- Treens
The Treens are fictional aliens in the
Dan Dare stories. They debuted in "", 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 byFrank Hampson .Fictional background
The Treens are a race of green-skinned
reptilian humanoid s from the northern hemisphere of the planetVenus . They are described as and are similar in appearance to some versions of the theoreticalDinosauroid . Their leader isthe 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 calledMekonta and is on islands in a lake.Political context
In the Cold War context of the 1950s, the division of Venus in the Dan Dare stories paralleled the division of Korea (and later Vietnam) between a communist state in the North and a Western-oriented South, separated by a demilitarised zone. The Mekon was a Stalin-like figure.
Other appearances
A Treen was briefly seen in "".
External links
* [http://www.dandare.org.uk/MekonDynasty12.htm An "official" history of the Treens and their leader the Mekon]
* [http://www.dandare.org.uk/Homepage.htm DanDare.Org website]
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