Uncanny X-Men (Vol 1) #63: War in the World Below!

Magneto has sent an unsuspecting Angel to “do battle with his fellow X-Men and Ka-Zar”.

The X-Men spot Angel approaching them from above. Beast is cautious, noting the change in Angel’s costume and “the silent approach”, and suggest they wait until Angel has landed. Ka-Zar dismisses Beast’s suggestion and immediately breaks a tree to swat at Angel. Angel tries to stop Ka-Zar from going after “the Creator” but to no avail.

Iceman tells Angel to take a breather, and Angel tells his team mates what had happened: He crash landed in the Savage Land, and was brought back from the brink of death by the Creator. Angel believed that the Creator is the Xavier of the Savage Land and wants to stop them from destroying his work. By then, Ka-Zar was too far for them to catch up to.






Suddenly, Ka-Zar is attacked by Gaza, one of the Creator’s followers. Beast and Iceman jump in to help Ka-Zar. Beast is attacked by Amphibius, who thanks Angel for leading them to Ka-Zar, and delaying the X-Men “long enough for [their] forces to mount an attack”. Ka-Zar accuses Angel of betraying him and the X-Men. But the X-Men believe Angel when he says he was set up.

Ka-Zar charges at the Creator’s army before Cyclops can come up with a battle plan. Cyclops tells Beast he needs Ka-Zar to stand clear before he can blast at the attackers. Angel is livid at being taken advantage of and flies off in search of revenge on the Creator.

Angel discovers that the Creator is Magneto, and he has created neo-mutants “out of captured savages”. Magneto did not perish in his battle with the X-Men and the Avengers, as previously thought. He faked his death, plunging beneath the ocean and discovered a cavernous network of “alloy-rich caves leading to the Savage Land. Magneto planned to conquer the Savage Land, and then the world.






Ka-Zar and the X-Men defeat Magneto’s army of neo-mutants. They proceed to infiltrate the walls of the compound. After Cyclops blasts through the timber walls, another neo-mutant summons a pack of wolves. Za-Zar calls on his trusted Sabretooth Tiger Zabu to take care of the wolves. The compound is deserted when they enter. On Brainchild’s suggestion, Amphibius tries to bury Ka-Zar and the X-Men by collapsing a stone pillar above them. Marvel Girl saves them by deflecting the tumbling stones. Beast catches Amphibius and Iceman knocks out Brainchild. Amphibius tells them they can find his leader behind the steel doors. The doors open to reveal Magneto.

Magneto has Angel hostage. He also commands Lorelei to hypnotise Ka-Zar and the X-Men under her control. While her siren song works on the men, Marvel Girl remains unaffected. Magneto tries to offer Marvel Girl a chance to join him in his conquest. Instead, she proceeds to destroy his machines. But soon, Magneto has her cornered and is shooting at her with a gun. Thinking on her feet, she uses her telekinesis to operate Cyclops’ visor and blasts Magneto’s gun away.

His plans foiled, Magneto intends to kill the X-Men in an explosion instead. As the broken machinery buries Magneto, Ka-Zar and the X-Men escape the fortress. The neo-mutants are lost without their leader. With Magneto’s machines destroyed, Cyclops hopes that the neo-mutants will return to being normal and be happy as they once were. Ka-Zar wonders if any mutant would be happy to lose their powers. The X-Men reply that they would be happy if they could give up their powers to become ordinary, instead of being outcast by society.


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