BEN and JANE "WILDEY"

Membership: Ben and Jane (last name unrevealed; see comments)

Identity/Class: Terrestrial humans (1950s era)

Purpose: Their occupations unrevealed, they were a typical American couple enjoying married life.

Affiliations: Unidentified TV repairman

Enemies: Martians (see comments)

Base of Operations: Their apartment, somewhere in America

First Appearance: Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5 (April, 1956)

Powers/Abilities: An ordinary newlywed couple, Ben and Jane received the gift of an unusual television set--they were unaware of its extraterrestrial origin.

History:
(Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5 (fb) - BTS) - Wishing to study life on other planets, Martians somehow transported (possibly via teleportation?) a pair of two-way television sets to the planets Earth and Venus.

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5) - Newlyweds Ben and Jane returned home and found a new television in their apartment; an accompanying congratulatory note explained that they won it for being "the most typical of newlyweds". But the married couple were confused because they had never entered any such contest, and their building's janitor denied having let anyone in to deliver the mysterious gift.

   Despite knowing nothing of its origins, Ben decided to turn on the television to see if it worked, and when the picture appeared on the screen, Jane was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a color set (see comments). They both settled back on their couch to watch the set, even if they didn't know how it got in their home... but then Ben was shocked when he noticed that the television's power cord wasn't plugged in, yet it was still working!

   Ben and Jane called a TV repairman to examine the set; but as he took it apart, the repairman was mystified, because there was no manufacturer's name on the set, it had components that he'd never seen before... and stranger yet, he found that the television somehow generated its own electricity!

   After the repairman put the set back together and left, Ben took the accompanying note and did some checking, to find out who had sent them the unusual TV; but his search was fruitless--he had tried all the newspapers, and even had a librarian run down a file on contests, only to discover that no one had run such a contest for newlyweds.

   Despite never learning where it came from, Ben and Jane decided to just enjoy their new television while they had it; but they were unaware that while they watched the television, the Martians were also watching them...

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Doug Wildey.

This 3-page story--Someone Is Watching--never mentioned Ben and Jane's last name, so I just named them after the story's artist (...who's probably best known for creating the classic 1960s cartoon Jonny Quest).

Although Ben and Jane were unaware of the Martians and were never directly threatened by them, the aliens were still violating the couple's privacy, so I have them listed as enemies.

Regarding Jane's reaction to the color TV: Although all-electronic color was introduced in the U.S. in 1953, high prices and the scarcity of color programming greatly slowed its acceptance in the marketplace. Maybe the Martian technology of that TV had the capability to colorize black-and-white Earth broadcasts.

Since Ben and Jane were the protagonists, nothing was revealed about the Martians (...nor the Venusians, for that matter).

It remains to be explained how so many different races/beings allegedly originated from Mars.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Ben and Jane "Wildey" have no known connections to:

These Martians have no known connection to:

These Venusians have no known connection to:

Martian television set

Appearing to be an ordinary Earth television, it had unexpectedly appeared in the home of Ben and Jane. Although it had a power cord, it was unnecessary because the TV was able to generate it own electricity. It received television broadcasts and displayed them in color on its large screen.

But the TV was actually built with advanced Martian technology, and it secretly transmitted images of the viewers on Earth back to Mars, which the Martians received on their Channel 3--for undisclosed reasons, the Martians wanted to surreptitiously study life on other planets.

(Another Martian television [not depicted] was apparently sent to the planet Venus, which the Martians received on their Channel 2--following this logic, and assuming there was life on other planets in the solar system, the Martians' channels of reception would presumably correspond sequentially to the order of the planets from the sun.)

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5

(Comment: That TV program depicted in the third image could possibly be Hopalong Cassidy.)

unidentified TV repairman

He was called by Ben and Jane to examine their new television; but as he took the set apart, he found that it had advanced components that were unfamiliar to him.

Before he left, he reassembled the TV and discovered that it somehow generated its own power.

He was unaware that the television was of Martian design.

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5

Venusians

Humanoid residents of the planet Venus, they appeared to be a Caucasian-skinned male and female couple; they seemed to have large flattened noses, and possibly a pair of fins protruding from their heads (...or maybe these were fashion accessories on their headgear?).

They had apparently received a television from Mars and seemed to be watching their native planet's television programming; but they were unaware that the Martians were secretly watching them.

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5

(Comments: This one panel is the extent of these Venusians' appearance in this story.)

Martians

Humanoid residents of the planet Mars, they appeared to be a Caucasian-skinned male and female couple; they had pointed ears, and possibly pointed horns protruding from their heads (...or maybe these were fashion accessories on their headgear?).

In order to secretly study life on other planets, they somehow transported a pair of two-way televisions to the planets Venus and Earth.

After tuning their television screen to Channel 3, they watched Ben and Jane on Earth for a while; they briefly switched to Channel 2 to watch a Venusian couple, then switched back to Channel 3.

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5

(Comments: These two panels are the extent of these Martians' appearance in this story.)

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p2, pan3 (main image - Ben notices television isn't plugged in, Jane)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p3, pan4 (headshot - Ben and Jane, as seen on Martians' television screen)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p1, pan2 (Ben and Jane find note on new television)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p1, pan1 (Martian television, found by Ben and Jane)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p2, pan4 (TV repairman examines Martian television; Jane and Ben)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p2, pan6 (after putting Martian television back together, TV repairman switches it on; Jane [left])
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p2, pan5 (TV repairman holding Martian TV components; Ben [background])
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p2, pan7 (TV repairman)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p3, pan6 (Venusian couple, as seen on Martians' television screen)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p3, pan5 (Martian's hand changes channel selector)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5, p3, pan7 (Martians couple watching Ben and Jane on their television screen)

Appearances:
Strange Tales of the Unusual#3/5 (April, 1956) - unidentified writer, Doug Wildey (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 01/30/2025
Last updated: 02/01/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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