Mister Mystery: The Brain Bats of Venus

[alicemacher]

Well, since you asked so nicely...



It's lethal for human beings to visit the surface of Venus, due to its extremely high average temperature and air pressure. Plus, if this classic Wolverton-illustrated story is to be believed, you might encounter one of these creatures.


From Mister Mystery #7 (Stanley Morse [Key], Sept. 1952). Public domain scans courtesy of ComicBookPlus.com.

























And then Rod was a zombie.

Comments

[agent8]

Look at it from the Brain Bas point of view. There they were approaching the disabled space ship to offer what aid they could when the alien creature pulled a weapon and started shooting. An obvious case of self defense if I've ever seen one.

[alicemacher]

I'm not sure where you're getting that from. The creatures have a malevolent look about them in the very first panel showing them from the front (second-page, second-to-last panel). I don't think they were there to help.

Plus, the creature that reanimates and takes over Reese says outright that with his newly upgraded mental and physical abilities, he'll be able to take his peers with him to Earth so they too can attach themselves to Earthling bodies. It reads to me as too premeditated to be a spur-of-the-moment "Okay then, no more Mr. Nice Guy" reaction. As though the brain bats had already intended, however dimly and vaguely, to possess the first creatures of greater intelligence and mobility they came across.

[tripodeca113]

I admire the five brain-bats, for their ambitions on taking over Earth.

"Say Rod, why do you have that new pink hat?"
"It's all the range on Venus, Steve"

[magnetoisright]

"We support extremely high subsidies to the brain bat planet"

"That's all well and good but what will you do for the average working american?"

"Attach brain bats to them"

[bradygirl_12]

This is pretty good horror! :)