MARTIAN ROBOT

Real Name: Martian Pseudo-Life Form

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Martian; see comments) robot (1950s era)

Occupation: Invasion scout

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Eric Sands (builder)

Enemies: Earthlings

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: An atomic research facility, somewhere in America (possibly New Mexico); originally from Mars

First Appearance: Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2 (April, 1954)

Powers/Abilities: Disassembled and transported to Earth in a MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT, it was reassembled by Eric Sands and activated with a vitalizer.

    With its body composed of a metal "formed by no known Earth element" (as per Eric Sands), this extraterrestrial robot was virtually indestructible (see comments). Once assembled, it was able to resist physical damage from conventional Earth weaponry, including an atomic bomb.

The robot carried a separate external radio unit, which it used to communicate with its homeworld.

Height: Unrevealed (36"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Inapplicable
Hair: Inapplicable

History:
(Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2 (fb) - BTS) - Planning to attack Earth, robotic Martians (see comments) disassembled one of their own and transported it to Earth inside a box labeled as a MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT. The box appeared at an atomic research facility, in the dormitory room of nuclear physicist Eric Sands.

(Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2) - After he discovered the box and read the labeling, Sands assumed it to be just a gag gift for his birthday; nonetheless, he couldn't resist the challenge of assembling the complex mechanism within it.

   Following the enclosed instruction handbook, Sands was engrossed in the complicated work as he spent the whole weekend assembling the components into a small robotic figure. When he was finished, there remained one final step--obeying the intricate wiring directions, Sands connected the completed Martian to an accompanying device the handbook called a "vitalizer"; as energy from the vitalizer seemingly flowed into it, Sands figured the little robot would begin moving on its own.

   But when it instead continued to stand immobile on his desk, Sands smacked the robot off the desktop, frustrated and angry that he had wasted a whole weekend working on it; as it struck the floor, the robot was unharmed, but the hard wooden floor was damaged. Wondering how strong the metal of the robot's body was, Sands attempted to scratch it with a diamond ring. but it didn't even leave a mark. Determined to test the metal the next day after work, Sands placed the robot on his night table, then climbed in bed and turned out the light; but even as he closed his eyes to go to sleep, Sands had an eerie feeling of uneasiness, as though the robot figure was a living thing, and that it was watching him.

   The next morning, Sands awoke and saw the robot standing still--he ignored his previous night's suspicions as just the product of his imagination, then locked his room and went to work.

(Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2 - BTS) - While Sands was away, the Martian robot apparently moved and left the night table, presumably to conduct a reconnaissance of Sands' room, then returned to its original position.

(Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2) - After work, Sands returned to his room and grew suspicious that the seemingly inert robot had moved, as evidenced by scratch marks he saw on his night table. Bewildered and growing more unsettled, Sands took the Martian figure to his lab; he began a series of tests on its metal. The robot proved to be resistant to crushing by a giant mechanical press, the fiery heat of an acetylene torch failed to melt it, and even an armor-piercing shell didn't dent it. Sands then ran a spectro-analysis of the metal, only to conclude that it was formed by no known Earth element.

   Stunned by his findings, Sands left his lab with the Martian robot concealed in a bag; determined to rid himself of the strange little figure, Sands placed it within a model house at a bomb-site, where the research facility would be conducting a test of a new atom bomb.

   With a blinding flash, the bomb was detonated and the model house was atomized; but as the radioactive cloud mushroomed from the shattered rubble, only one thing was not destroyed, and stood completely unharmed: the Martian robot!

   The robot then raised its separate radio unit and sent a message to its superiors on Mars, informing them that no weapon or force on Earth was able to harm it, and that since its fellow Martians were also made of the same metal, it was safe for them to attack (see comments).

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Bob McCarthy.

    Like many other "Martians" claiming to be from Mars, this robot and its fellow beings may not be natives of that planet, and may have just been using it for a base of operations; they may actually come from another world outside Earth's solar system.

    This 5-page story--Unharmed--never identified the metal from which the robot's body was made--considering that it appeared to be virtually indestructible, possibly it was an extraterrestrial equivalent of Adamantium. When radioing Mars, the robot mentioned that it was made exactly like its fellow Martians, so it's probably safe to assume they were robots as well.

    Maybe this Martian robot had some connection to Trull's race, who had the ability to transfer their life essences into mechanical constructs--perhaps one of those life essences was actually held within that vitalizer (see sub-profile).

    So why was there never an attack by the robot's fellow "Martians"? My guess is that while the robot was able to withstand the atomic blast undamaged, its radio transmitter was not, so its fellow "Martians" never received the message, thus they assumed their invasion scout had been destroyed, and they canceled their invasion.

    Maybe they could bring back this robot as an enemy for the First Line, the Monster Hunters, or Jim Woo's G-Men/Agents of Atlas--that indestructible little Martian robot could be used like a dwarf-version of Ultron.

    These robotic beings, whether they were Martians or not, could make good allies of the Turgentine Technenium.
    --Snood

    This profile was completed 01/31/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the March, 2025 Mars event.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Martian robot has no known connections to:

Eric Sands has no known connections to:

Eric Sands

    A master engineer in the nuclear physics field, he worked at an atomic research facility somewhere in America (possibly New Mexico); he lived in a dormitory room at the same facility.

    On his birthday, he found a dozen birthday cards and a couple gifts on the desk of his dorm room; after tearing open his birthday presents and finding the usual assortment of neckties, he noticed a larger box and unwrapped it. The box was labeled as a MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT; thinking it was just a gag gift, Sands opened the box and found an array of component parts, along with assembly instructions.

    Fascinated by the challenge of working on the advanced and complicated mechanism, he spent the weekend building it. After he had the robotic figure assembled, he used the included vitalizer on it, but the mechanical Martian didn't move. Frustrated at wasting the weekend building it, Sands smacked the small robot off the desktop--the robot was unharmed, but Sands' interest was piqued when he noticed the damage it had caused to the hard wooden floor. He tried to scratch the robot with a diamond ring, but even the hardest known substance didn't leave a mark on it. Wondering what metal the robot was made from, Sands planned to test it in the morning; but even as he went to bed, Sands had the unsettling feeling that the robot was a "living thing," and that it was watching him.

    The next day, Sands ran a series of tests, but found he couldn't inflict any damage to the robot's metal body; his spectro-analysis indicated it was made of no known Earth element.

    Sands' supervisor told him the research facility would be testing a new atom bomb the following morning and had him set up a model house at the bomb-site to analyze the blast's effects--figuring it was the perfect opportunity to be rid of the Martian figure, Sands placed the robot inside the house.

    But the seemingly indestructible robot survived the atomic blast, and Eric Sands was unaware that it was actually a scout for a planned Martian invasion.

--Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2

MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT

    A rectangular box that apparently came from the planet Mars, it somehow arrived (possibly teleported?) in the dormitory room of Eric Sands on his birthday. Covered in wrapping paper and a bow, it contained the components of the Martian robot, along with an assembly instructions handbook and a vitalizer.

    After unwrapping it, Sands could find no way to open the sealed box, but when he "wished" he could open it, a panel on the side slid open; he next thought for the box to close, and the panel slid back into place. Sands figured that the box seemed to work by telepathy.

    Sands thought for the box to open again, and pulled out the components, which he assembled into the Martian robot (see main profile), but the eventual fate of the telepathic box remains unrevealed.

--Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2

vitalizer

A device included in the MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT, it was used by Eric Sands after he completed assembly of the Martian robot.

Sands connected the vitalizer to the robot, and energy seemed to flow from the vitalizer into the mechanical figure; but Sands was greatly disappointed when the robot only stood immobile.

--Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2

images: (without ads)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p5, pan7 (main image - Martian robot, standing in rubble after atomic blast)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p4, pan4 (headshot - Martian robot, as Eric Sands attempts to scratch it with a diamond ring)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p5, pan1-3 (Eric Sands tests durability of Martian robot)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p5, pan8 (Martian robot uses radio unit to contact Mars)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p1, pan2 (Eric Sands notices wrapped MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p4, pan2 (Eric Sands smacks immobile Martian robot to floor)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p4, pan5 (Eric Sands in bed, thinking about Martian robot on night table)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p4, pan7 (Eric Sands notices scratches on night table)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p1, pan3 (Eric Sands unwraps MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p2, pan2 (Eric Sands holds MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p2, pan3 (MAKE-A-MARTIAN KIT opens by Eric Sands' thought)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p3, pan6 (Eric Sands uses vitalizer on Martian robot)
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2, p3, pan7 (Eric Sands removes vitalizer from Martian robot)

Appearances:
Journey into Unknown Worlds I#26/2 (April, 1954) - unidentified writer, Bob McCarthy (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 03/03/2025
Last updated: 03/05/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters