"STRANGER"
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial or extradimensional (see comments) (1950s era)
Occupation: Scout/explorer/spy (?)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Jack Fields, Andy Hiller
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Mac," "Mister" (as called by Andy Hiller)
Base of Operations: Mobile on Earth
First Appearance: World of Suspense#1/1 (April, 1956)
Powers/Abilities: Appearing to be a normally proportioned human while he stood behind a magnifier screen, the "Stranger" was actually a tiny extraterrestrial who was only a fraction of an inch tall. He was fluent in English--possibly he was telepathic to some degree (see comments), but otherwise he displayed no paranormal abilities.
The "Stranger" and others of his race came to Earth in a "meteorite"/spaceship.
Height: 0.01' (0.125") (by approximation)
Weight: 0.06 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black
History:
(World of Suspense#1/1 (fb) ) - The past of the "Stranger" is
unrevealed, but earlier the tiny alien and his colleagues came to
Earth. The "Stranger" was separated from the rest of his team
during the excursion when a storm began. As he ran to avoid
raindrops that were (to him)
as large as balloons, he heard a roaring and was nearly run down by a
"huge" automobile. He ran to safety and came upon a garden of
"gigantic" flowers. He climbed one of the flower stems so that
he might orient himself, then a fierce wind arose and tore the flower
loose. Still clinging to the flower stem, the "Stranger" was
blown past buildings that were (to
him) higher than mountains, and he realized his team had
stumbled upon a civilization of "super giants"! The flower
landed in the very field where he had lost his friends; reunited with
his colleagues, the "Stranger" told them of his discovery, and it was
agreed among the group that they should return later with an
additional force.
(World of Suspense#1/1) - The "Stranger" and the additional force returned in a spaceship that resembled a meteorite. The spacecraft landed in a river near Science Laboratory #342, a U.S. government installation. With the river blocked by the spaceship, surging flood-waters began to arise by the laboratory. Under unrevealed circumstances, the "Stranger" came to be inside the facility's Security Lab No. 1, where top secret projects were kept. The "Stranger" was standing behind one of the projects--a magnifier screen--when two of the installation's employees--Jack Fields and Andy Hiller--came into the lab, seeking shelter from the flood-waters. Since the magnifier screen enlarged the "Stranger's" image to human-size, the two men assumed he was only one of the scientists employed by the lab who was trapped behind a glass partition.
As the hours went by and they awaited rescue, the three men became fast friends, so to pass the time they began to swap stories--Jack mentioned about how he was once trapped in an Ohio flood, and Andy told about the time he had been in an earthquake in Japan. Then they asked the "Stranger" if he was ever in a calamity, and the alien told them of the events he experienced when he first discovered the civilization of giants--both Jack and Andy were amused by their friend's "imaginative" story. When the flood-waters receded, an Army rescue team came into the top secret lab--they were very concerned about the magnifier screen and were relieved to find it wasn't too badly damaged (at this point, the "Stranger" mysteriously disappeared (see comments)).
After an Army official demonstrated the magnifier screen to Jack Fields and Andy Hiller, the two men were left with the unsettling realization that the "Stranger" they were speaking with had actually been a microscopic alien!
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Bill Everett (artist)
This character was never identified, so I named him with the
story's title: "A Stranger Among Us"; this story was reprinted in Vault of Evil I#16.
When he disappeared at the end, the "Stranger" probably just stepped out of range of the magnifier screen.
And in regards to my reference to the "Stranger" possibly being telepathic: It seems logical that a microscopic alien would have a voice
that would be inaudible to "giant" humans--although that magnifier screen would make it possible to see
him, it wouldn't make it possible to hear him. There was no reference to the magnifier screen having any sort of sound amplifier,
so I'm guessing that the "Stranger" communicated with Fields and Hiller telepathically.
Possibly the "Stranger" and his people came to Earth from the Microverse.
There was a later story about a tiny alien man traveling from his own world and visiting his people's ancestral home of Earth ("The Changeling" @ Tales of Suspense I#23/4)--possible connection to the "Stranger"?
Maybe that little spaceship that Magneto sent Mister One into (@ Captain America Annual I#4) came from the "Stranger's" people.
A tiny alien on a world of giants reminds me of the old TV show Land of the Giants.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Stranger" has no known connections to:
Jack Fields has no known connections to:
Andy Hiller has no known connections to:
Appearing to be a falling meteorite, it was actually a vehicle that transported the "Stranger" and others of his race to Earth. It landed in a river near Science Laboratory #342, a U.S. military research facility. It blocked the river and caused a flood by the installation.
--World of Suspense I#1/1
Two employees of Science Laboratory #342, they worked in the installation's clerical department. One day a "meteorite" landed in the river near the lab and caused a flood, so the two men sought refuge in Security Lab No.1, where top secret projects were kept.
In the lab, Fields and Hiller encountered a stranger, whom they assumed to be one of the lab's scientists trapped behind a glass partition. They later learned that the "glass partition" was really a magnifier screen, and the "scientist" who was behind it was actually a microscopic alien.
--World of Suspense I#1/1
One of the secret projects kept in Science Laboratory #342's Security Lab No. 1, it took years to develop. It could magnify the image of anything placed behind it ten-thousand times.
When what appeared to be a meteorite landed in the river near the government installation, the resultant shock-wave apparently cracked the screen, but the device was still functional.
The "meteorite" had actually been an alien spacecraft, and one of the tiny aliens stood behind the magnifier screen, which enlarged his image to human-size. Jack Fields and Andy Hiller believed the tiny extraterrestrial to be a human, until an Army official demonstrated the true nature of the device to them.
--World of Suspense#1/1
images: (without ads)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p3, pan6 (Main Image, "Stranger" running from roar of "huge" automobile)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p2, pan7 (Headshot, "Stranger" behind magnifier screen)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p3, pan7 ("Stranger" by "gigantic" Earth flowers)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p4, pan2 ("Stranger" clinging to "gigantic" flower, being blown by wind)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p1, pan1 ("meteorite"/spaceship flying over Science Laboratory #342)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p4, pan3 (Jack Fields (blue suit) and Andy Hiller speaking with "Stranger" (behind magnifier screen))
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p4, pan5 (Army official inspects magnifier screen)
Worlds of Suspense#1/1, p4, pan7 (Army official demonstrates magnifier screen)
Appearances:
World of Suspense#1/1 (April, 1956) - unidentified writer, Bill Everett (pencils and inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 12/13/16
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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