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 suggests the Martians have left behind. The novel also presents ideas related to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, both in specific ideas discussed by the narrator, and themes explored by the story. Wells also wrote an essay titled 'Intelligence on Mars', published in 1896 in the "Saturday Review", which sets out many of the ideas for the Martians and their planet that are used almost unchanged in "The War of the Worlds". In the essay he speculates about the nature of the Martian inhabitants and how their evolutionary progress might compare to humans. He also suggests that Mars, being