GERALD MORSDEN
Real Name: Gerald Morsden
Identity/Class: Human mutant (see comments) (1950s Era)
Occupation: Business tycoon, terrorist
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Saturnian woman (name unrevealed)
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: Marie (mother); father (name unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations:
Saturn;
formerly New York City, USA
First Appearance: Menace#4/3 (June, 1953)
Powers/Abilities: Gerald Morsden had an athletic physique and he was born with an incredibly high IQ; he was also an inventive genius. By the time he reached adulthood, Morsden developed the power of mental telepathy, and he could kill with his thoughts by mentally inducing cerebral hemorrhages.
History:
(Menace #4/3 (fb)) - Shortly after his birth, Gerald displayed amazingly advanced intellectual development and intuition--while still a toddler in his crib, he stunned his parents when he spoke perfectly enunciated English and used an extensive vocabulary (he was even able to give his father the answer to a difficult crossword puzzle clue!). Gerald's mother fainted from shock, and his father took the youngster to a psychiatrist to have his IQ tested, but the little boy's score was too high for the doctor to calculate. Because of his advanced intellect, Gerald was enrolled into the education system early, and by the age of 6, the preternatural prodigy had graduated from college. He went on to apply his talents in several different fields--art, athletics, music, engineering--and he excelled in whatever skill he practiced.
(Menace #4/3) - By the time Gerald turned 20, he was an orphan--his mother had died during one of her numerous fainting spells, and his father had run away. The arrogant Gerald developed the power of telepathy and he used his extraordinary abilities to establish a business empire; he soon made a fortune and became the richest man in the world. But Gerald grew bored with life--his powers gave him such an advantage that there was nothing he couldn't do, no one he couldn't outsmart, and he felt that he was a superior man trapped on a world of comparative morons. Rather than using his great gifts for the betterment of humankind, Gerald began to amuse himself by heartlessly tormenting others and using humans as his playthings. He manipulated the stock market and drove hundreds of firms into bankruptcy; he shot and killed a harmless old man, just for the thrill of committing the perfect crime. One day, Gerald used his telepathy to project his thoughts across the ocean and he caused 800 Europeans to die from brain hemorrhages.
Shortly afterward, Gerald received a mental projection from another telepath: a beautiful woman on the planet Saturn (see comments). The sultry psychic siren told him that her world was the home of an advanced civilization that was thousands of years ahead of Earth, and she implored him to come to her. With his interest piqued by the prospect of meeting someone like himself, Gerald designed a rocketship; he spent every cent he had and hired thousands of workers to build it. Six months later, the malevolent mind-reader climbed aboard his completed spacecraft and launched himself on a space odyssey to the ringed planet. When he reached his destination, the rocket crash-landed, but Gerald crawled from the wreckage unhurt. He was greeted by the beautiful woman, who had sensed his arrival. Gerald asked the telepathic temptress for a kiss; she consented, but insisted on removing her "body mask" first. As she pulled off her disguise, Gerald saw that the girl of his dreams was really a repulsive hag, so he fled, but the hideous woman pursued him. He found himself cornered on the precipice of a cliff, as the amorous abomination approached him with thoughts of love. With death his only escape, Gerald Morsden took one last look back at Earth before he jumped...
Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Joe Maneely (artist).
The word "mutant" was never actually used in the story to describe Morsden, but he was said to have been born 1,000 years ahead of his time, so I think it's a safe assumption.
Since the conditions on Saturn are too inhospitable to support life as we know it, I would speculate that Morsden's rocket actually crashed on one of the moons that orbit that planet, possibly Titan. I'd further speculate that the Saturnian woman was an Eternal (which would explain her telepathic powers) and that she was descended from the followers of Uranos, who originally colonized Titan (@ What If? I#28/3). Perhaps her disfigured physical appearance can be attributed to injuries sustained during the civil war that destroyed the colony, and which left only one apparent survivor: Sui-San (@ Captain Marvel I#29).
Although the mysterious woman claimed her world was home to a thriving civilization, the landscape looked barren and she seemed to be the only inhabitant. Maybe she wanted to use Morsden to repopulate the dead surface of that moon, just as Mentor (A'Lars) took Sui-San as his wife and restored life beneath the surface of Titan.
This story--"Genius!"--was reprinted in Journey Into Mystery II#3, from which these scans came.
And a BIG Thank You to Grendel Prime for the scans!
Profile by John Kaminski.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Gerald Morsden has no known connections to:
The unidentified Saturnian woman has no known connections to:
Endowed with telepathic powers, she was an extraterrestrial humanoid female, with purple skin and a grotesque cadaverous appearance; she wore a "body mask" to disguise herself as a beautiful woman. She lived on the planet Saturn (see comments), and she projected a telepathic message to Gerald Morsden on Earth; having learned of Morsden's superior intellect and telepathic abilities, she thought he would be the perfect mate for her, so she invited him to join her on her homeworld. When Morsden arrived in a rocketship, she removed her "body mask" to reveal her true form, and thereby put a damper on the Earthman's enthusiasm for interplanetary romance.
--Menace#4/3
images:
(without ads)
Journey Into Mystery II#3/3, p4, pan2 (main image)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 12/25/13
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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