With so many wonderfully diverse series and countless thrilling episodes to enjoy, it’s not surprising that we’ve been discussing all things Anderson for over 60 years! We regularly receive loads of questions from old and new fans alike and today we’re going to answer another of the most common queries that we’ve seen popping up again and again.
Why do The Mysterons announce their threats in advance?
It’s a question that seems to come up when anyone tries to pick holes in the logic of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. At first glance it does seem rather counterproductive, doesn’t it? Surely if they warn Spectrum that they’re going to strike, be it via an outright threat or something more cryptic, all The Mysterons are doing is setting themselves up for a defeat?
Well, in a word: No.
To understand why The Mysterons issue their threats, let’s examine what we know about The Mysterons themselves.
The Mysterons were first discovered during the ill-fated 2068 Zero-X mission to Mars. Captain Black, commanding the operation on behalf of Spectrum, was searching for the source of unexplained signals emanating from somewhere on the planet.
As we’re aware, first contact between humanity and The Mysterons was disastrous, resulting in the complete destruction of the Mysterons’ Martian complex.
However, due to their amazingly advanced ability of retrometabolism, The Mysterons were able to reconstruct their complex in a matter or moments. This mastery over the secret of reversing matter puts The Mysterons on a level far beyond humanity. In fact, by comparison, humanity is nothing more than a lab experiment, a curiosity to be studied by The Mysterons.
During the course of the series, The Mysterons have been shown to exert their uncanny powers over machinery, vehicles and humans alike. Their powers of influence are more or less limitless, barring a noted weakness to high-voltage electricity.
Given that The Mysterons could therefore simply choose to defeat humanity in an instant, why don’t they? Why continue to wage a war of nerves from the shadows?
One possible answer is that they are testing humanity. Initially armed only with the knowledge that humanity is curious about the universe in which they live, the Mysterons quickly discovered mankind’s hostility. It is therefore reasonable to assume that such an advanced race would wish to probe deeper – to see if anything worthy lay below the surface of the apparently primitive and demomnstrably aggressive species.
By issuing regular threats to Spectrum, The Mysterons provide a chance for the people of Earth to demonstrate their ingenuity, puzzle solving skills and survival instinct. Faced with the fear that such threats would invariably create, The Mysterons can observe humanity’s reactions and note them accordingly.
Sometimes the humans will fail and a Mysteron plot will succeed, but often the people of Earth will rise to meet the challenge and emerge victorious. However, what is a major victory for the people of Earth may be nothing more than a simple check mark in a far larger experiment being carried out by The Mysterons.
It may just be possible that one day, humanity will prove its worth and The Mysterons may decide to end the war and reach a peaceful settlement with the people of Earth – once they have proven they are capable of earning such a result. Until that day, Spectrum continues the fight…
That’s all for this week! Let us know if you have any more questions and we’ll do our best to include them in a future edition of Ander-Answers!
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