The Savage Land is one of the most interesting corners of Marvel Comics lore as it’s a location that exists in the present day that seems to be frozen in time, stuck in a prehistoric era. However, just because the Savage Land effectively exists separate from the main Marvel canon, and is generally unaffected by the goings-on of the outside world, some of Marvel’s most prominent A-list characters have had adventures there, and are free to come and go as they please.
The Savage Land is a tropical preserve hidden in the heart of Antarctica. However, the secrecy and mystery surrounding it isn’t the most fascinating aspect of the location, as its meta-status alone is far more intriguing. The Savage Land’s status as being both secluded from and included in the main Marvel continuity allows it to play host to infinite storylines of all kinds – and in more realities than just one. Out of every storyline featuring the Savage Land in Marvel Comics, here are the 10 times it truly lived up to its name!
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10 Ka-Zar Fights The Entire X-Men In The Savage Land’s Unofficial Debut
X-Men #10 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
This issue was the unofficial debut of the Savage Land in Marvel Comics – as in, it was introduced beforehand in a previous comic, but wasn’t properly introduced into the main Marvel canon until this issue of X-Men. This comic showed Ka-Zar – the famous resident of the Savage Land – fighting every member of the original five X-Men, and effectively beating them himself, even while distracted by a group of antagonistic humanoid creatures coming to join the fight as well.
The violence the X-Men found here is indicative of its namesake, showing Marvel fans exactly what kind of place the Savage Land is through the eyes of the X-Men themselves.
9 Daredevil Fights A Gang of Pirates in The Savage Land
Daredevil #12-13 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
It doesn’t get much more badass than fighting a gang of pirates on a dinosaur-infested island stuck in an age of barbaric savagery, and that’s exactly what Daredevil did in this issue. When a ship Matt Murdock is on gets overtaken by pirates, the vessel veers off course, and ends up running aground in the Savage Land. Given the situation, Matt Murdock quickly jumps into action as Daredevil, and fights the pirates on the shores of this strange and mysterious land.
This is one of the rare examples of savagery coming to the Savage Land as opposed to simply being found there, as Daredevil and the gang of pirates he was fighting unwittingly stumbled upon the perfect location for their badass bout.
8 Age of Apocalypse’s Mutant Massacre Happened in The Savage Land
X-Calibre #3-4 by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley
During the Age of Apocalypse, the Savage Land acted as a safe haven for those who wanted to escape Apocalypse’s tyrannical rule. These people were found by Mystique, and safely brought to the Savage Land by Juggernaut. It was a good system with a number of safety nets in place, just in case any of Apocalypse’s spies somehow slipped through. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be enough, as two of Apocalypse’s minions – one of them being Deadpool – found the Savage Land, and proceeded to burn the safe haven to the ground.
Even when it’s meant to be a sanctuary for refugees, the Savage Land still can’t escape its own barbaric reputation.
7 The Savage Land Is Where Magneto Paralyzed Charles Xavier
Ultimate X-Men #1 by Mark Miller and Adam Kubert
The Savage Land seems to be something of a multiversal constant in Marvel Comics, and the Ultimate Universe is no exception. In Ultimate X-Men, it’s revealed that Magneto and Professor X took up refuge in the Savage Land before Charles broke away to fight for mutant rights. Upon their separation, Magneto used his powers to launch a crude, jagged spear through Xavier’s spine, an injury that paralyzed him.
This act of savagery belongs in a place where ‘savage’ is literally in the name, especially something as iconic as Charles Xavier’s origin story.
6 The Savage Land Is Where The Savage Avengers First Assembled
Savage Avengers #1 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr.
The Savage Avengers is a team of the deadliest heroes/antiheroes in the Marvel Universe, so it’s only natural that they formed in (and arguably got their name from) the Savage Land. The original team consisted of Conan the Barbarian, Wolverine, the Punisher, Elektra, and Brother Voodoo. All of them came together in the Savage Land for the same reason: kill an evil wizard hellbent on raising a demon from the pits of hell through ritualistic blood sacrifice.
Everything about this first Savage Avengers storyline is insanely brutal – including the very formation of the team itself – and it all happened in the perfect place for such brutality: the Savage Land.
5 The Punisher Proves He’s Just As Barbaric As Conan in The Savage Land
Savage Avengers #6 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr.
After the initial formation of the Savage Avengers (and the apparent completion of their mission), the Punisher and Conan take their time venturing back to civilization from the Savage Land, as they opt to trek through the Savage Land and then across Antarctica before returning to the mainland. During their journey, the Punisher and Conan conquer a number of deadly obstacles, including giant snakes, carnivorous dinosaurs, and – of course – the very terrain itself.
Every day they spent together, the Punisher proved that he was just as barbaric as Conan the Barbarian, something that could only be achieved in the Savage Land.
4 The Savagery of the Savage Land Once Spread To New York City
What If? Vol. 2 #112 by Brian K. Vaughan and Coy Turnbull
While the Savage Land may seem like a place stuck in the prehistoric age due to a temporal anomaly, the truth is that it’s being kept that way by a massive terraformer that maintains the Savage Land’s environment. In this issue of What If?, that terraformer is successfully used in other parts of the world, including and especially New York City, turning arguably the world’s most popular concrete jungle into an actual jungle.
The savagery of the Savage Land could not be confined to a single solitary island in the middle of Antarctica, and every place it spread – most notably New York City – felt its unyielding, savage touch.
3 Ka-Zar Nearly Died Protecting His Vibranium in The Savage Land
Savage Tales #1 “The Night of the Looter!” by Stan Lee and John Buscema
In one of Ka-Zar’s earlier Marvel Comics adventures, he is protecting his stash of vibranium from those who seek to take it from him. Even a dinosaur that wandered too close to his cave met a gruesome end at the end of Ka-Zar’s knife. Though the real threat didn’t arrive until two humans, a man and his fiancée, came charging in with their own tank, looking for the valuable metal.
Ka-Zar was seduced and attacked by these thieves, but ultimately succeeded in defending what was his from those who sought to take the vibranium for themselves in a truly savage conflict.
2 Wolverine Becomes The Savage Land’s Deadliest Resident
Savage Wolverine #1 by Frank Cho
When Wolverine finds himself lying alone in a field at night in what he’ll quickly learn is the Savage Land, he is immediately attacked by a carnivorous dinosaur. However, Wolverine swiftly kills the beast, though he doesn’t find much solace after his short-lived victory. Wolverine is then assaulted by the warriors of a local tribe, though after their momentary advantage of the element of surprise, they are soundly defeated by Wolverine.
Mere moments after waking up in the Savage Land, Wolverine proves to be the most savage thing there, which is truly an incredible feat.
1 The High Evolutionary Established A Base in The Savage Land
West Coast Avengers Annual #3 by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom
Anyone who has seen the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 can attest to the fact that there are few things in the Marvel Universe that are more savage than the cruel experiments conducted by the High Evolutionary. And one of the main bases where he conducted those experiments was located in the mountains of the Savage Land.
While the High Evolutionary wasn’t barbaric in the more primitive sense, his attempts at playing God are arguably worse than anything Magneto, Wolverine, or even Ka-Zar have done in the Savage Land, making this one of the 10 times the Savage Land totally lived up to its name in Marvel Comics.
