WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Savage Avengers #26, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
At every turn, the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe have been outmaneuvered by the ancient sorcerer Kulan Gath. The evil villain that has long menaced Conan the Barbarian during the Hyborian Age has resurfaced during present day in a bid to conquer the world and all the timelines springing from it. Both the Avengers and the X-Men joined forces to stop Kulan Gath but were all brutally defeated by the wicked sorcerer. And just as all hope seems lost, the latest iteration of the Savage Avengers mounts their last stand to topple Kulan Gath and restore the Marvel Universe to how it once was, with this new team as the most formidable iteration of the ensemble yet.
Previously, the last two major characters that stood in opposition against Kulan Gath's rule were Conan and Kang the Conqueror, with the two seeking refuge in Kang's castle located outside of the standard bounds of time and space. While heavily armed with a whole arsenal from the Marvel Universe's mightiest, Conan still ultimately was felled by Kulan Gath in a bloody showdown, lasting for just over two minutes before Conan was slain and Kulan Gath triumphantly ripped out the Last Cimmerian's heart before decapitating him. And as Kulan Gath moves to the Savage Land to crush the last vestiges of resistance to his complete conquest of the Marvel Universe, he discovers that Conan's last stand was all to bring one especially brutal team together in Savage Avengers #26 by Gerry Duggan, Patch Zircher, Java Tartaglia and VC's Travis Lanham.
Arriving in the Savage Land, Kulan Gath discovers that not only is Kang not alone to confront him but that the older Conan's final attack was really just a desperate bid to buy the time-traveling supervillain more time to marshal his forces. Joining Kang are Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange, with everyone setting aside their differences to work together and definitively destroy their mutual enemy. Last, but certainly not least to this opening salvo as the final showdown against Kulan Gath is joined is Conan himself, a much younger iteration of the Cimmerian than the one that Kang killed in his dark timeline.
Putting up a noticeably more effective fight than the elder Conan had, even with the weapons from across the timeline, one thing about this version of the Savage Avengers is just how graphically violent the team is willing to go in order to combat their opponent. While Doctor Strange and Conan largely rely on their familiar tactics and attacks, Doctor Doom characteristically is unafraid in resorting to more brutal strategies to defeat Kulan Gath as quickly as possible. This notably involves Doom going as far as to rip off Kulan Gath's jaw in order to prevent him from vocally casting any more spells though Kulan Gath's magic is so powerful, he is quickly able to regenerate the damage to his face and resume the fight.
Ever since their debut, the Savage Avengers have not only featured superheroes who are perfectly willing to employ lethal force to keep the Marvel Universe safe but have seen impromptu members who are often more considered to be antagonists to the wider superhero community. Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom's inclusion on this particular roster reinforces this notion, as does just how graphically gory Doom takes the fight against Kulan Gath. But as the evil sorcerer prepares to mount his own counterattack, even the most brutal Savage Avengers may not be enough to save the day.