| Martian Invaders | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Martian Invaders |
|
First Appearance |
The War of the Worlds (1898) |
|
Created by |
H. G. Wells |
Origin[]
The Martian Invaders are a spacefaring extraterrestrial species believed to have originated from the neighboring planet of Marc that engaged in brutal colonization efforts on Earth in the early 20th century.
Due to the Earth's different gravitational forces, the invaders conducted their missions by operating huge mechanical tripods and other machines, which they controlled from within like an artificial body.
1906 illustration of a Martian tripod fighting machine.
The invaders appeared to be nearly invincible at first, decimating most of humanity’s military and ravaging entire communities. However, some kind of ecological peculiarity that resulted in the Martians having no immunological system left them biologically defenseless against Earth’s common infectious germs resulting in a plague that wiped out the invaders.
A Martian Invader unarmored.
The Martians are roughly bear-sized, land-based cephalopod-like creatures, with most of their body consisting of a large bloated head internally housing its massive, highly-advanced brain. They lack a skeletal system and utilize a series of long, whip-like tentacles to crawl around on.
They posses a pair of disproportionally large black eyes and a mouth shaped like the letter "V". A hearing membrane is located on the back of the head, but appears to be useless on Earth's comparatively thick atmosphere. The Martians however are still capable of communicating with each other thanks to their limited telepathic abilities.
A Martian Invader emerging from the impact crater.
They have no digestive system whatsoever, and instead survive by transplanting the blood of other creatures directly inside their own veins, supplying all the nutrients they need. On Mars, the creatures sustained themselves by consuming the blood of a native humanoid lifeform with a fragile, silicon-based skeleton. When invading Earth, they started to feed on humans, which they regarded no differently than other non-sapient animals.
Martians breathe oxygen and can take advantage of the increased abundance of this substance in Earth's atmosphere compared to that of Mars. This counter-balances the negative effects that the increased gravitational pull has over their metabolism. Because of their over-simplified biology, Martians need no sleep and are also able to direct practically all of their energy to neurological processes.
The invaders are also shown to reproduce asexually, with a younger invader growing or budding off of a fully grown Martian.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Crystal Egg (1897) (possible appearance)
- The War of the Worlds (1898)
- Le Prisonnier de la planète Mars (1908)
Public Domain Radio Show Appearances[]
- The War of the Worlds (1938)