The Martian Guns were actually German Lugers with false tin parts attached to them. They shot regular bullets.
--Captain America Comics#15/3
MARTIANS
Membership: Gool (Ludwig), others
Purpose: Conquering Gotham City and breaking the spirit of the American people
Affiliations: Third Reich
Enemies: Bucky (James Buchanan Barnes), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Mayor of Gotham City, Sgt. Duffy, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, United States of America
Base of Operations: Gotham City;
originally from somewhere in the Third Reich
First Appearance: Captain America Comics#15/3 (June, 1942)
History:
(Captain America Comics#15/3) - It was a dark day in Gotham City when a
lone police officer from the Big Apple stopped a car that ignored a no
left turn sign. He police officer jokingly asked the driver if he were
from Mars because apparently he couldn't read the sign and as it turned
out the monstrous looking driver actually claimed to be a man from
Mars. The police officer got scared and the Martian laughed as he ran
over two innocent bystanders. The Martian then stepped out of his car
to show his true size and threatened that the Martians would take over
the city while men just ran away scared of the 10 feet tall green
semi-humanoid with an ugly underbite. Enter the boy wonder Bucky
Barnes, who showed no fear and punched the Martian in the chest only to
be sent flying by a Martian haymaker. When Bucky got back on his feet
the Martian was gone.
At Camp Lehigh nobody believed Bucky and he got mocked for claiming to have seen a Martian in Gotham City. Steve Rogers defended Bucky's vivid imagination, which got him and Bucky into even more trouble with Sgt. Duffy. But the dynamic duo was in luck when the aforementioned Martian approached out of nowhere and knocked out a befuddled Duffy. Steve immediately changed his tune and now believed Bucky was telling the truth because obviously he did and this green-skinned giant was a man from Mars, so he fought back and got walloped by the Martian alongside Bucky. A few punches later to other soldiers and the Martian stole off into the dark night. Duffy was mad at Bucky for obviously withholding important information and threatened him and Steve with consequences, but Steve and Bucky took off, put on their costumes and went after the Martian as the costumed crusaders Captain America and Bucky.
Meanwhile in Gotham City the radio reported on the horrifying Martian invasion. A man listening to the program laughed at the news and was sure it was just hogwash like that Orson Welles broadcast a few years earlier while his son defended the program as good and the wife knitted. A Martian entered his home and killed the man and his family to prove him wrong. Their dying screams were heard by our dynamic duo, which jumped into action against the vile Martian. They exchanged blows with the Martian, who pulled a Martian Gun on them when he realized that his opponent were more formidable fighters than he expected. His shot was blocked by Cap's shield and the Martian got nearly knocked out by the heroic duo. He dropped his Martian Gun, but escaped the scene when Cap and Bucky stumbled over the corpses of the Martian's latest victims. Cap picked up the Martian Gun and realized that beneath the false parts it was just a German Luger. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he considered the Martians were working with the Nazis. As the radio reports on the Martian invasion continued, Cap sent Bucky back to Camp Lehigh to ask the army for help while Cap chased after the Martian.
The Martian passed by a wino with Cap close behind him, which made the wino reconsider the consumption of more alcoholic beverages. As Cap continued his pursuit he was nearly overrun by a scared crowd running away from several armed Martians. Cap decided to go the Mayor of Gotham City to calm down the people.
Meanwhile at the office of the Mayor, two Martians and the leader, Gool, threatened the mayor and tried to force him to use his special microphone that was connected with all radio stations to broadcast that all citizens should evacuate the city because otherwise they would die at the hands of the Martians. Captain America arrived just in time to stop the mayor's broadcast and fight the Martians only to get overpowered by them. When the mayor saw that even Captain America was helpless against the Martians he was forces to finish the broadcast and ended it with a deadly bullet to his back. Gool already planned to force Captain America for another broadcast to break the Americans spirit for good. He gave Cap some time to cool off until he was ready to work with them while the Martians set up their Red Death Ray on the roof.
Back at Camp Lehigh, Bucky asked Duffy to send in the army, but while Duffy still wouldn't believe him (despite getting punched by a Martian earlier), General Haywood sent in the troops because the radio reported on the Martian invasion and Bucky was obviously telling the truth. The U.S. Army made their way to Gotham City in ferry-boats, but the Martians used their deadly Red Death Ray from City Hall's roof against the boats, which blew up as they were hit by the Red Death Ray. Bucky noticed that the boat he was on didn't blow up when it was hit by the Red Death Ray and went to the engine room to investigate what was going on and found a time-bomb, which he threw out a porthole to save his boat and the soldiers on it (Holy fake death ray! They had placed bombs on the ferry-boats before the U.S. Army used them). As the ferry-boat landed ashore, the soldiers had to push their way through a scared crowd while Bucky took off to find Cap. Camp Lehigh's young ward made his way up City Hall's fire escape and found Cap bound and guarded by a Martian. Bucky knocked out the Martian and freed Cap, after which they made their way to the roof where they quickly knocked out four Martians before taking apart the Red Death Ray, which turned out to be searchlight with papermache parts attached to it. As it dawned on the dynamic duo that everything they had been up against was fake or not what it looked like they went to one of the downed Martians and unmasked him as a Nazi agent on stilts. Armed with this revelation Cap and Bucky were ready to take down Gool and his fake Martians for good.
Meanwhile in City Hall, Gool and his fellow Nazis had a drink (hopefully a good imported German beer and not the swill Americans believe to be beer). Gool aka. Ludwig celebrated as their plan to scare the Americans with a Martian invasion had worked like it had worked before when during the Orson Welles broadcast about a Martian invasion. It put a smile on Ludwig's face to look down at the people fleeing Gotham City. Patting himself on his back for this brilliant plan, Gool was ready to call in the transports to take over the city for good, but first he wanted to force Cap to instill more fear in the Americans. Gool and another Martian went down to the room where Cap was imprisoned, but the capeless crusader was gone, and then he was there again with Bucky and already knew that Gool was named Ludwig. Cap and Bucky kicked and punched the Sauerkraut out of the supposed Martians while Ludwig snuck to his microphone to call in the Nazi transports. Cap choked him out and called the American coast fleet to warn them of the Nazi transports outside Gotham Harbor. The U.S. Navy sunk the Nazi vessels while Captain America broadcast with the late mayor's special phone that the Martians were just a hoax, and the relieved citizens of Gotham City returned to their homes. He and Bucky took off the fake Martians' costumes and left them at City Hall with a message for the local police that informed the authorities that these men were the fake Martians.
Back at Camp Lehigh Sgt. Duffy wasn't too thrilled when Steve and Bucky stumbled back into Camp Lehigh alive. They were clearly not the soldiers Sgt. Duffy needed, but the soldiers he deserved.
Comments: Created by Bill Finger & George Klein.
Orson Welles' original broadcast mentioned in the story about a Martian invasion took place on 10/30/1938 on CBS Radio Network. It was based on H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds and put real fear into the hearts of Americans. Orson was misspelled Wells throughout this story, which was probably because he was mistaken for the author of the original story.
Minor tidbit from the Captain America Index, but genuine Martians (as genuine as they could get) under the leadership of Captain Ott already attacked the United States in a Human Torch story in Marvel Mystery Comics#3 (January, 1940) though they were actually just there to get powerful explosives that could save their planet. Captain Ott will get a profile later this month!--Snood
...and we should probably not forget that the War of the Worlds broadcast the Nazis' plan was inspired by was based on the real invasion of the Martian Masters on Earth-616. They get a profile later this month!--Snood
They were in Gotham City and didn't even encounter Batman? Probably because they were in the wrong reality. Batman was probably too busy with Joker, Penguin and a variety of forgotten criminals that month.
This profile was completed 02/09/2025, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the March, 2025 Mars event.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Martians have no known connections to:
Gool (Ludwig) has no known connection to:
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The Martian Guns were actually German Lugers with false tin parts attached to them. They shot regular bullets. --Captain America Comics#15/3 |
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The Martians' Red Death Ray was believed to be able to blow up ships, but it was actually just a searchlight with papermache parts attached to it. What actually blew up the ferry-boats commandeered by the U.S. Army were time-bombs that had earlier secretly been placed on the ferry-boats and blew up when the searchlight was shone on a ship (it was just well timed and had nothing to do with the fake death ray's red light). --Captain America Comics#15/3 |
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(Ludwig) Ludwig was a Nazi from somewhere in the Third Reich that led a contingent of men that posed as Martians wearing hideous costumes while walking on stilts to appear 10 feet tall during a series of attacks on Gotham City. He was inspired by Orson Welles' Martian invasion broadcast a few years earlier to fake this Martian invasion because he already knew that Americans had gotten scared of a Martian invasion before. It is unknown how many of the Martian attacks were committed by him before he threatened the mayor and forced him to broadcast an evacuation order to the citizens of Gotham City. He was the one that killed the mayor by shooting him in the back after Captain America was overpowered by his fellow fake Martians. He was also the one that gave Cap time to cool off after Cap got captured and the one that ordered to set up the Red Death Ray on the roof of City Hall. He had a drink with two other fake Martians and celebrated the success of this brilliant Nazi plan as they watched the people of Gotham City leave in fear. He was ready to call in the Nazi transports off the shore, but wanted to force Captain America to do broadcast to break the American spirit first. He headed down to the room where Cap was imprisoned with another fake Martian, but Cap had been freed by his sidekick Bucky and the duo beat up the Martians. Ludwig snuck to the microphone to call in the Nazi transports, but got choked out by Cap, who informed the American coast fleet about the Nazi ships outside Gotham Harbor. Cap then informed the general public that the Martians were actually a hoax. Cap and Bucky left Ludwig and his fellow Nazis out of costume at City Hall with a message for the police that these men were the supposed Martians. --Captain America Comics#15/3 |
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images: (without ads)
Captain America Comics#15, p37 (main)
Captain America Comics#15, p38, pan6 (head shot)
Captain America Comics#15, p44, pan6 (punched by Bucky)
Captain America Comics#15, p53, pan6 (actually a fake Martian)
Captain America Comics#15, p44, pan7 (Martian Gun)
Captain America Comics#15, p49, pan5 (Red Death Ray)
Captain America Comics#15, p47, pan2 (Gool)
Captain America Comics#15, p54, pan2 (Ludwig without mask)
Appearances:
Captain America Comics#15/3 (June, 1942) - Bill Finger (writer),
unidentified penciler, unidentified inker, George Klein (co-inker),
Stan Lee (editor)
First Posted: 03/06/2025
Last updated: 03/06/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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