Wolverine has been a wild marvel hero with an even wilder attitude. He is the most stubborn person when it comes to fights, and he goes all out while doing his job. But when Mr. “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn’t very nice” finds himself overwhelmed, he tries to pull through, and when he can’t, he considers teaming up with others. And as much as he stands out in crowds, so does his team-ups. During his adventures, we witness him teaming up with a variety of superheroes, and sometimes he even has to team up with villains to reach a collective goal.
Although without doubt, we can all agree that his latest team-up is the weirdest as it includes Sauron, the guy who is the definition of weird in the marvel universe. Created by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, Sauron made his debut in the marvel universe in 1969’s The X-Men #59. Sauron, the evil winged lizard vampire who is actually a human scientist who transformed after consuming mutant energy. Dr. Karl Lykos’ (Sauron’s human identity) transformation as a result of a bite wound that he received from a swarm irradiated pterodactyls.
The “Sticks & Stones” story in Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #4, written by Steven S. DeKnight and art by Paulo Siqueira, puts Wolverine in a difficult situation where he is cornered while being hunted by Savage Land’s self-proclaimed ruler, Sauron. Amidst their battle, they are ambushed and attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which leads to a short-lived team-up between the pair, with the sole objective of finding and taking down the one responsible for the ambush, which turns out to be Garokk: The Petrified Man.
The Backstory Of Garokk: The Petrified Man
The Petrified Man came into being when an exploring vessel crashed into an iceberg, leaving behind the sole survivor of the crew. The sailor is washed up in the Savage Land who stumbles upon a shrine for the stone god Garokk and In front of the shrine, was a cup with a strange liquid. afterward, the sailor realizes that he has stopped aging and after centuries, his body turned into stone, transforming him into the avatar of Garokk the stone god. He is immortal and can fire beams of energy from his eyes. These beams can be heat, light, concussive force, or can even open dimensional portals, capable of transporting an entire city.
Aftermath Of The Team Up
The team-up ends up successful and the duo finally defeats Garokk. Before they resumed their own fight, they realized that their teamwork was appreciable and they do quite well. Both of them had unique fighting styles and matching approaches for taking down their enemies and ultimately the villain earns the respect of our hero. DeKnight expresses the full extent of Sauron’s usefulness while also keeping his mind, his funny and silly portrayal as a villain. Sticks & Stones reminds readers that Sauron is a fun and lively character who, like the best Silver Age Marvel characters, can be adapted to serve a number of different storylines.
