Mysteron

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 (1967–68) and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005), symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep bass voice of their human convert, Captain Black.

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Hostilities between Earth and the Mysterons commence following a Zero-X expedition on Mars led by Captain Black of the 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. The Zero-X astronauts discover an alien city complex on the Martian surface. After mistaking a surveillance camera for a weapons placement, Black fears an attack and, in violation of his orders, launches an assault on the complex that destroys it completely. However, the city is almost immediately rebuilt before their eyes as a blue beam of light passes over the ruins.

Identifying themselves as the Mysterons, the aliens claim to have discovered the secret of "reversing matter" (a power later referred to as "retrometabolism"). They have the ability to alter matter (using some sort of teleportation technology), to heal any physical injury, and to re-create the exact likeness of any object or person – a power they can exercise only after the original object has been destroyed or the original person killed. Dedicating themselves to a "slow, but nonetheless effective" retaliation for the unprovoked attack on their Martian complex, the Mysterons seize telepathic control of Black and return him to Earth, making him instrumental in avenging the Mysterons by recruiting other persons and objects in a similar fashion.

However, the Mysterons' attempt to assassinate the World President – for the purposes of which they kill and re-create Spectrum's foremost agent, Captain Scarlet, as an indestructible doppelganger – fails when a kidnapping of the president is foiled and the Scarlet reconstruction falls to its apparent death from the top of a tower, later regaining the consciousness of the original, human officer (how this happens is never explained in the series canon).

The Mysterons themselves are never seen on screen. They broadcast their threats by radio, often disguising their intentions with word play, and are represented visually only by twin rings of green light, suggestive of eyes, that they project onto scenes of murder and destruction of their making from which likenesses emerge.

Anderson originally intended the Mysterons to be more conventional Martians, later choosing to make them effectively invisible so that the series would not feel dated. The TV Century 21 comic book depicted the Mysterons as both energy beings and a computer collective.

Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
The final episode of the re-imagined 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 appears 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 being shown to be capable of transforming into the "green rings", and are to some extent individualised – there is a dissenting faction in the "Mysteron consciousness" (as a member of the faction puts 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 de-corporalised and remanded into Mysteron custody by the majority group's primary agent, Black.

The Mysterons were first discovered by Spectrum captains Scarlet and Black during an investigation into the source of strange signals emanating 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 wage a "war of nerves" against the people of Earth following Black's devastating assault on 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 are able to re-create their city following Black's attack. They also employ this power from time to time during the "Mysteronisation" process, which imbues the reconstruction (dubbed "replicant" by Spectrum) with the power of "retro-metabolisation" – the replicant is able to heal completely from almost any injury, including fatal ones. The only known survivor of the process is Scarlet, who retains his retro-metabolism and remains 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"). To create a full agent, they use the reconstruction process which leaves them in total control of the victim's 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 as such all Spectrum personnel are subject to regular DNA checking.

Analysis
Actor Cy Grant, who voiced the character of Lieutenant Green in the 1960s and interpreted the series as having positive multicultural value, noted the allegorical nature of Captain Scarlet. Christian symbolism is heavily implied, with Colonel White approximating God, Captain Black fulfilling the role of the Devil, Captain Scarlet serving as a Christ allegory, and Cloudbase symbolising Heaven, guarded by characters codenamed "Angels", but Grant also connects Green's character to the trope of the African trickster hero. On dualism, Grant asserted, "the 'darkness' of the Mysterons is most easily seen as the psychological rift—the struggle of 'good' and 'evil' — of the Western world as personified by Colonel White and his team. Dark and light are but aspects of each other. Incidentally, green is the colour of nature that can heal that rift."