63 – SAURON

Subject: Sauron
Real Name: Karl Lykos
Height: 7′ Weight: 200 lbs
Group Affiliation: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #60, August 1969

Power Ratings:

• Energy Projection: 1/7
• Mental Powers: 5/7
• Strength: 4/7
• Fighting Ability: 2/7
• Intelligence: 3/7

I love dinosaurs, but I’m also a stickler for dinosaur physiology. It bugged the hell out of me, especially in comics, when T-Rexes were drawn with three-fingered hands, sauropods had sharp teeth, and Pterosaurs had long tails (unless they were ramphorhynchus, which they almost certainly were not). Yes, I understand that Sauron’s monstrous form was through an encounter with creatures from the Savage Land, but they were referred to there as Pteranodons (hence the head crest), which decidedly did not have long tails. If Sauron didn’t have a tail he may well have been my favorite character.

Anyway, Lee chooses wisely to draw Sauron from a wide, flying stance, though he unfortunately draws Sauron’s face with little personality (he doesn’t look cunning at all, and his eyes which are supposed to hypnotize his victims, look unfocused), and I don’t know if that’s supposed to be hair or eyebrows I see there. Props for the hazy painted background though, and the rugged human side-b portrait.

The Power Ratings certainly look intimidating, with high points for Strength and Intelligence, though I feel the 5/7 for Mental Powers is too high. At that level it’s just one below Jean Grey and Professor X, and on par with Psylocke. A 4/7 would have been certainly enough to account for his hypnotic powers. In fact, if they’d wanted to up his Energy Projection rating on account of his being able to drain life-energy from victims, I’d've been fine with that as well.