Marvel hero K-Zar turns 60 this year, and we look at how this ‘savage’ caveman has come since his debut in 1965.
Heroes in comics are usually dominated by mutants, homo superiors, vigilantes or billionaires with a penchant for saving the world. So which category would you fit a hero who is a savage caveman?
Marvel’s answer to this is simple – all of them! Or at least when it comes to Lord Kevin Reginald Plunder aka Ka-Zar.
Co-created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 60 years ago, Ka-Zar (which means Son of the Tiger, in the language of the Man Apes), made his debut in the pages of The Uncanny X-Men #10 (March 1965).
In that issue, the original X-Men were on a Mutant-recruitment milk run and thought Ka-Zar was a Mutant (!). However, their trip to the Savage Land (Ka-Zar’s home ground) proved futile.
Concept-wise, Ka-Zar was initially cast as a primitive and belligerent savage who spoke broken English, but later “improvised” to be more articulate and civilised.
Despite possessing no super powers, growing up in the Savage Land has gifted Ka-Zar with near-superhuman athletic conditioning and the ability to fight and hunt beyond the average human.
If you are still not convinced about Ka-Zar being the next Marvel Cinematic Universe superstar, here are some facts about “Tarzan Boy” that might just change your mind.
Ka-Zar made his first appearance in The Uncanny X-Men #10 on March 1965.
The comparisons and confusions between Tarzan and Ka-Zar are to be expected. After all Tarzan has inspired many other “jungle lords” over the years.
For the record, Tarzan made his debut in 1912, while there are two versions of Ka-Zar (the first was created in 1936), while the second Ka-Zar is today’s discussion).
If there is one thing that distinguishes Ka-Zar from Tarzan, it is the Marvel ecosystem, which allows Ka-Zar to experience adventures that bring him far beyond the borders of the Savage Land.
Ka-Zar wasn’t born in the Savage Land though. His life began in Castle Plunder, located in Kentish Town, London, as the eldest son of Lord Robert Plunder, an English nobleman who discovered the Savage Land.
His father was killed by Maa-Gor (the leader of the Man-Ape tribe) and Ka-Zar was raised by a sabertooth tiger - Zabu, who possesses near-human intelligence courtesy of a mutation caused by radioactive mists.
While the X-Men have confirmed that Ka-Zar himself is not a mutant, that is not the case for Zabu.
the Savage Land is a tropical prehistoric preserve that was created 200 million years ago by the alien Nuwali for the Beyonders.
Hidden in Antarctica, the Savage Land is a tropical prehistoric preserve that was created 200 million years ago by the alien Nuwali for the Beyonders (Secret Wars alert!).
When creating the ecosystem, the Nuwali filled it with indigenous life forms ranging from mammals to dinosaurs, including history’s earliest life form record.
After the X-Men’s early discovery of the Savage Land, it drew many other visitors and explorers, ranging from SHIELD to a host of plunderers seeking to extract the land’s rich resources and mineral, which includes Vibranium.
Ka-Zar’s early adventures often pitted him against characters who were more in his own weight class.
Ka-Zar’s 60-year career has been rather low key. For starters, it took him four years after his debut in The Uncanny X-Men #10 to land his first solo story, in Marvel Super-Heroes #19 (1969).
This was followed by supporting tales in the black-and-white Savage Tales magazine, and then co-headlining the Astonishing Tales series, with Doctor Doom, no less.
He was finally given a self-titled solo series in 1970, followed by four more attempts. Amongst the notable milestones are Volume Three aka Ka-Zar The Savage (1981-84), written by Bruce Jones and Mike Carlin; and my personal favorite – Ka-Zar (1997-98) by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert, which features one of comic’s biggest David Vs Goliath battle.
Ka-Zar’s first love interest is Barbara “Bobbi” Morse (who later became Mockingbird and married Hawkeye) but his perfect match is Shanna the She-Devil.
Unlike Ka-Zar who spent the bulk of his growing up years in the Savage Land, Shanna actually was an Olympic athlete and had a working career as a veterinarian and a zoologist before settling down in the Savage Land.
She married Ka-Zar (see Ka-Zar The Savage # 29) and they were blessed with a son, Matthew.
Another major highlight of Ka-Zar’s journey was his battle with the Mad Titan Thanos.
With no superpowers and a ‘costume’ that consists of a loin cloth that barely covers anything, Ka-Zari’s early pre-1990s adventures tended to pitted him against characters who were around the same weight class as him, ie. Daredevil, Spider-Man, Kraven The Hunter, Klaw, and also trespassers into the Savage Land such as his brother Parnival aka the Plunderer, and Magneto’s mutated stooges.
However, one exception to that rule had me shell-shocked. During the 1980s, there was one story that had Ka-Zar taking on demon lord Belasco in order to free Shanna.
But still, that was nothing compared to his 1990s confrontation with none other than Thanos, in which Ka-Zar bested the Mad Titan by kicking him into a volcano.
That victory turned out to be so impactful and shocking that Marvel had to tone it down later down the road, retconning it to state that it was actually a Thanosi (a Thanos clone) that Ka-Zar defeated, and not Thanos himself.
Ka-Zar has had lots of highlights in his 60 years of existence, but none more than becoming the herald for Galactus himself! – Photos: Marvel Comics
Efforts to add more depth and dimension to Ka-Zar has seen him being inducted as a member of the Agents of Wakanda and even becoming Galactus’ herald where he is gifted the Power Cosmic.
These two major departures from Ka-Zar’s jungle heritage certainly took a lot off getting use to, especially if you are (like me) a stickler to the original recipe.
