Though Marvel wanted us to believe Jason Aaron’s Avengers would be the only Avengers comic, it wouldn’t take long before they started re-introducing comics based on the Marvel Earth’s mightiest heroes.
Savage Avengers is an unconventional team of Avengers written by Gerry Duggan that sees characters like Wolverine, Punisher, and Venom team up with Conan the Barbarian. It doesn’t have any delusions about expectations from fans—it’s a book that tries to stuff as much action and destruction into every issue, and for the most part succeeds wildly. So what are the most savage (either from a destructive standpoint or using the well-respected urban dictionary definition) moments yet? Read on to find out.
10 "I LOVED YOUR VOICE."
Our first death in Savage Avengers comes five pages in to the first issue. Some poor opera singing sap who happens to be close to “powerful people” gets dragged to the Savage Land by a cult. He promises to pay them, but the only thing they want is blood to summon a ritual. They believe the best blood comes from the finest mankind has to offer—artists, scientists, warriors. And so, with one of the cult members explaining how it’s an honor to die this way, he decapitates the guy with a curved sword...and then afterwards, he talks about how much he loved the guy’s voice. Which one would have thought would be a reason not to kill him.
9 "YOU MAY HAVE IT BACK."
Our next Savage moment comes but a couple pages later in the same issue. Conan the Barbarian is getting acclimated to the Marvel Universe by adventuring in the Savage Land, in search of a specific kind of treasure. He winds up battling against the Hand, easily wiping the floor with most of them with his beastial strength. Along the way, he steals a short sword from a member of the group, who warns his friends...and gets stabbed with his own blade for the warning.
8 FRONT TOWARD ENEMY
Savage Avengers has one of the weirdest “gather the team” moments in recent memory, as the team isn’t really gathered on purpose but rather, by the designs of an evil wizard known as Kulan Gath. This is how Frank Castle enters the series, as he’s teleported to Gath’s city in the Savage Land after learning the graves of his family were disturbed.
He appears and is immediately assaulted by Hand members...but unsurprisingly, he’s already outsmarted them. We’re not sure what sort of weapon causes so much explosive damage without harming someone so close to it, but Frank easily kills four Hand members just pages after entering the fray.
7 WHERE'S THE SORCERER SUPREME?
It’s only issue three, but already things aren’t going well for our heroes. Wolverine’s been tortured in ways only Wolverine could survive, Voodoo was killed and resurrected, and Frank’s seen his family desecrated. Voodoo comes back and tries to save Logan from Kulan Gath, but Gath sees through his disguise. But even with that, and Gath nearly choking him to death, Voodoo finds time to dunk on him and say Kulan isn’t even worth Stephen’s time.
6 THE INSTINCT TO SEEK COVER
Pretty much everyone has reason to hate Kulan Gath even by this relatively early point in the series, but this moment seals it: Punisher’s got to be the one to take him out when this is all over. With his superior powers, he tears through the entire team with ease, even though Punisher fills him with lead. Gath reaches into his mind and shows him the one moment he least wants to relive...and twists the knife, asking if he was cowardly enough to shield his own body with his wife’s...through reflex as a “warrior”.
5 WHAT ARE WE COVERED IN?
When it’s all said and done, the team fails to stop Gath, the Hand, and their assorted minions from summoning the monstrous being they were aiming to revive. He pops up, gets teleported to the nearest largest city, leaving the only heroes aware he needs to be stopped the ones picked for the job.
Their method of doing so? Having Wolverine punch his unbreakable claws into it’s skull...then have Venom (and a Venom-ized Conan) smack his arms with giant symbiote hammers until the monster’s skull explodes, covering them all in "dead alien".
4 BLOOD BROTHERS
The first issue that doesn’t focus on defeating the arc villain, “Blood Brothers” sees Punisher and Conan attempt to make their way back to civilization from the Savage Land the hard way—traversing Antartica. This entire issue is pretty savage, as the duo learn from one another while slaying their way through countless animal foes. First they have to slice and shoot their way through raptors...then later they use weapons made from the bodies of the raptors they killed to slay their way through a pack of wolves. That’s about as savage as it gets.
3 NOT MUCH OF A FIGHT
Coming from the ancient Hyborean Age, Conan’s about as old-school as it gets. After escaping the harsh weather (and harsher creatures) of Antarctica, Conan finds his way into Brazil. The first place he hits up in this warmer weather? A bar. Seeking battle, he challenges a group of men drinking at the bar to a battle...and less than one page later, no only has he crushed all the men (and terrified their pet), he also manages to get his first taste of beer...and is fairly unimpressed.
2 SO YOU ARE VAIN
In the seventh issue of the series, Conan finds himself kidnapped by Dr. Doom. But not one to be cowed by powerful men, even ones who managed to transport him to an entirely different continent, he threatens his way into an incredible three course meal in Doom’s castle. If that wasn’t enough, he confronts Doom when he refuses to sup with him, even going so far as to wonder about Doom’s iconic faceplate. When Doom mentions the damage he’s taken, he goes one step further to mock him. This could’ve easily resulted in Conan being turned into a smoking ruin, but that’s perhaps part of his charm.
1 THE DEATH OF DOOM
Despite being told by Stephen Strange that the item Conan retrieved from Kulan Gath was cursed, as always Doom’s thirst for power gets him into some situations he couldn’t easily get himself out of. While they’re in the middle of hunting Kulan Gath and hopefully saving Brother Voodoo, Doom gets fed up and takes the third eye of Agamotto, sealing Strange and blasting away Conan. The result? The amulet’s energies backfire, causing his head to be separated from the rest of his body rather violently. Or...well...some sucker pretending to be Doom, ‘cause there’s no way Victor’s dead.