Treens
Encyclopedia
The Treens are fictional aliens in the Dan Dare
stories. They debuted in Dan Dare: The First Story, which was serialized in the Eagle
comic magazine from Volume 1, Number 1 (April 14, 1950) to Volume 2, Number 25 (September 28, 1951). The story was drawn by Frank Hampson.
s from the northern hemisphere of the planet Venus
. Their leader is the Mekon
. The southern hemisphere is inhabited by the Therons
, a human-like race with an obvious affinity to humanity on Earth. The two hemispheres are separated by the "flamelands" around the equator.
The Treens are portrayed as mostly unemotional without the usual human feelings about the sanctity of life. In ancient times, they lived as savage jungle tribes permanently involved in tribal wars amongst themselves, until in a major war the Therons occupied the northern hemisphere by force in an attempt to civilize the Treens. The attempt failed and the Therons later abandoned the Treens to their own devices.
Soon after, Treen scientists created the first Mekon as a 'super-brain' to rule over the Treen race. The Mekon developed Treen society into a highly organized militaristic logic-based society where orders are obeyed without query, and which is usually in a state of hostility with the Therons and Earth, both of whose lands they have on occasion occupied. Their capital city
is called Mekonta
and is on islands in a lake.
A Treen was seen drinking at the Star Stop diner in Marvel Comic's She-Hulk (4-7).
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
stories. They debuted in Dan Dare: The First Story, which was serialized in the Eagle
Eagle (comic)
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
comic magazine from Volume 1, Number 1 (April 14, 1950) to Volume 2, Number 25 (September 28, 1951). The story was drawn by Frank Hampson.
Fictional background
The Treens are a race of green-skinned humanoidHumanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
s from the northern hemisphere of the planet Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
. Their leader is the Mekon
The Mekon
The Mekon is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare, first appearing in 1950 in the Eagle comic strip Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future and created by Frank Hampson. Apart from Dan Dare himself, he is the only character to appear in every one of the numerous versions of the comic strip...
. The southern hemisphere is inhabited by the Therons
Therons
The Therons are fictional aliens, usually golden-brown-skinned, who lived on the south hemisphere of the planet Venus in the Dan Dare stories. They were introduced in the first Dan Dare story in 1950–51....
, a human-like race with an obvious affinity to humanity on Earth. The two hemispheres are separated by the "flamelands" around the equator.
The Treens are portrayed as mostly unemotional without the usual human feelings about the sanctity of life. In ancient times, they lived as savage jungle tribes permanently involved in tribal wars amongst themselves, until in a major war the Therons occupied the northern hemisphere by force in an attempt to civilize the Treens. The attempt failed and the Therons later abandoned the Treens to their own devices.
Soon after, Treen scientists created the first Mekon as a 'super-brain' to rule over the Treen race. The Mekon developed Treen society into a highly organized militaristic logic-based society where orders are obeyed without query, and which is usually in a state of hostility with the Therons and Earth, both of whose lands they have on occasion occupied. Their capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
is called Mekonta
Mekonta
Mekonta is the capital city of the Treens in the Dan Dare stories. It is named after The Mekon. It is built on many islands in a lake. Its design may have been inspired by Venice and/or Tenochtitlan....
and is on islands in a lake.
Political interpretation
Creator Frank Hampson stated "Basically we were fighting the Second World War again – the Treens were the Nazis".Other appearances
A Treen was briefly seen in Scarlet Traces: The Great Game.A Treen was seen drinking at the Star Stop diner in Marvel Comic's She-Hulk (4-7).