Martian tripod

Martian tripods were a type of mobile weaponry from H. G. Wells' story The War of the Worlds with a powerful energy weapon that caused those irradiated by it to burst in flame. In the Land of Fiction, the Master used them to kill off the Sisyphean Society, describing the tripods as a "dark wonder of the next century". (DWM: Character Assassin)

Although seemingly fictional, Mars' inhabitants, the Ice Warriors, did use vehicles like "giant camera tripods" by the end of the 20th century. (NA: The Dying Days)