STORY: "War in the World Below" (20 pages)  The X-Men and Ka-Zar join forces to defeat Magneto, restoring the Savage Land Mutates to normal.

What you need to know:
Of course, it's one of those stories where the Angel fights the other heroes, realises his mistake, and goes after Magneto looking for revenge.

Magneto has apparently been going around turning unwilling Savage Land natives into Mutates, which begs the question of why they're following him at all.  Magneto describes the locals as "nearly mindless", which certainly doesn't match most other stories, but might suggest he's been messing with their minds when he gives them powers.  Anyhow, it seems he's planning to build an army and resume world-conquering.

According to Magneto, the power source which creates the Savage Land Mutates is the south magnetic pole.  (Hold on, though, aren't we meant to be near Tierra del Fuego...?)

Lorelei makes her debut as the newest Savage Land Mutates.  She enthrals men with her voice.  As you might expect, this leads to Marvel Girl politely pointing out that she's not a man.

The X-Men smash up Magneto's HQ, which comes crashing down on him.  Of course, he survives, and X-Men: The Hidden Years #4 reveals that he's swept further into the Savage Land by an underground river.  That leads into the opening arc in Hidden Years.

For some reason, as soon as the building comes down, the Savage Land Mutates start to revert to their original forms.  Presumably Magneto or one of his machines was keeping them powered up.

The story is reprinted in X-Men Visionaries: Neal Adams and Classic X-Men #3.

A more innocent time:
Ka-Zar's still talking nonsense.  "The law of the jungle says ... he who waits for the cobra to speak, shall never hear the babbling brook!"

Gaza is apparently as strong as "a super-charged XKE."  That's an E-type Jaguar, which they stopped making in 1975.

The Beast describes Amphibius as "a refugee from a Tenniel woodcut", perhaps a rather obscure reference by today's standards.  Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914) did the original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Comments:
It's a great big fight issue, but there's nothing wrong with that.  Yes, some of it's awfully corny - in particular, Lorelei's siren routine has become a cliche over the years, and hasn't dated well at all.  And Ka-Zar... well, let's just say they wrote him in much broader strokes in 1969.  But the issue gives Neal Adams plenty to work with, and that's really the big thing when it comes to these stories.  It's good solid fun.

Strangely enough, even though both creators have at least one more issue to come, this is the final Thomas/Adams issue.  From here on in, it's either fill-in art or fill-in writing on every story.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Cyclops, the Angel, the Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl I

GUEST STARS
Ka-Zar and Zabu (both next in X-Men: The Hidden Years #3)

VILLAINS
Magneto (next in flashback in X-Men: The Hidden Years #4; also in flashback following Avengers vol 1 #53 and preceding issue #62)
The Savage Land Mutates: Lorelei (first appearance), Barbarus, Brainchild, Gaza, Lupo, Equilibrius (behind the scenes; all next in Avengers vol 1 #105), Piper (behind the scenes; next in Avengers vol 1 #110) and Amphibius (next in X-Men: The Hidden Years #1)

Updated: 1 September 2005

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