In 1934, meteors from the Planet Mongo bombard the earth.  Handsome Yale graduate Flash Gordon, and his female companion Dale Arden are kipdnapped by crazed genius Dr. Zarkov, and begin a seemingly endless adventure on that strange planet, interrupted only briefly by World War II, and facing off against a series of evil villains, including Ming the Merciless, ruler of Mongo.

Flash Gordon, who appears in a comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, and developed as competition for the Buck Rogers comic strip, ultimately outlives Rogers, and is an early template for the succession of heroes and alien fighters who follow.  Gordon appears in film serials, TV series (to this day), books, magazines, theme park rides - and endless accessories.