"WILLIAM ALLANSON"
Real Name: "William Allanson" (see comments)
Identity/Class: Human (1950s era)
Occupation: Scientist
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: His colleagues
Enemies: Lizard/dragon
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: His laboratory in Tibet
First Appearance: Mystery Tales I#51/2 (March, 1957)
Powers/Abilities: Apparently knowledgeable in the field of bio-chemistry, "Allanson" was a research scientist trying to create a "cell-growth-accelerator serum". He was armed with a handgun and equipped with a camera.
Height: 6' (by
approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black, with graying temples
History: (Mystery Tales I#51/2 (fb) - BTS) - The past of "William Allanson" is unrevealed, but while in the United States, he began a project to develop a cell-growth-accelerator serum--his colleagues thought he was selfishly wasting his time on what they considered to be merely a "spectacular stunt". "Allanson" relocated and set up his lab in a hut in Tibet, where he scoured the mountains in a search for a rare herb that was the final element needed for the serum; at some point he also acquired a small lizard, which he planned to use to test the serum.
(Mystery Tales I#51/2) - After finding the herb and completing the serum, "Allanson" sat at his work-bench, contemplating the lizard in its cage, thinking of the "big" things he had planned for it. But he was overwhelmed with exhaustion from his search for the herb, and as a violent storm raged outside, "Allanson" collapsed on his cot and fell asleep...
The next thing "Allanson" knew, he was standing over his work-bench, looking down upon the damage the storm had wrought--the wind had overturned and spilled the beaker with his growth serum, and the lizard was gone, having broken out of its cage. Outside his hut, "Allanson" heard a native tribesman shrilly crying out a warning about a dragon. The tribesman told "Allanson" a tale from over a thousand years in the past, when an evil dragon menaced the area, until a legendary magician named Tensu used his sorcery to shrink the monster to tiny proportions--but somehow, the creature had now returned! "Allanson's" suspicions were aroused and he suspected that the beaker of growth serum had spilled on the lizard, causing it to grow to giant-size. Grabbing his camera to get photographic proof that his serum worked, "Allanson" began to climb the mist-shrouded mountain to get a picture of the enlarged lizard. But when he came upon the fire-breathing monster, he remembered the tribesman's tale of the magician shrinking the dragon, and he realized that the lizard he had planned to use to test the serum had actually been the shrunken dragon all along! Suddenly, the fire-breathing beast spotted "Allanson" and began to chase after him. "Allanson" ran away, but he slipped and twisted his ankle--he lay on the the ground, unable to flee, as the dragon came closer...
"Allanson" opened his eyes and awoke on his cot, and he realized that the entire experience with the dragon had merely been a dream. He arrogantly thought that if he were a superstitious fool, like the natives of the area--or timid, like his colleagues, he'd think that his dream was some sort of an omen and he'd call the test off; but being a man of reason,"Allanson" smiled skeptically as the dream-inspired alarm left him and he went to complete the experiment. When he reached his work-bench, "Allanson" began to examine the lizard with his magnifying glass, and he saw sparks and a tiny jet of flame erupt from the little reptile's mouth! Badly shaken by his observation, "Allanson" threw the serum away, destroyed his notes, and he resolved to no longer work on "spectacular stunts," but instead he'd devote his time on projects to benefit mankind.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Al Williamson (artist)
In regards to "William Allanson": This character was never
identified in this 4-page story--"The Lizard"--and I didn't want to
continuously refer to him as "Unidentified scientist," so I took the
liberty of naming him for the purposes of this profile--I just kind of
inverted artist Al
Williamson's name. Although we never learned if his growth
serum actually worked, it sounds like "Allanson" may have been on his way
to discovering what would later be known as the size-altering "Pym
Particles".
In regards to Tensu: He was only depicted in a narrative
flashback, in a legendary tale told by the tribesman in "Allanson's" dream
(...and thus Tensu was effectively "a
dream within a dream"), but maybe he had once
existed--perhaps "Allanson's" dream was actually a message from Tensu from
beyond, to warn him not to tamper with the unknown. And maybe in the distant past, Tensu was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme,
and perhaps he had some connection to Dr. Strange's mentor, the Ancient
One (who was also from Tibet).
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
"William Allanson" has no known connections to:
The lizard/dragon has no known connections to:
Tensu has no known connections to:
It was a tiny reptile that scientist "William Allanson" kept in a cage; he was planning to use it to test his cell-growth-accelerator serum. Possibly, it had once been an evil dragon who battled the magician Tensu over a thousand years earlier, before it was magically reduced in size.
Before he could complete his experiment, "Allanson" had a dream wherein his growth serum had transformed the lizard into a fire-breathing dragon. At first,"Allanson" disregarded his dream and was about to continue his experiment; but he was greatly disturbed when he was looking at the lizard under a magnifying glass and he saw a tiny jet of flame shoot from the creature's mouth! Fearing that there was some truth to his dream, "Allanson" canceled his experiment and destroyed his growth formula.
The fate of the lizard remains unrevealed.
--Mystery Tales I#51/2
Appearing in "William Allanson's" dream, he was one of the locals living in the Tibetan mountains; his chief had sent him to warn the American scientist about the reappearance of a legendary evil dragon in the area. He also told the scientist a tale of how the great magician Tensu had previously used his magic to defeat the dragon by shrinking it over a thousand years earlier.
(Although he was only depicted in
"Allanson's" dream-sequence, it's possible that he was based on a "real"
person that the scientist previously met in the area.)
--Mystery Tales I#51/2
A legendary magician, he was reputed to have battled a fire-breathing dragon over a thousand years earlier in Tibet. He used his sorcery to shrink the monstrous creature until it was the size of a man's finger, and the tiny dragon crawled off into hiding.
The final fate of Tensu (...or if he even existed (see comments)) is unrevealed.
--Mystery Tales I#51/2
images: (without ads)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p3, pan7 (main image, in his
dream,"William Allanson" realizes lizard is actually shrunken dragon)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p2, pan7 (headshot, in his
dream,"William Allanson" guesses that the dragon is the enlarged lizard)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p4, pan1 (in his dream, "William
Allanson" runs from enlarged lizard/dragon)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p1, pan1 (lizard in cage, as
"William Allanson" looks upon it)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p2, pan5 (in "Allanson's" dream,
lizard enlarged to fire-breathing dragon)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p4, pan6 (lizard breathes fire under
"William Allanson's" magnifying glass)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p2, pan3 (in "Allanson's" dream,
unidentified Tibetan tribesman warns "William Allanson")
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p2, pan4 (in "Allanson's" dream,
unidentified Tibetan tribesman mentions dragon)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p2, pan6 (in "Allanson's" dream,
Tibetan tribesman narrates tale of Tensu (in background) confronting
dragon)
Mystery Tales I#51/2, p3, pan6 (in "Allanson's" dream,
Tibetan tribesman narrates how Tensu magically shrunk dragon)
Appearances:
Mystery Tales I#51/2 (March, 1957) - unidentified writer, Al Williamson
(artist), Ralph Mayo (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 09/06/16
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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