Forced to drain the life force of others to sustain himself, Karl Lykos lives a miserable existence. If his victim happens to be a mutant, the drained force sets off a terrifying transformation.
Origin
Karl Lykos was the son of an explorer's guide. As a teenager, he accompanied his father to Tierra del Fuego as the elder Lykos guided a wealthy client named Mr. Anderssen and Anderssen's young daughter Tanya. While defending Tanya from mutant pterodactyls, Karl was bitten by one of the creatures. During his recovery, he discovered that he could now drain the life-force of other organisms. He found himself repeatedly tempted to use his new power, feeling that he needed to drain life energy from other humans or animals to survive. When Karl's father died, Mr. Anderssen took Karl into his home in thanks for rescuing Tanya. As the years passed, Karl and Tanya fell in love. But Tanya's wealthy father would not allow her to date Karl because of his lack of wealth. In an effort to win Mr. Anderssen's support, Karl went to medical school and became a physician. He treated patients through hypnosis, but secretly robbed them of energy at the same time.
A notable appearance was in the first story arc of the series Marvel Fanfare (1982), written by Chris Claremont. In that story, Tanya learned that Karl had survived the leap from the cliff. She joined Angel and Peter Parker on a journey to find Karl in the Savage Land. Unfortunately, he had reverted to his Sauron form and joined the Savage Land Mutates. The X-Men traveled to the Savage Land and defeated Sauron and the Mutates. They brought Lykos back to the United States, and at the X-Mansion Professor X seemingly cured Lykos of his condition. Karl and Tanya decided to resume their relationship and a normal life.
Brotherhood
Weapon X
Sauron became a prisoner of the recent Weapon X program jumpstarted by director Malcolm Colcord. Being held there against his will, Sauron started up a revolution with fellow agent Brent Jackson and dethroned Colcord as director, giving that position to Jackson. Sauron in return became a more powerful villain on the team, but vanished after Weapon X rival John Sublime launched an attack on Weapon X, and the group had to go underground.
Attack on the New Avengers
Sauron held the new team of Avengers hostage when they came to the Savage Land; his colleagues had recently hired Electro to break him out of the supervillain prison he'd been sent to, and the New Avengers had gone to the Savage Land to confront him about the forty-one other escapees. The team freed itself thanks to Iron Man's voice-activated armour, and were about to interrogate him, when he was shot through the head by the Black Widow. Fortunately for Sauron, he had absorbed Wolverine 's regenerative healing factor and recovered from his injury, just in time to be soundly defeated by the New Avengers. He was taken back into custody, but not before returning the favor to Black Widow by burning her with his fiery breath. He was apparently returned to the custody of Weapon X.
Powers
In his human form Karl Lykos is fairly typical, except he keeps his ability to absorb the life forces of other living things to sustain himself. This often triggers his transformation into his pterodactyl form. If he absorbs the life force of a mutant he will absorb a portion of their powers temporarily. Due to manipulation by the Weapon X program, Sauron can expel the life force energy in concussive bursts from his hands.
In the pterodactyl form he is superhumanly strong and possesses the ability to fly at a natural winged flight limit. In battle Sauron has several additional weapons a lethal beak and sharp talons on his hands and feet.
At some point in time prior to his New Avengers appearances he acquired an additional ability to breathe fire which he used to burn the second Black Widow in revenge for shooting him.
He also has a powerful hypnotic ability that requires direct eye contact to complete. He frequently uses his hypnotic power to give his victims terrifying delusions that allies have become monsters.
Alternate realities
Earth-295
In the Age of Apocalypse reality he was known as Soaron.
Exiles v2
In the first story line of the Exiles relaunch, he was living in Genosha along with most mutants. He decayed the organic shell of a nuclear device that was going to destroy the city. It would seem he perished in this act , when Magneto destroyed the bomb.
T.V.
X-Men Animated SeriesX-Men The Animated Series
Sauron was an inhabitant mutant who fought the X-Men. It was revealed that he was mutated by Magneto. Later on, he also became a follower of Mr. Sinister. This version does not have a fire breath unlike the original version.
Wolverine and the X-Men
Wolverine and the X-Men
Sauron was one of the mutants that were shown imprisoned in Genosha that was seen by Nightcrawler as Scarlet Witch tours him. Like other imprisoned mutants, he must have violated its rules.
Film
X2 : X-Men United
Karl Lykos is among the names on the files Mystique sees on Yuriko's computer.Video Games
X-Men
Legends 2 ...
In this game, for Sega Genesis, Sauron appears as a boss character.
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
- Sauron also appeared as a boss here. He mentions that Apocalypse's lackeys kept trying to get him to join Apocalypse's cause.
