THE MEKON
Real Name: The Mekon of Mekonta
Identity/Class: Genetically-engineered extraterrestrial (Venusian Treen), presumably extradimensional (see comments)
Occupation: Mekon (Supreme Scientists / supreme ruler of the Treens)
Group Membership: Treens
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Daniel MacGregor "Dan" Dare, Albert Fitzwilliam Digby, the Doctor, Susan Foreman, Tegan Jovanka, K-9, Leela, Dorothy "Ace" McShane, Victoria Waterfield
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Supreme Scientist, Lord of the Treens, Illustrious First One of Venus
Base of Operations: Mekonta, Venus
First Appearance: (Mentioned) Eagle vol.1#17
(Hulton Press, 4th August 1950); (seen) Eagle vol.1#30 (Hulton Press,
2nd November 1950);
(Marvel) The Daredevils#6 (June 1983)
Powers/Abilities: The Mekon possesses an enhanced intellect, and is a polymath with advanced scientific knowledge in multiple fields. However, his true expertise is in Machiavellian scheming. His body is small and atrophied compared to his enlarged cranium, and so he requires a hoverchair to move around. Deprived of the chair, he can crawl at best.
Height: 3'4" (by
approximation)
Weight: 64 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: None
History: (Eagle, various issues) - Born in the mid-18th
century on Venus, the Mekon of Mekonta was genetically-engineered by
Treen scientists to possess an enhanced intellect at the expense of an
atrophied body, in order to serve as the Treen's Supreme Scientist and
ruler. Designed to live approximately three centuries, he was the latest
in a long line of Mekons, each created to lead the Treens, with an
ultimate goal of universal conquest.
Totally evil, the Mekon was finally overthrown by Earth's Dan Dare, but continued to return to plague Dare and the galaxy on numerous occasions.
(The Daredevils#6) - The Mekon attended the trial of disgraced Omniversal Majestrix Opal Luna Saturnyne on the Hub, Earth-522.
(The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And
Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic) - While Britain celebrated Red
Nose Day, a bi-annual charity fundraising event, Dan Dare and his friend
Digby visited a Treen colony on behalf of the telethon hoping to
convince the Mekon, the "stingiest, most hard-boiled egghead in the
galaxy," to donate. The Mekon refused, and as further hardened alien
conquerors arrived (Martian Ice Warriors, Cybermen, Draconians, Daleks
and Sontarans), Digby commented dejectedly that "these chaps don't look
too interested in charity anyway." Ever optimistic, Dan insisted the
aliens were just shy, sure they could be persuaded if only there were
more fundraisers present to help.
Mere seconds later, the TARDIS materialized and disgorged the first seven incarnations of the Time Lord known as the Doctor, as well as his companions Susan Foreman, Victoria Waterfield, Leela, K-9, Tegan Jovanka and Ace. They pulled out a large cannon-like device, loaded it with red noses "filled with the yoghourt (sic) of human kindness," and fired it at the alien meanies. Struck on the face by one of the squishy projectiles, the Mekon demanded "Who dares?" then cursed as he realized he had inadvertently uttered a pun. Though still somewhat grumpy, the Mekon and the others caved in to the fundraisers. Digby demanded 50 pence for the nose, and £1.50 for the yoghourt. When the miserly Mekon asked if he could get change for a fiver (£5 note), Digby told him "no."
(Doctor Who Magazine#173) - The Mekon was at Bonjaxx's bar on Maruthea, a space port at the dead center of the space-time vortex, when Bonjaxx's birthday party devolved into a massive brawl. He avoided the fighting by floating above it (top right of picture).
(Epic#2/3) - While in the Big Apple on Earth-89547, the
Mekon was among several Saturday night revelers arrested by the police,
and was taken down to the police station for processing, waiting
alongside fellow detainees Roachmill,
homicidal cyborg Nixon, Freddy Krueger, Charlie Brown and Fat Freddy
Freekowtski, as well as local private investigators the Sleeze Brothers,
the latter there to collect heavy weapons and licenses for same from
police custody. The Mekon watched with quiet resignation as the police
struggled to corral the other, far more rowdy, recalcitrants.
(Thanos: The Infinity Siblings#1) - The Mekon had a quiet drink
in Starlin's Bar on Knowhere while the Guardians of the Galaxy were
present.
Comments: Created by Frank Hampson. First introduced to Marvel by Alan Davis. Alan Moore wrote the Captain Britain story where the Mekon appeared, but despite Moore's notoriously detailed scripts, I suspect the presence of the Mekon in the crowd was purely Davis' doing. Other cameos in the crowd included Marvelman (presumably a counterpart to the slain Earth-238 Miracleman), anthropomorphic secret agent Danger Mouse and his sidekick Penfold, a Sea Devil from Doctor Who, Batman (all in the same panel!), Walter the Wobot from 2000A.D's Judge Dredd, DC's Mr. Miracle and Canadian comic hero Captain Canuck.
The Venus of the Mekon doesn't fit well into Reality-616, so it seems unlikely the Mekon is a 616 native. The Treens might be, though they might need to hale from somewhere other than Venus. However, because the first few sighting of the Mekon in Marvel titles are in stories where he is seen in places with easy access to interdimensional travel, it's not a major stretch to treat them as appearances by the same character, or to see him and Treens eventually turn up in 616.
Having debuted in the Eagle, a British weekly anthology comic published (initially) by Hulton Press, the Mekon has returned to plague Dan Dare through every revival of that hero in comics, a CGI cartoon and audio adventures. He is an iconic villain of British comics, so it's hardly susprising that British artists (and the British-born John Byrne, who spent his early years in the U.K.) have snuck him (or Treens, in Byrne's case) into the background of Marvel stories. However, most of his appearances are outwith the remit of this Marvel-oriented entry (which is also why his enemies only list Dare and Digby, when he's got many more in his non-Marvel appearances). With that in mind, you might be wondering why I included his appearance in the non-Marvel title The Comic Relief Comic? Well, firstly because the Mekon meeting the Doctor ties in well with his next Marvel appearance in Doctor Who Magazine. But additionally, though they don't encounter the Mekon, an earlier segment of the story shows a different incarnation of Dan Dare encountering Captain Britain, 2000A.D's Judge Dredd and The Dandy's Desperate Dan, while a later part of the story depicts Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic, Wolverine, Dr. Strange, the Thing and the Sleeze Brothers, alongside Dredd (again), Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Guy Gardener, Swamp Thing, Blue Beetle, Fire (of the Justice League) and Robocop. So there are strong Marvel connections present, plus circumstantial evidence of characters crossing between realities.
I'm
fairly certain that I mistook these guys in their Marvel appearances
for appearances of the Ditko-aliens
associated with the Tinkerer in Amazing Spider-Man I#2 (1963).
Although those aliens appeared to be part of a hoax, we later saw them
"for reals" in Captain Marvel I#27 (1973)...
--Snood
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Mekon has no known connections to
However, the Mekon did inspire the name choice of
Natives to Venus, the green-skinned, reptilian Treens resided in the northern hemisphere of the planet, separated from the south hemisphere by the flamelands around the equator. The south was dominated by the Treens' enemies, the blue-skinned humanoid Therons, descendants of humans who had been brought to Venus by a research ship fifteen thousand years ago. A race devoted to emotionless science and conquest, the Treens genetically-engineered their own rulers, the Mekons.
(Sensational She-Hulk#6) - Sitting next to a Pierson's Puppeteer, a Treen was enjoying a beverage in the Star-Stop interstellar diner when Razorback, the She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) and Taryn O'Connell walked in.
(The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic) - Treens backed the Mekon in his attempt to avoid donating to Comic Relief, until they fell under the influence of the Doctors' yoghourt of human kindness.
--Sensational She-Hulk#6, The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic
(Uncanny X-Men I#239) - The Mekons were performing in front of a bar brawl at the Outback Pub in Australia when Alison Blaire (Dazzler) walked in, quieting the mostly male mob purely with her stunning looks. Thankful for the respite, the Mekons permitted Alison to sing with them for the remainder of the gig.
--Uncanny X-Men I#239
Comments: The Mekons are a post-punk / alt-rock band who formed in 1977, and continue to perform as of the writing of this profile, 2018. One of a number of bands Chris Claremont was a fan of and so featured in the various comics he wrote, they took their name from the Eagle's Mekon, hence their inclusion as a sub-profile in his Appendix entry.
images: (without ads)
Eagle I vol.1#30, p2 of Dan Dare story, panel 2 (main)
The Daredevils#6, p9, pan2 (attending Saturnyne's trial)
The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling
Comic Relief Comic, p31, panel 6 (donating to a good cause)
Doctor Who Magazine#173, p31 (p5 of comic strip), panel 3 (at Bonjaxx's
Bar)
Epic#2, p29, pan3 (awaiting processing at the police station)
Thanos: The Infinity Siblings#1, p85, panel 1 (at Starlin's Bar)
Sensational She-Hulk#6, p18, panel 3 (Treen at Star-Stop)
Uncanny X-Men#239, p8, panels 1 (band's name visible) and 3 (better shot
of the band)
Appearances: (Mekon)
The Daredevils#6 (June 1983) - Alan Moore (writer), Alan Davis (pencils
and inks), Bernie Jaye (editor)
The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling
Comic Relief Comic (March 1991) - Dan Abnett (writer), John Ridgway
(artist), Richard Curtis, Neil Gaiman and Peter T. Hogan (editors)
Doctor Who Magazine#173 (May 1991) - Gary Russell (writer), Mike Collins
(pencils), Steve Pini (inks), John Freeman (editor)
Epic#2/3 ( ) - John Carnell (writer), Andy Lanning and Steve Baskerville
(art), Dave Elliott (editor)
Thanos: The Infinity Siblings#1 (April 2018) - Jim Starlin (writer),
Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
(Treens)
Sensational She-Hulk#6 (October 1989) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Al
Gordon (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
(The Mekons)
Uncanny X-Men I#239 (December 1988) - Chris Claremont (writer), Marc
Silvestri (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
First posted: 05/27/18
Last updated: 08/11/2020
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