SRAM

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Martian; 1950s era)

Occupation: Athlete/sportsman

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Tod Carter

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Sram

Base of Operations: Mobile around Earth; originally from Mars

First Appearance: Mystic I#47/1 (May, 1956)

Powers/Abilities: Appearing to be a powerfully-built human male, this Martian had great strength (perhaps Class 5 or higher) and some degree of invulnerability; he also wore clothing that was extremely durable.

Having incredible speed and endurance, he swam over 100 miles in rough seas while rescuing a drowning victim.

He also seemed to be able to sense the presence of uranium--whether this was an innate ability, or accomplished by technological means, remains unrevealed.

Height: Unrevealed (6'6"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: White (including mustache)

History:
(Mystic I#47/1 (fb) - BTS) - The past of this muscular Martian is unrevealed, but he apparently took part in some sort of extraterrestrial athletic competition, for which he was awarded a winning medal (CHAMPION ATHLETE--STELLAR SPORTS SERIES).

(Mystic I#47/1 (fb)) - <six months earlier> - After somehow arriving on Earth (see comments), the Martian made the acquaintance of Tod Carter, who was prospecting for uranium. The mysterious stranger introduced himself only as "Sram," then directed Carter to a nearby area, where Carter found a lode of the radioactive element, which he then sold for a small fortune.

   As they were both avid sportsmen, Carter and Sram became good friends, so they decided to take a trip to Africa together. While they were on a lion hunt, one of the beasts came charging at them, and Carter's rifle jammed before he could shoot it; but like a streak of light, Sram intercepted the lion's charge and seized it--Carter was amazed when the platinum-haired powerhouse lifted the lion upon his shoulders and captured it!

   A week later, when Carter and Sram were at an airport, preparing to leave Africa, an incoming flight crashed and exploded as it was landing. Although fire-fighters were unable to get near the flaming aircraft, Sram dashed into the fiery wreckage without a qualm, and the silver-headed superman saved all the crash-victims without even getting singed! The puzzled Carter later questioned his friend why he wasn't burned in the flaming plane, and Sram only nonchalantly replied that he was "just lucky"; then Sram announced that although he enjoyed his time with Carter, he would soon have to leave him.

   Carter and Sram decided to return to America by ship instead, and the next day, they sailed aboard the freighter Mary K. During the voyage, the pair met some members of an astronomy expedition sent to Africa in an attempt to obtain clearer pictures of the planet Mars. The astronomers were surprised when Sram was able to point out the location of a previously undiscovered "Martian canal," which the astronomers had only learned of the day before!

   That night, as Carter and Sram stood on the bow of the ship, the vessel sailed into rough waters, and Carter fell overboard. Sram immediately jumped in to rescue his drowning friend, then towed him as he swam the remaining hundred miles to the American seashore. When Carter revived, Sram told him good-bye and left.

(Mystic I#47/1 (fb) - BTS) - Carter trailed Sram to a cottage in the mountains; but before he could be reunited with his friend, a lightning bolt struck the cottage (see comments) and set it afire. When he searched in the ruins, Carter found only the medal that had been awarded to Sram.

(Mystic I#47/1) - A pair of state troopers patrolling nearby saw the lightning bolt and fiery cottage, so they went to investigate. They found only the near-hysterical Tod Carter, who related the events of how he met his mysterious friend. After telling his story, Carter showed the troopers Sram's medal, then wrote Sram's name on a piece of paper and held it up to a mirror--the reversed image told them where Sram actually came from (see comments).

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Dick Ayers.




This 4-page story--The Man Who Could Do Anything--was done with Tod Carter as the protagonist, so very little was revealed about Sram. (probably to give it a surprise ending--see accompanying image [Carter probably reversed the directions of the R and S so it would look correct for the state troopers reading it in the mirror's reflection]).

It was never explained how Sram came to Earth, and no spaceship was ever depicted; but I'm guessing that the lightening bolt that struck the cottage was actually the result of some sort of teleportation--maybe Sram had a connection with "The Man from Nowhere", who coincidentally appeared in another story published in the same year and month.

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

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sram has no known connections with:

Tod Carter has no known connections to:

Tod Carter

He was a man of the world, who had been nearly everywhere and had done nearly everything.

One day, while he was prospecting for uranium with a Geiger counter, Carter met a mysterious stranger; the powerfully-built man introduced himself only as "Sram," then directed Carter to an area where he could find the radioactive element. Carter subsequently discovered a lode of uranium, which he sold for a small fortune.

Because they were both avid sportsmen, Carter and Sram became good friends, and they took a trip to Africa together; but during their adventures, Carter was amazed by the superhuman feats that Sram performed.

Following Sram's disappearance, Carter eventually learned of his friend's extraterrestrial origin.

--Mystic I#47/1

images: (without ads)
Mystic I#47/1, p2, pan1 (main image - Sram)
Mystic I#47/1, p3, pan6 (headshot - Sram)
Mystic I#47/1, p2, pan6 (Sram catches lion)
Mystic I#47/1, p3, pan1 (Sram saves people from fiery plane-crash; Tod Carter [background])
Mystic I#47/1, p4, pan7 (reversed reflection of Sram's name in mirror)
Mystic I#47/1, p2, pan4 (Tod Carter)
Mystic I#47/1, p2, pan2 (while prospecting for uranium, Tod Carter meets Sram)
Mystic I#47/1, p4, pan6 (Tod Carter shows Sram's medal to state troopers)

Appearances:
Mystic I#47/1 (May, 1956) - unidentified writer, Dick Ayers (pencils/inks/letters), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/15/2025
Last updated: 09/15/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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