MARTIANS
Classification: Extraterrestrial
silicon-based spheroid (active at least 1950s era)
Location/Base of Operations: Mars
Known Members: None
Affiliations: Matt Lawson
(pawn)
Enemies: Jovians
First Appearance: Marvel Tales I#147/5 (June, 1956)
Powers/Abilities: The rock-like spheroid
Martians have developed an advanced civilization and are capable of
interplanetary travel, their flying saucers traveling faster than the
rockets of their rivals from Jupiter. They are highly durable, having
survived heavy bombardment (or had very secure bunkers). They
communicate telepathically in a universal language. How they engage in
movement is unrevealed. They are able to make inorganic structures
dematerialize instantly, leaving organic matter behind, and transport
it to another planet; how they achieve this feat is unrevealed.
Traits: The spheroid Martians display communal
behavior, huddling in groups or around buildings, potentially for
safety. They do not trade but instead take. They do not display
aggression and do not kill extraterrestrials needlessly. They remain
still when something new arrives that they are not prepared for.
Type: Bilateral semi-symmetric silicon-based
spheroid
Eyes: Two
Fingers: None
Toes: None
Skin color: Gray stone-like surface
Average height: 20"
History:
(Marvel Tales I#147/5 (fb) - BTS) - The spheroid
Martians developed a civilization on Mars with stone buildings. A war
(for unrevealed reasons) with Jovians resulted in the destruction of
Martian cities. The Martians huddled in the wreckage.
(Marvel Tales I#147/5) - Opportunistic Earth human Matt Lawson stole a waylaid Jovian spaceship and headed to Mars to scavenge what riches might be found in the ruins, but found only rubble and what he considered ugly round rocks. Detecting radiation and hoping for valuable uranium, Lawson packed many round "rocks" (Martians) into the spaceship and rocketed back to Earth.
(Marvel Tales I#147/5 (fb) - BTS) - Lawson left to bring back a local inspector during which the Martians escaped, communicated to their fellows at home to bring faster flying saucers and somehow stole only buildings from Lawson's local community and nearby towns, making them instantly vanish, but left organic matter (people) behind. The Martians brought those structures back with them to Mars and established them as new constructions to rebuild their civilization.
(Marvel Tales I#147/5) - Lawson was more concerned
about the missing radioactive Martian "rocks", so a month later he
zoomed back to
Mars in the Jovian vessel where he was shocked to find the missing Earth buildings. Hearing
telepathic messages, Lawson paid closer attention to the "rocks" and
discovered their vague human-like facial features. One communicated
what they had done and that they needed no more from Earth.
Comments: Created by uncredited writer & Steve Ditko.
I suspect Matt Lawson may have been a low-level
telepath for him to so readily receive extraterrestrial thought
communication and intuitively understand alien spacecraft controls.
No apparent difference between Earth and Martian
atmospheres; the Jovians adapted to Earth well too.
It remains to be explained how so many different races/beings allegedly originated from Mars:
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS:
These Martians should be distinguished from:
The Jovians were tall, slim, green-skinned
space-farers who landed on Earth after winning a war against Mars. They had
engine trouble called rocket turbulation. By chance, the opportunistic
prospector human Matt Lawson saw them disembark. He overheard their
telepathic communication and, hoping to scavenge war-torn Martian ruins
for lost riches, stole the Jovians' spacecraft, stranding them on
Earth. Their final fate is unrevealed. Lawson used their spacecraft to
ferry back what he thought were valuable radioactive rocks, but were
actually Martian sentient beings.
--Marvel Tales I#147/5
Matt Lawson was an opportunistic prospector who used a Geiger counter scavenging near mines. One night by chance, he saw a Jovian spaceship land. He overheard the crew's telepathic communication that their spacecraft had engine damage after winning a war against Mars. Keen to scavenge Martian ruins for booty, Lawson stole the Jovian spacecraft and soon landed on Mars where he found only ruins and what he considered were ugly round rocks (but were actually Martian beings). Accidentally activating the Geiger counter, he discovered the round rocks were radioactive. Hoping to become rich from a uranium find, he packed spheroids into the Jovian spacecraft and sped back to Earth. After landing, he brought an inspector to look at the rocks, but found they had disappeared. Lawson was surprised when he found out many nearby buildings had disappeared too. After a month and unable to find the rocks, he went back to Mars and was shocked to find the Earth structures there. Lawson paid closer attention to the "rocks" and discovered their vague human-like facial features. One communicated what they had done and that they needed no more from Earth.
--Marvel Tales I#147/5
images: (without ads)
Marvel Tales I#147/5, p4, pan7 (main image)
p3, pan1 (Martians among ruins)
p2, pan5 (Jovians, body pic)
p1, pan3 (Jovians, headshot)
p3, pan3 (Lawson, crouching by Martian)
p3, pan5 (Lawson, headshot
Appearances:
Marvel Tales I#147/5 (June, 1956) - uncredited writer, Steve Ditko
(pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)
First Posted: 06/21/2026
Last updated: 06/21/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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