Spaceman Spiff

Spaceman Spiff is Calvin's alter ego. Spiff, "interplanetary explorer extraordinaire," explores the outermost reaches of the universe ("by popular request") in a red flying saucer with a bubble canopy. He talks in third person in all but one strip, and the saucer is tiny, with just enough room for Spiff and apparently little else. Yet, the craft is equipped with an astounding array of weapons, detectors and propulsion devices. The design of the ship appears to be based on a toy spaceship Calvin owns which appeared in one strip. Spiff wears square glasses, or goggles, whose front openings change their shape according to his emotions. The galaxy is a cruel place where Spiff is often zapped, shot down, captured by ferocious and disgusting aliens (who, in reality, are people such as Calvin's parents, Miss Wormwood, etc.), or stranded on a planet. Most planets seem devoid of civilization, and often have hostile environments or alien predators. Spaceman Spiff appeared long before Calvin's other alter-egos. His first appearance was in the twelfth strip of Calvin and Hobbes.