The Alien Leader is the unnamed overarching antagonist of the 1959 Tom Graeff film Teenagers from Outer Space. He is an authoritarian dictator in charge of an alien regime, and the father of Derek, the film's protagonist. He is distinguished from other alien soldiers by his uniform, which consists of a cape, and a military jumpsuit with three white diagonal stripes as opposed to a triangle. Like the rest of his species, the alien leader is externally identical to a human.
He was portrayed by Gene Sterling.
Biography[]
The alien leader ruled an authoritarian alien regime, in a position so essential to the government that his mere absence could lead to its collapse. Within the regime, children were grown in labs without knowing their families, and raised by select members of society, while the sick and elderly were executed. It is unknown if the leader was also subjected to this cycle. However, due to his high rank, he knew who his own children were, and appeared to have only one child, a son named Derek. Derek grew up with no knowledge of his relation to the leader, with the leader trying to suppress all dissidents on his planet, also unaware that Derek became a dissident himself, despite watching Derek's progress for many years. Eventually, the leader ordered the relocation of Gargon herds from their homeworld, as while the Gargons were a food source, they were also dangerous to the populace. At least one ship, designated Expedition Zeal-6, which carried Derek, was sent out to find a new world for the Gargons.
Eventually, Zeal-6 found Earth, where the Gargons could survive, although Derek found out about Earth's intelligent native life, turning on the other crewmen. The crew managed to restrain him, and the captain called the leader via radiovision, informing him of Derek's treachery. However, the leader ordered Derek to be brought in alive, revealing their relation. Derek then managed to escape from the crew, but the leader ordered the crew's best man to stay behind to capture Derek, or kill him if necessary, and kill any Earth native who gets in the way or aids Derek. Additionally, the leader organized a fleet to carry more Gargons to Earth, which he would personally accompany, leaving with the intent to return fast enough that the populace and other officials do not notice his absence. Crewman Thor stayed behind to chase Derek while the other aliens took off, leaving a Gargon behind as well.
By the next day, the alien leader arrived on Earth with his fleet, landing his flagship in the same site Zeal-6 landed, bringing the Zeal-6 captain with him. On the ground, he was met with Thor, and Derek, who had pretended to turn back to the side of the aliens after seeing the fleet incoming, as he had previously fought to defend humans against both Thor and the Gargon. The leader spoke with Derek, assuring him that his inheritance remained intact, and that he intended to return with Derek by his side, hoping that with Derek's help, he could capture more dissidents. However, Derek tricked the leader into revealing that his absence put the government in jeopardy, and then volunteered to guide the fleet in for a landing. The leader accepted, but Derek quickly locked the leader, Thor, and the Zeal-6 captain outside the ship. Realizing what Derek had done, the leader pounded on the hatch of the craft, ordering Derek to open it, only for Thor and the captain to look up and see that Derek was remotely controlling all the ships, intent on making them all ram into the grounded flagship. The leader futilely pleaded for Derek to open the hatch, demanding for Derek to think about what he was doing and turn the ships around, but Derek accepted his fate for the salvation of Earth and his own species. The crafts rammed right into the ship, destroying the entire fleet and killing Thor, the captain, the leader, Derek, and all Gargons the fleet was carrying. With the leader and his only heir dead, the alien regime presumably collapsed.