"FLYING SAUCER"
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (race unknown; see comments)
Occupation: Explorer, colonizer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Unidentified man (see comments)
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations:
Mobile in interstellar space;
First Appearance: Strange Worlds#1/1 (December, 1958)
Powers/Abilities: A sentient electro-mechanical life-form, the alien "Flying Saucer" had a disc-shaped body (about 20 feet in diameter and 8 feet high) that it could reconfigure. While in "flight-mode," it would streamline its form for space travel; in "landing-mode," it could extend four support-legs and at least one gripper arm. It could telepathically communicate with humans by transmitting its thought-images directly into human brains, although it was capable of simulating a voice for audible speech. Like others of its kind, the "Flying Saucer" was weakened when exposed to the radiation of Earth's sun and could only travel when not in direct sunlight.
History:
(Strange Worlds #1/1 (fb)) - The past of the alien is unknown, but when its homeworld became overpopulated, the "Flying Saucer" departed to find a new planet to colonize. As it flew in the vicinity of Earth, it was weakened by the sun's radiation and caught in the planet's gravitational pull.
(Strange Worlds #1/1) - In the late afternoon, the "Flying Saucer" was forced to make a landing in an isolated clearing in the forests of the American Northwest, where it was seen by a lone Earthman. The alien extended an arm to touch the man, then it began to project its thought-images into his mind; it presented an image of its advanced planet and explained why it had to come to Earth. Then it told the man that it had no desire to remain on his primitive world and that it intended to leave at sunset. The alien asked the man not to tell anyone about its presence until after it left, and the man agreed to comply, but because he was under the mistaken impression that he had been conversing with a being inside what he thought to be a spaceship, the man asked the alien to show itself to him. The "Flying Saucer" formed a "mouth" and told him that it was the "spaceship"! At sundown, the "Flying Saucer" had recovered its strength and left Earth--presumably, it continued its search for a new world.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer, Jack Kirby (artist) and Chris Rule (inker).
There are other known races of autonomous machines, including the Mekkans (see Torgo) and the Autocrons (see Ten-For)--maybe the Flying Saucer had some connection to them.
That man (who also narrated the story) was never named, so I'll suggest calling him "Arnold Kenley" (which I derived from "Kenneth Arnold", a real-life figure who claimed to have seen flying saucers).
This story--"I Discovered the Secret of the Flying Saucers!"--was basically redone as "I Know the Secret of the Flying Saucer!" in Tales of Suspense I#11 (art by Steve Ditko).
A similar plot was also used in Strange Tales I#10 (October, 1962 ) "The Impossible Ship!" and Men's Adventures#21/3 (May, 1953) (Clam).
--Gammatotem
And a BIG Thank You to Pappy's Golden Age for the scans!
Profile by John Kaminski.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
The "Flying Saucer" has no known connections to:
A planet in a binary star-system far from Earth, it was inhabited by a highly advanced and peaceful civilization of intelligent machines. When their world became overpopulated, some of the inhabitants left to search the universe for new worlds to colonize.
--Strange Worlds#1/1
An American citizen, he was intrigued by the increasing number of reports of UFO sightings. He traveled the country, determined to discover the secret of the "flying saucer" mystery. One afternoon, he was in the forests of the Northwest when he saw what he thought to be an alien spacecraft landing in an isolated clearing. Overwhelmed by curiosity, he approached the flying saucer, and an alien intelligence began to communicate with him telepathically. The alien told him how it had been weakened by radiation from the sun and it was forced to come down to Earth. The alien assured him that it had no desire to remain on such a primitive planet and said it would leave when it regained its strength at nightfall. The alien asked the man to keep its presence a secret until after it left, and the man agreed, but he asked the extraterrestrial to show itself to him--the man was shocked to learn that he'd been looking at the alien all along, for the "flying saucer" itself was the alien! At sundown, the alien flew off, and the man was surprisingly sad to see it leave. Afterwards, he tried to tell others about his close encounter with the flying saucer, but they only scoffed at his story.
--Strange Worlds#1/1
images:
(without ads)
Strange Worlds #1/1, p6, pan5 (main image)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 11/22/10
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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