SANDTSANDT
Type: Alien dimension
Environment: The land seen appeared to be part
of an arid environment, with occasional buildings within a larger
desert-like region; no plant-life was seen.
Three moons are seen floating in
one image. It is unrevealed whether there are more than three moons,
and it is unrevealed whether these moons orbit or move in any fashion.
Usual means of access: Magic (we only saw people transported by magic, but we don't know that that's the only means)
Dominant Life Form: Humanoids
Significant Inhabitants: Mongu; unidentified Emperor; many others unidentified
formerly Dakimh the Enchanter
Visitors: Jennifer Kale, Man-Thing (Ted Sallis)
Notable Locations: Abyss of Eternity, the Arena
First Appearance: (Adventure into) Fear#14 (June, 1973)
Features: Sandt is an alien world that exists as a landmass (perhaps the size of a city) floating in a sea of space (kind of like Asgard).
The space around and below Sandt
is apparently not a cold vacuum like the space outside Earth's
atmosphere, as Mongu survived falling through it for "time beyond
reckoning."
Numerous star-like lights are seen
throughout the space above and below Sandt; it is unrevealed whether
there are stars or similar stellar-structures present throughout the
space around Sandt, and/or whether they are simple not-so-distant
points of light or something else altogether.
It is similarly unrevealed whether
Sandt is the sole landmass within its dimension, or whether it is
perhaps one of many. Based on the precedent from the Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe, it is treated as the sole world in its realm.
The portion of this sea existing below Sandt is known as the Abyss of Eternity.
Sandt is a world of barbarism and sorcerery, with a political system similar to that of ancient Rome on Earth.
Gladiatorial combat and spectacle are commonplace.
Skilled warriors are revered, while any instance of weakness is reviled.
The people of Sandt were grossly
humanoid in appearance, although they had pointed ears. Mongu had
vastly superhuman strength, but whether other natives had such
abilities is unrevealed. There is no frame of reference for their
baseline normal as only Mongu faced the Man-Thing. All others have been
seen only as spectactors.
History:
((Adventure into) Fear#14 (fb) - BTS) - Under
unrevealed circumstances, pre-Cataclysmic terrestrial sorcerer Dakimh
the Enchanter came to serve as court magican to the ruler of the
dimension of Sandt.
((Adventure into) Fear#14) - As the modern-day Cult of Zhered-Na cast the spell to summon the Mists of Maalock to recover the Tome of Zhered-Na, Dakimh apparently guided the mists to summon the Man-Thing and Jennifer Kale (who were both in proximity to the site from which the Cult cast the spell) to the extradimensional realm Sandt where they were bound in mystic chains through which the Man-Thing could not ooze.
Pretending to be aligned with the demon-invasion of Earth, Dakimh
told the two visitors that they must die, but that they would have "one last hopeless chance of survival...in the Arena."
After Jennifer acknowledged that the Man-Thing would fight for her, Dakimh then transported the Man-Thing to the center of the Arena, and himself and Jennifer Kale to the special booth beside Sandt's emperor. Dakimh advised the king that the fearsome "man-object" should provide great sport. The Emperor acknowledged that the creature was ghastly, but didn't a match for their champion...although he queried Dakimh for assurance. Dakimh assured the king , "Of course not, majesty."
When Jennifer argued that the Man-Thing would win, the Emperor was worried by her confidence and asked Dakimh if he was certain there was no cause for concern. After Dakimh explained the Man-Thing to be an unthinking beast, the Emperor announced that they had waited enough and that they should now watch the ugly thing die.
The Emperor then summoned their greatest warrior, Mongu, into the Arena, and the crowd went wild upon his entrance, exclaiming his prowess.
Mongu swiftly attacked the
Man-Thing with his battle axe, but the confused creature only attempted
to avoid his blows.
The crowd called for pain, blood,
and/or death, and Mongu knocked the Man-Thing to the ground. When the
Man-Thing still failed to fight back, Mongu asked the Emperor for his
decision on the beast's fate, and the Emperor swiftly responded with a
definitive thumbs-down.
Mongu then swung into the creature's chest, but when he pulled it out, he was surprised to see only slime. As the Man-Thing rose back to its feet, Mongu became fearful. Sensing and pained by this emotion, the Man-Thing reached forward and grabbed Mongu's hand as it held his axe, its burning reponse to fear fusing the weapon to Mongu's tissue.
Jennifer swiftly turned to the Emperor and said that he had seen what her friend could do, and she asked if they would be sent home immediately, or if he would rather that the Man-Thing do the same thing to him.
The Emperor asked Dakimh for his advice, and when Dakimh tried to diplomatically recommend they return their captives to Earth, the Emperor impatiently silenced him and told him to do what was necessary.
Dakimh returned Jennifer Kale and the Man-Thing to Earth.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe
Edition#16) - Dakimh was now convinced that the Man-Thing was the
creature Zhered-Na had prophesied would act as a savior from the demons
of Sominus and that Kale would be a worthy successor to Zhered-Na
herself.
(Incredible Hulk II#211 (fb)) - On a world of warriors, there was no place for one who has displayed even a moment's weakness.
Mongu's fellow warriors shunned him, and he became an outcast.
No longer able to bear the shame, Mongu went to the edge of the landmass and leapt into the void of the Abyss of Eternity.
For "time beyond reckoning," Mongu
plummeted through space between all dimensions and world, until Earth's
Maha Yogi reached out and pulled him to his side. Given the chance to
redeem himself as a warrior, Mongu became the Maha Yogi's loyal servant.
Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Val Mayerik, and Chic Stone.
Sandt was kind of a plot device to introduce Dakimh and allow him to assess Jennifer Kale's and the Man-Thing's abilities to face the coming threat of the demon invasion.
It is unrevealed under what
circumstances Dakimh came to Sandt, how long he lived there, and how he
came to be considered the Emperor's chief wizard, but the Emperor
certainly relied on Dakimh and respected his opinion. While meeting
with Jennifer Kale and the Man-Thing in Sandt, Dakimh pretended to be
allied with the pending demon invasion of Earth. Obviously Dakimh
actually opposed the demon invasion, but perhaps the people of Sandt
were actually affiliated with Thog and/or the demon invasion. Or, you
now, not...?
I would say the Abyss of Eternity is, to the extradimensional realm of Sandt, what the Well of All Things and the Nexus of All Realities are to Cambodia and the Florida Everglades, respectively, on Earth-616.
--Carycomic
Mongu has his own profile to detail his subsequent adventures.
I have to wonder whether Boris Monguski built his robot, Mongu,
after somehow glimpsing the form and name of Sandt's Mongu...the real
answer, of course, is that Gerber created Mongu as an homage to the
silver age character. I suppose it could just be interesting
coincidence.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to
Abyss of Eternity
Sandtexists as a landmass (perhaps the size of a city) floating in a sea of space (kind of like Asgard).
The space around and below Sandt is apparently
not a cold vacuum like the space outside Earth's atmosphere, as Mongu
survived falling through it for "time beyond reckoning."
Numerous star-like lights are seen throughout the
space above and below Sandt; it is unrevealed whether there are stars
or similar stellar-structures present throughout the space around
Sandt, and/or whether they are simple not-so-distant points of light or
something else altogether.
It is similarly unrevealed whether Sandt is the
sole landmass within its dimension, or whether it is perhaps one of
many. Based on the precedent from the Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe, it is treated as the sole world in its realm.
The portion of this sea existing below Sandt is known as the Abyss of Eternity.
(Incredible Hulk II#211 (fb)) - Shunned by his fellow warriors for his weakness in being defeated by the Man-Thing, Mongu eventually could take it not longer, and he traveled to the edge of the landmass and leapt into the void of the Abyss of Eternity.
For "time beyond reckoning," Mongu plummeted through space between all dimensions and world, until Earth's Maha Yogi reached out and pulled him to his side.-- Incredible Hulk II#211
Arena
The Arena is a standard gladiatorial combat arena in which Sandt's residents gathered to watch their champions battle challengers.
The Emperor had a booth/viewing area at a prime viewing spot.
Mongu had long been considered the champion of gladiatorial combat.
After Dakimh had the Man-Thing and Jennifer Kale transported to Sandt, he told them (for his own purposes, see comments) that they were to die, but that he (and presumably the Emperor) would allow them "one last hopeless chance at survival...in the Arena."
Dakimh then
transported
the Man-Thing to the center of the arena, and himself and Jennifer Kale
to the special booth beside Sandt's emperor.
The Emperor then summoned their greatest warrior, Mongu, into the Arena, and the crowd went wild upon his entrance, exclaiming his prowess.
Mongu swiftly attacked the
Man-Thing with his battle axe, but the confused creature only attempted
to avoid his blows.
The crowd called for pain, blood,
and/or death, and Mongu knocked the Man-Thing to the ground. When the
Man-Thing still failed to fight back, Mongu asked the Emperor for his
decision on the beast's fate, and the Emperor swiftly responded with a
definitive thumbs-down.
However, as the Man-Thing rose back to its feet following Mongu's axe-strike to its chest, Mongu became fearful. Sensing and pained by this emotion, the Man-Thing reached forward and grabbed Mongu's hand as it held his axe, its burning reponse to fear fusing the weapon to Mongu's tissue.
Jennifer swiftly turned to the Emperor and said that he had seen what her friend could do, and she asked if they would be sent home immediately, or if he would rather that the Man-Thing do the same thing to him.
The Emperor asked Dakimh for his advice, and when Dakimh tried to diplomatically recommend they return their captives to Earth, the Emperor impatiently silenced him and told him to do what was necessary.
Mongu's demonstration of weakness in the Arena caused him to be shunned by the other warriors.
--(Adventure into) Fear#14
The Emperor's name, history, and abilties are unrevealed.
It is unrevealed under what circumstances the
pre-Cataclysmic wizard Dakimh the Enchanter traveled to Sandt and came
to be the trusted wizard of the Emperor; it is similarly unrevealed how
long Dakimh was there.
Although he was proud of his warriors, he was somewhat lacking in confidence in them or himself, as he sought frequent approval/confirmation from Dakimh.
He may or may not have some alliance/association with the demon-lord Thog and the demon invasion of Earth (or it could have been that Dakimh was making that up, as it wasn't discussed in the Emperor's presence).
((Adventure into) Fear#14) - Dakimh transported
the Man-Thing to the center of the Arena, and himself and Jennifer Kale
to the special booth beside Sandt's emperor. Dakimh advised the Emperor
that the fearsome "man-object" should provide great sport. The Emperor
acknowledged that the creature was ghastly, but "hardly a match for our champion...is he?"
Dakimh
assured the king , "Of course not, majesty."
When Jennifer argued that the Man-Thing would win, the Emperor was worried by her confidence and asked Dakimh if he was certain there was no cause for concern. After Dakimh explained the Man-Thing to be an unthinking beast, the Emperor announced that they had waited enough and that they should now watch the ugly thing die.
The Emperor then summoned their greatest warrior, Mongu, into the Arena.
Mongu swiftly attacked the
Man-Thing with his battle axe, but the confused creature only attempted
to avoid his blows.
After knocking the Man-Thing to the ground, Mongu asked the Emperor for his
decision on the beast's fate, and the Emperor swiftly responded with a
definitive thumbs-down.
Mongu then swung into the creature's chest, but when the Man-Thing rose back to its feet, unharmed and clearly inhuman in composition, Mongu became fearful. Sensing and pained by this emotion, the Man-Thing reached forward and grabbed Mongu's hand as it held his axe, its burning reponse to fear fusing the weapon to Mongu's tissue.
Jennifer swiftly turned to the Emperor and said that he had seen what her friend could do, and she asked if they would be sent home immediately, or if he would rather that the Man-Thing do the same thing to him.
The Emperor asked Dakimh for his advice, and when Dakimh tried to diplomatically recommend they return their captives to Earth, the Emperor impatiently silenced him and told him to do what was necessary.
Dakimh returned Jennifer Kale and the Man-Thing to Earth.
--(Adventure into) Fear#14
As Sandt was a world of barbarism and sorcery, and the people of Sandt revered strength and battle prowess, while they reviled even momentary weakness for any reason.
The people of Sandt were grossly human in appearance, although they had pointed ears.
Several images show them with solid white eyes, but close-up images clearly show a central, round pupil, even if they have no visible iris.
Mongu is superhumanly strong and durable, but it is unrevealed what abilities the standard natives have. They were seen only as spectators or bystanders in their limited appearances.
((Adventure into) Fear#14) - When the Emperor summoned their greatest warrior, Mongu, into the Arena, and the crowd went wild upon his entrance, exclaiming his prowess.
As Mongu attacked the
Man-Thing with his battle axe, the crowd called for pain, blood,
and/or death, and Mongu knocked the Man-Thing to the ground.
When the
Man-Thing still failed to fight back, Mongu asked the Emperor for his
decision on the beast's fate, and the Emperor swiftly responded with a
definitive thumbs-down.
However, as the Man-Thing rose back to its feet following Mongu's axe-strike to its chest, Mongu became fearful. Sensing and pained by this emotion, the Man-Thing reached forward and grabbed Mongu's hand as it held his axe, its burning reponse to fear fusing the weapon to Mongu's tissue.
Dakimh returned Jennifer Kale and the Man-Thing to Earth.
(Incredible Hulk II#211 (fb)) - Mongu's fellow warriors shunned him for his demonstraion of weakness, and he became an outcast.
--(Adventure into) Fear#14
images: (without ads)
(Adventure into) Fear#14, pg. 9, panel 3 (landscape);
pg. 10, panel 2 (closer landscape, showing building);
pg. 11, panel 3 (Arena, with Emperor in profile);
pg. 12, panel 1 (Emperor, straight-on upper body);
panel 6 (natives in Arena seating);
pg. 14, panel 3 (Emperor gives "Thumbs down" signal);
Incredible Hulk II#211, pg. 9, panel 4 (Mongu shunned);
panel 5 (Mongu leaps into Abyss of Eternity)
Appearances:
(Adventure into) Fear#14 (June, 1973) - Steve Gerber (writer), Val Mayerik (penciler), Chic Stone (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#211 (May, 1977) - Len Wein (writer/editor), Sal Buscema (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (aka Deluxe Edition) #13:
Appendix to Alien Dimensions: Sandt entry (December, 1986) - Mark
Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter Sanderson & Steve Saffel (writers/researchers), Dennis Mallonee (appendix compiler), David Wohl, Marc Siry, Mark McLAurin (editorial assistants), Howard Mackie (assistant editor)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First posted: 07/31/2019
Last updated: 08/07/2019
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