Real Name: None

Identity/Class: Mutated terrestrial plant

Occupation: Would-be conqueror

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: George, Lucius Farnsworth

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Formerly an unspecified variety of garden-flower

Base of Operations: The garden of the Farnsworth estate, somewhere in America

First Appearance: Strange Tales I#94/2 (March, 1962)

Powers/Abilities: Originally an ordinary garden-flower that was mutated by radioactive dust, the telepathic Weed was a sentient and intelligent form of plant-life. Initially, its thought impulses overpowered the will of one individual (Lucius Farnsworth), but it claimed its powers of mental domination would increase to the point where it could enslave mankind.

The Weed had limited mobility, and it seemed to be dependent upon its root network remaining anchored in the soil; when its stem was cut, the Weed apparently died.

Height: 4' (by approximation)
Weight: 10 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Inapplicable
Hair: Inapplicable

History:
(Strange Tales I#94/2 (fb) ) - At a nuclear research facility, two scientists were testing an atomic gun. The device's ray reduced a steel block to radioactive dust, and some of the minute irradiated fragments seeped out of the building.

   That night, the still-drifting particles of radioactive dust blew over the Farnsworth estate and eventually came to rest in a corner of the garden. As the dust particles settled on the ground, they gave off silent, unseen radiation that was too deadly for the nearby plant-life to withstand. However, by an unexplainable quirk of nature, one of the flowers did not die...instead, it began to change--within the plant, atoms rearranged with atoms, and molecules altered their structure. Eventually, that which had formerly been an ordinary flower had become a hideous Weed! Endowed with sentience, great telepathic abilities, and a lust for power, the Weed made its plans to conquer the world.

(Strange Tales I#94/2) - The following morning, elderly millionaire Lucius Farnsworth took a stroll through his garden to admire the beautiful flowers produced by his gardener George; but Farnsworth was shocked to find a grotesque weed growing there, and he wondered how it grew so quickly. Not wanting such an ugly thing in his garden, Farnsworth grabbed a pair of shears and was about to snip the repulsive plant, but he suddenly found himself paralyzed as the Weed sent its overpowering thoughts into Farnsworth's mind, and he was completely bent to the Weed's will.

   The Weed explained to Farnsworth that its powers were increasing, becoming mightier, and they would soon reach full strength--when it attained full maturity, the Weed planned to send thought impulses out over the entire world to enslave mankind; although the immobilized Farnsworth thought the mutated plant's scheme was insane, he feared the Weed could accomplish its plan, and he was helpless to stop it!

   But the Weed required rest to allow its great powers to increase--it first commanded Farnsworth to sleep, so he would not be able to warn mankind. As Farnsworth slumped into a chair and fell into a deep slumber, the Weed also slept.

(Strange Tales I#94/2 - BTS) - While Farnsworth (and the Weed) slept, George the gardener spotted the ugly weed growing in the garden, so he cut it down with the shears.

(Strange Tales I#94/2) - All at once, Lucius Farnsworth awakened--he recalled being under control of the Weed, and wondered how he had been freed from its spell. Farnsworth noticed that the Weed was gone from its spot in the garden, then he saw George putting the inert remains of the mutated plant into a garbage bag; thinking that what he found was merely an ordinary weed, George explained that he snipped the stem of the mutated plant, and he apologized to Farnsworth for waking him--the simple-minded gardener was unaware that he had just saved mankind.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist).

The bottom margin of the last page of this story had an advertising blurb for the Fantastic Four, so possibly these events occurred in the early days of the modern Marvel Universe.

Maybe the Weed had some connection to the H'ylthri race.

This 6-page story was basically a reworking of the earlier-published story of Henry Melton.

And the title of this story--Save Me From the Weed!--makes it sound like it was a movie double-feature with Reefer Madness.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Weed has no known connections to:

George the gardener has no known connections to:

Scientists and atomic gun

At a nuclear testing center, two unidentified scientists were experimenting with an atomic gun. They activated the device and fired its neutron ray at a steel block--the block disintegrated, reduced to radioactive dust.

But suddenly, the atomic gun malfunctioned, making it impossible to control its energy build-up; as the device exploded, radioactive dust was blown all over the laboratory.

The scientists were uninjured, and they considered it fortunate that there were no open doors or windows in their lab, so they were confident that the dust had been contained within the room.

But unbeknownst to the scientists, there was a small crack in the plaster near their lab's ceiling, through which some of the minute radioactive fragments seeped. The dust eventually drifted to the estate of Lucius Farnsworth, where it mutated an ordinary garden-flower into the menacing Weed.  

--Strange Tales I#94/2

George

George (last name unrevealed) was millionaire Lucius Farnsworth's live-in gardener, and he diligently tended the landscape around Farnsworth's luxurious estate.

When Farnsworth saw that the flower garden was a haven of beauty, he complimented George for his "green thumb"; impressed with George's skills, Farnsworth asked him why he didn't open his own landscaping business--the millionaire even offered to give George financial backing.

But the humble, quiet, and unassuming George told his employer that he was content with just being a plain gardener--Farnsworth thought to himself that George was unambitious.

One day, George noticed a large ugly weed growing in the garden, so he snipped its stem and threw it in a garbage sack--unbeknownst to the simple gardener, he had unwittingly saved the world from the menace of the mutated Weed, which threatened to enslave mankind.

--Strange Tales I#94/2

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p4, pan4 (Main Image - The Weed)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p4, pan6 (The Weed)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p4, pan8 (The Weed)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p5, pan6 (The Weed commands Lucius Farnsworth to sleep)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p1, pan3 (scientists about to test atomic gun)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p2, pan1 (neutron ray of atomic gun hits steel block)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p2, pan4 (scientists have problem with atomic gun)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p2, pan5 (atomic gun explodes)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p3, pan3 (George (left), Lucius Farnsworth (right))
Strange Tales I#94/2, p3, pan4 (George)
Strange Tales I#94/2, p3, pan5 (George (right), Lucius Farnsworth (left))
Strange Tales I#94/2, p6, pan5 (George putting dead Weed in garbage bag, Lucius Farnsworth (background))

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#94/2 (March, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Goldberg (colors), Artie Simek (letters)

First Posted: 03/22/2020
Last updated: 03/22/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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