Ever get that creeping feeling that the human race is just a warm-up act? That we’re the awkward, bumbling teenagers of the universe, waiting for a real adult to show up?
In 1935, a British philosopher named Olaf Stapledon decided to write about exactly that. But he didn’t give us a shining hero in a cape. He gave us Odd John.
Honestly, if you’re looking for a cozy sci-fi read, keep moving. Odd John isn’t about saving the world. It’s about a boy named John Wainwright who realizes very quickly that he isn’t human—at least not in the way we use the word. He’s Homo superior. And to him, we’re basically just clever monkeys with a lot of baggage.
The Birth of the "Wide-Awake" Superman
Most people think the "superman" trope started with comic books. It didn't.
While the world was busy worrying about the Great Depression and the rise of fascism, Stapledon was dreaming up a kid who didn't walk until he was six. John Wainwright wasn't a late bloomer; his brain was just busy doing other things. He looked "spiderish." Long limbs, a massive forehead, and eyes that made people feel like they were being dissected by a microscope.
John didn't play tag. He committed burglaries at nine years old because he needed money for his "projects." When a policeman caught him, John killed him. No drama. No remorse. Just a logical necessity to keep his mission moving forward.
This is where Stapledon gets under your skin. He doesn't make John a "villain" in the traditional sense. He makes him detached. John calls us "sheep" or "cattle," not out of malice, but out of observation.
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Why John Wainwright Is Different From Your Typical Superhero
- Amoral, Not Immoral: John doesn't break rules to be "bad." He simply doesn't recognize human morality as being applicable to him.
- The "Fido" Relationship: The narrator, an ordinary man John nicknames "Fido," follows him around like a devoted dog. It’s a disturbing, lopsided friendship that shows how easily superior intelligence can enslave the "normal" mind.
- Spiritual Over Physical: While modern superheroes focus on punching, John focuses on "awakening." He spends months in the Scottish wilderness just trying to cleanse himself of the "filth" of human thought.
Creating a Mutant Colony Before the X-Men
If you think the idea of a secret island for mutants started with Marvel, you’ve got to look back at Stapledon.
John eventually uses telepathy to find others like him. These aren't all white European geniuses, either. Stapledon was surprisingly "global" for the 1930s—John finds a 12-year-old Ethiopian boy, a 17-year-old Siberian girl, and even a superhuman who has been alive since the 1700s.
They head to a remote island in the South Pacific to start a colony. They want to practice "intelligent worship" and live in a state of "individualistic communism."
But here’s the kicker: they aren't there to save us.
They don't want to stop World War II. They don't want to cure cancer. They just want to be left alone to explore the "Way" of the spirit. They view our wars and politics as a backyard scuffle between toddlers.
The Conflict: Why the World Can't Handle "Odd"
The tragedy of Odd John isn't that the supermen are evil. It's that the "normals" (us) are terrified.
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When the great powers of the world—the U.S., Britain, Japan, the Soviet Union—find out about the island, they don't send diplomats. They send warships.
John and his colony face a choice:
- Use their superior tech and mental powers to enslave or destroy humanity.
- Die.
They choose to blow themselves up. They’d rather vanish than be forced to descend into the "monkey-business" of war. It’s a bleak, unsentimental ending that leaves you wondering if humanity is actually the villain of its own story.
What Most People Get Wrong About Stapledon
A lot of critics try to lump Odd John in with Nietzsche’s Übermensch or the eugenics movements of the 1930s.
That's a bit of a stretch.
Stapledon was a socialist and a pacifist. He wasn't advocating for a "master race." If anything, he was warning us about how fragile our civilization is. He wanted to show that even if a "better" version of humanity arrived, we’d probably just kill it out of spite and fear.
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Actionable Insights for Sci-Fi Fans and Writers
If you’re a fan of the genre, reading Odd John is like finding the DNA of modern fiction.
For Writers: Look at how Stapledon handles the "alien" perspective. John isn't an alien from Mars; he's an alien from our own future. Writing a character who is truly smarter than the reader is hard, but Stapledon does it by focusing on John’s lack of interest in what we find important.
For Readers: Pick up a copy if you’re tired of the "chosen one" trope. John isn't chosen. He’s just a biological accident, a "sport of nature" who has to figure out how to live in a world that isn't built for him.
Where to Start:
- Read the Book: It’s in the public domain in many places (like Project Gutenberg Australia).
- Compare to Sirius: Stapledon wrote another book about a super-intelligent dog. It’s even more heartbreaking.
- Check the X-Men Connection: Look at the term Homo superior. Stapledon coined it. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby definitely knew their history.
Don't expect a happy ending. Expect to feel a little bit smaller after you finish the last page. That’s the "Stapledon Effect." It makes the stars feel further away and our own problems feel remarkably tiny.
To fully appreciate Stapledon's vision, you should read Odd John alongside his massive "future history" epic, Last and First Men. It puts John's small, tragic life into the context of billions of years of human evolution. Once you see the scale he's working on, your perspective on science fiction will never be the same.