EDDIE "WELTMAN"

Real Name: Eddie "Weltman" (see comments)

Identity/Class: Human technology user (1950s era)

Occupation: Night watchman

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Blake, Mathews

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unidentified research laboratory, somewhere in America;
   temporarily on the Hidden World (Microverse)

First Appearance: Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5 (June, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: Eddie was a normal human with limited skills.

He became a victim of his own greed when he used a "reducing machine" to temporarily transport himself to a "micro-world" (see comments), where he stole a treasured item.

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (165 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond

History:
(Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Eddie is largely unrevealed, but he worked as a night watchman at Blake and Mathews' research lab. He was apparently low-paid, and foresaw nothing but a future of poverty and emptiness for himself.

   Blake and Mathews had built a microscope that allowed them to see a "micro-world" no bigger than an atom (see comments); they then set about to build a "reducing machine," which could shrink humans and transport them to the tiny world for one hour, after which they would return to their normal size.

(Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5) - One night, Eddie came into work when Blake and Mathews were talking about their completed "reducing machine," but neither one of the scientists wanted to be the "guinea pig" for the untested device--Eddie overheard their conversation, but didn't understand what they were talking about anyway. As they left for the night, the scientists asked Eddie to lock up and cover the microscope.

   But as he was putting the cover on, Eddie noticed some movement in the microscope's lens, so he bent down to take a closer look--he was stunned to see tiny people in a temple, and they were standing around a diamond that was as big as an orange! Although he'd never been a thief, Eddie figured a diamond that size would be worth a fortune, and if he took it, he would be rich and could just laugh at any thoughts of an impoverished future!

   Recalling Blake and Mathews' conversation, Eddie realized that the "reducing machine" was a means of reaching the microscopic world, so he got inside the booth and pulled the switch. After a disorientating sensation, Eddie found himself on the world he saw in the microscope. While the microscopic people stood by the diamond, Eddie hid behind a pillar and waited for them to leave the temple, knowing that he had only an hour before he was returned back to his own world.

(Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5 - BTS) - But while Eddie was on the microscopic world, someone had broken into the lab and robbed the building.

   A half-hour later, Blake and Mathews returned to the lab and found the place ransacked; they summoned the police and wondered where Eddie was.

(Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5) - With one minute left before the effects of the "reducing machine" wore off, Eddie saw the people leave the temple, so he rushed to the diamond and grabbed it, then put it in his pocket, with only seconds to spare before he would be returned to his own world.

   All at once, the microscopic temple vanished, and Eddie found himself back inside the "reducing machine"; as he stepped out of the booth, Blake and Mathews came into the room and revealed that their lab had been robbed while Eddie was gone. The angry scientists fired the inept night watchman--Eddie almost laughed and told them off, because he figured he had a gem worth millions in his pocket, and he didn't need their job anyway!

   While he walked away from the lab chuckling, Eddie reached into his pocket for the diamond...but he didn't chuckle for long, because the diamond was gone! At first thinking that he dropped it, Eddie finally realized the hard truth: the diamond was still in his pocket, but when he had returned to his normal size, the diamond had also retained its normal size... which was microscopic!

   As he walked along the sidewalk, Eddie wanted to cry, but tears wouldn't have helped; he could only moan, wondering how long it would be before he would find another job, and he cursed himself for being a stupid and greedy fool.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and William Weltman.

In this 4-page story--I Went Inside the Hidden World!--Eddie's last name was never mentioned, so I just named him after the story's artist.

   In regards to "The Hidden World": It should be noted that Micro-Worlds are not actually tiny planets existing within atoms and molecules, as once thought; rather they are in a different dimension that is accessed via the energies of shrinking beyond a certain point.
--Snood

   Those seemingly primitive humanoids of the Hidden World seemed to have a near-religious reverence for that big diamond in their temple--maybe this "microscopic world" was actually the extradimensional realm of Terragonia, the home of Kronak the Barbarian, where the Ruby of Shadows was considered to be sacred; or it could have been Mirwood, the "micro-world" that would eventually be ruled by Pearla.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.




CLARIFICATIONS:
Eddie should be distinguished from:

Blake has no known connections to:

Mathews has no known connections to:

The Hidden World has no known connections to:

Blake and Mathews

Blake and Mathews (first names unrevealed) were two scientists who worked at a research laboratory; they employed Eddie as the building's night watchman.

They created a powerful microscope which allowed them to peer into the microscopic "Hidden World" (see comments); afterward, they built a "reducing machine" that they theorized would allow them to be transported to the micro-world for one hour, but neither one was willing to use the untested device.

Blake and Mathews left their lab, but later returned to find the place ransacked, so they blamed Eddie for the security lapse and fired him; Eddie only smiled and told them off--they were unaware that Eddie had already used the "reducing machine" to transport himself to the "Hidden World," where he had stolen a treasured item.

--Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5

Blake and Mathews' microscope

Built by Blake and Mathews, it allowed its user to view the microscopic "Hidden World," which was no bigger than an atom (see comments).

Night watchman Eddie later looked into the microscope and saw that the micro-world had a treasure that he couldn't resist trying to steal.

--Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5

Blake and Mathews' "reducing machine"

After discovering the microscopic "Hidden World" (see comments) with their new microscope, the two scientists built a device that could transport a person to the tiny world for one hour, after which that person would return to normal size in the machine's booth.

However, neither Blake or Mathews was willing to be the "guinea pig" for the untested device, so they left for the evening.

But night watchman Eddie overheard the two scientists talking about the "reducing machine," so he used it on himself in an (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to steal a treasured item from the micro-world.

--Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5

(Comment: This device was never specifically identified.)

A "micro-world" (see comments), it existed on a slide on Blake and Mathews' microscope.

Six inhabitants were seen--five males and one female--and they appeared to be human-like, although the men were all bald (...or else they shaved their heads).

The only structure seen appeared to be the interior of a temple, where a large diamond was displayed upon an altar.

Night watchman Eddie used a "reducing machine" to transport himself to the "Hidden World". After the people left the temple, Eddie rushed to the altar and took the diamond, then returned to his own world.

--Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5

images:
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan6 (main image - in Hidden World temple, Eddie approaches diamond on altar)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan7 (headshot - on Hidden World, Eddie holding large diamond)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p4, pan1 (Eddie returns to normal size in "reducing machine" booth)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p4, pan6 (Eddie realizes diamond is gone)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p1, pan1 (Blake and Mathews)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p4, pan4 (Blake and Mathews; Eddie [foreground])
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p2, pan4 (Eddie looks into microscope)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p2, pan7 (Eddie and microscope; "reducing machine" [foreground])
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p1, pan2 (Blake and Mathews discuss "reducing machine"; Eddie [foreground])
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan1 (Eddie pulls switch to activate "reducing machine")
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan2 (Eddie begins to shrink)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p1, pan1 (Hidden World, as viewed through microscope lens)
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan4 (inhabitants of Hidden World standing before diamond altar; Eddie [foreground])
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5, p3, pan5 (inhabitants of Hidden World; Eddie [background])

Appearances:
Strange Stories of Suspense#15/5 (June, 1957) - unidentified writer, William Weltman (pencils/inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 11/21/2025
Last updated: 11/21/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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