The
Martians, also known as the
Invaders, are the fictional race of
extraterrestrials from the
H.G. Wells novel
The War of the Worlds. They are the main
antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of England (and later the Earth) and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present challenges for the novel's human characters. They are notable for their use of extraterrestrial weaponry far in advance of that of mankind at the time of the invasion, 1898.