Martians

Major Story Arcs

Hundreds of years ago, an alien ship crashed, bringing to Mars a mass of parasitic alien lifeforms called Sequids. Sequids use host bodies to link their collective consciousness together forming a single group mind. Linked together in such a fashion they will aggressively seek to dominate their host's civilization and usurp control of its people for their own purposes. The Sequids were unable to bond with the Martians due to their shape-shifting capabilities, and were therefore turned into harmless labor force by the Martians.

Modern Martian society would not be possible without the Sequids, tentacled creatures who the Martians use as slaves for all manner of purposes. The Martian's metamorphic physiology made them immune to the Sequids and their ability to engage their hive mind, but they live in fear of a day when their slaves are exposed to "solids" that they may be able to control.

The other main source of information about Martians was Martian Man, the shape-shifting, mind-reading alien superhero who served on the Guardians of the Globe before his grisly murder. Although Martian Man possessed powers beyond that of the average Martain, he played an important role in building the scant body of knowledge that humans have on Mars. Xenologists still consider Martian Man's 1991 Rolling Stone interview one of the most informative documents about Martian culture in the field of study.

Experts speculate that the Martian race was once a populous surface dwelling people who lived in grand cities connected by the fabled canals of Mars. At some point in the distant past a cataclysm, such as a meteor strike or an interstellar war, killed most of the Martian population. It is thought that the survivors fled underground, where, over the centuries, they developed a subterranean empire in secret. Today the Martians are governed by Monarch Prime, the unquestioned ruler of their species. They have developed a small but highly advanced underground society that has developed technology such as energy weapons and teleporters.

Mankind's first official encounter with the Martian race was during a recent NASA manned space mission to Mars. The data and firsthand accounts provided by the astronauts form the bulk of current knowledge about the aliens.

During the recent NASA mission to Mars, astronaut Rus Livingston was replaced by a Martian who assumed his appearance with his shape-shifting powers. While the imposter returned to Earth, the real Rus was left behind on Mars, where he became the host for a number of Sequids. Now that the Sequids have found a "solid" host body in the unlucky astronaut and have presumably reconnected their hive mind, the fate of Martian society is in doubt.

Characteristics

Population: Unknown estimated to be over a million

Type of government: Monarchy

Level of technology: Highly advanced, utilizing teleportation technology

Cultural traits: Isolationist, independent, adaptive

Names of representatives: Martian Man, Monarch Prime and Shapesmith

Type: Humanoid

Fingers: Five

Toes: Five

Eyes:Two

Skin color: Pale green

Average height: 6' 3"

Special adaptations: Martians are metamorphs, highly advanced shape shifters capable of altering their physical composition and taking on the form and the physical characteristics of any organic entity or rudimentary inorganic shape.