MAA-GOR

Real Name: Maa-Gor

Identity/Class: Sub-species of humanity/"Hidden races" (Man-Apes);
    former mutate

Occupation: Warrior, hunter;
    former leader of the Man-Apes tribe, would-be world-conqueror

Group Membership: Former leader of Man-Apes tribe

Affiliations: Apparently Zodan;
    formerly the Fall People (they were formerly cowed into worshipping and serving him), Ka-Zar (Kevin, Lord Plunder), Ku-La, Malgato, el Tigre, 

Enemies: Daredevil (Matt Murdock), the Fall People, Ka-Zar, Ku-La, Lukanura tribe, Barbara Morse (now Mockingbird), Lord (Robert) Plunder, Plunderer (Parnival Plunder), reporter organism, saber-tooth tigers, Tongah, Zabu;
    any Man-Ape tribesman or woman who opposed or refused him (or who was somehow connected to someone else who had opposed or refused him)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Maa-Gor the killer, Maa-Gor the Mighty, Last of the Man-Ape tribe, Man-Ape;
    "Ape-Master" (taunt from Ka-Zar);
    formerly Man-God

Base of Operations: Unrevealed location within the Savage Land, Antarctica
    formerly the Red Wizard's castle, Skull Island, the Savage Land;

First Appearance: X-Men I#10 (March, 1965)

Powers/Abilities: Maa-Gor is a powerful and savage warrior. He is bipolar and prone to being consumed with rage, making decisions that hurt he and his people in the long run to address the current target of his hatred. Despite this, he was sufficiently cunningto orchestrate the mass slaughter of the saber-tooth tigers via a series of traps and ambushes. His weapon of choice was his war club, although he was experienced with and frequently carried a spear.

    Maa-Gor speaks a primitive dialect and does not speak English. He is missing his left eye.

    His strength and durability were briefly enhanced by Malgato.

    As the Man-Ape, he had advanced, if not superhuman intellect, but was still prone to degenerating into primitive rage if sufficiently provoked or battered. He could create advanced weaponry -- including an oil drill and skycycle -- and instinctively perceive certain solutions, such as using martial arts moves and nerve pinches without having any training. He could utilize and/or the advanced technology left behind by extraterrestrial races. Despite his intellect, he was prone to assuming a foe had perished from an assault, rather than confirming it, allowing his foes to escape and come back to confront him again later. 

    He could rearrange matter, halt moving objects with a thought, transport others' consciousness (or perhaps their astral self) to his side, grant limited mental control powers (such as controlling felines), project his mind across all forms of communication media (at least television, radio, etc. at the time of the story's publication), and absorb ambient life energy from his surroundings to augment his own power, which allowed him to create duplicates of his Man-Ape tribesmen (perhaps 10-11 or more replicas?).

    He also had enhanced strength and durability.

    A second exposure to the Place of Mists split him into two forms: One blue and possessing cold logic, and the other red and retaining only feelings. After the red form slew the blue form, the alien technology responsible for the mists re-merged the two forms and reverted Maa-Gor back to his Man-Ape form and intelligence.

Height:
Weight:
Eyes: Blue (missing left eye)
Hair: Black; (as Man-God) none

History: 

Ka-Zar the Savage#15/2 (fb) - BTS) - Maa-Gor was bipolar: He sometimes awoke feeling splendid, only to be in a raging fury by breakfast time, and then feeling once more composed by lunch, followed by an afternoon of ranting and screaming that might last well into the night.
    Due to his great size and strength, his tribesmen indulged his outbursts.

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb)) - After Robert, Lord Plunder returned to the Savage Land with his 9-year-old son, Kevin, Robert's voice was heard (although not understood) by Maa-Gor and his Man-Apes tribe, who stalked the pair, unaware that they were, in turn, being stalked by the saber-toothed tiger Zabu. 

    As Lord Plunder began to discuss his plans to master the world via the Anti-Metal (Antarctic Vibranium) present there, he was slain by a spear hurled by Maa-Gor or one of the Man-Apes. As Maa-Gor grabbed and threatened to kill the young Kevin, the boy was saved by Zabu, who knocked Maa-Gor away with a powerful leap. 

(Ka-Zar the Savage#15/2 (fb)) - When Maa-Gor attempted to stab Zabu from behind, the young Kevin used his father's pistol to shoot Maa-Gor in his left shoulder.

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb)) - Having already bonded, Kevin leapt atop Zabu's back, and Zabu leapt away. 

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb) - BTS) - Maa-Gor apparently lost his left eye (see comments), leaving it closed over by skin, from Zabu's talons when he knocked Maa-Gor away.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#22/2 (fb)) - Maa-Gor caught up with Kevin and Zabu, the latter of whom had just had his right front leg caught in one of the Man-Apes' spike traps after saving Kevin from drowning following a fall off of a cliff while being threatened by a pteranodon. With Kevin still unconscious and and an exhausted Zabu trapped, Maa-Gor raised his flint-tipped spear for the kill. 

(Ka-Zar the Savage#23/2 (fb)) - Maa-Gor stabbed Zabu in the chest, seemingly killing him. Believing he had killed the last saber-tooth in the Savage Land, he proudly engaged in a victory dance. He prepared to crush the unconscious Kevin's skull with a rock, but instead decided to raise the child as his own; he felt that he would strike awe into others with his yellow-haired son, which no one else had. 

    That evening, after the tribewomen nursed him back into consciousness, fed him antelope blood stew, adorned him in a robe, and gave him a war club, the still stuporous Kevin sat at Maa-Gor's side during a feast celebratory Maa-Gor's conquest.

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb) - BTS / Ka-Zar the Savage#26/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Man-Apes named Kevin "Ka-Zar" -- meaning "son of the tiger" -- as he had been saved from their bloodlust and been adopted by the saber-tooth tiger Zabu.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#24/2 (fb) - BTS) - Maa-Gor taught Ka-Zar to hurl his war spear with deadly accuracy.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#24/2 (fb)) - Maa-Gor danced and howled in triumph as Ka-Zar demonstrated his proficiency, slaying Ruga the antelope. Maa-Gor imagined that soon the yellow-haired youth would be as savage and skilled at killing as Maa-Gor himself and then they would walk with pride through Maa-Gor's village as father and son.

    Proudly slinging the antelope across his back, Maa-Gor and Ka-Zar headed back toward camp. Upon their return, they found that the Man-Apes had captured a member of the Lukanura, a local warring tribe and bitter enemy of the Man-Apes. Swiftly realizing the others would not be interested in his "son's" kill, Maa-Gor instructed Ka-Zar -- who was at last starting to come out of the daze that had surrounded him since the pteranadon attack -- to kill the prisoner. Though realizing this was wrong, Ka-Zar saw Maa-Gor as a father figure, and so he threw the spear, impaling the prisoner.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#24/2 (fb) - BTS) - One of the Man-Apes observed as Zabu began to recover from his nearly fatal wounds.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#25/2 (fb)) - Beside himself with pride and triumph, Maa-Gor painted Ka-Zar's face and chest with the dead prisoner's blood. Maa-Gor's pleasure turned to rage when one of the Man-Apes reported Zabu's survival, and Maa-Gor led Ka-Zar back to Zabu to finish him off. To test Ka-Zar's devotion, Maa-Gor handed him his spear and instructed him to kill his former ally. As Ka-Zar fully regained his wits, Maa-Gor watched as he charged Zabu with his spear.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#26/2 (fb)) - As Ka-Zar seemingly repeatedly thrust the spear into Zabu's chest, Maa-Gor looked on with paternal pride; he eventually began to question how savagely the boy continued his assault. Preparing to warn the boy not to spoil the meat, Maa-Gor approached, only to find that Ka-Zar had been spearing the trap, and freeing Zabu. Maa-Gor leapt backwards to escape Zabu's claws, and Ka-Zar stabbed Maa-Gor in the foot, allowing he and Zabu time to flee.

(Ka-Zar the Savage#26/2 (fb)) - Kevin accepted that he was no longer the boy Kevin, but the man Ka-Zar.

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb)) - The Man-Apes hurled spears ineffectually and chased after the pair until they entered the shadowed "Place of Mists," which the Man-Apes feared to enter (see comments).

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb) - BTS) - After Ka-Zar had grown to manhood, the pair emerged from the Place of Mists, and Ka-Zar's prowess swiftly became legend.

(Astonishing Tales I#11 (fb)) - Maa-Gor forced the straggling remnants of the once-numerous Man-Apes tribe to follow him in his single-minded pursuit of vengeance, not even allow the seeking of mates for the tribesmen. Any who voiced protest was swiftly slain by Maa-Gor's club, and so the Man-Apes followed Maa-Gor; they knew better than to even cringe in horror at the kill cries of Ka-Zar or Zabu.

    Despite the hunt, Maa-Gor and the Man-Apes did not find them for a significant time period.

    Finally, one day, the Man-Apes located Ka-Zar and Zabu, and they pursued their quarry. Sensing the Man-Apes' approach via their scent, Ka-Zar recognized there was too many to fight, and he led Zabu to flee. Though the Man-Apes shouted for Ka-Zar's death, and though Ka-Zar felt a desire for revenge for his father's death, Ka-Zar paused and spoke to the Man-Apes, telling him he and Zabu had no quarrell with them. His diplomatic efforts were cut short by spears hurled by the Man-Apes, and he realized that only death would sate the Man-Apes' thirst that day. 

    Upon reaching the top of the mountain where the clumsy Man-Apes could not climb, Ka-Zar decided that since the Man-Apes were so like him in form that he would try to appeal to them once more. Showing them he held no weapon, he asked that Maa-Gor do the same and that they might forget the past. The Man-Apes paused briefly and perhaps if Maa-Gor had not been there to goad them on they might have listened to reason, but Maa-Gor was there, and an eager young warrior hurled his spear, striking Zabu in his right shoulder. Ka-Zar pulled out the spear and appreciated that Zabu would live but would not be able to climb or flee. 

    Resolving that he did want vengeance after all, Ka-Zar braced himself and pushed a large rock down towards the Man-Apes below, and it brought more rock with it, crushing and burying the Man-Apes...all save Maa-Gor himself. As Maa-Gor looked around, Ka-Zar -- as he leapt at him -- assured him all the rest were dead, as he should be. Maa-Gor reeled under a series of brutal blows, but when Ka-Zar paused to tell him he had been willing to swallow his desire for revenge had Maa-Gor not opened new wounds, Maa-Gor reclaimed a club and came at him anew. Again Ka-Zar struck Maa-Gor repeatedly, noting his pleasure that Maa-Gor had not fallen too quickly, as he wanted him to remember the day he paid for killing Zabu's loved ones and Ka-Zar's father. As Maa-Gor was stunned upon being punched down and his head striking rock, Ka-Zar told him he could kill him, but he would not, as he wanted him to be alone, like Zabu. Stopping Zabu from attacking, Ka-Zar departed with his feline friend while Maa-Gor struggled back to his feet.

(X-Men I#10 - BTS) - The X-Men (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl) had arrived in the Savage Land to investigate Ka-Zar.

(X-Men I#10) - Shortly after the X-Men confronted and got into a struggle of mistaken intentions with Ka-Zar, Maa-Gor encountered the group, shouting a war cry at Ka-Zar, condemning him as a smooth-skinned weaking and threatening to crush him. Identifying Maa-Gor as the last of the Man-Ape trive, Ka-Zar leapt forward and landed a drop-kick that flattened Maa-Gor. After Ka-Zar dodged his attacks and stripped him of his club, Maa-Gor fled. 

(Daredevil I#12) - Maa-Gor discovered Daredevil (Matt Murdock) lying helpless in a cave after he had been injured (including losing his radar sense) in a fight with Ka-Zar and taken there while Ka-Zar went out in search of medicinal herbs.

(Daredevil I#13) - As Maa-Gor approached, Daredevil awakened but remained silent and motionless. Maa-Gor examined the still Daredevil, who, sensing the man-ape was preparing to strike for the kill, threw the first punch, relying on his skill and experience to punch Maa-Gor away. Maa-Gor battered Daredevil within the confirned cave until the Plunderer, thinking Maa-Gor was fighting his brother, Ka-Zar, shot Maa-Gor. Injured and confused by the sudden presence of the Plunderer's men, Maa-gor fled. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#1 (fb) - BTS / Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2 (fb) - BTS) - When a reincarnation of Garokk walked the Savage Land, heralding disaster, Malgato -- who sought to gain and keep power by rallying people behind him -- claimed to be the latest Red Wizard. He exploited the legend of the need for human sacrifice to maintain the spell that protected the Savage Land from the cold.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#1 (fb) - BTS) - Due to Maa-Gor's hatred for Ka-Zar, Malgato "magically" enlisted the Man-Ape Maa-Gor as his servant.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#1) - Within Malgato's castle, Maa-Gor watched as Malgato viewed via a mystic screen the return of Ka-Zar and Zabu to the Savage Land. Malgato watched with interest as Malgato told of the history of the Savage Land circa the Great Cataclysm (18,000 BC) and how the Red Wizard of that time invoked the sun god Garokk to prevent the Savage Land from being covered over by polar ice-cap. After Malgato reviewed Maa-Gor's past with Ka-Zar, an enraged Maa-Gor vowed to kill his enemy. After Malgato's robotic pteranodons (see comments) brought Ka-Zar and Zabu to Malgato's castle, Malgato stifled Maa-Gor's urge to kill them both, telling him they must speak first. 

    After Malgato insisted that Ka-Zar was needed for the sacrifice to keep the cold from the Savage Land, Ka-Zar refused and rushed them, but Malgato released a net (seemingly out of thin air) that captured Ka-Zar and Zabu, then instructed Maa-Gor to beat them into submission. Maa-Gor happily battered the captives with his club, hitting them a dozen times before Ka-Zar broke free, punched out Maa-Gor, and fled with Zabu.

    Malgato then "magically" strengthened Maa-Gor amd sent him to recapture them. As Maa-Gor approached, Ka-Zar ordered Zabu to escape. This time, however, the enhanced Maa-Gor weathered Ka-Zars attacks and then choked Ka-Zar unconscious, and Malgato had to stop him from slaying the jungle lord; he assured Maa-Got that they would kill Ka-Zar, but only at the proper time. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#1 (fb) - BTS) - Maa-Gor brought Ka-Zar back to the castle, where Ka-Zar was bound to a stake alongside the similarly bound Shanna, previously captured by Malgato's robotic pteranodons. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#1) - Maa-Gor stood by as Malgato awakened Ka-Zar and then introduced him to his sacrificial companion, Shanna.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2) - Zabu leapt into the room and helped Ka-Zar out of his bonds, and -- probably not needing Malgato's urging -- Maa-Gor attacked Ka-Zar; however, no longer feeling the Red Wizard's enhancement, Maa-Gor became afraid as Ka-Zar pummeled him. When Ka-Zar threatened to break Maa-Gor's neck if Malgato did not call off his attack, Malgato instead voiced a spell that stopped the fight and forced Ka-Zar to listen to him. When Ka-Zar and Shanna refused to believe his warnings of their need to sacrifice themselves, Malgato caused them to fall into a pit and into the lake below with his plan to using false evidence to convince them to do so.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2 - BTS) - Having determined that Malgato was using robots, Shanna convinced Ka-Zar to return to Malgato's castle to expose his duplicity.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2) - As soon as Ka-Zar and Shanna entered Malgato's castle, a raging Maa-Gor charged for the kill, but -- as he remained unenhanced -- Ka-Zar again overpowered and subdued Maa-Gor.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2 - BTS) - Ka-Zar and Shanna destroyed the Wizard's electrically-powered/connected sacrificial flame bowl, deactivating his robot dinosaurs and causing Malgato to flee.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#2 - BTS / Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3 (fb) - BTS) - Maa-Gor was buried under rubble when one of Malgato's robot pteranodons crashed into his castle.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3) - Maa-Gor pulled himself from the wreckage, thinking with rage on his defeat by Ka-Zar, which had left him trapped. He then leapt into and swam through water to the mainland, and when a "rare salt-water alligator" attacked him, he turned his rage at Ka-Zar on it, achieving some level of satisfaction as he slew it with his bare hands. Nonetheless, as he continued on to dry land, his rage at Ka-Zar increased with every step until he reached the Place of Mists; feeling his life had no meaning without revenge, he rushed into the mists, which swiftly transformed him into powerful humanoid form.

    Retaining his hatred even in this evolved form, Maa-Gor raged that Ka-Zar had driven him to this state; but when his fist shattered granite and his mind began to race with advanced language and concepts, his emotions cooled, and logic prevailed. Considering the nature of his transformation, he decided that he was no longer a Man-Ape but a Man-God, and he used his new-found matter-rearranging power to give himself a new costume, and then mentally located a willing subject to help him, el Tigre, in a remote South American city. Transporting el Tigre's consciousness  to his side, Maa-Gor convinced him to aid him in his plot to conquer the Savage Land, and then returned el Tigre to his body and instructed him to travel there physically.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3 (fb) - BTS) - Via materials left behind by an ancient race, Maa-Gor fashioned an oil drill.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3 - BTS) - El Tigre traveled to the Savage Land and joined up with Maa-Gor, who granted him the ability to mentally control Zabu and other felines.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3 (fb)) - Having been sent to tail el Tigre, Bobbi Morse tracked him to the Savage Land via a tracer-bug.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3) - The Maa-Gor and el Tigre confronted Ka-Zar and Zabu in some ancient ruins. When Ka-Zar swiftly gained an advantage of el Tigre, Maa-Gor hurled a boulder at Ka-Zar and then leapt to strangle him. Failing to recognize his transformed foe, Ka-Zar nonetheless fought free, after which Maa-Gor identified himself. Maa-Gor grabbed a weapon from the ruins, but Ka-Zar warded off his assaults until he was distracted by hearing Zabu snap el Tigre's weapon, allowing Maa-Gor to knock him out with a blow to the head. El Tigre then rendered Zabu docile, and the two villains departed with Zabu.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3 - BTS) - Having observed Ka-Zar's defeat, Bobbi Morse rushed to his aid. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#3) - Maa-Gor demonstrated his oil well and noted that the Savage Land also contained hidden energy sources unimagined by mortal scientists. Having followed their trail, Ka-Zar attacked, and Maa-Gor was overwhelmed by rage, reverting back to his savage mentality. Ka-Zar dodged Maa-Gor's blows and fought back evenly until el Tigre forced Zabu to attack him; as the two villains gloated about their perceived pending victor and plans, Bobbi Morse knocked Maa-Gor into el Tigre. Maa-Gor fought her, eventually catching her foot and allowing el Tigre to strike her down, but the distraction freed Zabu's mind, and he joined with Ka-Zar and preparing to punish their foes.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4) - As Ka-Zar tackled him, Maa-Gor asked if Ka-Zar had not yet learned he was his superrior, and he kicked him in the head, knocking him back. Ka-Zar's next charge was halted with logical blocks and strikes mimicking Judo, but Ka-Zar's experience enabled him to eventually dodge a kick and then pull Maa-Gor by that leg into the air, causing him to fall and hit his head. The pain roused Maa-Gor's rage, and he charged Ka-Zar, knocking him over and then beating him senseless with a rock while chanting for his death. Regaining his wits, Maa-Gor stopped short of killing Ka-Zar, wishing to end his foe in a more public and fitting manner. He then helped again bring Zabu under el Tigre's call, after which he carried Ka-Zar, with el Tigre carrying Bobbi Morse and leading Zabu to the vilage of the Fall People, deciding that before wealth he would achieve the adulation of those who formerly despised him. 

    When Ka-Zar's ally Tongah hurled a spear at Maa-Gor, the Man-God mentally stopped it in mid air and then shattered it with a single hand. All save Tongah were awed, and when Tongah charged, el Tige fell him with a bola at his feet. As Maa-Gor introduced himself as the Man-God, the other Fall People dropped to their knees and bowed to him. Maa-Gor lost interest in Ka-Zar, tossing him to the ground and telling el Tigre to do with him what he would. Planning to commence his world-wide activities, Maa-Gor took Bobbi with him; having recovered but waited for the proper moment to act, she kicked Maa-Gor in the face, but he swiftly subdued her with a nerve pinch.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4 (fb) - BTS) - El Tigre had Ka-Zar and Tongah publicly bound, while Zabu remained under his mental control.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4) - As he carried Bobbi through the jungle, Maa-Gor wondered about his most primal urge to take her as his mate, pondering whether it was perhaps he sensed her interest in Ka-Zar. Putting any potential mating aside, he bound Bobbi to a tree and then cast his mental powers across the world.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4 / Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5 (fb) - BTS) - Appearing on every television, radio, and other communication medium, Maa-Gor detailed, in precise, graphic terms his extortion threat: He threatened to take control of Earth's total energy resources, promising horrible hardships if his demands -- being worshipped as humanity's god -- were not met.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4) - Though some questioned the veracity of the threat, Nick Fury of SHIELD recognized its truth. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4 (fb) - BTS) - Regaining control of Zabu, Ka-Zar broke his bonds, subdued el Tigre, and released Tongah. He left Zabu and Tongah to watch el Tigre and headed out after Maa-Gor. 

    Maa-Gor began funneling the life forces of the area around him to augment his powers.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4) - As Ka-Zar approached, Maa-Gor used these energies to create a simulation of his former Man-Ape tribe, who swiftly surrounded Ka-Zar.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5) - Assuming Ka-Zar would be slain by the Man-Ape duplicates, Maa-Gor approached Bobbi, announing that he would present her to the world as his queen. Voicing her opposition to his ugly body and mind, she kicked him in the face, and he was again overcome with rage, cursing her and tossing her to share Ka-Zar's fate at the Man-Apes' hands. Maa-Gor again regained his composure, noting that there was an entire world of potential mates, and departed, assuming the Man-Apes would kill both. 

    Via an advanced sky cycle presumably of his own construction, Maa-Gor flew through the jungle, day-dreaming of basking in the worship-filled adoration of the entire world's peoples. He was annoyed to be distracted by el Tigre, who had narrowly escaped with his life at the hands of the Fall People. Although el Tigre pleaded for help, Maa-Gor told him that since emerging from the Mystic Mists, allying with him was his only mistake, and that he was no longer his master but the god of his whole race; Maa-Gor then departed to take control of Earth's energy resources. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5 - BTS) - Mocking Maa-Gor's mistake in revealing the source of his powers, el Tigre rushed into the Place of the Mists; though granted matter-rearranging powers, el Tigre was transformed into monstrous form and his intellect dulled. Refusing to accept this, el Tigre rushed off a cliff, falling to his apparent death.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5) - Having observed the energies released in el Tigre's mutation, Maa-Gor approached his fallen form and sensed the nature of his transformation; he further speculated that the mists might be the central cause of the Savage Land's anachronistic evolutionary status quo. Hoping to discover the root causes of such an evolution-directing power with the goal of learning to control it and thusly control the world even more rapidly, Maa-Gor re-entered the mists, believing his own powers would protect him from such disaster as befell el Tigre. 

    Sensing "a battering attack of pulsing solid light," Maa-Gor pushed forward through it to find an alien machine as its source. Forcing forward, Maa-Gor grasped the machine and was split into two beings, one blue and possessing cold logic, and the other red and retaining only feelings. The blue being denounced the red one's hatred but stated that one of them must disappear and that they should reason a way to do so; instead, the red being announced that he would force a way with the blue being's death, punching and then smashing the blue being's head with a boulder as he did so. 

    As the red being shouted its victory in having destroyed the logic that restrained him, which now left him invincible, the computer interrupted. It stated how encountering the reporter organism (itself) led Maa-Gor to suffer extreme imbalance in a state of psycho/physical schizophrenia, and then the organism suffered further imbalance, creating total disharmony; it resolved that balance would be restored, after which the red being collapsed atop the fallen blue being.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5 - BTS) - Maa-Gor's selves presumably remerged, after which he reverted to his original Man-Ape form; either the reporter organism caused the change, or it was the natural progression/endpoint of Maa-Gor's mutation.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5) - Maa-Gor trudged wearily out of the mists, again dreaming of dominated Ka-Zar and Zabu...as he would continue to dream.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Chic Stone.

    When you're Maa-Gor, you vow to kill Ka-Zar ("Maa-Gor notar Ka-Zar!"). It's what you do.

    Although he spoke a little English in X-Men I#10, he has consistently not spoken English since then. Maybe it just wasn't spelled out as a translation. Or maybe he suffered a brief intelligence boost...perhaps a limited exposure to the Land of Mists?

        Maa-Gor spoke a few words in the language of the Man-Apes. In addition to naming Ka-Zar and Zabu, he commonly said, "Notor," which means kill. 

Zodan? - what(?)...or what the #$% was that(?)...or tiger(?)...or, I guess it means this guy: Zodan

Nadda brud..."now I've got you"(?)

Dat-ta Natok..."run for your lives"(?) (or "they have returned")

Deb...and(?)..."Ka-Zar deb Zabu"

Ek...look(?) or it's(?)...while pointing "Maa-Gor! Ek Ka-Zar! Ek Zabu!"

Brud Kabbak

Phakt...die?..."Ka-Zar phakt! Maa-Got notar Ka-Zar!"

    In the original stories, the first conflict with Kevin Plunder (after killing his father) led to the Man-Apes chasing them until they reached the Place of Mists, where they would not go. In the retelling in Ka-Zar the Savage, Kevin shot Maa-Gor, and there was nothing about the mists. Perhaps that happened sometime after the Ka-Zar the Savage#26/2 story...some unseen adventure before the conflict that led to the deaths of the rest of the Man-Apes as seen in Astonishing Tales#11?

    In the original stories, Maa-Gor had both his eyes when meeting the adult Ka-Zar and Daredevil in the modern era. Astonishing Tales #11 added him losing his eye to Zabu during his first encounter with the young Kevin Plunder, but he was occasionally still pictured with two eyes.

    Malgato turned out to not be magic after all. You can read about in the comments for Malgato's profile.

    Apparently Maa-Gor's tribe was not actually the last of the cave-men, as we later saw a very different looking tribe led by a Man-Ape named Michael.

    Malgato called them pteradactyls...I used to make the same mistake...you can google the differences - pteranodons are much bigger, lack tails and teeth, and had a long crest at the back of their heads. They also lived at least 50 million years later (during the Cretaceous period) than pterodactyls, who lived during the Jurassic period.

    Maa-Gor/Man-God's split into red and blue halves may have been inspired by Superman doing the same back in Superman#162 (July, 1963)...and then followed up a few times thereafter, including a whole storyline in 1998.

    Savage Tales I#6 has a flashback that retells the flashback from Astonishing Tales#11 without anything new that I could see.  Savage Tales Annual#1 reprints the story from Astonishing Tales#11 in full, also with nothing new. He's also listed in some places as being in Ka-Zar the Savage#21...but that's only a flashback to the encounter with Malgato.

    Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle is actually only Ka-Zar in the indicia, and it's the second series, so it's Ka-Zar II (with Ka-Zar Quarterly as I), but I think Lord of the Hidden Jungle has such a nice ring to it.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Maa-Gor should be distinguished from:

• MAN-APES of VILAYET of the Hyborian era - carnivorous beasts, possibly spawn of Hanuman
      -- Giant-Size Conan#2
• MAN-GOD of World War I -s ee DANNER, HUGO (app-dann)--Marvel Preview#9
• other Man, God, Ape, Maa, or Gor characters...
  

Reporter organism

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5) - Sensing "a battering attack of pulsing solid light," Maa-Gor/Man-God pushed forward through it to find an alien machine as its source. Forcing forward, Maa-Gor grasped the machine and was split into two beings, one blue and possessing cold logic, and the other red and retaining only feelings. The blue being denounced the red one's hatred but stated that one of them must disappear and that they should reason a way to do so; instead, the red being announced that he would force a way with the blue being's death, punching and then smashing the blue being's head with a boulder as he did so. 

    As the red being shouted its victory in having destroyed the logic that restrained him, which now left him invincible, the computer interrupted. It stated how encountering the reporter organism (itself) led Maa-Gor to suffer extreme imbalance in a state of psycho/physical schizophrenia, and then the organism suffered further imbalance, creating total disharmony; it resolved that balance would be restored, after which the red being collapsed atop the fallen blue being.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5 - BTS) - Maa-Gor's selves presumably remerged, after which he reverted to his original Man-Ape form; either the reporter organism caused the change, or it was the natural progression/endpoint of Maa-Gor's mutation.

Man-Apes duplicates

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#4) - As Ka-Zar approached, Maa-Gor used these energies to create a simulation of his former Man-Ape tribe, who swiftly surrounded Ka-Zar.

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5) - Assuming Ka-Zar would be slain by the Man-Ape duplicates, Maa-Gor approached Bobbi, announing that he would present her to the world as his queen. Voicing her opposition to his ugly body and mind, she kicked him in the face, and he was again overcome with rage, cursing her and tossing her to share Ka-Zar's fate at the Man-Apes' hands. Maa-Gor again regained his composure, noting that there was an entire world of potential mates, and departed, assuming the Man-Apes would kill both. 

(Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle#5- BTS) - Maa-Gor returned to the Place of Mists and was split into two separate beings that fought to the death before being reverted to the single, primitive Maa-Gor form. 

images: (without ads)
X-Men I#10, pg. 11, panel 3 (threatens Ka-Zar);
        pg. 12, pg. 12, panel 1 (flees Ka-Zar)
Daredevil I#13, pg. 1 (standing over Daredevil)
Astonishing Tales I#11, pg. 13, panel 3 (face, showing blinded eye) - drawn on...
        pg. 19, panel 3 (getting back to his feet)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #1, pg. 16, panel 5 (face)
    #3, pg. 5, panel 4 (transformed into Man-God);
    #4, pg. 13, panel 5-6 (transmitting);
    #5, pg. 1 (Man-Apes duplicates);
        pg. 9 (Man-God on sky cycle);
        pg. 15, panel 1 (reporter close side);
            panel 2 (reporter above);
            panel 4-5 (split);
            panel 6-7 (fighting);
        pg. 16, panel 1 (reporter distant full);
        pg. 21, panel 4 & 6 (body & face, reverted to original form);
Ka-Zar the Savage#15/2, pg. 2, panel 6 (using Ku-La like club);
    #23/2, pg. 1 (standing over Zabu & Kevin with spear);
        pg. 6, panel 3 (sitting on throne);
    #26/2, pg. 2, panel 4 (eyes)

Appearances:
X-Men I#10 (March, 1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (penciler), Chic Stone (inker)
Daredevil I#12-13 (January-February, 1966) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (layouts), John Romita, Sr. (finishes)
Astonishing Tales I#11 (April, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gil Kane (penciler), Frank Giacoia (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #1 (January, 1974) - Mike Friedrich (writer), Paul Reinman (breakdowns), Mike Royer (finished art), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #2 (March, 1974) - Mike Friedrich (writer), Don Heck (penciler), Jack Abel (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #3 (May, 1974) - Mike Friedrich (writer), Don Heck (penciler), Mike Royer (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #4 (July, 1974) - Bullpen West (plotter(s)), Mike Friedrich (writer), Don Heck (penciler), Mike Royer (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ka-Zar (Lord of the Hidden Jungle) #5 (September, 1974) - Bullpen West (plotter(s)), Mike Friedrich (writer), Don Heck (penciler), Mike Royer (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Ka-Zar the Savage#15/2 (June, 1982) - Bruce Jones (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Louise Jones (editor)
Ka-Zar the Savage#22/2 (January, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Louise Jones (editor)
Ka-Zar the Savage#23/2 (February, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Louise Jones (editor)
Ka-Zar the Savage#24/2 (March, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Louise Jones and Danny Fingeroth (editors)
Ka-Zar the Savage#25/2-26/2 (April-May, 1983) - Bruce Jones (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Danny Fingeroth (editor)

First Posted: 08/12/2016
Last updated: 08/12/2016

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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