SIR LYANSIR LYAN
Real Name: Presumably Lyan
Identity/Class: Terrestrial fauna (lion) mutate (New Men)
Occupation: Knight, warrior
Group Membership: Knights of Wundagore (notably Sir Gote, Sir Hogg, Sir Lepard, Sir Ossilot, Sir Ram (the one active on Wundagore II after the reversion from animal form), Sir Ursus; likely Sir Ram); and Count Tagar, Sir Porga), New Men (presumably including Bova Ayshire)
Affiliations: Jonathan Drew, High Evolutionary (Herbert Wyndham), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Jack of Hearts (Jack Hart), Magnus, Recorder#211, Soviet Super-Soldiers (Crimson Dynamo/(Dimitri Bukharin), Darkstar/Laynia Petrovna, Vanguard/Nikolai Krylenko), Thor Odinson
Enemies: Chthon, Man-Beast and his New Men, Rigellians (notably Arcturus), presumably the swamp creatures of Wundagore II;
presumably Hulk (Bruce Banner);
formerly High Evolutionary, Iron Man;
Known Relatives: The High Evolutionary is his figurative father and the other New Men are figurative siblings;
"Lady Lioness" (wife);
Aliases: Sir Liyan (see comments)
Base of Operations: Last seen on Wundagore II (allegedly the 5th planet in the Sirius star system, Milky Way galaxy);
formerly High Evolutionary's citadel atop Mount Wundagore, Transia, Europe, Earth
First Appearance: Thor I#134 (November, 1966)
Powers/Abilities: A lion evolved and mutated into humanoid conformation, Sir Lyan has sharp (possibly retractible) claws and enlarged canine teeth. He presumably has enhanced human strength, speed, and reflexes.
He presumably has enhanced olfactory and auditory senses, as well as enhanced nocturnal vision.
As a Knight of Wundagore, he was trained and experienced in armed and unarmed combat, wore armor (including space armor as needed), wielded a sword and possibly a lasso-launching hand-weapon and/or a bola.
He was presumably highly-skilled in climbing, leaping, and swimming.
He flew atop an atomic steed, upon which he wielded some sort of energy lance. He could pilot the steed within an atmosphere as well as in space.
He was also experienced in wearing a space suit and using energy blasters.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'8" to 6'10"); he looks to be 2-4" taller than Iron Man, 6'6" in the armor)History:
.
 (Thor
I#132-134 - BTS) - In recent years, Count Tagar and Sir Porga brought Jane Foster to the
High Evolutionary's citadel to educate the New Men in the ways of the
outside world. (Thor I#134) - As Thor arrived approached Mount Wundagore, investigating Jane Foster's disappearance via a Rigellian tracking device, the Knights of Wundagore -- including Sir Ossilot, Sir Lepard, and Sir Lyan -- detected and approached him via their atomic steeds, after which they lassoed him. Certain they would bring him to Jane, Thor allowed the Knights to take him into the High Evolutionary's Citadel, after which he tossed the Knights around when they refused to release him. One of the other knights called Sir Ossilot and Sir Lyan to his side. The Knights soon agreed to stop fighting and discuss matters, and -- at Thor's request -- one of them removed his helmet, revealing his true nature. When Thor forced his way in to confront the High Evolutionary, the distraction caused the Evolutionary's wolf-subject to be over-exposed to Isotope C. After the energies around the wolf caused an explosion, the High Evolutionary noted how the wolf would be evolved farther than he had ever dared to go before. The Evolutionary further noted that the rays were now deadly to him and that it was too late to stop the process. (Thor I#134 - BTS) - Rendered both mad/malevolent and uncontrollably powerful, the wolf (identified as the Man-Beast) plotted to destroy those around him. |
.
(Thor I#135 - BTS) - As at least one Knight, possibly Sir Lyan, watched, the Evolutionary threw some object against the wall to demonstrate that the Man-Beast had created an anti-matter barrier to prevent them from breaching his vault. By the time the Evolutionary used his induction device to force the Man-Beast to confront them, the Man-Beast had already created a number of his own New Men, who then engaged Thor and the Evolutionary. (Thor I#135) - Count Tagar led the Knights of Wundagore to engage the New Men. After Thor subdued the Man-Beast, the Knights forced the rest of the New Men into the Evolutionary's Star Chamber, which then transported them to the "galaxy Dromisana."(Thor I#135 - BTS) - Deciding that
they would continue to endanger mankind if they remained on Wundagore,
the High Evolutionary instructed Thor and Jane Foster to depart. . . . . |
.
(West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - The Evolutionary sent forth his Knights to explore this planet, and they discovered and reported an abandoned city. (West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - One of the Knights (presumably Count Tagar), officially claimed the world in the name of the High Evolutionary. (Tales to Astonish I#95/2 (fb) - BTS) - They named the world Wundagore II...(Tales to Astonish I#94/2 (fb) - BTS / West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - ...and they (re)built the city, adapting it to their use. |
.
(Iron Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - The Evolutionary and his Knights encountered the giant praying mantis-like creatures apparently native to this world..
As these creatures made no use of the world's riches, the High Evolutionary banished them to the swamps.
(West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - Meanwhile, the High Evolutionary used the menagerie of animals contained in his citadel to evolve a female of each species he had already evolved for his knights.
(West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb)) - The High Evolutionary presented the women to his knights to become their wives.
The Evolutionary told the couples to go forth into the new city and to be fruitful and multiply; he further advised them that he had exhausted his stores and that from then on, they would be responsible for replenishing their numbers.
(Tales to Astonish I#94/2 (fb) - BTS) - Their little civilization thrived and flourished in peace and prosperity initially.
(West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - The High Evolutionary left his charges to their own pursuits as he remained in his laboratory and devoted himself to his research.(Tales to Astonish I#94/2 (fb) - BTS) - Eventually the High Evolutionary had the Hulk transported to Wundagore II.
(Tales to Astonish I#96/2 - BTS) - The maddened New Men / Knights of Wundagore then broke into the High Evolutionary's base.
High Evolutionary assaulted the maddened Knights, but he was mortally wounded and then subjected himself to his
Genetic Accelerator.
(Iron Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - The Rigellians serving the rogue Commander Arcturus believed themselves to have found a new home when one of their space probes discovered Wundagore II.
The Rigellians found traces of a once-thriving civilization, but they saw only wild beasts foraging in it cities. The Rigellians were overjoyed, and they considered that this world would be New Rigel.
When the Rigellians' exploratory craft landed, the wild beast fled, but cosmic radiation born by the ship from its journeys through space somehow caused the beasts to re-evolve back into the forms of the New Men, bereft of the savagery that had previously afflicted them.
Speaking and clothing themselves, the New Men returned to their cities to see if they could recall what had caused them to devolve.
Whether they learned what had happened to them, they recalled that they were the Knights of Wundagore and that they had returned to their home.
(Iron
Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - Although there was
plenty of room on the planet for them all, the Rigellians were
unwilling to live with beasts, and the Knights of Wundagore were
willing to fight to keep their world and drive off the invaders. 
(Iron
Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - Prior to any actual war being declared, the Rigellians allegedly attacked and wounded a number of the New Men. The Rigellians also allegedly tortured some of the New Men for information.
(Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - The Knights of Wundagore built a mothership to transport them at least to the space outside Wundagore II's atmosphere, and they built numerous space suits and either recovered or built numerous atomic steeds able to function in space.
(Iron Man I#109 - BTS / Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Earth heroes Iron Man and Jack of Hearts were transported to the Rigellian command ship, and Arcturus noted that they were preparing for the final battle in the war of colonization with the resisting inhabitants of Wundagore II.(Iron Man I#110) - Wearing space suits and astride their atomic steeds as well as dragonfly-like ships, the Knights of Wundagore -- including Sir Lyan, Sir Lepard, Sir Ossilot, Sir Ram and many others -- assaulted Arcturus' fleet.
Although the Rigellians were caught by surprise and initially reeling, the Knights considered that the Rigellians would recover and counter-attack; however, win or lose, they vowed they fight for the realm as true sons of the lost creator.
(Iron Man I#111) - Sir Lyan exhorted the other Knights to slay the invaders, and other knights noted that their power-lances ruptured the ship's hull, and they hoped that they might destroy the command ship
When a blast hit a fuel storage cell, the explosion hurled Iron Man from the Rigellian ship into the middle of the attacking Wundagorians.
Sir Lepard announced this to Sir Ram, and what appeared to be Sir Lyan advised that this might be a destruct drone and ordered the others to attack it.
Seeking only to defend himself, Iron Man pulled the approaching Sir Lepard and Sir Ossilot from their atomic steeds.
(Iron Man I#111) - As Iron Man revived, he narrowly fought off one of the native swamp creatures.
Sir Lyan and a group of Knights of Wundagore subsequently confronted Iron Man. Considering that the invader might be a spy, Lyan ignored suggestions to kill him and instead took Iron Man with them in their floater in hopes of learning the Rigellians' plans. Although Lyan threatened Iron Man, noting that his blaster was set to kill, Iron Man went along willingly, advising Lyan and the others that he was no friend of the Colonizers.While entreating Sir Lyan to tell him of their world, Iron Man turned his back and plugged into the Knights' floater's power-cells, recharging his armor. Assuring Lyan he was an ally against the Rigellians, Iron Man nonetheless warned Lyan that the Rigellians' weaponry exceeded the Knights, and that if there was a war, the Knights would lose. Acknowledging this, Lyan countered that as they had already lost everything they once were, they would fight for that which was left of them. Lyan further noted that the Evolutionary had stripped away their innocence without their consent and given them pain and alienation in return before their journey to Wundagore II.
After the floater docked at the city of New Earth, Iron Man noted that Wundagore II was big enough to accommodate both the New Men and the Rigellians, but Lyan showed Iron Man the injured New Men who had been struck down before war had been declared or who had been tortured for information. After Lyan noted that the Rigellians considered the New Men to be no more than beasts, Iron Man offered to aid them in battle, and Lyan -- having received reports of Iron Man's deeds in the space battle -- accepted his offer.
(Iron Man I#112 - BTS) - Atop an atomic steed and wielding an energy sword, Iron Man led a charge of Knights from out of their mother ship. With the Rigellians' space screens weakened from the earlier attack, Iron Man led the Knights to breach and board the command ship, although he warned the Knights that the Rigellians' weaponry still exceeds theirs.The battle swiftly spread to the entire Colonizer fleet, and blasters cracked and defense shields fell as New Men and Rigellians locked in deadly hand-to-hand combat.(Iron Man I#112 - BTS) - When Iron Man and Jack of Hearts confronted Arcturus, the Rigellian commander sent the Punisher robot under his control to attack Earth via the transport chamber back to the egg on Earth's moon. Iron Man pursued the Punisher while telling Jack to stay and assist the New Men. Iron Man followed the Punisher to Earth and eventually subdued him.
(Iron Man I#112) - However, the Rigellians battling Jack of Hearts pulled him with them through the transport chamber, and an army of Rigellians and the New Men fighting them soon emerged in the Blue Area of Earth's moon. The Soviet Super-Soldiers -- who had been waiting by the egg following a previous encounter with Iron Man -- attacked both groups emerging through the portal until Jack of Hearts announced, "The furry ones are on our side."
As Arcturus added that humanity had made the New Men outcasts, Rigellian Recorder#211 then arrived, having tracked Arcturus via the transport egg's signal beam. The Recorder related that the Rigellians had since found a new homeworld, and it stated that Arcturus' deliberately breaking contact with the fleet, his attempting to colonize without authority, and his threatening the restricted Earth had all broken Rigellian law. The Recorder then noted that it had been authorized to strip Arcturus of his rank and title, and it further declared the war against the New Men to have been illegal to now be over.
The Recorder then used the transport egg to return the Knights of Wundagore to Wundagore II.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby , and Vince Colletta.
One lion, two lion, three lion, four lion, or...
In Thor I#134, the armors shown in the fully-armored Knights don't match those shown when they aren't wearing their masks, so it really hard to tell who is whom.
Of all the characters, without the helmet, Sir
"Liyan" is the most obvious in his unmasked form with the thick mane.
While his mane is darker brown in profile in that issue, in the
subsequent #135, his mane more closely matches his skin tone. This
character has consistent armor between in #134 and #135, although he is
not actually identified on panel
That being
said, the character assumed to be "Sir Liyan" and who was consist and
described from #134-135 , and it is only assumed that he is the
"Sir
Lyan" from #134.
Although not identified, at least two of the New Men in Tales to Astonish I#96 are
suspicious for being Sir Lyan (see the left and right images here). |
Having regressed to his original form and then having been reverted to evolved/New Man status, as well as artistic license, could certainly explain the variation in appearance.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #15: Wundagore entry includes a headshot of "Sir Lyan," which parallels the image from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#6: Knights of Wundagore profile, including the black mane. |
.
. X-Men I Annual#12/3 is a flashback/ret-con that includes the High Evolutionary's knighting his relatively early New Man, which includes a black-maned character that otherwise matches "Sir Liyan," but is not identified on panel |
West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 is a flashback/retcon to the time between Thor I#135 and Tales to Astonish I#94.
The panel showing the Knights of Wundagore aboard
the ship departing Earth, which is low in detail, shows presumably Sir Lyan with lighter brown hair in the most leonine character, although he is not identified on panel.
The subsequent panel that shows the Knights being paired with female mates has the most leonine character with black hair, although neither of them are identified on panel.
Same or different?
Variations in
status/evolution/devolution/re-evolutions/artistic license could
explain the variations, and Sir Liyan/Sir Lyan may be the same
character under different circumstances throughout the various
appearances.
For the purpose of this profile, I'm
going with the assumption that the Sir Lyan, Sir Lepard, and Sir
Ossilot in the Iron Man issues and X-Men Annual#12/3 were the same as the ones from the Thor
issues, and the various Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
entries on the New Men and Knights of Wundagore supports that, as do
the Official Index to the Marvel Universe entries for the relevant
issues.
However, the above is not clearly stated in-story, and Sir Lyan/Liyan/unidentified may be any number of variations:
It may be that Sir Lyan is one of the High Evolutionary's relatively
early New Man and that he continued to be active throughout the modern
era, settled on New Wundagore, devolved back into animal form,
re-evolved back into New Man/semi-humanoid form, and was last seen in
Iron Man I#112 and presumably remained on Wundagore II.
It also may be that the character in X-Men
I Annual#12/3 perished in the battle against Chthon/the Other, and that
the character seen in Thor I#134 was a different character than the one
in that story from the past.
However, a character that looks like Sir Lyan is shown but not
identified
amongst the survivors of the battle. However, he's shown in something
more of a robe than the Knights' battle armor. Regardless, I've
included that appearance in
the history.
It is also possible that there were two different leonine Knights of Wundagore, and that both existed into the modern era. However, one or both of them may have perished in the battle against the Man-Beast's New Men.
Based on the temporal proximity, it is almost certain that the leonine character on the ship departing from Wundagore was one of the Knights of Wundagore/New Men active in Thor I#134-135.
The leonine New Man/Knight of Wundagore on Wundagore II may or may not have survived the reversion/savage assaults...and, if he survived all that, he may or may not have survived the initial conflicts with the Rigellians.
Whether the same as the others or not, the Sir Lyan featured in Iron Man I#110-112 was last seen in a story published 45-years-ago as of 2023...
At the end of X-Men
Annual#12/3, the High Evolutionary notes that over half of his Knights
had perished in battle with the Other/Chthon.
In Web of Spider-Man
Annual#4/4, he noted that 17 of his 42 New Men had perished.
One
possibility is that the first number was the initial estimate, but that
some of the Knights were only injured and were found to have survived
by the next issue.
Another possibility is that perhaps 10 or more of
the New Men were not Knights (such as was the case for Bova, Sir Porga,
and Count Tagar), so that while it was only 17 of his 42 New Men, it
was 17 of 32 of his Knights...or something like that.
Being different incarnations would explain the different New Men being knighted alongside Sir Lyan in various issues, and it might also explain why Sir Hogg did not have the pig snout of the Sir Hogg in the Iron Man issues.
As there were not female New Men (besides Bova) prior to the arrival on Wundagore II, the Evolutionary would have had to created a new successor, rather than any sort of reproduction/succession.
Going purely by Marvel Time (which is roughly one year per 4-5 years of real time), the devolved New Men were present on Wundagore for close to 3 years before being re-evolved. It's anyone's guess how quickly those animals would have reproduced vs. how many were consumed by predators, and it is further unknown if when the radiation from the Rigellian ship re-evolved the New Men if their offspring were then evolved for the first time.
Thanks to Proto-Man for providing high-resolution digitally-remastered headshots of Sir Lyan from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#15.
Lions are of the species Panthera leo. They normally have green eyes...but being evolved into humanoid form is not normal...
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Sir Lyan should be distinguished from:
 (West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb) - BTS) - After arriving on Wundagore II, the High Evolutionary used the menagerie of animals contained in his citadel to evolve a female of each species he had already evolved for his knights. (West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb)) - The High Evolutionary presented the women to his knights, and Sir Lyan (or another leonine New Man) accepted the lion-woman to take as his wife. The Evolutionary told the couples to go forth into the new city and to be fruitful and multiply; he further advised them that he had exhausted his stores and that from then on, they would be responsible for replenishing their numbers. (Tales to Astonish I#94/2 (fb) - BTS) - Their little civilization thrived and flourished in peace and prosperity initially. (Tales to Astonish I#94/2 (fb) - BTS) - The New Men began reverting back to their bestial heritage, and they savagely attacked each other. The process began so gradually that the High Evolutionary did not notice right away. (Tales to Astonish I#96/2 - BTS) - The Evolutionary eventually subjected himself to his Genetic Accelerator, became a being of psionic energy, and devolved all of his Knights/New Men back into purely animal form. --West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3Note: The lion woman was only seen in a single panel of a flashback in West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3. If she did not perish in or before the savage battles on Wundagore II, she would have been turned back into a conventional leopard by the High Evolutionary, and assuming she continued to survive, she would most likely have been re-evolved into humanoid biped form by Rigellian radiation circa Iron Man I#111 (fb). We have no name for her...she would likely have the title Lady or perhaps Dame, and then she could be Lioness, Lionessa, Lyaness, Leonessa, Lione, Lea, or something along those lines... |
Appearances:
Thor I#134-135 (November-December, 1966) - Stan
"The Man" Lee (writer/editor), Jack "King" Kirby (penciler), Vince "The
Prince" Colletta (inker)
Tales to Astonish I#94/2 - 96/2 (August-October, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Marie Severin (penciler), Herb Trimpe (inker)
Iron Man I#110-111 (May-June, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Keith Pollard (penciler), Fred Kida (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Iron Man I#112 (July, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Keith Pollard (penciler), Fred Kida (inker), Jim Shooter (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#6: Knights of Wundagore entry (June, 1983) - Mark Gruenwald (editor/head writer/designer), Peter
Sanderson, Mark Lerer, Dan Fingeroth, Lou Mougin (writers), Joanne Harras, Bob Harras, David Cody Weiss, Fred Baumana, Roger Stern, Bob Simpson (researchers), Mike Mignola (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker),
Eliot R. Brown (technical advisor/typesetter), Michael Carlin (associate editor/designer)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #15: Wundagore entry (March, 1987) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher), Cynthia Martin (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Howard Mackie (assistant editor), Marc Siry, David Wohl, Marc McLaurin (editorial assistants), Gregory Wright (assistant editor)
X-Men I Annual#12/3 (October, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer),
Ron Lim (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
West Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (October, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer),
Ron Lim (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Web of Spider-Man Annual#4/4 (October, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer),
Ron Lim (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#8 (August, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Mark O'English, Chris Biggs, Eric J. Moreels, Mike Fichera, Al Sjoerdsma, Barry Reese, Chad Anderson, Madison Carter, Anthony Flamini & Rich Green (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8 (July, 2009) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator),
Stuart Vandal, Mike Fichera & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, David
Wiltfong, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera,
Chad Anderson, Chris Biggs, Eric J.
Moreels, Mark O'English, Al Sjoerdsma, Jacob Rougemont, Gabriel Shechter, Anthony Flamini, Rich Green, Markus Raymond, Andrew Goletz, Rob London, Mike O'Sullivan & Jeph York (writers), Brian
Overton (copy editor), Alex Starbuck (editorial assistant), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant
editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist
&
Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
First posted: 02/25/2023
Last updated: 03/20/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
(Thor
I#135) - After the
Man-Beast attacked Thor, the High Evolutionary told his Knights -- including Sir Lyan -- to
stand back as he attempted to destroy the Man-Beast with his sub-sonic
discordion. Only pained, the Man-Beast fled out of range and locked himself within the
Evolutionary's genetic laboratory, which contained his evolutionary ray.
(West
Coast Avengers Annual#3/3 (fb)) - Sir Lyan was one of 38 Knights of Wundagore aboard the
Evolutionary's Citadel-turned-ship.
Eventually -- after traveling through hyperspace --the Evolutionary's
ship...
.