He first appeared in the skies of Major City one crisp autumn afternoon, and alighted atop the towering Mando Building. Captain Satellite and Shelly Ericson were called in to investigate, and the Captain dubbed the stranger "Mystery Spaceman" due to the symbol etched into his uniform resembling a question mark. Shelly is still annoyed that her suggested name was shot down : "Space Face."
The Mystery Spaceman is a riddle. No one has ever been able to discern a motive for any of his actions on Earth. It doesn't help that he (it?) doesn't communicate in any manner recognizable to humans. Mystery Spaceman simply is, and mankind just has to deal with it.
Upon learning of their existence, Captain Satellite postulated that the Mystery Spaceman was an emissary of the Astro-Giants. This theory was demonstrated to be spurious when the spaceman inexplicably joined Cap in driving the cosmic entities away from Earth. All that case ended up proving was that alien beings can have their own agenda, separate from anything we might comprehend.
Hugo Beaumont has hinted that he knows the true nature of the Mystery Spaceman, and it is something no one could possibly imagine. Other than that, he isn't talking.
Does it surprise you that this guy developed from the name "Space Face"? No? Didn't think it would.
The Mystery Spaceman is a character who more properly falls under "adversary" rather than villain. I like the idea that he is so inscrutable that he is impossible to understand. He might be evil, but then again, he might be more akin to a force of nature. We just don't know.
I was thinking of cheap space action figures while designing this uniform, if it reminds you of them. The color scheme and some costume elements are reminiscent of the Legion of Super-Heroes character Wildfire. I credit an earlier picture I had done of my friend Lewis Smith's character Hellfighter with sending my mind in that direction.
As for the face, well, that was the whole reason to do this character. I pulled off a similar trick in a picture some five years ago, but this was executed with a lot more confidence.
The image used was found on the Great Images in NASA website. It is not protected by copyright.
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