Savage Land Mutates

Savage Land Mutates
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Created by	Roy Thomas Neal Adams Tom Palmer
In-story information
Base(s)	Savage Land
Member(s)	Magneto (founder) Sauron Brainchild Zaladane (see below for an extended listing)

The Savage Land Mutates are a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain group based in the Savage Land, a hidden Antarctic environment of dinosaurs and primitive people in the Marvel Universe.

Fictional team biography

The Savage Land Mutates were originally Swamp Men (human inhabitants of the Savage Land) that were genetically altered by the mutant Magneto to serve as his troops. They clashed with the X-Men and Ka-Zar on different occasions. On one occasion, they turned Spider-Man into the Man-Spider and Angel into a bird monster. They have also encountered the Avengers. Although the group is fairly large, most appearances of the group contain only about half of the group's members, usually under leadership of Sauron, Brainchild, or Zaladane. The entire group has never appeared together at one time.

After Sauron escaped from the Raft during a jailbreak concocted by the Skrulls, the Avengers believed he and the Mutates were responsible for the breakout and pursued him to the Savage Land.

Amphibius later tells Sauron and the other Savage Land Mutates that Magneto's Asteroid M has risen from the sea, but they didn't want to go find him. Worm took control of Barbarus, Lupo, and Sauron and commandeered a ship to go find Magneto. When threatened by the Japanese military, Sauron attacked an armored car causing an international incident. Cannonball, Sunspot, and Warlock investigated and found the Savage Land Mutates on the deck of the ship. Cannonball fought Sauron in the skies while Karma discovered that the Savage Land Mutates were immune to her powers of psychic persuasion. Cannonball managed to defeat Sauron while the other New Mutants defeated the Savage Land Mutates. Upon learning why the Savage Land Mutates were on the ship, Karma told Worm, Sauron, Barbarus, and Lupo that they were in charge of Asteroid M and Magneto. Worm then orders the Savage Land Mutates to return to the Savage Land.

Membership

Leaders

The following have been depicted as leaders of the Savage Land Mutates:

Magneto

Magneto is the creator and first leader of the Savage Land Mutates.

Zaladane

Within the context of the stories, Zaladane is the warlike high priestess and queen of the Sun People, who live in the Savage Land. She attempts to lead the Sun People in a war to conquer the peoples of the Savage Land. Her army's weapons are destroyed by Garokk, so she attempts to force Garokk to do her bidding. She is defeated by Ka-Zar and seemingly destroyed. Zaladane later reappears, and magically transforms her captive Kirk Marston into Garokk, endowing him with the original Garokk's consciousness. She aids Garokk in attempting to unite the Savage Land tribes under his leadership, capturing the X-Men and Ka-Zar. She is thwarted by the X-Men. Years later, Zaladane became the assistant of the High Evolutionary in his project to restore the Savage Land after its near destruction by the alien Terminus. In her quest for power she, with the help of the Mutate Worm, enslaves many of the land's natives and abducts Polaris to steal her magnetic powers. Zaladane leads an army in an attempt to conquer the Savage Land, but is defeated by Ka-Zar and the X-Men. With Polaris' magnetic powers, Zaladane later takes over the Savage Land. She leads her army and the Savage Land mutates against Magneto, Ka-Zar, Rogue, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. forces in the Savage Land. She is defeated and executed by Magneto, who impales her.

Sauron

Sauron is a life-force draining human who transforms into a mind controlling, savage Pteranodon-like creature if he feeds on mutant energy.

Brainchild

Brainchild is a mutate with an enlarged cranium with psychic powers. Tends to most often be second in command, after Sauron, and in his absences (when taken by Weapon X or dominated by his Karl Lykos personality), Brainchild actually leads the group.

Other members

The following are actual members. Magneto's original creations were Amphibius, Barbarus, Equilibrius, Gaza, Piper, Lorelei, and Lupo. The others appeared after he abandoned the depowered mutates who would later regain their abilities. The members usually appear as a group with five or six of the listed members, and have never appeared as one large group. X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land introduced Lupa and Leash.

Amphibius

Amphibius is a mutate, a human that lived in the Savage Land. He is saved from hostile tribesmen by Magneto, and changed into a humanoid frog-like mutate. He is the first of the Savage Land Mutates to see the X-Men, and has fought not just the X-Men but also Ka-Zar, who is a human inhabitant of the Savage Land. He has also fought Spider-Man. Amphibius is one of Magneto's first Savage Land Mutates, and has been involved in all the Mutates' subsequent activities.

Barbarus

Barbarus is a four-armed mutate with physical strength, endurance, and injury resistant powers. Escaped from the Raft holding facility in the breakout of Sauron.

Equilibrius

Equilibrius is a mutate who can induce sensations of vertigo in anyone who looks him in the eyes.

Gaza

Gaza is a mutate with slightly enhanced strength and durability. He is blind, but makes up for it with an additional power, radar senses.

Leash

Leash is a mutate who can psychically imprison another being's astral essence, rendering them catatonic or under her mental control.

Lorelei

Lorelei (Lani Ubana) is a mutate who is able to place men in a hypnotic trance using her hypersonic vocal emissions. She was also briefly a member of the first Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Lupo

Lupo is a mutate who has enhanced strength, speed, reflexes & reactions, agility, and durability as well as hyper keen senses (including night vision), sharp claws and fangs, and can psionically command canine creatures. In later appearances he gained a werewolf-like appearance. At one point, Lupo had an ursine appearance looking like a humanoid blue bear. It is unknown whether he is related to Lupa.

Lupa

Lupa is a mutate with enhanced strength, speed, reflexes & reactions, agility, and durability as well as hyper keen senses (including night vision). She controls a small army of dire wolves. She can also emit pheromones that allow her to control bestial creatures. It is unknown whether she is related to Lupo.

Piper

Piper is a mutate who can psionically control large groups of animals using his flute as a focus for his power. In his first appearance as one of the Savage Land Mutates, Piper sent a monster to attack the X-Men and Ka-Zar. Piper later aided Magneto by causing dinosaurs to attack the Avengers in the Savage Land. With the Savage Land Mutates, Piper was later employed by Zaladane in her attempt to conquer the Savage Land. With the other Savage Land Mutates, Piper again aided Zaladane in battle with Magneto, Ka-Zar, and their allies.

Vertigo

Vertigo is a mutate that can emit waves that affect the equilibrioception of anyone hit by them. She left the Savage Land to join Mister Sinister's Marauders, but later returned under mysterious circumstances (see profile for details).

Whiteout

Whiteout is a mutate who can emit brilliant flashes of psionic "light" that can blind anyone she chooses.

Worm

Worm is a mutate who secretes mucus that allows him to override other living beings' motor and autonomic nervous functions after coating them with it. He also has a worm-like lower body and enlarged hands with suction-cups on them.

In other media

Television

• The Savage Land Mutates have appeared on a few episodes of the 1990s X-Men TV series. The lineup was formed by Sauron, Vertigo, Brainchild, Amphibious, Barbarus, and Lupo. They were creations of Magneto, though they were later recruited by Mister Sinister.

External links

• Savage Land Mutates at Marvel.com
• Savage Land Mutates at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe