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Dexter, Mark. Mark Dexter was created by George C. & B. Wallis and appeared in “The Star Shell” (Weird Tales, Nov. 1926-Feb. 1927).

Mark Dexter is a Planetary Romance Hero. Dexter is a brilliant young inventor and scientist. He has invented the Star Shell, a spaceship powered by anti-gravity. When Norden, a corrupt competitor, tries to steal the Star Shell, it takes off with Dexter, Norden, and several others on-board. They end up near Jupiter and land on its moon Europa. The environment is lethal to them, but there is a dome with sentient beings inside it, and the humans are welcomed in. The beings are humanoids from Jupiter, which has two races: one civilized, telepathic, technologically advanced and pacifistic, and one aptly-named “Barbarian.”

The pacifists bring the humans down to Jupiter, but they are attacked by the Barbarians and are forced to hide in the Red Spot, which is an enormous jungle filled with sleep-gas-projecting plants, carnivorous intelligent apes, and a variety of deadly animals. The humans and the pacifists eventually reach the Court of the pacifists, but the pacifist rulers are immune to Dexter’s arguments in favor of an attack on the Barbarians. Unfortunately, Norden helps the Barbarians kidnap the pacifist queen, and a war follows. Dexter and the Star Shell help the pacifists triumph, but they force the humans to leave, and Star Shell crashes into the South Pacific.

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