WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Savage Avengers #24, available now from Marvel Comics.
The Savage Avengers have been caught in what seems like a never-ending game of cat and mouse with the ancient, cannibalistic sorcerer Kulan Gath. After scouring the world for any edge they might possibly gain over the mad sorcerer, Doctor Strange and Conan of Cimmeria have come face to face with him and his army. In Savage Avengers #24 (by Gerry Duggan, Patch Zircher, Java Tartaglia, and VC's Travis Lanham), Doctor Strange proves that he still has plenty of powerful friends to call on for help, but Kulan Gath proves capable of taking whatever they can dish out.
To add insult to injury, he even grabs Captain America's shield out of the air and does the unthinkable to the mighty weapon by taking a bite out of it.
Doctor Strange's search for an answer to the threat posed by Kulan Gath has seen him call out to his mightiest allies for help as the powerful wizard reveals himself and his City of Sickles floating above New York. After consuming the flesh and powers of Shuma Gorath and amassing an army of unwitting followers, Kulan Gath has revealed himself as well as his empire. However, Earth's Mightiest Heroes stand opposed to the wizard's planned takeover of the world. Captain America is the first to launch an assault against Kulan Gath, hurling his shield at the villain. Kulan Gath surprisingly catches the nearly indestructible item in midair before literally taking a bite out of his prize.
This is, even compared to having overcome mortality itself, is among the most stunning displays of Kulan Gath's power to date. When the evil sorcerer first appeared in 1972's Conan the Barbarian #14 (by Michael Moorcock, James Cawthorn, Roy Thomas, and Barry Smith), he was already a powerful and devastating enemy. Now, after having literally consumed the bodies of other sorcerers, mages, and Eldritch gods, Kulan Gath has become more powerful than he has ever been before.
Treating Captain America's nearly indestructible shield like a vending machine snack doesn't just show off how much of an iron jaw Kulan Gath has. It also comes with the grim possibility that he will absorb all of the properties of the Adamantium-based alloy that the shield is made of in the same way that he has absorbed the strengths and abilities of the enemies that he has cannibalized.
This isn't the first time that Cap's shield has been broken, but it is the most bizarre and frightening way that it has happened, which is only fitting for Savage Avengers, a series has already seen plenty of time traveling, dimension-hopping and nightmarish mindscapes. Kulan Gath has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is more powerful than he has ever been before, answering the question of whether the Avengers will be able to easily stop him with a single bite.