MARTIANSMARTIANS
Classification: Semi-humanoid extraterrestrial race (Martian)
Location/Base of Operations: Mars, fourth planet from the sun in the Sol(ar) system, Milky Way Galaxy (see comments)
Known Members: King Kaaz, Count Szoj, unidentified general, other unidentified ministers
Population:
Only perhaps a few dozen or so were seen in the vicinity of Kaaz, but
Kaaz also described having armies and a fleet of a thousand ships,
which would seem to imply at least thousands.
Affiliations: None known
Enemies: Humanity (notably Paul & Ruth Abbot)
First Appearance: Marvel Tales I#140 (November, 1955)
Powers/Abilities: The Martians have fours arms, which appear to either be like tentacles or have highly articulated bones/joints, more like the body of a snake. Each appeared to end in two digits.
They did not appear to require any
They had rocket ships (allegedly 1000) that could travel through space at 1000 miles per second (3,600,000 miles per hour).
The soldiers, at least, carried some sort of pistols in a holster on their belts.
They presumably had other advanced
technology and weaponry, which they felt would make it easy to conquer
Earth in the 1950s.
Traits: The Martians were somewhat
imperialistic, wishing to conquer Earth, but they were also prone to
misinterpretation and overreaction/panic, causing them to abandon such
plans.
Soldiers wore red uniforms that
covered their torsos, complete with a belt, but left their arms and
legs exposed, with boots on their feet. They also had a red cape and a
red skullcap with a black stripe down the middle.
The general was distinguished by a star-like symbol on his skullcap and lacked the black stripe.
The ministers of the King wore red uniforms over their torsos, with black capes and black skullcaps with a red stripe down the middle.
The King wore a decorative orange
mitre-like crown/headpiece, with an orange tunic that also include
leggings, plus boots and an orange cape.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric semi-humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; small pupil, but either no visible iris or the iris was dark and very small, surrounding the pupil)
Fingers: Two
Toes: Unrevealed (they were only seen in boots)
Skin color: Green
Average height: Approximately 5'4"-5'6"
Other Distinguishing Features:
The Martians have no external nasal structure, and they have a mouth
structure that exposes their relatively large teeth at rest.
Kaaz has white hair and a white beard (but no mustache). None of the other Martians were seen without some sort of skullcap.
They have stocky bodies that
contrast with their thin, tentacle-like arms and relatively thin legs,
which appear to have more feet that are of a more human conformation.
History:
(Marvel Tales I#140 (fb) - BTS) - When the Martians considered
conquering Earth, Count Szoj suggested capturing an Earthling and
bringing him to Mars so they could gather information.
(Marvel Tales I#140 (fb)) - An
unidentified general and three soldiers flew to Earth. They apparently
selected either the Abbots or their home as the people to or place at
which they would make their presence known.
On October 30th, they apparently knocked on the Abbots' door or rang their bell.
(Marvel Tales I#140) - The Abbots opened the door and greeted the spacemen. 
(Marvel Tales I#140 - BTS) - Paul Abbot, mistakenly thinking it was Halloween, decided to play along with the prank. Ruth was either just a good hostess or decided to play along as well.
(Marvel Tales I#140) - The Abbots invited the Martians into their house, at which point the general announced that they were from Mars, that they were going to take Paul back to meet their noble King Kaaz and that the Earthman should make no effort to resist. They were surprised when Paul happily agreed to accompany them and didn't seem to be afraid, and Paul told them he had been to Mars before and that this should be fun. Aboard their ship, Paul chose a seat away from any windows, as he had a fear of heights and could not stand to look down. When the general advised him that he may never return to Earth, Paul jokingly replied that if they could stand his company forever, than he could stand theirs. As the ship lurched violently as it took off, Paul roared with laughter. The general advised Paul that they were traveling at 1000 miles per second, and Paul confirmed that that was much faster than any craft on Earth.
As they approached Mars, the general aimed his
pistol at Paul and warned him that there should be no treachery, but
the still smiling Paul assured him that he certainly would not try
anything with a ray-gun pointed at him. With something of a rough
landing, Paul joked that the pilot should have his license revoked. At
the general's command, Paul kneeled before King Kaaz, which earned the
general Kaaz's approval. After Kaaz circled and studied Paul, he asked
if all humans only had two arms, and Paul confirmed that that was all
they had ever had. At first the general mocked both this and the
apparent lack of intelligence to be afraid while being a captive on
another planet, but Paul advised him that humans were really tough and
that they could do his worst. Kaaz warned Paul that he would have good
reason to fear him and his armies when they landed on his "puny planet"
with an invasion fleet of a thousand rocket ships. Paul replied that
Earth would be glad to take them on.
Paul's defiance both infuriated and staggered Kaaz, and he summoned his ministers. One of them advised that only a fool was without fear and perhaps all Earthlings were fools, but Kaaz countered that fearless men were dangerous, and that if they attacked, the humans fight continue to fight forever, meaning a long and costly war. Another minister agreed, further adding that they might even lose such a war: Perhaps the Earth creature was no fool at all and perhaps Earth had some secret weapon. Kaaz (apparently) concluded that they must indeed have a secret weapon and that they must return the human to his home before Earth sent its armies to bring him back. Another commented that they would be fortunate if the Earthlings don't send an expedition to destroy them and that they should apologize.
Kaaz then told Paul that his people had made a
terrible mistake, that they meant no harm and that they wanted only
friendly relations with his great planet. After Kaaz offered the
apologies of the entire population of Mars and noted that all the
things he had said about an invasion were just in jest, Paul advised
Kaaz that he was lucky he could take a joke and then told him that he
would like to go home now.
As the ship took off, Count Szoj stated that he
hoped the powers of Earth did not try to retaliate, and Kaaz told Szoj
that it would be too bad for him if they did, as capturing an Earthling
had been his idea. After the ship landed on Earth, the general informed
Paul that it was just a short distance to his home and hoped he had had
a pleasant voyage. Paul assured him that that was an understatement and
that he had never had a better time in his life.
(Marvel Tales I#140 - BTS) - Returning to his home, Paul excitedly
told Ruth about what he had believed to be an extremely elaborate
Halloween prank, and he was shocked when she interrupted, telling him
that he was terribly wrong as Halloween wasn't until tomorrow night!
Comments: Created by Carl Wessler and Joe Sinnott
There is nothing in-story that
would clearly contradict this story from being Reality-616. Earth was
standard Earth in the 1950s, and the situation on Mars has not been
clearly defined.
Any number of races may have colonized Mars over
time, perhaps even simultaneously. I would love to see a story that
someday explains the origins of all of the different Martian races that
have been encountered by humans, especially in the 1950s-1960s.
Maybe there were a series of races that colonized
Mars (maybe some being, group, race, etc. was even coordinating this)
and plotted to conquer Earth and then departed Mars upon believing that
such conquest was not possible.
Maybe as they prepared to invade Earth, the Man on the Wall at the time (Woodrow McCord up until 1958, and thereafter, Nick Fury) could have driven off or exterminated the colonies, etc.
Regardless, what I don't want to do is to designate
something as an alternate reality when there is not definitive evidence
to support that.
By my understanding, Mars ranges
between as close as 34,680,000 miles to a maximum of 250,000,000 miles
apart. Even at the closest distance, traveling at 3,600,000 miles per
hour, that is still nearly 10 hours of travel one way...so the journey
would have taken a very long time, and I would think Paul Abbot's humor
and patience would have run out. And his wife, Ruth, would have been
much more worried if he was gone for almost 24 hours.
Perhaps the general misspoke, and they traveled at
10,000 miles per second, which would make the journey less than an
hour, assuming they went when the two planets were closest (which makes
sense).
If they could travel to Earth so easily, perhaps they would have sent scouts to try to discover what type of secret weapon humanity might possess.
This profile was completed 01/15/2025 , but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the March, 2025 Mars event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
These Martians should be distinguished from:
 
The ruler of the Martians approved the plan to bring an Earthling to
Mars for study before they might invade Earth. He initially mocked Paul Abbot's possession of only two arms and his apparently ignorant lack of fear. However, Paul's continued humor and defiance soon made Kaaz question things, and he and his ministers concluded that Paul was not afraid because humanity had a secret weapon. After apologizing, Kaaz had Paul sent home, hoping humanity would not strike back for this abduction. --Marvel Tales I#140 Note: Kaaz' full body is shown in the main/top right image |
However, the continued humor and defiance of this Earthling, Paul Abbot, soon made King Kaaz question things, and he and his ministers concluded that Paul was not afraid because humanity had a secret weapon. After Kaaz had apologized to Abbot and sent him home, Count Szoj stated that he hoped the powers of Earth did not try to retaliate. Kaaz advised Szoj that it would be too bad for him if they did, as capturing an Earthling had been his idea. --Marvel Tales I#140 |
  The general led the mission to Earth and presumably selected Paul Abbot. He was surprised that Paul was not afraid, but he nonetheless ordered him about and warned him at gunpoint not to cause problems. King Kaaz initially praised the general for successfully capturing a human. After Paul intimidated Kaaz into apologizing and sending him home, the general accompanied him back to Earth. After the ship landed on Earth, the general informed Paul that it was just a short distance to his home and hoped he had had a pleasant voyage. Paul assured him that that was an understatement and that he had never had a better time in his life. --Marvel Tales I#140 |
 The fourth planet in Earth's solar system was inhabited by a race of Martians (see comments).It apparently had an atmosphere, temperature and gravity that was virtually indistinguishable from Earth's (as Paul Abbot believed he had never actually left Earth) --Marvel Tales I#140 Note: It could be that a section of Mars had been terraformed to have an Earth-like atmosphere, etc. Perhaps it was specifically designed so that the human brought there would be able to comfortably survive and answer questions. The image of the ship returning to Earth MAY show Mars from orbit, but it looks just like an earlier image of Earth's moon. |
 
The rocket ship that carried Paul Abbot to and from Earth was a VTOL
(Vertical Take-Off and Landing) type of craft, and it apparently could
travel at 1000 miles per second (see comments).The general directed the crew aboard the ship. King Kaaz stated that his people had 1000 such ships with which they planned to attack Earth. It apparently had something of a rough take-off and landing. --Marvel Tales I#140 |  |
images: (without ads)
Marvel Tales I#140, pg. 1, panel 1 (confront Abbots);
panel 2 (General and Martians in Abbot house);
pg. 2, panel 1 (General and Martians leaving Abbot house with Paul);
panel 6 (ship flying off of Earth);
pg. 3, panel 1 (General threatening Paul with ray-gun);
panel 3 (ship landed on Mars);
panel 5 (Kaaz, full);
panel 6 (Kaaz, face);
pg. 4, panel 2 (Kaaz conferring with ministers);
panel 4 (Mars surface, showing group of Martians from great distance);
panel 5 (Kaaz apologizing to Paul Abbot);
pg. 5, panel 1 (Kaaz & Szoj (from behind));
panel 2 (ship returning to Earth)
Appearances:
Marvel Tales I#140/1 "Man Without Fear" (November, 1955) - Carl Wessler (writer), Joe Sinnott (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 03/21/2025
Last updated: 03/21/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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