METEOR-MONSTERS

meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-walkingmeteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-assaulttownClassification: Mobile plant/fauna extraterrestrial race 

Location/Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    a group of them traveled to Earth and were destroyed somewhere in the rural South Dakota, United States of America

Known Members: None identified

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Aarkus the Vision, Lem Brown, Rudolph Norsen, an unidentified dog

Aliases: "Carbon-eating friends," giant-plants, monster-plants, moving plants, plants, plant-beings, weird spawn from space

First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 (December, 1941)

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meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-seed

Powers/Abilities: In seed form, the monster-plants could survive the frigid cold and the lack of atmosphere and pressure for an unrevealed time period, perhaps years or thousands of years or more. They could also survive the heat of entry into Earth's atmosphere unharmed.

    Planted into fresh soil, they rapidly grew, reaching human size within a couple hours, and soon thereafter they appeared to reach 25-50' tall.

    They could extend whip-like tendrils that could ensnare, bind and lift a human or other victim off of the ground and drag the victim toward their mouths.

meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-snaredog    Their bodies have a pair of branch/root-like legs on which they can walk, multiple tendrils or other branches extending from their trunks.

    Atop their heads, they have a pair of eyes on stalks on either side of its on a large green mouth with a long, green, spiked tongue extending out of it.

    They are carnivorous. Absorbing carbon and storing it in large quantities in concentrated energy form, they are vulnerable to penetrating wounds through their hide-bark (perhaps only at a focal nerve center), which causes the carbon energy to explode, fatally shredding the monster-plants into small fragments.

    After feeding and sating their appetites, they sometimes moved as if intoxicated.

    They shrieked when fatally wounded.

    They did not demonstrate any forms of technology.

Traits: Upon growing large enough to exit the ground, the monster-plants will hunt and attack, kill and feed upon other living beings.

    Sufficiently-sized, they can rip apart entire buildings.

Type: Radially symmetric mobile plants
Eyes: Two (on head; yellow eyestalk and lid/surrounding, with white sclera and/or iris surrounding a central black circle (presumably a pupil)
Fingers: None
Toes: 3-5
Surface color: Brown trunk, limbs and tendrils; yellow eyestalks; green mouth and tongue
Average height: They start out as seeds that are a couple inches long, and then they grow into tree-like forms that reach at least 25-50' tall.

meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-meteorHistory:
(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 (fb) - BTS) - Under unrevealed circumstances, a number of alien seeds were attached to a chunk of an asteroid traveling through space at the speed of light.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 - BTS) <1941> - As it entered Earth's atmosphere, the meteor burst into a million, tiny, fiery fragments.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12: Vision (Aarkus)) - One of these fragments fell near biology professor Rudolph Norsen's home in South Dakota.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3) - The next morning, Norsen discovered the still-smoldering meteorite fragment.

    Artifiicially cooling it, he examined it with his bare hands and a magnifying glass, discovering a number of seed-like shells clinging to the meteorite, noting that they did not seem to have been harmed by the friction at all.

    Curious as to what might happen, Norsen planted the alien seeds in the soil on his property.

    In less than an hour, the monster-plants burst from their planted mounds, rapidly growing in size as they crawled.

meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-emerging    When neighbor Lem Brown came by to see what Professor Norsen was up to, one of the plant creatures extended a long tendril that wound around his throat and dragged him to the creature, which lethally fed on him.

    Rising from nearby chimney smoke, Aarkus the Vision arrived too late to save Lem, but he soon discovered and engaged the monstrous plant-being.

    Struggling against the creature, Aarkus sensed that the creature was growing, and he focused to destroy it before it could get larger and more powerful.

    Correctly suspecting more of the plant-creatures, Aarkus investigated. Meanwhile, as the plants on Norsen's property grew, they began tearing apart the property.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 - BTS) - Aarkus encountered Norsen as he returned from town. 

    Learning Norsen had planted meteor seeds in his garden, Aarkus revealed that they had grown into monsters, and they rushed to stop them.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3) - The moving plants, grown to tremendous heigh, began to wreak havoc in the nearby town.

    A courageous dog tried to defend his young master against the advancing monsters, but one of them snared him a tentacle and pulled him up its hungry mouth.

    The arriving Vision tackled one of the plant-creatures, and Norsen advised him to find their nerve centers, which was their weak spot. Aarkus probed the creature with a pointed stick, but another monster-plant grabbed Aarkus with a tendril and lifted him away from the creature he was attacking.

    Finding the weak spot, Norsen plunged his pointed stick through the plant's hide-stalk, causing the creature to explode and destroy itself, letting out a high painful shriek as it did so.

    Knowing wear to strike, Aarkus and Norson caused the rest of the giant plants to explode as well.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 - BTS) - Norsen explained how spearing the creatures explosing released their stored up concentrated carbon energy.

Comments: Created by unidentified writer, Al Avison and Charles Nicholas.

    So, what happened to the rest of the "million" meteor fragments after the meteor exploded?

    Seeds of Doom is listed as the title in the Marvel Database, although I don't see it in the actual comic. They were called a number of things in the original story, including Meteor-Monsters, which is what they were called in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, so that seems as official as you can get...

    The profile was completed 4/13/2025, but it was saved for Arbor Day, 4/25/2025. meteor-monsters-plants-mmc26-titlepage

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Meteor-Monsters should be distinguished from:


images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3, pg. 1 (not including title page), panel 3-4 (meteor approaching Earth, exploding as it enters Earth's atmosphere)
Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics#26/3 "Seeds of Doom" (December, 1941) - unidentified writer, Al Avison and Charles Nicholas (pencilers), Ernie Hart & George Kline (inkers), Joe Simon (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12 (March, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike O'Sullivan, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Rob London, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, David Wiltfong, Jacob Rougemont, Chris Biggs, Rich Green, Kevin Garcia, Jeph York, & Mark O'English (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

First posted: 04/25/2025
Last updated: 04/13/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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