The Mekon
- For other uses, see Mekon.
The Mekon (of Mekonta) is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare, first appearing in 1950 in the Eagle comic strip Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future and created by Frank Hampson. Apart from Dan Dare himself, he is the only character to appear in every one of the numerous versions of the comic strip that appeared in the Eagle, 2000 AD and Virgin Comics. In the 1950s, roughly every other story featured the Mekon.
Description
The Mekon was the ruler of the Treens of northern Venus, although he was ousted from this position at the end of the first story and had no fixed base of operations. He was created by scientific experimentation, engineered for a very high intelligence. As such he had a swollen head containing his massive brain and atrophied body, and moved around on a levitating chair. He typically invented new superweapons in the pursuit of his goal: the domination of the universe for the purpose of scientific research. In some stories he also sought personal revenge on Dan Dare.
In the recent Dan Dare cartoons, someone took his nickname "Melonhead" literally and showed his cranium as not shiny smooth green but wrinkled like a cantaloupe. The voice of the Mekon was portrayed by Richard C. Pearce in the TV cartoon series.
The Mekon returns in Virgin Comics Dare miniseries by Garth Ennis, leading a regrouped war fleet with genetically-engineered monsters (based on Treen mythology) and a controlled black hole as a weapon. By issue #3, the Mekon has been almost entirely off-screen, operating remotely, and a source of fear among human & Treen alike. His only appearance was a two-page sequence at the end of #2, where he psychically communed with the British Prime Minister (a servant of his) and showed a detached, dispassionate persona.
Later in the series he attempted to capture Dare, and on doing so ordered him tortured. This proved to be a trap that allowed a group of Royal Marines to attack his ship and soon after a massive naval engagement occurred over Neptune. In the ensuing battle the Mekon's ship was rammed by the HMS Trafalgar and boarded by British troops led by Dare who engaged the Mekon in personal combat before defeating him and leaving him near death. The traitorous prime minister rescued the Mekon and they attempt to escape in a small craft only to be sucked into the Mekon's black hole.
In the final issue of the series, he displays personal hatred for Dare and refers to him as "the Earthman who taught the Mekon how to hate".
In popular culture
- He is the subject of Anthony Howell 1976 poem The Mekon
- Elton John's album Rock of the Westies features the song "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" in which Elton sings, "Dan Dare doesn't know it... but I like the Mekon."
- The British punk rock band The Mekons took their name from this character.
- William Hague, the British foreign minister was given the nickname "the Mekon" because of his looks.
- Angus Maude, British cabinet minister was nicknamed "The Mekon" because of his prominent forehead and overbearing manner.
- There is a big beat musician called Mekon.
- "The Mekon" (an actor in a Mekon costume) was one presenter of the British children's TV show Going Live!
- The rock group Too Much Joy performed a song called "If I Was a Mekon" on their album Son of Sam I Am.
- The fictional Kon'me species in Star Wars was named after this character.
- British satirical magazine Private Eye ran a spoof version for some years entitled Dan Dire: Pilot of the Future? with Dan Dire identifiable as Neil Kinnock, Pigby being Roy Hattersley, The Maggon (Margaret Thatcher) and her Toreens, and various other references to other figures from space fiction including as Blubba the Gut (Nigel Lawson), the Douglek (Douglas Hurd, with exterminate replaced by ex-Eton-and-Cambridge-graduate) and Dr. Whoen, the mysterious Time-Is-Now Lord (David Owen).
- Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant has a song on his album The Principle of Moments called "Messin' With the Mekon."
- The Nigel Molesworth books make occasional reference to "the Pukon and his Treens".
- "The Mekon" is the stage name of Chris Purdon, who plays synthesizers with the rock group Space Ritual.
- English rock band WIRE has a song titled "Mekon Headman"
- In the "Genesis of A Classic" feature on the Doctor Who DVD release Genesis of the Daleks, producer Philip Hinchcliffe cites the Mekon as one of his inspirations for the character Davros.[1]
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier has a scene set in a spaceport in the 1950s. It has several subtle references to Dan Dare and his stories, including a MAD magazine parody with an image of a green man saying, "What, Me Kon?"
References
- ^ David Butler, "Time and relative dissertations in space: critical perspectives on Doctor Who", Manchester University Press, 2007, ISBN 071907682X, p.151
Bibliography
- Dudley Jones, Tony Watkins, "A necessary fantasy?: the heroic figure in children's popular culture", Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0815318448, pp. 166–168
- Mike Conroy, "500 Comicbook Villains", Collins & Brown, 2004, ISBN 184340205X, p. 334
- Maurice Horn, "The World encyclopedia of comics, Volume 1", Chelsea House Publishers, 1976, ISBN 087754042X, p. 194
Further reading
- Wright, Norman; Higgs, Mike (1990). The Dan Dare dossier: celebrating the 40th anniversary of Dan Dare, pilot of the future. Hawk Books. ISBN 0948248122.
- Tatarsky, Daniel (2010). Dan Dare: the biography. Orion Books. ISBN 978-0-7528-8896-5.
External links