The last of his kind that raised a legend. Introduced in X-Men #10 (1965) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Zabu is a Smilodon (or saber-tooth tigers) that lives in the Savage Land, a place in the Antarctic where pre-historic creature still exists. The savage Man-Apes killed the rest of his kind and he would be taken in by a pack of wolves. After killing his adopted brother, he would leave the pack and travelled alone. He would later find a mate, who would give birth to his child. He would later encounter the Man-Apes who were about to kill the baby Kevin Plunder. Zabu rescued the child and raised it as his own, with the two becoming inseparable. As such Zabu, who Ka-Zar treats like a brother, would rarely be seen without Ka-Zar or any of his family.

If there is a Ka-zar figure, people wanted a Zabu as well. He would receive a figure (which was a repaint GI Joe Sigma 6 figure) as part of the 2008 SDCC exclusive Savage Land box set with Ka-Zar and Shanna.