MARTIANSMARTIANS
Classification: Humanoid extraterrestrial race
Location/Base of Operations: Apparently Mars
Known Members: Fos, Zot;
the Martian High Council
Affiliations: Fos and Zot befriended Mamie
Enemies: Fos and Zot betrayed their own
First Appearance: Astonishing#39/3 "When Lands the Saucer" (June, 1955)
Powers/Abilities: Humanoid in appearance, Martians are approximately one foot shorter than human and relatively homely by human standards.
They apparently possessed some sort of translator technology, allowing Zot and Fos to speak English fluently upon arriving on Earth.
They possessed a number of scout ships that could travel from Mars to Earth.
They used thought transmitters to communicate interplanetary messages.
They apparently possessed some form of weaponry that they believed would allow them to exterminate the existing population of another world.
Traits:
The Martian High Council established laws and policies. The Council of
Elders, which may or may not have been another name for the same
organization, was petitioned to approve marriage.
The High Council was apparently willing to consider wiping out a population of another world so that the Martians could take it over for themselves.
Type: Bilaterally symmetric humanoid bipeds
Eyes: Two (on head; light green or blue color, as well as a darker (perhaps brown or black) seen)
Fingers: Four (plus opposing thumb)
Toes: Unrevealed (presumably five)
Skin color: "Pink" (comparable to Caucasian humanity), at least
Average height: Perhaps 4'10" (Zot, at 5' tall was considered tall and stately)
History:
(Astonishing#39/3 (fb) - BTS) - Although it once had been a fertile planet "eons ago," by the mid-20th Century, it was becoming barren.
Buildings were constructed of metal to protect the Martians from harsh sandstorms.
(Astonishing#39/3 (fb) - BTS) <Ten years prior to the main story> - The
Martian High Council decided that the population must be kept down due
to lack of fertility, and Martians were not allowed to marry (nor,
presumably, to reproduce).
The Martian High Council decided that Mars was
dying and that another planet must be found suitable to their form of
life and more fertile than Mars. Zot was selected to scout the nearby
planet Earth. If he found Earth to be suitable to their needs, the High
Council granted him the right of marriage. 
Zot was to perform all tests and to examine the
dominant life form, which the Martians planned to destroy when they
arrived. When he had completed his study, Zot was to report by thought
transmitter to the High Council.
(Astonishing#39/3) - Zot piloted his ship to
Earth, arriving in the hills of Arkansas. He quickly noted the
atmosphere to be excellent, far better than Mars', and the soil to be
rich and fertile, like the old books said once existed on Mars "eons
ago."
Heading down the mountain, Zot was pleased with the smell of the damp soil and the plants that were growing. He soon found a farm growing food, a well that brought water from beneath the surface, and the wooden house of Mamie.
An illiterate and relatively plain mountain girl
left by the deaths of her parents to tend to her younger brothers and
sisters, Mamie was nonetheless entrancing to Zot.
Introducing himself to Mamie who was both lonely
and desperate for a man to help on the farm, Zot was pleased to find
that she was receptive to marrying him and that the fertile farm was
hers and would be shared with him as part of the marriage.
(Astonishing#39/3 (fb) - BTS) - Zot did not report back to the Martian High Council. Instead, he and Mamie were married, and Zot adapted to the life of a farmer, adopting human clothes and Mamie's rural speech patterns. Over years, Zot's ship rusted and decayed.
Eventually, the High Council resolved to send another explorer, Fos, to Earth.
(Astonishing#39/3) - Homing in on the metals
of Zot's ship, Fos landed nearby. Finding the air to be fresh and the
soil to be dark and fruitful, Fos wondered what had happened to Zot.
When he prepared to contact the High Council,
however, Zot approached him with a rifle, warning him not to send the
message.
Despite his garb, Fos recognized Zot, who also
recognized him but ordered him to report that Earth was deadly to
Martians.
Once that was done, Zot smashed Fos' ship's controls so he could neither leave nor again contact the High Council.
While Zot noted that he didn't want any
foreigners around, Mamie suggested that Fos might like to stay like he
did. After Zot accepted this idea, Fos asked him if his wife had a
sister.
Comments: Created by unidentified writer and Bob Forgione.
I'm not sure that Mars was ever a fertile planet
in the real world, but it may have been at some point in Reality-616.
While it's likely that the writer was referring
to Earth years when talking about 10 years since marriage was allowed
on Mars, which would make it either 1945 A.D. or "years" before that,
if the end of the story was what took place at the time of publication.
However, a Martian referring to 10 years would more
likely refer to Martian years, and a Martian year is about 687 Earth
days, so 10 Martian years would be almost 19 Earth years
Zot could receive his own profile, along with a sub-profile for Mamie and one for Mamie's siblings.
I don't know whether the different symbols on Zot
and Fos' headgear indicated a different rank division or perhaps a
familial clan.
Regardless, it remains to be explained how so many different races/beings allegedly originated from Mars.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
These Martians should be distinguished from:
 Years after Zot had failed to return or report, Fos was sent to Earth in another scout ship. Homing in on Zot's ship's metals, Fos arrived in the same area, but when he attempted to report the fresh air and fertile Earth to the High Council, Zot stopped him at gunpoint and forced him to instead report that Earth was deadly to Martians. After Zot allowed Fos to live on Earth as he had done, Fos asked Zot if his wife had a sister. --Astonishing#39/3 Note: Mamie did indeed have a younger sister (and two younger brothers). Her sister was really young, like 3-4 years-old, when Zot arrived. Fos arrived "years later," but unless it was like 15 years later, she would have been way too young for Fos...even in rural Arkansas in the 1950s. Maybe Mamie had a friend... Fos is also pictured in the lower right image in the main profile, held at gunpoint by the now rural Zot. |
 |   Zot was sent by the Martian High Council on a scout ship to Earth to see if it was suitable for Martian conquest. However, he was taken by its fertile ground, fresh air, and beautiful women. He instead abandoned his mission, married a local woman, Mamie, and lived the life of a rural farmer. When Fos arrived years later, Zot forced him at gunpoint to report that Earth was deadly to Martians and then destroyed his ship's control panel. At Mamie's suggestion, he allowed Fos to live on Earth as he had done. --Astonishing#39/3 Note: Zot is also pictured in all of the panels in the main profile that are not just images of the ship. |
images: (without ads)
Astonishing#39/3, pg. 1, panel 1-2 (Zot's ship, bottom and top);
pg. 2, panel 1 (Zot, full, shadowed);
panel 2 (Zot, analyzing atmosphere);
panel 3 (Zot, face);
panel 5 (Zot, upper);
pg. 4, panel 4 (Zot, full, oblique);
panel 5 (Zot & Mamie);
pg. 5, panel 3 (Fos, face);
panel 5 (Fos at gunpoint);
panel 6 (Zot destroying control panel)
Appearances:
Astonishing#39/3
"When Lands the Saucer" (June, 1955) - unidentified writer, Bob
Forgione (penciler), Jack Abel (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 12/27/2025
Last updated: 12/27/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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