Avengers #257
Holocaust in a Hidden Land!
The massive alien known as Terminus is on the loose in the Savage Land, prompting the Avengers to head there to try and stop him.[1] Following the path of destruction, the team finds Ka-Zar who was knocked out when he and a team of scientists were attacked by Terminus. Ka-Zar tells them that the creature tore a machine from the ground, one of the various devices that protects the Savage Land from the freezing weather of the Antarctic. Learning that the scientists were all killed and that Terminus is heading to his home, Ka-Zar insists on accompanying the Avengers because his wife is in danger.
There, Shanna the She-Devil is looking at herself in the mirror, wondering when her pregnancy is going to start showing when Terminus attacks her home. Starfox arrives just in time to pull Shanna away from danger but when he tries attacking Terminus head on, the massive humanoid flicks him away with a single finger. Terminus then continues his mission, smashing through a mountain range, entering yet another tropical jungle that exists in this domain.
Meanwhile, in deep space, Captain Marvel is still a prisoner aboard Sanctuary II. Her captors, led by an alien named Levan, have just received word that their leader, Nebula, is arriving. When the blue-skinned woman arrives, she offers Captain Marvel a position on her team. Although Monica agrees to join them, Nebula fires one of her wrist blasters at the Avenger. This blast passes harmlessly through Monica, revealing to her captors that she found a way to restore her powers. Realizing how ruthless and calculating Nebula is, Captain Marvel makes note to be extra careful in the future. When she asks Nebula what their plans are, the alien reveals that she intends to conquer what is left of the Skrull Empire.[2]
Back on Earth, the Avengers arrive at the ruins of Ka-Zar’s home and discover that Shanna is alive and well. When she tells them where Terminus was heading, Ka-Zar explains that the region he has entered is called Pangea, an old Atlantean resort that he discovered some time ago.[3] When the Avengers decide to venture into Pangea to stop Terminus, Ka-Zar and Shanna insist on accompanying them. This is vetoed by the Wasp, who points out that this situation is too dangerous for them, particularly since Shanna is pregnant.
By this time, Terminus has begun laying waste to the region of Pangea, destroying the city of Lemura by boring into the Earth and causing massive flows of lava to lay waste to the ancient city. He then begins making his way to the Aerie Shalan where a race of Avians live. The extreme heat from the lava flow wipes out this race of bird-men, causing many of them to catch fire in the super-heated air. When the Avengers arrive in their Quinjet, they have to fly over the extreme heat in order to reach Terminus in the eye of the storm. The Black Knight jumps out of the ship first, using his Ebony Blade to cut off the arm Terminus is using to hold his power lance. Hercules leaps out next and rips through the alien’s armor, causing Terminus to fall to the ground. By this time, the removal of the environmental machines has combined with the steam from the lava causes a freak blizzard that causes the Antarctic weather to completely engulf the region.
When Hercules looks into the ruined remains of the armor he discovers that Terminus is much smaller than he appears. An obese creature, Terminus is unable to escape from his armor and pleads with Hercules to save him. However, the Olympian refuses given the holocaust the alien has committed and leaves the monster to die in the freezing cold.[4]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Wasp, Black Knight, Hercules, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, Terminus, Nebula, Skunge, Kehl, Levan, Gunthar, Lord Typ, Zabu
Continuity Notes
This is not the real Terminus. It is a long story. Let’s delve into the facts:
The real Terminus first came to Earth in Fantastic Four #269-270. That story ended with Mister Fantastic trapping Terminus in the center of the Earth with a gravity device.
Quasar #7 will reveal the entity that the Avengers are fighting is not the real Terminus but a Deviant named Jorro. Jorro met and formed an alliance with Terminus over their mutual hatred of the Celestials. Jorro was then sent to the surface disguised as Terminus to recover his power lance to assist in his escape from the Earth’s core.
Also part of this plan was to destroy Celestial technology on Earth, which Quasar #7 states is what made the Savage Land exist in the Antarctic. However, this contradicts multiple stories (notably Ka-Zar the Savage #34 and Fantastic Four #317) which state that the devices that maintained the Savage Land were created by the Nuwali.
The Terminus profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11 clarifies that the Savage Land was the site of some unexplained Celestial experiment.
At the time of this story, the Skrull home world had just been destroyed by Galactus in Fantastic Four #257, leaving their empire in disarray.
Here, readers are reminded that Ka-Zar explored Pangea in Ka-Zar the Savage #1-15.
This is not the end of the Savage Land. The region will be restored by the High Evolutionary in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12, which also reveals that many of the inhabitants of the region escaped through a pocket dimension.
