Black smoke (The War of the Worlds) Black smoke (The War of the Worlds) The black smoke, or black powder, is a fictitious poisonous gas in H. G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel "The War of the Worlds", used by the Martians to eliminate groups of humans, especially artillery crews, and conveyed by shells fired from a gun-like ""black tube"" carried by the Tripods' whip-like tentacles. Any animal inhaling this deadly smoke is killed almost instantly, but the smoke becomes harmless on contact with water. The Martians would dispel it after each use with jets of steam, leaving only a residual, "cindery" black powder, which reminds the
The War of the Worlds and toured throughout the UK. Both versions of this stage production utilized narration, lavish projected computer graphics, and a large Martian fighting machine on stage. In the 1980s a joint American-Canadian venture produced the television series "War of the Worlds" that ran for two seasons and was a direct sequel to George Pal's 1953 feature film. Its premise was that the Martians had not died off but were instead stored in suspension by the US government and that most people had just forgotten the previous invasion; the accidental awakening of the Martians results in another war. A "Hey Arnold!" Halloween