Klaatu (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Klaatu is one of the principal characters in the classic science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. Klaatu is famous in part due to the phrase "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!", a favorite bit of trivia of film buffs.

Klaatu (played by Michael Rennie) arrives in a flying saucer in Washington, DC, wearing a silver spacesuit and accompanied by a large human-like robot, Gort (played by Lock Martin). Klaatu arrives as a peacful ambassador from an extraterrestrial confederation, but is shot by one of the soldiers that form his rather apprehensive welcoming committee. In retaliation, Gort vapourises all of the surrounding weaponry.

Klaatu is taken to a hospital, where he quickly recovers. Klaatu decides to show he means business by turning off all electric power, all over the world (with some notable exceptions, such as hospitals and aeroplanes). Unfortunately, as a result, Klaatu is taken to be a threat and shot again.

Unfortunately, Gort is programmed to defend Klaatu and will wreak havoc if anything untoward happens to him. Nearing death, Klaatu sends a friend to deliver to the robot Gort the words that will cancel the attack: "Gort, Klaatu barada nikto!". Gort aborts his attack, retrieves Klaatu's corpse, transports him to the saucer, and revives him from death.

After Klaatu is revived, he steps out of the saucer, telling the onlookers that Earth, he tells them, can either decide to abandon warfare and join other spacefaring nations – a peace ensured by a massive deterrent force, the robot race Gort belongs to – or be destroyed as a threat.