The Treens are fictional aliens in the

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

stories. They first appeared in '' Dan Dare: The First Story'', which was serialised in the ''Eagle'' comic magazine from Volume 1, Number 1 (14 April 1950) to Volume 2, Number 25 (28 September 1951). The story was drawn by

Frank Hampson Frank Hampson (21 December 1918 – 8 July 1985) was a British illustrator. He is best known as the creator and artist of Dan Dare and other characters in the boys' comic, the ''Eagle'', to which he contributed from 1950 to 1961. Biogra ...

Fictional background

The Treens are a race of green-skinned

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

s from the northern hemisphere of the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

. The southern hemisphere is inhabited by the Therons, a human-like race with an obvious affinity to humanity on Earth. The Treens share the northern hemisphere with the ''Atlantines'', a blue-skinned people whose ancestors came from Earth 100,000 years previously. The two hemispheres are separated by the "flamelands" around the equator which are impassable, except by specially equipped aircraft. The leader of the Treens is

The Mekon The Mekon () of Mekonta is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare. He first appeared on 3 November 1950 in the 30th episode of the ''Eagle'' comic strip ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'', having been created by Frank Hampson. Ap ...

, an individual specifically engineered to have a high intelligence. 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. The first Mekon was soon after developed by Treen scientists as a "super-brain" to rule the Treen race. The Mekon transformed Treen society into a highly organized militaristic logic-based society whose orders are obeyed without question, and which is typically in a hostile relationship with the Therons and Earth, both of whose lands they have occasionally occupied. Treens typically don't pay attention to the Atlantines, who endure substandard living conditions. Mekonta is the capital city of the Treens in the

stories. It is named after The Mekon. It is built on many islands in a lake. Its design may have been inspired by

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and/or

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

. It was ruined in the war in '' Dan Dare: The First Story'', and New Mekonta was built nearby. Afterwards for a long time Old Mekonta remained uncleared ruins. The Magnets of Mekonta are huge

electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the ...

s on mountaintops around Mekonta. They are used to raise and lower spaceships in and out of Mekonta.

Political interpretation

Creator Frank Hampson stated, "Basically we were fighting the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

again – the Treens were the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

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). *Inky schoolboy

Nigel Molesworth Nigel Molesworth is a fictional character, the supposed author of a series of books about life in an English prep school named St Custard's. The books were written by Geoffrey Willans, with cartoon illustrations by Ronald Searle. The Moleswo ...

on being caught smoking, remarked "You have caught me Sir, like a Treen in a disabled spaceship." *In the universe of ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

'', the Treens enter an alliance with Earth as of 1969, and schools where they are taught English are established. In 2009, however, relations have intensified.

References

External links

An "official" history of the Treens and their leader the Mekon

Comics characters introduced in 1950 Dan Dare Fiction set on Venus Fictional reptilians {{UK-comics-stub