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History

Ancient History[]

Centuries ago, a group of Egyptians left Egypt in apparent exile. Finding themselves in the jungles of the Congo they established a hidden civilization there which was kept hidden over the centuries due to the societies xenophobic attitudes toward outsiders. For the few who learned of the civilization's existence who survived to tell the tale the civilization became known as the Lost City.[1]

Early 20th Century[]

From 1908 to 1960 the Congo was a Belgian colony and was officially named the Belgian Congo.

1930s[]

The diamond-mine owner John Rand, his wife Constance and their son David were flying to Cairo when their plane crashed deep in the jungles of the region. Although the entire family survived the crash, Constance soon died from a jungle fever. John raised David in the region, teaching him to survive. David also befriended a number of the local animals including Zar the lion. David's father was murdered by a criminal emerald hunter Paul de Kraft. David was adopted by Zar, and among the animals and natives of the region he became known as Ka-Zar.[2]

The man known only as Trojak the Tigerman also grew up in another part of the jungle and was its defender along with his faithful tiger Balu. He frequently came to the aid of explorer Edith Alton.[3]

World War II[]

Ka-Zar was a protector of the region and defended it from various threats, both animal and human. He frequently clashed with the leopard known as N'Jaga[4][5] and slew Bardak the ape.[6] He also defended the region from wild animal collector Steve Hardy,[4] criminal Red Skelton,[7] and assisted two Scotland Yard detectives to capture British murderer London Jack.[8].

Also during this period Trojak defended the region from Nazi forces seeking to set up a base near Trojak's domain with the help of Edith and her brother Jerry.[9] He later clashed with the Gemba tribe to obtain a flower that could save Jerry's life after he was injured fighting the Nazis.[10]

John de Kraft returned to the region with his colleague Ed Kivlin who used renegade tribal leader Aorangi to amass slaves to dig for emeralds along a river bed. Ka-Zar slew de Kraft and his benefactors, freeing the slaves.[11] He also came to the rescue of various explorers in the region, such as Rita Grey leading to a clash with the local Wabi tribe.[5]

The region was soon visited by game hunter Rajah Sarput a native of India. Sarput captured Zar the lion and the beast was eventually shipped off to the United States to be placed in a New York zoo. Ka-Zar smuggled himself aboard the ship in order to free his friend, leaving the region without defender and at the mercy for Rajah Sarput for a period of time.[12]

Also active in the Congo during this time was the jungle hero known only as Tigerman and his ape companion Rangoo, who rescued explorer Professor Carson and his daughter Louise from the clutches of King Kuu and his Monolink tribe.[13]

In 1941, during Ka-Zar's absence, the opposing forces battling World War II began creeping into Africa and Ka-Zar's domain was almost constantly invaded by either Nazis or the Italian Fascists who were attempting to gain ground against the Allied Forces in the region.[14] Upon Ka-Zar's return he helped to rid the area of Rajah Sarput[15] and reclaimed one of his father's diamond mines from crooked lawyer Alec Wright. The mine was then used to help provide much needed funds to the British war effort.[16]

Ka-Zar also discovered the mysterious Black River region of the Congo. This region was home to a giant named Bogat. An earthquake in the region also caused the Earth to crack open, unleashing the underground dwelling creatures known as Limbos to the surface. However, another earthquake seems to have wiped out both Bogat and Limbos, as they have not been seen since.[17]

The region was soon terrorized by Italian forces who began dumping chemicals on the jungle in an effort to clear land quickly to build air fields and military bases. Ka-Zar defended his domain, using the very chemicals the Italians were using to wipe out the invaders.[18] Ka-Zar also prevented the Arabian immigrant Ali Hamud allowing the Nazis to use his property as an airfield,[19] and eliminated ivory-hunter Kirk Hendrick.[20]

By 1945, most of the jungle adventurers active in the area had seemingly disappeared, their fates unknown.

1950s[]

The 1950s saw the return of jungle adventurers in the region. The earliest recorded of these was in 1953 Lorna the Jungle Queen, who was the daughter of a killed trader. She was trained by a local named M'Tuba and became the jungle's greatest defender of the time, defending locals and explorers alike from the various dangers spawned by the jungle both from man and beast. Also active in the area at the time was the giant ape known as Agu who befriended Lorna in her early adventures. She also faced the massive snail known as Ukaki, failing to stop a greedy explorer from stealing the very diamonds that the creature ate for food.[21]

Lorna also befriended jungle explorer Greg Knight who was active in the area at the time, and she became instantly smitten by him. The pair faced such threats as the Crocodile Man,[1] the Devil of the Lagoon[22] and the Vulture[23] as well as discovering the Lost City together.[22] They also faced Voodoo goddess Mamalu, discovered the Lost Kingdom,[24] and the Lost World[25] among other adventures. Other jungle adventurers active in the area included Jann of the Jungle,[26] Lo-Zar, Jungle Boy, Man-oo the ape, and the mysterious Leopard Girl.[27]

Modern Age[]


Alternate realities[]

Earth-199999[]

The experimental ship created by Justin Hammer for the U.S. Army crashed in Congo, where local Ten Rings-affiliated soldiers of the Congolese Army who tried to execute the pilot, only to be stopped by Iron Man.[28]

Points of Interest

Residents

People[]

Animals[]

Former residents[]

Earth-199999[]

Notes

The Democratic Republic of the Congo shouldn't be confused with its western neighbor, the Republic of the Congo.

See Also

Links and References

References

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