"ED MORSE"

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Martian; Pre-Modern era)

Occupation: Farmer (on Earth); unrevealed (on Mars)

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: "Shoreham"

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Ed Morse (human identity)

Base of Operations: His farm, somewhere in America

First Appearance: Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1 (April, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: Although an extraterrestrial, "Ed Morse" physically appeared to be quite human, with the exception of being hairless (a trait common to his race; see comments); he wore a wig and false mustache (and possibly false eyebrows) to pass for human.

He had apparently been on Earth for over a thousand years, but other than an extremely long lifespan, he displayed no other paranormal abilities.

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (200 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None; white (wig and false mustache)

History:
(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1 (fb) - BTS) - More than a thousand years earlier, the first spaceship carrying a single Martian occupant came to Earth for an unspecified reason; but the spaceship was apparently "lost," and the Martian was marooned on Earth. Since his fellow Martians could only make the trip once every thousand years (...for some unspecified reason; see comments), the Martian found himself stranded for that long period of time.

   To blend in with Earthlings, the hairless Martian eventually began wearing a wig and false mustache and established a human identity for himself: American farmer "Ed Morse"

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1) - One night, "Morse" was smoking his pipe outside his house; then he saw a flash of light as something streaked across the sky, and it landed about a half-mile behind his farm. With his curiosity piqued, "Morse" went to investigate--there had been so many reports of flying saucers and little men, and he felt like an idiot to expect anything extraordinary, but it was a nice night for a stroll, and he figured he could use the exercise.

   As he walked through the forest, "Morse" saw a panicked man running toward him. After "Morse" stopped him and calmed down the hysterical man, the stranger introduced himself as "Shoreham" and claimed he saw a spaceship; "Shoreham" also claimed that two Martians emerged from the spacecraft, and he heard them say they were on Earth to capture a human specimen. "Shoreham" further explained to "Morse" that the Martians looked just like humans, with the exception that they were hairless, so they wore wigs to pass for Earthlings. Although "Morse" told "Shoreham" he didn't believe in his "bogeymen," he humored his outlandish claim and agreed to accompany him to the supposed spacecraft's landing site. But as they walked deeper into the forest, "Shoreham" suddenly struck "Morse" from behind and knocked him unconscious; then "Shoreham" pulled off his own wig to reveal himself to be a Martian.

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1 - BTS) - "Shoreham" dragged his captured specimen--the unconscious "Morse"--into his spacecraft, then took flight to return to Mars.

(Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1) - When "Morse" revived and came to his senses, he found himself in a metal room and realized he was aboard a spacecraft traveling in deep space. Then "Morse" began to laugh at the unintentional joke that had been played upon "Shoreham"; yet at the same time, he pitied "Shoreham," for he believed things would go poorly for him when they arrived...but "Morse" wasted little time for pity--as he looked out a viewing port and saw that the spaceship was rapidly approaching Mars, "Morse" pulled off his wig and false mustache, then thought to himself that it would be good to finally get back home.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Mac Pakula.

Of course this 4-page story--They Meet at Night!--was done with a surprise ending, and the true nature of "Morse" wasn't revealed until the last panel (see fourth image above).

It was unrevealed what happened to the spaceship "Ed Morse" used when he originally came to Earth--my guess is that it crashed and was damaged beyond repair.

"Shoreham" stated that Martians were hairless--it was unrevealed if lack of hair follicles only applied to their heads, or if it was a condition of their entire bodies.

And it was never explained why there was a one-thousand year gap between the Martians' voyages to Earth--perhaps it took that long for them to process enough fuel for their spaceships.

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

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
"Ed Morse" has no known connections to:

"Shoreham" has no known connections to:

"Shoreham"

His real name unrevealed, "Shoreham" was actually a Martian; his race resembled humans, with the exception of being hairless, so he wore a black wig on his head. Much like his fellow Martian "Ed Morse," "Shoreham" may have had an extremely long lifespan.

For some unspecified reason, Martians could only make the interplanetary flight to Earth every thousand years (see comments); "Shoreham" piloted the second such flight in his spaceship, on a mission to capture a human specimen.

After landing on Earth, "Shoreham" eventually encountered "Ed Morse," so he struck him from behind, then took his unconscious specimen aboard his spaceship and returned to Mars; but "Shoreham" was unaware that "Morse" was actually a fellow Martian who had been stranded on Earth a thousand years earlier.

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1

"Shoreham's" spaceship

A space vessel of Martian design, its top speed was unrevealed, but it seemed to be able to make the journey between Earth and Mars in a matter of hours.

It was piloted by "Shoreham," who came to Earth to capture a human specimen.

"Shoreham" seemingly accomplished his mission when he encountered and captured "Ed Morse"; but unknown to "Shoreham," "Morse" was actually a fellow Martian who had made the journey to Earth a thousand years earlier.

--Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p1, pan2 (main image - "Ed Morse")
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p2, pan6 (headshot - "Ed Morse")
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p3, pan2 ("Ed Morse"; "Shoreham" [foreground])
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p4, pan7 ("Ed Morse" removes his wig and false mustache)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p2, pan7 ("Shoreham")
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p3, pan5 ("Shoreham" strikes "Ed Morse")
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p3, pan6 ("Shoreham" standing over unconscious "Ed Morse")
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p3, pan7 ("Shoreham" removes his wig)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p4, pan2 ("Shoreham's" spaceship flying in space)
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1, p4, pan6 (interior of "Shoreham's" spaceship; "Ed Morse")

Appearances:
Strange Tales of the Unusual#9/1 (April, 1957) - unidentified writer, Mac Pakula (pencils/inks), Joe Letterse (letters), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 07/16/2025
Last updated: 07/16/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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