The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land within the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men #10 (March 1965). Throughout time it has served as a basis for many story arcs in Uncanny X-Men as well as in related books.

Fictional history[link]

This section describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (October 2009)

The Savage Land was created by the alien Nuwali at the behest of the other-dimensional, nigh-omnipotent aliens known as the Beyonders (not to be confused with the Beyonder of the Secret Wars). The Beyonders sought to observe the process of evolution under relatively controlled conditions and had the Nuwali set up a number of game preserves on several planets. One of these planets was Earth during the Triassic period where the Nuwali chose a valley in Antarctica surrounded by active volcanoes, where they installed a number of advanced technological devices in order to maintain a tropical climate. The aliens then stocked the area with all manner of Earth life over the following several millennia. They also brought over the Man-Apes, earlier hominid ancestors of "Homo sapiens."

The Beyonders eventually grew bored with the experiment, and the Nuwali stopped maintaining the Savage Land during the Late Pleistocene (the Ice Age era). However, the self-maintaining technology that allowed the pocket of tropical climate was left running, and many species which became extinct in other areas of the Earth continued to thrive within.

Later on, a group of human survivors from Atlantis sailed to Antarctica before the "Great Cataclysm" which sank their continent. There, they discovered a cavern where they found an immense climate-controlling device and harnessed the technology used to keep the Savage Land's volcanoes working. They named their location "Pangea", which is Atlantean for "paradise".

They mastered genetic engineering, which had been used on the Man-Apes when the Nuwali were still maintaining the Savage Land area. They used their genetic engineering techniques to transform other Savage Land inhabitants, like the Tubanti Fish People and others, who they then forced to work for them until these animal people revolted. After a time of war, the animal people demanded civil rights and the Atlanteans used technology to expand the Savage Land's surface area for the animal people to live in. When the Great Cataclysm struck, the Atlantean empire fell and thanks to the machines, the Savage Land locations were spared from sinking into the sea.

In more recent years, the Savage Land was rediscovered by Lord Robert Plunder, who took back a sample of the metal known as "anti-metal" or "Antarctic vibranium" with him. This mysterious metal had the ability to produce vibrations which would liquefy all other metals. Fleeing from those who sought to steal this discovery, Plunder took his eldest son Kevin with him for a second trip into the Savage Land. Unfortunately, the elder Plunder was killed by a local tribe of Man-Apes.

Kevin survived, thanks to the timely intervention of the orphaned sabretooth tiger later known as Zabu. He grew to adulthood in the Savage Land, becoming the adventurer known as Ka-Zar. Ka-Zar had many team-ups with the X-Men, who first revealed the Savage Land's existence, Spider-Man, and many other superheroes who had visited the Savage Land. He later met and married Shanna the She-Devil.

The Savage Land's existence is common knowledge throughout the world. At one time, there were press junkets, sponsored by the oil company Roxxon. Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker was sent and helped uncover Roxxon's unethical and dangerous manipulation of the local resources.

At one point, Spider-Man teamed up with Ka-Zar to save Gwen Stacy from Kraven the Hunter and Gog at the time when her class and J. Jonah Jameson were visiting the Savage Land.^[1]

Many villains have threatened the Savage Land, including Garokk, Magneto and Thanos.

At one point, the Savage Land was decimated by an evil alien named Terminus (or one of his pawns) when he destroyed the machines that maintained the tropical climate. Many of the Savage Land's native people were saved from the ensuing destruction by M'rin: The Warlord of The Skies who took them into her own native dimension to safety. Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Zabu wandered until the High Evolutionary (with help from the X-Men, M'rin and Garokk) restored the region and its creature allowing them to return to the Savage Land with their newborn son. The other natives who had taken refuge in M'rin's dimension returned as well.^[2]

Sometime after that, Spider-Man had Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy emigrated to the Savage Land after rescuing them from Ringmaster.^[3]

Evidence in the pages of the New Avengers suggests that S.H.I.E.L.D. is operating in the Savage Land, mining vibranium while using the indigenous population as slave labor, but these operations have been classified, and the operation was apparently decimated by a missile strike from the Helicarrier during an attack by the New Avengers. The team only survived thanks to Iron Man's force field.

The Savage Land is featured in the limited series Claws, serving as a place of revenge for Wolverine and Black Cat on Arcade and White Rabbit. After defeating the two villains, the heroes left them stranded.

In X-Men: Divided We Stand, Cyclops and Emma Frost were vacationing there until Archangel contacted them about San Francisco looking like the 1960s.

Alyosha Kravinoff fled to the Savage Land after Punisher sabotaged his zoo.^[4]

In the Secret Invasion storyline, Ka-Zar and Shanna discover Skrulls mining for vibranium. The New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers head toward the Savage Land where a downed Skrull ship was sighted. Luke Cage opens the downed Skrull ship and a large group of Marvel superheroes with older appearances and costumes come out, speaking as if they believe themselves to be authentic. They soon break out into a fight where the Spider-Man from the ship is killed by a Tyrannosaurus and regresses to a Skrull. The Hawkeye from the ship is killed by Ronin and regresses to a Skrull. This causes the superheroes from the ship to scatter into the jungle. The New Avengers' Spider-Man is knocked away by a Tyrannosaurus and ends up confronting Ka-Zar, Shanna, Zabu, and Sauron as well as some of the other locals. At the point where Spider-Man accuses Ka-Zar and Shanna for being Skrulls, the Captain America from the ship attacks who thinks the same thing for Spider-Man. When the Captain America is hit by a dart coated in some type of poison, it regresses to a Skrull named Pit'o Nilli and is then killed by Shanna. The ship's Beast is trapped underground with Wonder Man. The two try to escape together, but Beast betrays Wonder Man as the two are about to return to the surface. During this, Iron Man uses an abandoned scientific facility nearby to try and recreate his original armor. When it came to the confrontation with both Avengers teams, the Savage Land natives, and the heroes from the ship, Mister Fantastic and Abigail Brand used a laser to identify the heroes from the ship as Skrulls. Ka-Zar joined the Avengers teams into fighting the Skrulls in New York while Shanna and the other Savage Land natives hunted down the remaining Skrulls hiding out in the Savage Land.

After the events of Second Coming during the Heroic Age storyline, Cyclops takes some time off to go hunting in The Savage Land during which he encounters Steve Rogers. Steve Rogers suggests to Cyclops that he brings the X-Men out of the shadows and into the light as heroes. Steve Rogers also arranges to have the president award Scott the Presidential Medal of Freedom which sways the people of San Francisco to welcome the X-Men back.

Around the same time following their defeat after the hunt for "spiders" in the Grim Hunt storyline, the Kravinoff Family are also currently residing in the Savage Land.

It is later revealed that Miek and the other Imperials and Natives from Sakaar that came with Hulk back in World War Hulk had settled in the Savage Land constructing a village called New Imperia.^[5]

During the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, Captain America ends up fighting Gambit in the Savage Land.^[6]

Land status[link]

The United Nations of the Marvel Universe considers the Savage Land an international wildlife preserve, and forbids any commercial exploitation of its resources.^[7]

Savage Land races[link]

Super-powered inhabitants[link]

A number of superhumans are living or have lived in the Savage Land, notably:

• Magneto - Lived here on several occasions when he led the Savage Land Mutates.
• Chtylok the Che-k'n Kau
• Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy
• Garokk
• The Imperials and Natives from Sakaar
• Kraven the Hunter and the Kravinoff Family
• Sauron
• The Savage Land Mutates
• Skaar
• Stegron the Dinosaur Man
• Zaladane

The High Technician (who has the same talents as the High Evolutionary) also resided in the Savage Land at one time and created a team of uplifted dinosaurs called the Saur-Lords which consisted of Styro (an uplifted Styracosaurus), Allo (an uplifted Allosaurus), Anky (an uplifted Ankylosaurus), Bront (an uplifted Apatosaurus), and Pter (an uplifted Pteranodon).

Other versions[link]

Marvel 2099[link]

In the alternate future depicted in Marvel 2099, an alien attack floods much of the earth rendering the Savage Land the only inhabitable space. Thousands of refugees, including Miguel O'Hara and most of X-Nation and X-Men make new homes here. It is not without its own dangers.

Age of Apocalypse[link]

In the Age of Apocalypse reality, the Savage Land houses Avalon, a secret haven for humans and mutants. A method to reach it exists, but it will only cost the refugee everything they own and even then, there is no guarantee of arriving alive. It is led by Destiny, a pacifist Juggernaut and Douglas Ramsey, the latter of whom provides a field that allows everybody to understand each other despite speaking different languages. Avalon was eventually found by Apocalypse forces and destroyed by the Shadow King who mind-controlled its inhabitants into killing each other. He was defeated, but casualties were high.

House of M[link]

In the House of M reality created by an insane Scarlet Witch, the Savage Land was known as "Pangea." It is also known that Kevin Plunder has been granted political asylum in the United States for his human rights activism in this prehistoric land.

The Transformers[link]

In the Transformers Marvel comics continuity, shortly after the Ark's crash on earth, the computer aboard the spaceship detected Shockwave landing on the prehistory Savage Land. The Ark used the last of its capabilities to revive the five Autobot warriors by scanning the Savage Land's dominant lifeform: dinosaurs, and rebuild them into the Dinobots. The Dinobots fought Shockwave, a battle that ended in permanent stalemate when Snarl brought down the mountain that Shockwave stood upon, knocking all of them into a tar pit. They remain deactivated until the year 1984.

Ultimate Marvel[link]

In the Ultimate Marvel comics, the Savage Land is a large island somewhere in the southern hemisphere. It was originally said to have been created by Magneto, using theories and methods developed by Professor X, as the site for genetic experiments. Magneto's goal there was to create a new human race who would be less trouble to rule than the current one, that he decided to re-start evolution from scratch, and control the process to his own specifications. As a result of this, at its current level of advancement, it has dinosaurs and that Magneto has shown no further interest in advancing the evolution of the Savage Land. It has remained in its dinosaur state since the departure of Professor X. This story is later revealed as false (see below).

Magneto's original base was on the Savage Land. When it was destroyed in the first arc of Ultimate X-Men, the computer controlling the base gained self-awareness, and hijacked the genetic experiment project to create an army of nanotech-enhanced, zombie-like thralls. It planned to take over the world, but was stopped by Wolverine, Cyclops and Kitty Pryde.

The Savage Land is now the home of Longshot, who managed to get there in a small boat which launched from Genosha. Longshot recently aided Magneto in breaking out of prison, and the two may be planning something.

In Ultimates 3, it is revealed that the dinosaurs were conjured by Scarlet Witch as a result of her reality warping abilities and not by Magneto's creation. The aboriginal inhabitants were wiped out and only a small tribe of survivors including Ka-Zar and Shanna remain. The inhabitants help the Ultimates remove the last of Magneto's forces as of Ultimatum.

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• The Savage Land appeared in the 1981 Spider-Man episode "The Hunter and the Hunted". J. Jonah Jameson hires Kraven the Hunter to capture the last smilodon located there who turned out to be Zabu. After Kraven is defeated, Ka-Zar and Zabu returned to the Savage Land.
• The Savage Land was referenced in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "The Hunter and the Hunted." It was where Kraven the Hunter had the dinosaurs he hunted exported to New York. After Kraven's defeat, the dinosaurs he captured were returned to the Savage Land.
• The Savage Land appeared in some episodes of the X-Men TV series. It served as the location of Mister Sinister's base. A prominent feature about it was a device designed by Sinister that negated the powers of any mutant in the Savage Land save for Sinister's own forces, rendering the X-Men powerless while fighting him (With the exception of Wolverine's claws as they were a 'bonus' of the Weapon X process, although they would thus cause damage to his hands when used) until the machinery was destroyed. Magneto and Professor X spent much of the show's second season trapped in the Savage Land (Xavier's legs having fortunately been restored as a result of the loss of his powers) until Sinister used them as bait to lure the X-Men into a trap in the season finale, Sinister's forces subsequently being defeated when Wolverine escaped capture and teamed up with Ka-Zar to infiltrate the base and defeat Sinister. In "Savage Land, Savage Heart," the X-Men return to the Savage Land to help Ka-Zar and Shanna fight the threat of Garokk.
• The Savage Land is referenced in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Stranger From a Savage Land." A scientist proves to his colleagues that the Savage Land exists by showing them Zabu of whom he caught.
• In an episode of Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Obadiah Stane offered Tony water from the Savage Lands, hinting that they are able to enter and escape the lands at will.

Film[link]

• The Savage Land is mentioned in Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.

Video games[link]

• The Savage Land is Wolverine's stage in the arcade and console-imported game X-Men: Children of the Atom. It is also the first stage of the Sega Genesis X-Men game, and the fifth stage of X-Men 2: Clone Wars.
• The Savage Land appears as one of the arenas in X-Men: Next Dimension.
• In the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (which is loosely based on the Age of Apocalypse storyline), Avalon is Magneto's base in the Savage Land. The X-Men and Brotherhood use Avalon as their headquarters during their stay in the Savage Land.
• The Savage Land appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad. It is shown as the second mission and as a round in Battle Mode.
• The Savage Land was referenced in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In the opening moments of Kraven the Hunter's level when Amazing Spider-Man is investigating Kraven's trophy room, there were several stuffed and mounted heads of Dinosaurs in the trophy room. This was a referenced to Kraven the Hunter's multiple trips to Savage Land.

See also[link]

• Dinosaur Island
• Skartaris

References[link]

External links[link]

• Savage Land at Marvel.com
• Savage Land at Marvel Directory

Charlotte Ross (born January 21, 1968) is an American actress, who is perhaps most widely known as a cast member of NYPD Blue from 2001 to 2004.

Early Years[link]

Ross was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinois. Her parents are Debbie Ross Kullby, who is retired and living in Colorado; and the Peter Ross (d. 2009), a financial advisor.^[1] Charlotte has one younger brother, George, a hedge fund-analyst. "When we were little I used to beat him up," she recalls with a laugh, "but now we're close."

Ross's first on-screen performance was in My First Mouthpiece; she was 8 years old. She moved on to performing in various hometown theater productions. After graduating from New Trier High School, Charlotte moved to Los Angeles, which her father opposed. She tried out for the role of Kelly Bundy on Married... with Children, but was the producers' second choice behind Christina Applegate. Her efforts caught the attention of the Days of Our Lives producers, who cast her as Eve Baron-Donovan.

Four years later, Ross co-starred with Katey Sagal ("Peg Bundy") in the movie Violation of Trust (aka She Says She's Innocent). The year after that, she guested on Married... as one of Bud Bundy's sexier classmates.)

Career[link]

Ross's run on Days of our Lives lasted from 1987 to 1991, earning her two Emmy nominations. Her other television credits include The Heights, The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, Drexell's Class, Pauly, Law & Order, Trinity, Beggars and Choosers, Frasier, Savage Land, Jake in Progress, NYPD Blue, Fall Into Darkness and A Kiss So Deadly (which reunited her with Days co-star Charles Shaughnessy). She also co-starred in the 2007 Lifetime Television films Montana Sky and Christmas in Paradise.^[2]

She earned a Gold record in 1992 for her work on the soundtrack album to the The Heights, famous for the song "How Do You Talk To An Angel".

On February 25, 2003, Ross appeared in an NYPD Blue episode entitled "Nude Awakening", which featured shots of her buttocks as she prepared to step into the shower. As a result, the FCC fined each of the 52 ABC stations with a $27,500 fine for broadcasting "indecent material" between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. However, on January 4, 2011, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously revoked the fine, stating that the FCC's enforcement of its indecency rules was "unconstitutionally vague and chilling." ABC, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 08-0841-ag(L) (2nd Cir.).

In 2006, Ross joined Billy Blanks to co-host a series of Tae-Bo infomercials (Charlotte is a licensed instructor).

Ross appeared as Candy in Summit’s 3D film Drive Angry, alongside Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard.^[3]

In Autumn 2009, Ross enjoyed a recurring role on the US TV series Glee as Judy Fabray, the mother of Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron). Charlotte's most recent appearance on the series was in the season three finale, "Goodbye". She appears in 4 episodes.

Ross will co-star as the first female umpire in professional baseball in the upcoming short film, The Umpire, and co-stars in Street Kings: Motor City opposite Ray Liotta.

Personal life[link]

In 2002, Ross supported PETA's anti-fur campaign by appearing naked in advertisements captioned "I'd Rather Show My Buns Than Wear Fur".^[4] On October 18, 2003, Ross married Michael Goldman and gave birth to one child: son Maxwell Ross Goldman (whose name combines Charlotte's and her mother's maiden names). She and Michael Goldman separated in 2008 but "remain best of friends in raising our son." She resides in Los Angeles.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Charlotte Ross at the Internet Movie Database

Rufus Frederik Sewell (born 29 October 1967) is an English actor. In film, he has appeared in The Woodlanders, Dangerous Beauty, Dark City, A Knight's Tale, The Illusionist, Tristan and Isolde, and Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence. On television, he starred in the 2010 mini-series The Pillars of the Earth. Earlier he played the hero, Will Ladislaw, in the BBC adaptation of George Eliot's Middlemarch. In 2003, he appeared in the lead role in Charles II: The Power and The Passion. He starred in the CBS drama Eleventh Hour which was cancelled in April 2009.^[1] On stage, he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the role of Jan in Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll, which earned him an Olivier Award and a Tony Award nomination for the latter performance.

Early life[link]

Sewell was born in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London, the son of William, an Australian animator, and Jo Sewell, a Welsh artist and waitress.^[2][3] His father worked on the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" segment of animation for The Beatles' Yellow Submarine film. His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his mother worked to support her two sons. His father died when Sewell was 10. By his own admission, Sewell was a difficult teenager.^[4]

Education[link]

Sewell was educated at Orleans Park School, a state comprehensive school in Twickenham, which he left in 1984, followed by West Thames College, where a drama teacher sent him to audition for drama school. He later enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career[link]

After graduating, Sewell was set up with an agent by Judi Dench who had directed him in a play while at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His breakthrough year was in 1993, in which he starred in the BBC serial of George Eliot's Middlemarch and on stage in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia at The Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton). His film work includes 1995's Cold Comfort Farm, directed by John Schlesinger, the lead role of John Murdoch in the science fiction film Dark City in 1998, Amazing Grace, The Illusionist and Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy The Holiday. Amazing Grace deals with William Wilberforce's political fight to abolish slavery in Britain, with Sewell playing Wilberforce's co-campaigner Thomas Clarkson. Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those in A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro, Bless the Child, Helen of Troy and The Illusionist. He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that "[I] don't want to play a baddie again."^[5] "Everyone has their thing they have to get around",^[6] notes Sewell. "With me, it's like okay, how can I make this upper class bad guy in the 19th century different and interesting?"

In 2008 Sewell appeared in the HBO miniseries John Adams as Alexander Hamilton. He received critical praise for his portrayal of "merry monarch" Charles II in the BBC's Charles II: The Power and The Passion. The series' cast included Ian McDiarmid, Helen McCrory, Rupert Graves and Shirley Henderson and spanned the life of the king from his last days in exile to his death. He co-starred in the controversial film Downloading Nancy, which hit screens on 5 June 2009. It faced a rocky road to cinemas. At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening, and as of summer 2008, any theatrical release was still uncertain. Despite the controversy, Sewell continues to staunchly support the film. "It's a film I'm very proud of, whether you consider that it fails or succeeds, whether you like it or don't like it. I'm proud to be in it."^[6]

Although best known for his work in costume dramas, Sewell prefers "cravat-less" roles in modern pieces, such as the role of Petruchio in the BBC's 2005 version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. This was shown as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told season, and the role earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards. In this modern retelling of the story, the action moves from 17th Century Padua, Italy to 21st Century London. This production marked the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a work based on a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayed Hotspur in Henry IV, Part 1 in 1995, Fortinbras in Hamlet in 1996 and the title role in Macbeth in 1999. The role also reunited him with his Charles II co-star Shirley Henderson.

He appeared in the premiere and first run of Tom Stoppard's latest play Rock 'n' Roll at the Royal Court Theatre from June to July 2006 and at the Duke of York's Theatre from July until November 2006. The play was a critical and commercial success, playing to full houses and collecting several awards and nominations, including wins for Sewell in the Best Actor category at The Evening Standard Awards, The Critics' Circle Awards and The Olivier Awards.

He has recorded eleven of Ian Fleming's James Bond books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, he played the lead role Dr Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series Eleventh Hour.^[1] He finished filming in November 2009 for a miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, which was shown on TV in 2010.^[7] In 2010, he played the Italian detective Aurelio Zen, based on the best-selling novels by Michael Dibdin for the BBC One drama series Zen. The three episodes were filmed in Rome and shown on BBC One in early January 2011. The series was cancelled by the BBC after just one season.^[8] He also had a small part in the film The Tourist, which also starred Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and was released in cinemas in 2010.^[9] In April 2011, it was announced that he will play the lead vampire, Adam, in the forthcoming film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,^[10] which is currently being filmed in New Orleans.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Sewell has been married twice. His first wife was Australian fashion journalist Yasmin Abdallah; they married in 1999 and divorced a few months later.^[12] He and second wife, scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, whom he married in 2004, have a son, William Douglas Sewell (born 2002).^[13] They separated in 2006^[14] and have since divorced.^[15]

Sewell has said: "My favourite things are just wandering from place to place, going to cafés, taking photographs. My favourite day is a happy accident."^[16]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rufus Sewell at the Internet Movie Database
• 2006 Interview with Rufus Sewell on Theatre.com