WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The heroes of the Marvel Universe have dealt with plenty of threats in the last few years, working together to deal with cosmic-level menaces in King in Black and Empyre. During such events, the surviving heroes can go through serious changes and gain significant new powers, as is the case with one of Marvel's oldest heroes.
The veteran hero Ka-Zar has just revealed that he now has powers in Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land #1 (by Zac Thompson, German Garcia, Mat Lopes, and VC's Joe Caramagna), and it gives the Savage Land protector some serious strength to fall back on going forward.
Ka-Zar has been a long-time ally of Marvel's heroes. The resident protector of the Savage Land alongside his bride Shanna the She-Devil, the two have frequently worked with heroes like Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers. It was the latter who Ka-Zar most recently fought alongside, taking up arms with them during the events of Empyre. The Cotati armada attacked the Savage Land in a bid for world conquest. They also briefly corrupted Shanna, and in the battle, a Cotati warrior was able to fatally wound Ka-Zar, catching the assembled heroes completely by surprise.
Thanks to the efforts of Shanna and the Scarlet Witch, Ka-Zar was revived and restored with a connection to the Savage Land very similar to the one his wife possesses. Despite his revival, it's clear the event is still weighing on Ka-Zar in a unique way. He's largely disconnected from the world and his loved ones, distant with his wife and seemingly lost at how to inspire his teenage son Matthew to continue growing into a heroic young man. When a T.Rex mutates into a hostile plant-like form and attacks, Ka-Zar and Shanna rush to aid their son. Notably, Ka-Zar is able to sense life through the land itself, suggesting that he's fully connected to the greater world around him in a way that he has never been before.
In the fight, Ka-Zar can feel the powers of different forces coursing through him -- sensing a woolly mammoth as he charges, and moving with the fluidity of an Ankylosarus. His connection to the life of the Savage Land exchanges his strength tenfold, allowing him to throw the creature miles away with relative ease. However, Ka-Zar only seems to experience peace when he's embracing the natural life within the Savage Land. Once the fight is over and the realities of his life cloud his mind once again, he becomes exhausted and unmotivated, suggesting how much he is now connected to the Savage Land, and how much power he may have gained since being resurrected.
It's a uniquely powerful surge for the hero, especially coupled with the new living clothes that Shanna develops for him that will adapt and change as needed. Ka-Zar had previously been a human hero, using his expertise and combat skills to justify the trust placed in him by the heroes of the Marvel universe. But with these new powers, Ka-Zar has become something else entirely. It'll be interesting to see how he transforms from this point and evolves into an even greater protector of the Savage Land.