Captain Future
Reared by his guardians — a living Brain, Grag the robot and Otho the android — after his parents are murdered, Curtis Newton assumed the name Captain Future to battle the evil foes who would threaten the security of the Solar System, circa 2015. His adventures appeared first in Captain Future, then later in StartlingStories Startling Stories.
Background
Captain FuturePublisher: ThrillingPublications Thrilling Publications
Publication range: Winter 1940-Fall 1946
At Wright’s request, Roger had removed the aging, brilliant scientist’s brain before he died of illness and placed it in a serum-filled, transparent metal cube. Measuring a foot on each side, the box provided Wright with a mechanical voice, electronic ears and two photoelectric eyes on metal stalks, which he could control.
Hidden away on the moon, Roger and Wright work to create a race of artificial creatures that can serve the human race. Their first creation is a 7-foot-tall metal robot called Grag. Next, they develop a synthetic man named Otho.
Roger and Elaine Newton are killed after Corvo discovers the hidden lunar laboratory. Wright orders Grag and Otho to kill Corvo and his raiders.
With her dying breaths, Elaine asks Wright the Brain, Grag the robot and Otho the android to rear the infant Curtis “to war always against those who would pervert science to sinister ambition.”
After years of scientific, mental and physical training, Curt takes up his mother’s challenge to “fight for the future of the whole Solar System.” Thus was born Captain Future, known variously as the “Wizard of Science” and the “Man of Tomorrow.”
The contributors
Captain Future was created by the editors of ThrillingPublications Thrilling Publications, MarguliesLeo Leo Margulies and WeisingerMort Mort Weisinger, in 1939. HamiltonEdmond Edmond Hamilton was hired to write the lead novels for the Captain Future pulp.As originally envisioned by Margulies and Weisinger, the character was Mr. Future, who had been exposed to mysterious radiation before his birth. This resulted in Mr. Future, or Curtis Newton, growing into a biological mutant, or a superman. Newton builds a secret laboratory near the North Pole and travels the Solar System at light-speed with Simon Wright, the walking encyclopedia; a thinking robot; and Otho, a warrior from Ganymede. Later the editors decided to promote him to Captain Future.
Hamilton took the concept, rewrote many of the elements and penned all but three of the 20 Captain Future novels. Two were written by SanachsonJoseph Joseph Sanachson, and one was written by WellmanManlyWade Manly Wade Wellman. Beginning with number 14, Worlds to Come, the first written by Sanachson, the Captain Future novels are credited to HouseName house name SterlingBrett Brett Sterling.
The pulp was canceled after the 20th issue, which featured the Wellman story The Solar Invasion, in the fall of 1946. But the Captain returned for seven short novels written by Hamilton in 1950 and 1951.
Comments/trivia
- Captain Future was known by a large ring he wore on his left hand. In the center was a small radioactive element representing the Sun, surrounded by concentric rings where small jewels representing the planets orbited in conjunction with the actual planets.
- Captain Future was modeled after StreetandSmith Street and Smith’s popular HeroPulpGenre hero, DocSavage Doc Savage. In fact, the robot Grag and android Otho are synthetic counterparts to Savage’s Monk and Ham.
- One of the characters in the first Captain Future novel is named Kenneth Lester (a blend of RobesonKenneth Kenneth Robeson and DentLester Lester Dent), possibly a nod to the influence of DocSavage Doc Savage on the character.
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