STAR 1
Earth-53936

Classification: Terrestrial technology

Creator: Unidentified Earth scientists

User/Possessors: Ben, Johnny, Stan and other crewmen

First Appearance: Mystic I#23 (September, 1953)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: Star 1 was an old rocket craft capable of travel within Earth's Solar System. The ship could communicate with Earth using sonic-radio beams but they weren't strong enough to transmit from the satellite of Venus back to Earth. Star 1 contained equipment for examining planetary atmospheres.

History:
(Mystic I#23/2) - Star 1 was the first spaceship ever flown by man. In the year 2300, Earth had slipped from its orbit and was drawing closer to the sun, causing the planet to heat up. Earth sent out various spacecrafts to find another inhabitable planet they could evacuate to. All of the explorations were failures and the only space-worthy vessel left on the planet was Star 1. The only planet that was left to explore was a satellite of Venus, so a crew was assembled from those who survived previous explorations and they prepared Star 1 for takeoff, although it was a relic. It was estimated that it would take 3 months and 20 days for Star 1 to journey to the other planet then return to Earth. It was also estimated that life on Earth could only survive for another 6 months.

    Women volunteered to join the expedition but the head of the space program refused, saying they were fighting for the survival of humanity, not going on an "idle adventure." When the ship's captain wondered what those on Earth would do if Star 1 didn't return within their projected timeframe, the head of the program answered that they would know the planet was unsuitable for human life and thus there would be no hope for humanity. Soon after, the crew boarded and set off for Venus, its crew including the captain, Ben, Johnny and Stan.

    After weeks of travel, Star 1 reached the satellite of Venus and determined it had a breathable atmosphere. They landed on the planetoid and soon determined it was a "perfect" planet, entirely suitable for human life with drinkable water and delicious fruit. However, when they prepared to takeoff back to Earth, Johnny discovered Star 1's jets had gone out. He predicted it would take at least a year to fix the jets but they knew life on Earth wouldn't last that long and there was no way to let the people of Earth know they'd found a suitable new home. The captain realized it had been a mistake to refuse women to join the crew, as if they had, there would have been a hope for humanity's continuation.

(Astonishing I#27) - Three months after their landing, the crew's morale started to break down, as they all imagined the deaths of the other humans. The crew also started to vent against the captain, refusing to obey his orders. However, they were surprised to receive a transmission on Star 1 from Earth. The voice on the other end informed them that they'd discovered an X-beam that could send and receive transmissions from any point in the galaxy. Although there were only a few thousand people left on Earth, they'd sent out ships to investigate the asteroid belt. Of those remaining on Earth, a small percentage had undergone a mutation that enabled them to survive the shift in Earth's orbit. The crew of Star 1 informed the people of Earth that the satellite of Venus was habitable and soon Earth sent its remaining crafts to the satellite to join them. The crew of Star 1 were excited to be reunited with other humans and ensure their species' survival but ultimately the mutated humans proved to have become Lizard People and the crew was astonished to see them. Some of the crew hoped the humans who fled to the asteroid belt might continue the species.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Ross Andru.

    Mystic I#23 claimed that the second half of the story would be in the following issue of Mystic but for whatever reason it was published in Astonishing I#27 instead. I don't envy whoever was trying to find that story at the time! Just to complete the confusion, Astonishing I#27 asserted the first half of the story was told in the previous issue of Astonishing!

    I'll just assume some of the other crew members were named Jack and Reed.

    This profile was completed on 10/23/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Star 1 should not be confused with:

The Crew of Star 1

The crew of Star 1 included Ben, Johnny and Stan. None of the crew were female. The crew successfully piloted Star 1 to the satellite of Venus but were unable to repair the ship's jets in time to return to Earth and inform them they'd found a suitable new planet. Stranded on the satellite of Venus, the crew began to despair, as with no female crew, there would be no opportunity for them to ensure humanity's survival. The crew began to break down and refuse to obey their captain. They were briefly elated when they learned some of humanity had survived due to a mutation but when the mutated humans arrived on the satellite, they discovered the humans had become Lizard People. One of the crew suggested they should kill themselves and hoped the humans who fled to the asteroid belt would continue the species.






--Mystic I#23/2 (Astonishing I#27,



The Lizard People

As Earth drew closer to the sun, humans began to rapidly mutate and transformed into Lizard People. In these new forms, their females reproduced by laying eggs. When they developed X-beam technology that allowed them to communicate with the crew of Star 1, they learned the satellite of Venus was suitable for human life so they went there to join them. The crew of Star 1 had expected normal humans and were chagrined when they saw what humanity had become.






--Astonishing I#27





images: (without ads)
Mystic I#23/2, page 4, panel 1 (Star 1, main)
Mystic I#23/2, page 4, panel 4 (Star 1 interior)
Astonishing I#27, page 3, panel 7 (crew)
Astonishing I#27, page 5, panel 6 (lizard people)

Appearances:
Mystic I#23/2 (September, 1953) - unidentified writer, Ross Andru (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Astonishing I#27 (October, 1953) - unidentified writer, Ross Andru (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/09/2026
Last updated:10/23/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are � and � 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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