Prologue
Savage Avengers #0 reprints the plot of Uncanny X-Men #190 and #191, originally written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by John Romita Jr.
Kulan Gath, a sorcerer from Conan's Hyborian Age, appears in modern-day Manhattan and surrounds it with a magical barrier, which begins transforming New York into a Hyborian kingdom and its denizens into barbaric versions of themselves. After a large-scale conflict with various heroes that spans both issues, Doctor Strange determines the best course of action to be to return to the past, preventing Gath from taking power in the first place. The heroes, affected by changes to the timeline, largely forget about the adventure.
In new material presented in Issue #0 that bookends the reprinted issues, Doctor Strange awakens in the present day on the beaches of Krakoa, where he is confronted by Cable, who warns him humans aren't welcome on the mutant-only island. Strange begins to seek out Magik to aid him in a new plight.
Volume 1
The series begins after the events of Avengers: No Road Home, in which a time-displaced Conan assisted the Avengers in battling Nyx, Goddess of Night.
Finding himself transported to the Savage Land, the barbarian infiltrates a temple known as the City of Sickles and begins fighting ninjas of the Hand, attracting the attention of Wolverine. After a brief skirmish, they set aside their differences to discuss their goals in the Savage Land: Conan seeks treasure in the form of a mystical amulet, while Wolverine is searching for a friend who was taken captive by cultists and brought to the City of Sickles.
Exploring the mysterious city further, Conan finds a sleeping Kulan Gath, who bears the third Eye of Agamotto. Elsewhere, a captured Doctor Voodoo is brought to the City of Sickles' cult leader, who reveals the cult's ultimate plan: to sacrifice the blood of warriors to bring forth a deity of death, the Marrow God Jhoatun Lau. Wolverine arrives too late to stop the sacrifice, and Voodoo's throat is slit by the Sickle Priest. Defeated by an overwhelming number of Hand ninja, Wolverine is captured and prepared by the cult to serve as the next sacrifice.
Several coffins are delivered to the complex, prompting Wolverine to ask why the cult needs corpses. The Sickle Priest elaborates further on the group's plan to acquire the blood of warriors, hoping to draw the Punisher into the conflict by exhuming the corpses of his family.[5]
A World War II-era flashback reveals the backstory of the Sickle Priest, formerly known as Luftwaffe pilot Johann Richter, an acolyte of the Red Skull. Shot down over the Savage Land, Richter fights his way through the treacherous terrain and finds Kulan Gath, who grants him power in exchange for his servitude.
In the present day, Wolverine breaks free of his captors as the Sickle Priest teleports away to safety. Apologizing to the now-dead Doctor Voodoo, Logan performs a crude blood transfusion and attempts to resuscitate the dead hero, who awakens as more Hand operatives arrive. In Gath's quarters, Conan attempts to retrieve the Eye of Agamotto, but fails when Gath awakens. Recognizing Conan from previous encounters, Gath announces his intent to sacrifice the barbarian as part of the cult's plan to summon Jhoatun Lau, but is distracted when Conan hurls a jar containing an imprisoned symbiote at the sorcerer, escaping with the amulet in hand as a nearby Venom is drawn by the noise of the symbiote battling Gath.
The Sickle Priest reconvenes with Kulan Gath and the two discuss a solution to overcoming Wolverine's healing factor to make him a suitable sacrifice, unaware that a nearby Conan is eavesdropping on the conversation. In another part of the temple, the Punisher opens fire on more members of the Hand, enraged by the theft of his family's bodies. A disguised Elektra Natchios reveals herself to Castle, and the two head deeper into the temple, finding evidence of Wolverine's presence. Elektra separates from Punisher to free Wolverine, returning as Gath offers to use necromancy to revive Castle's dead family members in exchange for the return of his amulet. Wolverine attempts to bluff Gath by claiming the amulet had been destroyed, but Conan ruins the plan by returning with the amulet. Fatally impaling Conan, Gath retakes the amulet and begins the ritual as the formerly-imprisoned symbiote bonds with Conan, healing his wounds and imbuing his sword with more power. Enraged, Conan begins slaughtering more Hand members, accidentally triggering the final sacrifices needed to summon the Marrow God in the process.
The assembled heroes attempt to kill the eldritch being, but their weapons seem to have no effect, with Wolverine becoming trapped in the creature's body. Opening a portal to Shanghai, Kulan Gath and Jhoatun Lau disappear through it, unknowingly taking Conan with them. Back in the Savage Land, the Punisher calls out to the corpses of his family, who have been possessed by the demonic Xholtan Skin-Walkers. Saving Castle from his possessed family members, Doctor Voodoo explains that the skin-walkers magically bind those who speak to them, necessitating the temporary removal of Castle's mouth via magic. Recovering from the ordeal, Castle joins Elektra and Voodoo in Shanghai, where Jhoatun Lau has grown in size. Venom, who has been transformed into a symbiote dragon after being in proximity to the Marrow God, attacks as Wolverine frees himself from the creature's stomach.
Conan uses his sword's newfound symbiotic power to kill the still-growing god, aided by Elektra, Venom and Wolverine. Victorious against the creature, the symbiote seemingly dies, weakened by healing Conan's continuous wounds throughout the battle.
