Pterons – The Pterons greatly resemble humanoid Pteranodons, and have the ability to fly with their enormous wings. They inhabit the caverns of Athmeth beneath Pangea. They are ruled by their king Khalf. The Pterons launched a war against the Aerians which ended with the deaths of much of the Pteron race in a cave-in.^[11]
• Reptile Men – The Reptile Men are a race of green-skinned Saurians that reside in the marshes of the Savage Land. They are a hunter and gatherer society. When the alien Quor crash-landed on Earth and encountered the Reptile Men, he convinced them to make him their leader and provided them with advanced technology. The Reptile Men started to plunder the Vibranium deposits of the other tribes like the Golden People which attracted the attention of Ka-Zar. Once Ka-Zar managed to defeat Quor with the help of the Golden People, the Reptile Men retreated.^[20]
• Rock Tribe – The Rock Tribe are a group of stone-like humanoids.
• Saurians – The Saurians (also known as "The People") were originally lizards that were exposed to the first nuclear bomb test in New Mexico. It took them awhile for them to evolve and they built an underground city. They did have an encounter with Ms. Marvel when she discovered their underground city. When the Dire Wraiths attacked, the Saurians encountered Rom. The Saurian survivors hid from the humans until they later learned of the Savage Land. The Saurians were spotted by some people when traveling through Argentina and were rescued by the X-Men who helped them get to the Savage Land. They became part of the United Tribes at the time when the Savage Land Mutates attacked. Sometime later, the Saurians were captured by the Hauk'ka yet were rescued by the X-Men.^[32]
• Snowmen – The Snowmen lived on the high steppes of Pangea and resemble Yeti-like creatures. They are a hunter-gatherer society. Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil encountered two of them channeling the lava from Mt. Flavius.^[33]
• Sun People – The Sun People control the Sun Empire, formerly ruled by their priestess-queen Zaladane. They were the most powerful grouping of sentient beings within the Savage Land and they established a small empire through conquest. They conquered in the name of their sun god Garokk. Although the Sun People were depicted as green-skinned in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #19 (December 1987), they are in fact indistinguishable from ordinary Caucasians (see Zaladane). The cited Handbook entry in fact erroneously depicted a Sheenarian, member of an extradimensional race who once invaded the Savage Land (first seen in Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle #14). During the Secret Invasion storyline, the Sun People were depicted among Ka-Zar's allies in his fight against the Skrulls, presumably as a result of the aforementioned error being used as reference.^[19]
• Swamp Men – The Swamp Men are humanoids covered head to toe in hair that live in the swamplands of the Savage Land. These tribal people have a level of technology comparable to that of Europe's Dark Ages, rode giant birds, and are highly skilled in devising weaponry. They are continual enemies of Ka-Zar. The Swamp Men long worshipped Umbu the Unliving, a gigantic robot constructed by the alien Saggitarians. The Savage Land Mutates are Swamp Men who Magneto subjected to mutation by artificial means. During the Secret Invasion storyline, some of the Swamp Men joined Ka-Zar in his fight against the Skrulls.^[29]
• Sylandans – The Sylandans are a society of humans that are descendants of the ancient Atlanteans. They live in Sylanda, a city of glass located in the Savage Land's Mountain of Darkness. They cling to their Atlantean ways as their level of technology is high. The Sylandans use the Water of Life to cure all diseases and used it to treat the people of the Savage Land for centuries. Their city was later damaged by a large dinosaur.^[34]
• Tandar-Kaans – The Tandar-Kaans are a tribe of people that live in the Savage Land. They are expert ship builders and fishermen. They formed a community of barges on the river Tabar allowing them to move to new shores when they want to.^[35]
• Tokchis – The Tokchis have not yet been seen in the comics yet have been mentioned a lot. They are mentioned to be a human society of hunters and gatherers that use walkie-talkies. Ka-Zar formed an alliance with them to coordinate efforts to hunt.^[11]
• Tordon-Naans – The Tordon-Naans inhabit a city called Tordon-Naa in a secluded valley deep in the Savage Land behind the "curtain of gods' tears." They worship the god Ilaka-Aron and their beliefs were manipulated Sylitha who sought greater power. The Tordon-Naans are a lost Hindu colony as their culture closely resembles that of ancient India.^[36]
• Tree People – The Tree People are a race that looks much like humans though they have long, prehensile monkey-like tails. They live in Botor (a treetop village in Pangea) and are a hunter-gatherer society. Shanna the She-Devil was briefly married to one of the Tree People named Mele. During the Secret Invasion storyline, some of the Tree People joined Ka-Zar in his fight against the Skrulls.^[37]
• Tribe of Fire – The Tribe of Fire is a tribe of humans that live in the Savage Land. They are a hunter and gatherer society. Some of the tribe members were used in an experiment conducted by an Apocalypse robot until it was destroyed by Wolverine. The cyborgs from these experiments joined the Tribe of Fire.^[38]
• Tubanti – The Tubantis are a race of fish people that dwell in Pangea's inland Gorahn Sea. They briefly served the demon Belasco when he tried to conquer the Savage Land. The Tubantis are allies with the Lemurans and the other races of the Savage Land.^[39]
• Uruburians – The Uruburians are a race of unspecified humanoid beasts with fangs that live in the Savage Land as a hunter-gatherer tribe. The Uruburians are long-time enemies of the Gorankians. Ka-Zar helped settle their dispute by having them play different games which includes baseball in order to prevent an all-out war.^[21]
• Waidians – The Waidians are a race of green-skinned Saurians that live in the Savage Land. They are a hunter and gatherer society and are very peaceful. When Ka-Zar was a teenager, he was trained by the wise Waidian sage named Benazu.^[14]
• Water People – The Water People are a tribe of humans that live in the Savage Land.^[40]
• Zebra People – The Zebra People are swamp dwellers and are also known as the Swamp Tribe. They are a racially integrated society made of up both white and black people, who wear makeup over their body in the form of zebra-like stripes. White Zebra People wear black stripes and black Zebra People wear white stripes. The Zebra People are known to ride dinosaurs that they have domesticated.^[41]
  • Lizard People – There is also a rogue faction of the Zebra People called the Lizard People which wore reptilian armor and worked for Zaur and Sheeas the Witch. Zaur and those that were members of the Lizard People returned to the Zebra People after the death of Sheeas the Witch. Of course some of them may have preserved the traditions of the Lizard People.^[41]

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse reality, the Savage Land houses Avalon, a secret haven for humans and mutants. A method to reach it exists, but it will only cost the refugee everything they own and even then, there is no guarantee of arriving alive. It is led by Destiny, a pacifist Juggernaut and Douglas Ramsey, the latter of whom provides a field that allows everybody to understand each other despite speaking different languages. Avalon was eventually found by Apocalypse forces and destroyed by the Shadow King who mind-controlled its inhabitants into killing each other. He was defeated, but casualties were high.

Age of Ultron

During the Age of Ultron storyline, the superhero resistance against Ultron had relocated to the Savage Land to come up with a plan to defeat Ultron.^[42]

Marvel Zombies Return

In Marvel Zombies Return, the Savage Land, like everywhere else on Earth, has been eaten by the superhuman zombies, with the surviving zombies musing that the Savage Land was their 'number one' meal in the aftermath, as it contained such an abundance of food that they were actually full for a full hour after eating there, as opposed to the usual ravenous hunger they feel. It is also the location of the final battle between the zombies and 'New Avengers'- three zombies who have beaten their hunger and the cyborg James Rhodes- at the storyline's conclusion, with Rhodes using one of his fingers to lure the zombies into an ambush.

Earth X

In the Earth X universe, the Savage Land is where Magneto built his sanctuary called Sentinel City.

House of M

In the House of M reality created by an insane Scarlet Witch, the Savage Land was known as "Pangea." It is also known that Kevin Plunder has been granted political asylum in the United States for his human rights activism in this prehistoric land.

Marvel 2099

In the alternate future depicted in Marvel 2099, an alien attack floods much of the earth rendering the Savage Land the only habitable space. Thousands of refugees (including Miguel O'Hara and most of X-Nation and X-Men) make new homes here. It is not without its own dangers.

The Transformers

In the Transformers Marvel comics continuity, shortly after the Ark' spacecraft crashed on Earth 4 million years before the present day, the computer aboard the Ark detected Shockwave landing on the prehistoric Savage Land. The Ark used the last of its capabilities to revive the five Autobot warriors by scanning the Savage Land's dominant lifeform: dinosaurs, and rebuild them into the Dinobots. The Dinobots fought Shockwave, a battle that ended in permanent stalemate when Snarl brought down the mountain that Shockwave stood upon, knocking all of them into a tar pit. They remained deactivated until the year 1984.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Savage Land is a large island somewhere in the southern hemisphere. It was originally said to have been created by Magneto, using theories and methods developed by Professor X, as the site for genetic experiments. Magneto's goal there was to create a new human race who would be less trouble to rule than the current one, that he decided to restart evolution from scratch, and control the process to his own specifications. As a result of this, at its current level of advancement, it has dinosaurs and that Magneto has shown no further interest in advancing the evolution of the Savage Land. It has remained in its dinosaur state since the departure of Professor X. This story is later revealed as false (see below).

Magneto's original base was on the Savage Land. When it was destroyed in the first arc of Ultimate X-Men, the computer controlling the base gained self-awareness, and hijacked the genetic experiment project to create an army of nanotech-enhanced, zombie-like thralls. It planned to take over the world, but was stopped by Wolverine, Cyclops, and Kitty Pryde.

The Savage Land is now the home of Longshot, who managed to get there in a small boat which launched from Genosha. Longshot recently aided Magneto in breaking out of prison, and the two may be planning something.

In Ultimates 3, it is revealed that the dinosaurs were conjured by Scarlet Witch as a result of her reality warping abilities and not by Magneto's creation. The aboriginal inhabitants were wiped out and only a small tribe of survivors including Ka-Zar and Shanna remain.

The inhabitants help the Ultimates remove the last of Magneto's forces as of Ultimatum.

What If?

The Savage Land appears in a What If story where the Savage Land was terraforming and has taken over New York. Both Ka-Zar and Parnival sacrifice themselves to return New York to normal, with Shanna the only survivor of his "family."^[43]

Additionally, in the What If issues involving alternative outcomes to the Age of Ultron, a group composed of Wolverine, the Hulk, Peter Parker and a Ghost Rider venture to the Savage Land in order to prevent a Master Mold under the control of a future version of Ezekiel Stane from unleashing a wave of Stark armors on the world.^[44]

In other media

Television

• Although not officially named, The Savage Land appears to be the setting in the 1967 Spider-Man episode, "Neptune's Nose Cone". J. Jonah Jameson Sends both Peter and a pilot named Penny Jones down to Antarctica to cover a downed space probe, But they are caught in a blizzard and were forced down into a tropical area. Peter then had to rescue Penny from being sacrificed, along with the titular probe, down a volcano while dealing with both the bizarre wildlife and the angry natives.
• The Savage Land appeared in the 1981 Spider-Man episode "The Hunter and the Hunted." J. Jonah Jameson hires Kraven the Hunter to capture the last smilodon located there who turned out to be Zabu. After Kraven the Hunter is defeated, Ka-Zar and Zabu returned to the Savage Land.
• The Savage Land was referenced in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The Crime of All Centuries." It was where Kraven the Hunter had the dinosaurs he hunted exported to New York as part of a special exhibit which served as a cover-up for his plans to raise a dinosaur army. After Kraven the Hunter's defeat, the dinosaurs he captured were returned to the Savage Land.
• The Savage Land appeared in some episodes of the X-Men TV series. It served as the location of Mister Sinister's base. A prominent feature about it was a device designed by Sinister that negated the powers of any mutant in the Savage Land save for Sinister's own forces, rendering the X-Men powerless while fighting him (with the exception of Wolverine's claws as they were a 'bonus' of the Weapon X process, although they would thus cause damage to his hands when used) until the machinery was destroyed. Magneto and Professor X spent much of the show's second season trapped in the Savage Land (Xavier's legs having fortunately been restored as a result of the loss of his powers) until Mister Sinister used them as bait to lure the X-Men into a trap in the season finale, Sinister's forces subsequently being defeated when Wolverine escaped capture and teamed up with Ka-Zar to infiltrate the base and defeat Sinister. In "Savage Land, Savage Heart," the X-Men return to the Savage Land to help Ka-Zar and Shanna fight the threat of Garokk.
• The Savage Land is referenced in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Stranger From a Savage Land." A scientist proves to his colleagues that the Savage Land exists by showing them Zabu of whom he caught. In the episode "Brouhaha at the World's Bottom," Captain America, Ms. Marvel, and Ka-Zar defend on the S.H.I.E.L.D. outposts in the Savage Land from Baron Strucker and HYDRA when they plan to make use of the dimensional transporter there to go to another dimension ever since the Dark Surfer moved Earth out of its orbit.
• In an episode of Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Obadiah Stane offered Tony water from the Savage Lands, hinting that they are able to enter and escape the lands at will.
• The Savage Land appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Savage Land." The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. head to the Savage Land when they trace the source of the volcanic eruptions there as Sauron and his Lizard Men allies are trying to cause a super-volcano to erupt. Near the end of the episode "Days of Future Smash Pt. 1: The Dino Era," Hulk moves the remaining dinosaurs to where the Savage Land would be established.
• The Savage Land appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Savage." In order to improve on Captain America's no technology challenge, Tony Stark leads Captain America, Hawkeye and Falcon on a 24 no technology survival trip to the Savage Land. While there, they discover a plot by Justin Hammer to mine the Savage Land's vibranium in order to get into the Cabal. Justin Hammer even used mind-controlled Velociraptors with lasers on them in order to protect their operation. With the help of some primitive devices that he made with the pacifist Rock Tribe, Tony Stark was able to free the Velociraptors from Justin Hammer's control and halt Justin Hammer's mining operation.
• The Savage Land appears in Ultimate Spider-Man episode "The Savage Spider-Man." Spider-Man goes there with Wolverine in search of Ka-Zar and to stop a plan by Taskmaster and Kraven the Hunter where they planned to capture Zabu as part of a ritual that Kraven the Hunter plans to perform in order to become immortal.

Film

• The Savage Land is mentioned in Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.
• X-Men film series producer Hutch Parker stated that either Marvel or Fox may have Ka-Zar and the Savage Land in their film series.^[45]

Video games

• The Savage Land is Wolverine's stage in the arcade and console-imported game X-Men: Children of the Atom. It is also the first stage of the Sega Genesis X-Men game, and the fifth stage of X-Men 2: Clone Wars.
• The Savage Land appears as one of the arenas in X-Men: Next Dimension.
• In the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (which is loosely based on the Age of Apocalypse storyline), Avalon is Magneto's base in the Savage Land. The X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants use Avalon as their headquarters during their stay in the Savage Land. At Avalon, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants can interact with Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil as well as Garokk when he is placed in a stasis cell upon his defeat.
• The Savage Land appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad. It is shown as the second mission and as a round in Battle Mode.
• The Savage Land was referenced in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In the opening moments of Kraven the Hunter's level when Amazing Spider-Man is investigating Kraven's trophy room, there were several stuffed and mounted heads of Dinosaurs in the trophy room. This was a referenced to Kraven the Hunter's multiple trips to Savage Land.
• The Savage Land appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^[46] It is the setting of Special Operations 21 which details a power struggle in the Savage Land between Sauron, Stegron, Mister Sinister, the High Evolutionary, and A.I.M. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and the superheroes had to fight Iso-Saurs (a race of dinosaurs evolved by the Iso-8) which were created by the High Evolutionary.

See also

• Dinosaur Island
• Skartaris

References

External links

• Savage Land at Marvel.com
• Savage Land at Marvel Directory
• Savage Land at Marvel Wiki
• Savage Land at Comic Vine