Savage Time #2: Somewhere Stands...Skull Island

[jkcarrier]

The Savage Time
Episode 2:
"Somewhere Stands...Skull Island!"
Played on 06/17/23
Inspired by:
Tales to Astonish #96-97 by Raymond Marais, Bill Everett, Roy Thomas & Werner Roth
Amazing Spider-Man #103-104 by Roy Thomas & Gil Kane
Astonishing Tales #18-20 by Mike Friedrich, Dan Adkins, Jim Starlin, Marie Severin & Werner Roth
Superboy #204 by Cary Bates and Mike Grell
(and various other Ka-Zar/Savage Land comics)

Roll Call:
Batman
Booster Gold
Storm
Wolverine


After their victory against Garokk and his Sun Cult, the heroes recuperate at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, only to have their rest interrupted by a blaring alarm. The base is being attacked by the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old rivals, Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), accompanied by a 30'-tall lizard-like creature called Gog.

The heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents rush to the base's defense. The A.I.M. troopers snipe mercilessly with their laser pistols, while the nearly-mindless Gog tries to pound his way through the mountainside and into the base. But the defenders hold firm, and the forces of A.I.M. eventually withdraw, taking their giant "pet" with them.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to track the retreating troops to their apparent base on Skull Island, but the heroes opt to follow their other lead, hoping to find the missing Ka-Zar at the village of the Swamp Men.

Arriving in the village, they learn that Gotham businessman Gregorian Falstaff has set himself up as the tribesmen's "god". Alongside him are his bodyguards, a trio of super-criminals that Booster Gold recognizes: Blackguard, Chiller, and Mindancer. The heroes demand to know what he's after in the Savage Land, and what he's done with Ka-Zar. In response, he sends his minions after them.

A brutal battle ensues, but eventually the three super-mercenaries fall, and the battered Swamp Men abandon their "god". The heroes interrogate Falstaff, but just as he's about to name his employer, a lightning bolt appears out of nowhere and incinerates him. The heroes turn to see a strange "door" appear in mid-air, and a quartet of unfamiliar figures step out: a strangely-garbed teenager calling himself Anti-Lad, and his three adult companions: Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen.

Anti-Lad explains that he is from the far future, and brags that by killing Falstaff, he has "fixed the timeline". Booster Gold's robot companion Skeets begs to differ, and Anti-Lad uses his high-tech visor to scan the robot and confirm that things are still messed up. Apparently, whoever Falstaff is working for still has the potential to create the weapons of mass destruction that are destined to destroy the world.

Anti-Lad claims that he and his friends can't remain here long without doing even more damage to the timeline. He hands the heroes a strange piece of twisted metal he calls a "Worlogog", and instructs them to place it next to the unknown resource when they find it, "...and run!". He and his crew then step back through the doorway and disappear.

With no other leads to follow, the heroes decide to take care of the remaining A.I.M. agents hiding out on Skull Island. S.H.I.E.L.D. loans them a boat, and they approach the shore, only to be confronted by some of the ringleaders of this particular A.I.M. cell: The Plunderer, Gemini, and Doctor Nemesis. From within the giant stone skull that dominates the island, an energy beam also strikes out at the heroes; they eventually learn that it is manned by the boss of bosses, Victorius. The monstrous Gog is also here, but seems reluctant to fight, requiring occasional "encouragement" from Victorius' Electron Blaster to keep attacking.

The battle rages back and forth, with the human villains eventually succumbing. Gog still stands, but with no one giving him orders, he seems to lose interest and walks off into the lake, disappearing from sight. The battle-weary heroes are more than happy to let him go.

To be continued...