Sauron is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams, and made his first appearance in The X-Men #59 (August 1969). Sauron is the alter ego of physician Dr. Karl Lykos. After being bitten by mutant pterodactyls, Lykos was transformed into an energy vampire, able to absorb the life force of others through touch. If Lykos absorbs the life force of mutants, he transforms into a humanoid Pteranodon, gaining increased strength and speed in the process. However, this also causes Sauron to gain control over Lykos. Throughout his history, Sauron has often been depicted as inhabiting the hidden prehistoric jungle of the Savage Land and as an enemy of the X-Men. Outside of comics, the character has appeared in animated series, video games, merchandise and has been referenced in film. In the cartoons X-Men and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Karl Lykos / Sauron was voiced by Robert Bockstael and Steven Blum, respectively, and by John Kassir in the action role-playing game video game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. Creation and conception The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams, though the two differ in their accounts of which of them was responsible for specific aspects of the character. He first fully appeared as Sauron in X-Men #60 (September 1969). Thomas and Adams originally envisioned Sauron as a bat-like creature, but when they consulted with the Comics Code Authority, they were told that an energy vampire with a bat body might fall under the Code's prohibition on the use of vampires. To get around this problem, Thomas and Adams tweaked his appearance to that of the most bat-like animal they could think of—a pterodactyl—which in turn led them to have Sauron inhabit the hidden prehistoric jungle of the Savage Land. Fictional character biography Early life 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