FREDDIE

Real Name: Freddie (last name unrevealed, see comments)

Identity/Class: Human (1950s era)

Occupation: Unemployed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Martians

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Martian zoo;
   originally from an unidentified American city

First Appearance: Strange Tales I#9/3 (August, 1952)

Powers/Abilities: The lazy and shiftless Freddie likely had no marketable job skills, and he was dependent upon his mother for financial support.

After unwittingly climbing aboard a spaceship, he was transported to Mars.

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (160 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

History:
(Strange Tales I#9/3 (fb) - BTS) - Freddie was an unemployed deadbeat--although an adult, he still lived with his mother, and his only source of income was mooching money from her.

(Strange Tales I#9/3) - While walking along a city sidewalk, Freddie noticed a large crowd gathered outside a movie theater; the marquee advertised the world premiere of a new film--The Man from Mars (more terrifying than Frankenstein). As a self-described "sucker for spooky movies," Freddie made up his mind that he wouldn't miss the new film, if he could only raise the money to pay for admission.

   Freddie walked back home and asked his doting mother to give him a dollar for the movie; but she only had a few dollars left, which she was saving to buy herself a new pair of glasses, and she reminded Freddie that he had promised her he'd get a job and earn his own money. Tired of his mother's "lectures," the immature Freddie turned and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door for good measure--he'd find some way to see the movie without her "crummy" dollar!

   But when Freddie returned to the movie theater, he found what looked like a spaceship sitting in the street--a sign outside its open door proclaimed: IF YOU WANT TO SEE MARS...ENTER. Believing it was just a publicity stunt to advertise the movie, Freddie went inside, figuring that he could think of an angle to get into the theater for free.

   As the door slid closed behind him, Freddie saw he was the only one aboard. When an unseen voice told him he would have the honor of seeing Mars, the excited Freddie thought it was referring to the new movie, so he took a seat and thought it was fortunate that he had fallen for the "publicity stunt," because now he'd get a free ticket to the film--as he looked out a window, Freddie noticed a crowd of onlookers gathered outside, and thought they were just jealous because he'd be able to see the movie for free. But suddenly, the spaceship launched skyward, and Freddie passed out from the acceleration.

   When he awoke sometime later, Freddie found that it was dark--he initially thought he was inside the movie theater, and wondered when the film would start...

   But Freddie soon discovered that he was locked in a cage, and that he was now the latest exhibit at a Martian zoo!

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Bob Fujitani (see comments).

The title of the 3-page story--The Man from Mars--was incorporated as signage on the movie theater's marquee; since it was such a short story, details were sparse.

I'd usually use the artist's last name to identify a character whose last name wasn't mentioned--Bob Fujitani was an American artist of Japanese and Irish descent, and he used the pen name "Bob Wells" during the 1940s. I guess it's possible that Freddie came from a mixed ethnic heritage as well, so either surname could be used.

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

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Freddie should not be confused with:

These Martians have no known connections to:

Freddie's mother

Possibly a widow, she (name unrevealed) lived in a run-down apartment with her unemployed and spoiled adult son Freddie.

While she was doing the laundry, Freddie came home and asked her for a dollar; she reminded her son that she had already given him five dollars the day before... and besides, she was saving the few dollars she had left to buy herself a new pair of glasses. Freddie whined to her that she didn't need the glasses because she never had time to read anyway, and he wanted to see a movie.

When she gently reminded her selfish son that he had promised to get a job and earn his own money, the immature Freddie became irate because of her "lecture," and he stormed out of the apartment--apparently it would be the last time she would ever see him.

--Strange Tales I#9/3

Martian spaceship

Capable of at least interplanetary travel, it was piloted to Earth from Mars, for the purpose of capturing a human specimen for the Martians' zoo.

The rocketship was about the size of a city bus, and its interior had several rows of passenger seats.

It had landed on a city street near a movie theater; after seeing the inviting sign posted by its exterior, Freddie figured it was just a publicity stunt for the movie, so he entered. The spacecraft took flight, and Freddie soon found himself displayed in a cage at a Martian zoo.

(Comment: After he climbed aboard, Freddie spoke with an unseen voice, so I assume there was someone piloting the spacecraft, rather than it just being an automatic or remote-controlled trap.)

--Strange Tales I#9/3

Martians

The inhabitants of the fourth planet, they seemed to have shaggy hair-covered bodies and large canine teeth; they somewhat resembled early ape-like Earth humanoids (possibly Homo habilis).

Despite their relatively primitive appearance, they had an advanced civilization, and had even achieved interplanetary space-flight.

They maintained a zoo on their planet where they displayed the captured inhabitants of other worlds, including specimens from Jupiter, Venus, and Earth's moon.

After sending a spaceship to Earth, they tricked Freddie into climbing aboard; when their spacecraft returned home, they put the Earthman on display in a zoo cage.

(Comment: This one panel was the only actual appearance of any Martians in this story--I'm only assuming that he was a native to that planet, and not just an interstellar tourist.)

--Strange Tales I#9/3

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p3, pan1 (main image - Freddie, aboard Martian spaceship)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p3, pan2 (headshot - Freddie, aboard Martian spaceship)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p2, pan4 (Freddie storms out of apartment)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p3, pan5 (Freddie wakes up in Martian zoo cage)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p1 pan3 (Freddie's mother doing laundry, as Freddie walks in and hits her up for some cash)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p2, pan2 (Freddie's mother)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p2, pan5 (Freddie sees Martian spaceship)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p2, pan6 (Freddie enters Martian spaceship)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p3, pan3 (crowd of onlookers sees Freddie inside Martian spaceship)
Strange Tales I#9/3, p3, pan6 (Martian looks at Freddie in zoo cage)

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#9/3 (August, 1952) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Bob Fujitani (pencils/inks)

First posted: 02/28/2026
Last updated: 02/28/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters