Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (race unrevealed)
Occupation: Space traveler
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Mary Brown
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The Thing from the Hidden Swamp" (in story title)
Base of Operations: Unidentified galaxy;
formerly a swamp in the Caribbean islands
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish I#30/2 (April, 1962)
Powers/Abilities: This alien was extremely large, had superhuman strength, and could communicate telepathically. He could somehow change the appearance of others (see comments), but exactly how--and whether or not this was an ability or aided by his technology--is unknown.
He was stranded on Earth after his spaceship became stuck in a swamp.
Height: Unrevealed (15'; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None
History:
(Tales to Astonish I#30/2 (fb)) - While on an interplanetary voyage, an alien's spacecraft
was caught in a space/time warp -- this caused his ship to crash on
Earth, in the swamp of a Caribbean island, where the vessel became stuck
in a bog. The alien attempted to free his spaceship by himself, but was
unsuccessful.
(Tales to Astonish I#30/2) - A vacationing woman named Mary Brown came across the alien, and was initially frightened by his appearance; but the alien spoke to her mentally, and explained his situation. Mary agreed to help him try to free the ship from the swamp, so he took her inside the vessel and showed her how to operate its controls. While Mary activated the spacecraft's engines, the alien used his strength to lift the ship out of the muck.
With his spacecraft now freed from the bog, the alien thanked Mary for her help, and promised to handsomely reward her for her kindness. After the spacecraft launched and vanished into the sky, Mary returned to her cruise ship, where she saw her reflection in a mirror and realized the alien had transformed her from a plain-looking woman to a beautiful one.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers.
I honestly can't tell the difference between "plain" Mary and "pretty" Mary. They look exactly alike, except "pretty" Mary's eyes are wider.
Maybe Mary just suffered from an inferiority complex about her looks, so the alien used his telepathy to boost her self-confidence. -- Ron Fredricks
The creature was never actually identified, and "Thing from the Hidden Swamp" was only used for the title.
Profile by Madison Carter. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Thing from the Hidden Swamp has no known connections to:
Mary Brown has no known connections to:
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Powered by "hyper-atomic engines," this extraterrestrial spacecraft was capable of intergalactic travel. But after it was caught in a space/time warp, the ship crashed on Earth, where it was stuck in a swamp on a Caribbean island. The alien pilot attempted to pull the craft out of the muck by himself, but was unsuccessful. | |
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The stranded alien later got help from Mary Brown, who operated the controls inside, while the alien stayed outside -- with the combination of the spaceship's activated engines and the alien's great strength, the vessel was eventually freed, and the alien returned home. --Tales to Astonish I#30/2 |
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A plain-looking woman, Mary was frustrated by her lack of a social or romantic life. She hoped to get away from it by taking a Caribbean cruise, and possibly meet a single man who would be attracted to her. But alas, where there were single men, there were also single women, and not one man on the ship even approached Mary. While the ship was docked on one of the islands, Mary rented a rowboat and began exploring a swamp ("At least being off by myself, I won't have to see how happy everyone else is!"). She encountered a giant alien who asked for her aid in helping him free his spacecraft from a bog. After the vessel was freed, the alien climbed aboard and promised to handsomely reward Mary for her kindness, but then he abruptly flew away. When she later returned to the cruise ship, Mary noticed all the men giving her admiring glances; she looked into a mirror and found that the alien had kept his word -- her face had changed, and she was no longer a plain-looking woman, but a beautiful one (see comments). --Tales to Astonish I#30/2 |
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images: (without ads)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p4, pan2 (main image - Thing from the Hidden Swamp)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p5, pan5 (headshot - Thing from the Hidden Swamp)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p4, pan6 (Thing from the Hidden Swamp approaches Mary Brown's rowboat)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p4, pan5 (in flashback, spaceship caught in space/time warp)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p5, pan1 (spaceship (interior); Thing from the Hidden Swamp, Mary Brown)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p5, pan3 (with Mary's assistance, alien begins to free his spaceship from bog)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p2, pan7 ("plain" Mary Brown, on Caribbean island)
Tales to Astonish I#30/2, p6, pan6 ("beautiful" Mary Brown)
Appearances:
Tales to Astonish I#30/2 (April, 1962) - Stan Lee (plot/editor), Larry Lieber (script), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Goldberg (colors), John Duffy (letters)
First posted: 02/16/2006
Last updated: 02/15/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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