Mysteron

For other uses, see Mysterons (disambiguation).

The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep bass voice of their human convert, Captain Black.

Mysteron colony on Mars.

Hostilities between Earth and the Mysterons began following a Zero-X expedition on Mars led by Captain Black of Earth security organisation, Spectrum. The purpose of the mission had been to locate the source of radio signals that Spectrum had detected emanating from the planet. Following the transmissions, the party discovered an alien complex on the surface. After mistaking an alien camera for a weapons placement, Captain Black feared an attack and, in violation of his orders, launched an assault on the complex that destroyed it completely. However, the city was almost immediately rebuilt before their eyes as a blue beam of light passed over the ruins.

Identifying themselves as the Mysterons, the aliens claimed to have discovered the secret of traversing matter. Mysterons have the ability to change matter with some sort of teleportation technology, and the ability to heal any physical injury. They proved to have the ability to re-create an exact likeness of an object or person; a power they could exercise only after the original object had been destroyed or after the original person had been killed. Devoting themselves to retaliation for the unprovoked attack on their complex, retaliation they declare "will be slow, but nonetheless effective," they take over Captain Black and send him back to Earth under their control, making him instrumental in avenging the Mysterons by recruiting other persons and objects in a similar fashion. But their attempt to assassinate the World President, for which purpose they re-create Captain Scarlet himself, fails when his likeness is shot, and killed, in a fall during his unsuccessful attempt to kidnap the World President, and regains the normal personality of the original Captain Scarlet (how this happens is never explained in the series canon). The merciless Mysterons themselves are never actually seen on screen. They broadcast their threats by radio, often disguising their intentions with word play, and they are only represented visually by twin rings of green light, suggestive of eyes, that they project onto the scenes of destructions and killings from which likenesses emerge.

Anderson initially intended the Mysterons to be more conventional Martians, then chose to make them invisible aliens during production so the series would not feel dated. The TV Century 21 comic book depicted the Mysterons as both energy beings and computers. The energy beings explanation is favoured by most fans today.

New Captain Scarlet

The last episode of the reimagined series, Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, reveals a great deal about the Mysterons as they exist in the version of the new series. They live in a city on Mars that is normally hidden from view. The city appeared on the surface of Mars for the first time in 2068, during the ill-fated mission commanded by Captain Black (Instrument of Destruction part 1). They are categorically stated to be energy beings, with one shown in the original episode actually transforming into their trademark 'green rings', and are to some extent 'individuals' as we understand it; There is a dissenting faction in the "Mysteron consciousness" (as a member of the faction put it) that believes that, given time, humans will outgrow their destructive impulses and become more like the Mysterons themselves. Unfortunately for the series' protagonists, this group has virtually no influence, and their only agent dispatched to Earth was quickly decorporalised and remanded into Mysteron custody by the majority group's primary agent, Captain Black.

The Mysterons were first discovered by Spectrum captains Scarlet and Black whilst they were investigating the source of mysterious signals coming from Mars. They appear as a pair of green rings, however, it is not known whether this is the result of technology.

The Mysterons claim to be peaceful beings, but are currently waging a war of nerves against the people of Earth following Captain Black's unfortunate actions resulting in the total destruction of the Mysteron city.

The Mysterons possess the ability to reconstruct exact replicas of objects or persons. It is due to this remarkable ability that they were able to recreate their city following Black's attack. They also employ this power from time to time during the 'Mysteronisation' process, which renders the reconstruct (dubbed 'replicant' by Spectrum) with the power of retrometabolisation - the replicant is able to heal completely from almost any injury, including fatal ones. The only known survivor of the process is Captain Scarlet, who retains his retrometabolism and is virtually indestructible, an ability which is a great asset in his work.

Mysterons are also able to control the minds of their human victims, whether the subject has been replicated or not. Mysterons make use of hypnosis for short-term control, as demonstrated by the replicant of Commander Lewis on Doctor Gold (The Homecoming). For more lasting agents, they use the reconstruction process which leaves them in total control of the body.

The Mysteronisation process alters the replicants at the sub-atomic level and subtly alters their genetic code. It is this alteration of DNA that leaves them vulnerable to detection, and all Spectrum personnel are subject to DNA checks regularly. There is no known test that can be performed in the field at this time.