When Van Crawford witnessed a flying saucer in trouble, he didn't hesistate to try and rescue the alien visitor. In gratitude, the saucer demonstrated that it was actually a transformed alien, who then gave Van a chocolate flavored drink with strange properties. When he drank it, he gained the ability to transform into a human flying saucer, much like the alien could do. Since Van was wealthy and into a variety of hobbies to keep himself occupied, he decided that he could use his new found powers in a new pursuit, that of a superhero and became Fatman the Human Flying Saucer.