Classic X-Men #21

Issue Details

Synopsis

Continued from last issue... Trying to absorb life force energy from the X-Man Storm, Karl Lykos has transformed once more into Sauron and now has the mutant weather master his hostage before the X-Men. Wolverine acts first, lunging at their foe with claws ready only to be struck by the creatures hypnotic powers. Sauron makes Wolverine see the other X-Men as demons, and he starts attacking his comrades. Cyclops is forced to use his optic blast to knock Wolverine out so that they can focus on stopping Sauron. As the others fight the mutate, Nightcrawler tries to revive Wolverine. Wolverine however is still under the influence of Sauron's hypnosis and strikes down Nightcrawler. Seeing Cyclops blasting Sauron, Wolverine's warped perceptions sees it as Cyclops attacking Phoenix and tries to stop him, only for Cyclops to blast him again. Caught between Cyclops's optic blast and Banshee's sonic scream, Sauron is weakened almost to the point where he is about to transform into Lykos again. Attempting to prevent this, Sauron targets Colossus and attempts to absorb life force from him. nder Cyclops's orders, Colossus transforms into his organic steel mode, causing feedback that throws Sauron aside. Sauron then reverts back to Karl Lykos once more, and before Wolverine can slay him he is stopped by Ka-Zar and Zabu who consider Lykos a friend. Cyclops, remembering Ka-Zar from their previous encounter tells Wolverine to stand down. Going back to the Fall People's village, Karl Lykos explains that following his previous encounter with the X-Men where he attempted to commit suicide in Tierra Del Fuego, he really survived and followed the many caverns to the Savage Land. There he would stumble across a woman named Zaladane and her cult that worships Garrok the Petrified man. He would witness as Zaladane would conduct a ceremony that would transform an ordinary man into a vessel for Garrok's essence, making him the living embodiment of the godly entity. He would witness as Garrok would use his powers to remove the invading Sheenars from the Savage Land, and soon after Lykos would team up with Ka-Zar in warring with the cults forces as they attempted to construct a giant citadel that would threaten the stability of the Savage Land. With the tale over, Wolverine is interested in getting involved in the fight, however Cyclops declines Ka-Zar's request for assistance as they need to get back to America and let the Professor know that they are still alive. Ka-Zar agrees to show them the way out of the Savage Land, however as they approach the waters leading out, they notice that it has been frozen. Just then it begins to snow, which at first is seen as a delight to the X-Men, Ka-Zar points out to the team that snow in the Savage Land will spell out doom for the entire region. This story is continued next issue...