Fighting machine (The War of the Worlds) the tripods' main body and the aliens' heads resemble cuttlefish. In Pendragon Pictures' low-budget, direct-to-DVD "H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds" (aka "Invasion" internationally or "War of the Worlds"), the only Victorian-set adaptation of Wells' novel, the tripod fighting machine design is loosely based on the look of a praying mantis, which, according to director Timothy Hines, was a favorite insect of H. G. Wells. Tripods have a large, free-moving head atop the smaller main body, giving its sole Martian occupant a panoramic view. It has four thick, metallic tentacles, which are held on high, made up of boxy-looking
The War of the Worlds Pacific islands. While Invasion Literature had provided an imaginative foundation for the idea of the heart of the British Empire being conquered by foreign forces, it was not until "The War of the Worlds" that the reading public was presented with an adversary completely superior to themselves. A significant motivating force behind the success of the British Empire was its use of sophisticated technology; the Martians, also attempting to establish an empire on Earth, have technology superior to their British adversaries. In "The War of the Worlds", Wells depicted an imperial power as the victim of imperial aggression, and thus