Savage Land Mutates

The Savage Land Mutates are a supervillain group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group is depicted as based in the Savage Land, a hidden Antarctic environment of dinosaurs and primitive people in the Marvel Universe.

Publication history

The Savage Land Mutates first appeared in X-Men #62 and were created by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and Tom Palmer.

Fictional team biography

The Savage Land Mutates were originally the human inhabitants of the Savage Land (most of them being from the Swamp Men tribe) that were genetically altered by the mutant Magneto to serve as his troops for the mutations in the Savage Land were occurring easy due to the levels of radiation. 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.

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 Swamp Men tribesman 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 Swamp Men tribesman 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 Swamp Men tribesman 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 Swamp Men tribesman 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 Swamp Men tribesman 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 Swamp Men tribeswoman 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.

References

External links

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