KHOR

Real Name: Khor (presumably, first name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human magic user (13th century to 1940s era)

Occupation: Would-be dictator

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None (unless one counts the unidentified "devils, goblins, and witches" he invoked via incantations)

Enemies: Crew of S.S. Olympus, Vision (Aarkus)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Black Sorcerer (as called by himself)

Base of Operations: His home in the Savage Land, Antarctica (see comments); formerly somewhere in 13th century France

First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6 (November, 1941)

Powers/Abilities: Khor possessed several magical powers: He could teleport in a puff of smoke, shoot mystic bolts from his hands to render someone unconscious or immobile, and shrink people by reciting a magical incantation.

He could also use a magical black fog to teleport an object as large as a ship an unspecified number of miles.

Khor apparently aged little (if at all) from 1245 A.D. to 1941; although he attributed this to the properties of his jungle land, it might have been due to his own magical powers.

Khor was a poor physical combatant, at least if caught unprepared; he carried a whip to discipline his slaves.

Height: Unrevealed (6'; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown

Distinguishing Features: Khor had a mouth filled with fang-like teeth.

History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Khor is unrevealed, but in 1245 A.D., he was banished from France for practicing black magic; not long afterward (under unrevealed circumstances), he discovered a "steam enclosed Antarctic land" (The Savage Land), a prehistoric jungle where (alledgedly) nothing aged (see comments); making this land his new home, Khor presumably spent centuries there, further studying magic and developing his powers.

(Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6 (fb)) - After nearly 700 years in the Antarctic jungle, Khor learned how to teleport others to his hidden land; he planned to avenge his exile by capturing and enslaving enough people for him to rule as king. Using a mystic black fog, he teleported the exploring sea vessel S.S. Olympus to his jungle and put its crew to work as slave-labor (see comments). Although reports of the missing ship made news bulletins, no trace of the vessel was ever found, so the search was abandoned.

(Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6) - The extradimensional Vision appeared in the frigid continent of Antarctica to investigate the ship's disappearance, for he sensed evil and terror lurking somewhere in the cold land; but upon arriving, the Vision was confronted by Khor. The sorcerer rendered the Vision unconscious with a magical bolt from his hand, then Khor teleported them both back to the jungle.

   When the Vision recovered, he found himself in warm, tropical surroundings, and Khor told him of his past. They both went into Khor's home, where the sorcerer told the Vision of his plans to bring more people to his land. But when the Vision saw the Olympus' crew in chains and toiling like slaves in the broiling climate, he was stirred to anger and charged toward Khor; the evil sorcerer extended his hand and paralyzed the hero with another magical bolt, then he opened a book of black magic and recited an incantation that reduced the Vision to the size of a toy. Laughing in maniacal glee, Khor placed the tiny and immobile Vision on a bookshelf, then grabbed a whip and went outside to attend to his slaves.

   But the Vision was somehow restored to his normal size and mobility by smoke from a boiling cauldron in Khor's fireplace (...although one might assume that the brew was itself magical, the Vision might have somehow broken Khor's spell using ordinary smoke, much as he used ordinary smoke to teleport himself).

   Meanwhile, Khor was whipping his slaves, in an effort to force them to work harder; but he was soon taken by surprise by the Vision, who gave him a severe beating. A final punch from the Vision sent Khor flying into one of the many volcanic boiling springs of the land.

   Presuming Khor to have been killed by the heat, the Vision directed the Olympus crew to their ship, then he departed by fading away in the smoke of a nearby volcanic pit.

Comments: Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

In terms of modern continuity, the Antarctic jungle which Khor discovered was obviously a region of the Savage Land; aside from Khor's own lack of aging (which could be attributed to his own magical power, although it's possible that he himself might not have realized that), nothing in the story supported his claim that time literally "stood still" in his jungle, although the Savage Land's wide and complicated history could easily contain a series of events which created such a phenomenon in some isolated region of it.

Khor was probably speaking metaphorically about time "standing still" because of the prehistoric lifeforms in the Savage Land's environment.

The Savage Land profile in Marvel Atlas#2 confirmed that Khor's jungle was in the Savage Land; however, the only form of prehistoric animal life seen in this story was in this one panel--a pterodactyl-like creature flying above the Vision. Khor's jungle was probably on the outskirts of the Savage Land, where there were few dinosaurs or proto-humanoids.

Khor was probably having his slaves build a city, so he could teleport more people to it and establish a kingdom for himself.

And in the third image above, where he's reciting the incantation, I think Khor sort of looks like actor Bela Lugosi.
--Ron Fredricks

Under "Aliases," you might put "Malgato (possibly)," because that was the name of the wizard who first brought Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil together! He tried to get them to perform some kind of ritual self-sacrifice, for the "good" of the Savage Land. But, they caught wise to whatever he was really up to. And, when they thought they had him cornered in a locked room of his stronghold, all they found was a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-type mask of his face! Sincerely yours: Carycomic@aol.com

Maybe Khor later put on a suit of armor (to hide the injuries he sustained in the volcanic pit) and later reappeared as Quor. Both characters operated in the Savage Land, and their names do sound pretty similar.
--John Kaminski

Profile by Ronald Byrd. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Khor should not be confused with:

The S.S. Olympus should not be confused with:

Khor's home

Khor's abode in the Savage Land, it contained the sorcerer's personal effects, including a collection of books on black magic, and chemistry beakers (perhaps Khor was also an alchemist). One corner of the chamber had a fireplace, in which hanged a boiling cauldron of some unspecified liquid (Khor's lunch?).

Khor brought the Vision (Aarkus) into his home and told him his plans to bring more people to his jungle, so he could rule as a king; but the Vision was driven to rage when he looked out a window and saw how the evil sorcerer was using the crew of the S.S. Olympus as slave-labor, so he  charged at Khor.

But Khor immobilized the Vision, then grabbed one of his books and recited a magical incantation that reduced the Vision to the size of a toy; after he placed the tiny paralyzed hero on a bookshelf, Khor grabbed a whip and went outside to discipline hie slaves.

Meanwhile, the smoke and steam from the boiling cauldron somehow reversed Khor's spell, returning the Vision to his normal size and mobility.

(Comment: Only one chamber was depicted, so it was unrevealed how large Khor's home was; also, the exterior was never shown. Possibly he had the crew of the Olympus build it for him.)

--Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6

Crew of the S.S. Olympus

The crew of the exploration vessel S.S. Olympus was sailing near the Antarctic continent; but the vessel was suddenly enveloped in a black fog that had been conjured by Khor, and it disappeared.

The crew and their ship were teleported to Khor's prehistoric jungle located in Antarctica (see comments). Khor shackled the sailors and forced them to toil in the tropical heat, and if he felt the men were slowing down, Khor would beat them with his whip.

But Khor was eventually defeated by the Vision (Aarkus), and the grateful men were freed from slavery.

--Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6

The crew of the S.S. Olympus

images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p2, pan5 (main image - Khor)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p2, pan6 (headshot - Khor)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p4, pan5 (Khor recites magical incantation to shrink Vision)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p6, pan2 (Vision punches Khor into volcanic pit)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p3, pan1 (pterodactyl flying over Vision)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p3, pan6 (Khor and Vision inside Khor's Savage Land home)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p4, pan2 (inside Khor's Savage Land home, Vision charges at Khor)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p4, pan7 (inside Khor's Savage Land home, shrunken and immobile Vision on bookshelf; Khor [background])
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p1, pan2 (S.S. Olympus)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p1, pan3 (Khor's black fog envelopes S.S. Olympus)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p5, pan3 (Khor uses whip to beat slaves from S.S. Olympus)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6, p6, pan3 (grateful crew of S.S. Olympus thanks Vision for saving them)

Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#22/6 (November, 1941) - Joe Simon/Jack Kirby (writer/pencils/inks/editor), Howard Ferguson (letters)

First posted: 01/06/2004
Last updated: 04/01/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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