Fictional history

Wundagore is a mountain in the fictional Eastern European nation of Transia

Transia

Transia is a fictional European country on the Earth of the Marvel Universe. It is located between Transylvania, Romania and Serbia. More than 90% of its people live in one large town and a number of smaller villages located at the base of Mount Wundagore.Transia was a former section of...

. The history of Chthon

Chthon (comics)

Chthon is a fictional character, a demonic Elder God in the Marvel Comics Universe. His name derives from chthon, the Greek word for "earth" and "earthly", especially pertaining to earth that was not life giving soil, but dark like that of the grave or the underworld...

 and the Darkhold

Darkhold

The Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, is a fictional book in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:The Darkhold was co-created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. The Darkhold was first mentioned in Marvel Spotlight #3 but first shown in Marvel Spotlight #4...

 are strongly tied to the mountain of Wundagore. In the Sixth Century, a cult of Darkholders led by the sorceress Morgan le Fey

Morgan le Fay (Marvel Comics)

Morgan le Fay is a fictional character in the , based loosely on the Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend. In this version of the character, she is the half-faerie half-sister of the mythic Arthur. Her elven heritage granted her immortality, and she used this time to master the mystic arts. She...

 attempted to summon Chthon but found him to be uncontrollable. While the Darkholders were incapable of banishing him altogether, they bound him to Mount Wundagore, in what would one day become Transia.

In the late 1940s, Herbert Wyndham, the man who became the High Evolutionary

High Evolutionary

The High Evolutionary is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The High Evolutionary was first mentioned in The Mighty Thor vol. 1 #133 , and first appears in The Mighty Thor vol. 1 #134 , and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...

 made his laboratory base at the foot of Wundagore Mountain with the assistance of Dr. Horace Grayson (the father of the superhero Marvel Boy

Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)

Marvel Boy , also known as The Uranian, is a fictional character, a superhero in the , one of several to use the name Marvel Boy. He was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Russ Heath, and first appeared in Marvel Boy #1 Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson), also known as The Uranian, is a...

). Wyndham found uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

 in and around Mount Wundagore and funded a national non-profit trust with the money gathered from his uranium mine, which has become Transia's main source of income. A number of smaller villages are now located at the base of Mount Wundagore.

Years later, a young Philip Masters (the Puppet Master

Puppet Master (comics)

The Puppet Master, real name Phillip Masters, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Fantastic Four comics. His first appearance was in Fantastic Four volume 1 #8...

) obtained clay from the mountain that had been granted mystical power by Chthon's presence; he would use this clay in his attempts to conquer the Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...

.

A colleague of Herbert Wyndham's, Jonathan Drew with his wife Miriam and daughter Jessica arrived during this time. The werewolf Gregor Russoff, a Darkholder whose grandson (birth name Jacob Russoff, legal name Jack Russell) would become the Werewolf by Night

Werewolf by Night

Werewolf by Night is a fictional character, an antiheroic werewolf in the Marvel Comics universe. The Werewolf by Night first appeared in Marvel Spotlight vol...

, attacked and killed Drew's wife, Miriam. Jessica was placed in suspended animation.

The High Evolutionary also created a race of artificially evolved humanoid animals called the New Men

New Men (Marvel Comics)

The New Men are a fictional Marvel Comics universe group of hyper-evolved animals created by the High Evolutionary . They are also known as the Knights of Wundagore.-Fictional group history:...

, whose elite members were entitled the "Knights of Wundagore". The New Men were the results of Wyndham's first experiments in accelerated evolution. When Wyndham learned from Magnus

Magnus the Sorcerer

Magnus the Sorcerer is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.The character was an ally of the first Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew.-Publication history:...

 that Wundagore Mountain, on which his advanced genetics research citadel was based, was the prison of Chthon, he decided to train his creations in chivalry and battle tactics and equip them with advanced weaponry and armor. Wyndham later converted his citadel into a spaceship, and he and most of his New Men left to explore the stars. They eventually settled on a planet, which they named Wundagore II, with the High Evolutionary staying on the planet's moon in order to look after them.

A pregnant gypsy woman named Magda arrived at Wundagore, on the verge of giving birth (unknown to all, she was the wife of the man who would become Magneto

Magneto (comics)

Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...

). While Magda was giving birth with the assistance of a bovine female midwife, Lady Bova of the New Men, Chthon sent a part of his essence into one of Magda's twin children, Wanda, whose mutation

Mutant (Marvel Comics)

In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...

 was transformed into the ability to manipulate chaos

Chaos theory

Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...

 and probability

Probability

Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...

 and, later, to manipulate reality itself. Once healthy enough, Magda left her children with Lady Bova, and fled into a snowstorm - never to be found again. Magneto later searched for her remains after learning this story, but was never able to find out what happened to her. He built a grave in her honor.

Several years later, Robert Frank and his pregnant wife Madeline (formerly the superheroes Whizzer

Whizzer (Robert Frank)

The Whizzer is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared during the 1930s-1940s period that fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books.-Publication history:...

 and Miss America

Miss America (Marvel Comics)

Miss America is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49 Miss America (Madeline Joyce Frank) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery...

) came to Wundagore. Madeline died giving birth to a stillborn child. When the Whizzer asked to see his child, Lady Bova, to spare Frank’s grief presented the late Magda's two children to him as his children, but when the Whizzer learned of his wife's death, he fled. The twins were returned to suspended animation until Bova brought them to a Transian gypsy named Django Maximoff, who raised the children as his own. While the twins would become the Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch

The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...

 and Quicksilver

Quicksilver (comics)

Quicksilver is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...

; Jessica Drew was also freed from suspended animation; she would become the first Spider-Woman

Spider-Woman

Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee, said in 1978, shortly after Spider-Woman's debut in Marvel Spotlight #32 Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters...

. As adults, the twins would later confront Chthon at Wundagore with the assistance of the Avengers

Avengers (comics)

The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...

.

Later still, the High Evolutionary returned to Wundagore and re-established a citadel there. He evolved more New Men, and for a time Quicksilver lived there and ruled the New Men. Quicksilver and the New Men repelled attacks on Wundagore by the Acolytes

Acolytes (comics)

The Acolytes is a team of comic book mutant supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The Acolytes followed the principles of the mutant Magneto, particularly the mutant right of superiority over normal humans. Some members of the Acolytes even worshipped him with a religious fervor and regarded...

 led by Exodus

Exodus (comics)

Exodus is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Joe Quesada, he first appeared in X-Factor #92...

 as well as the rogue New Man, the Man Beast

Man Beast

The Man-Beast is a fictional character who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Thor #135 The Man-Beast is a fictional character who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Thor #135 The Man-Beast is a...

.

Wundagore was attacked by Modred the Mystic

Modred the Mystic

Modred the Mystic is a fictional magician in the Marvel Comics universe who has alternated between being an anti-hero and an outright supervillain. He first appeared in Marvel Chillers #1. He was created by Bill Mantlo, Yong Montano and Marv Wolfman....

, who slaughtered the New Men there, apparently leaving Lady Bova as the only survivor.

The facility is destroyed by Abagail Brand, head of the Sentient Worlds Observation and Report Department. She believed an invasion from an alternate universe was happening inside. The X-Man Forge

Forge (comics)

Forge is a fictional character in the , a superhero associated with The X-Men.A mutant with an unsurpassed brilliance in technology, Forge has had a lengthy career as a government weapons contractor. He shared a romantic relationship with Storm, and a brief affair with Mystique which led him to...

, who had taken over the structure, is assumed to have died in the explosion.

Other media

On the X-Men animated series

X-Men (TV series)

X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup...

, Wundagore is portrayed as being in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

.