Monster: Slime
Appearance: "Scum of the Earth" The X-Files #39. April 1998.
Alex Saviuk: Penciller, Rick Magyar: Inker, Jessica Kindzierski: Color Design, Digital Chameleon: Color Rendering, Dwight Jon Zimmerman: Editor, Miran Kim: Cover
In this issue of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully investigate a strange death caused by an amorphous slime which is mobile and capable of dissolving and digesting flesh.
The inspiration for this story came from two things. One of these things was the work being done with bacteria and engineering it to break down oil and other pollutants. The other was the Disney movie The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) starring Fred MacMurray. Actually, it was more to do with an account relating to a product tie-in with The Absent Minded-Professor.
In 1963, following a series of rashes on children, seemingly caused by contact with the toy version of Flubber, but more likely caused by an unrelated virus, the toy was recalled and after mishaps in attempts to do away with it, eventually disposed of in an unknown location. The fascinating event has, because of some of the loose ends has become something of a legend. You can read a full account of the incident here, or in a thinly veiled account in the comic book.
Mulder's theory is that over the years this product has been affected in a way that has turned it into a living, flesh eating blob. Scully of course has a more sound, scientific theory which is where the engineered bacteria come in. Who is right? Who is wrong? Who lives to tell the tale? You'll have to read the comic book to find out.
And now I want to read it!
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