Manhunters (comics)
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| Manhunters | |
 Manhunters art by Howard Simpson from Secret Origins #22 |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | 1st Issue Special #5 (Aug. 1975) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In story information | |
| Place of origin | Biot, Orinda |
The Manhunters are a fictional 'race' of robot warriors that exists within the universe of DC Comics. They are humanoid in form and usually red and blue in color, although they are also masters of disguise.
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[edit] History
[edit] Interstellar police
The Manhunters were the first attempt of the Guardians of the Universe to create an interstellar police force that would combat evil all over the galaxy. Their name and much of their code of behavior was modeled by the Guardians of the Universe on the Manhunters of Ma'aleca'andra (Mars). For thousands of years, they served the Guardians well. However, the Manhunters became obsessed with the act of 'hunting' criminals. Their code, "No man escapes the Manhunters" (corrupted from the original), became more important to them than seeing justice done.
[edit] Exile
Eventually, the robots conspired to rebel against their masters, but the Guardians defeated and destroyed most of them. Those that survived hid away on many planets, slowly rebuilding their forces and spreading their beliefs to others. Since then, the over-riding goal of the Manhunters has been to take revenge on the Guardians, as well as on their replacements, the Green Lantern Corps.
The Manhunters infiltrated and liberated many planets disguised as living beings and created a "Cult of the Manhunters" that trained others to be their minions. On Mars, the people of that world started a group of Martian Manhunters based on the lessons of preserving justice taught unto them by the Manhunters and even erected a temple based on the appearance of their inspiration. On Earth, most of the Manhunters' agents were unaware that their masters were robots, or that their real purposes were not noble. Some of these agents became superheroes also known as Manhunters. They wore red-and-blue costumes patterned after the Manhunters themselves. The most famous of these was a big game hunter called Paul Kirk. He was active in the 1940s, and starred in his own comic book. The character was brought back in a modern version in the 70s, in which he was supposedly killed years before but was in truth placed in suspended animation by a secret conspiracy. He was cloned, and when he finally reawoke, he dedicated himself to battle those who had used him, eventually dying in the process. However, some of his clones survived.
The Manhunters were discovered by the Justice League who seemingly defeated the Manhunter's leader, the Grandmaster. One of their human pawns, Mark Shaw, adopted a new identity as the costumed hero, the Privateer. However, he was later discovered to be a criminal posing as a hero.
[edit] Millennium
Years later, it was revealed that the Manhunters not only still existed, but had infiltrated the lives of most superheroes with their agents. They even managed to infiltrate the Olympian Gods, one of their number posing as the goat god Pan, as shown during the Challenge of the Gods storyline. They revealed themselves when a Guardian and a member of the Zamarons tried to evolve some humans into becoming the next Guardians of the Universe, during what became known as the Millennium crisis. On this occasion, there was a massive counterstrike operation by the heroes against the Manhunters, and it seemed that the Grandmaster had finally been destroyed, along with their hidden home planet. Former Privateer Mark Shaw readopted his identity as Manhunter in the wake of the battle, seeking to redeem both the name and himself.
[edit] Post-Emerald Twilight
Kyle Rayner encountered the Manhunters in the time not long following Hal Jordan's destruction of the Central Power Battery on Oa. They were sentient, individuals, and captured Kyle in an attempt to use the last remaining Green Lantern ring -- his -- for their purposes. They failed and Kyle escaped.
[edit] Sector 3601
When the Manhunters were replaced by the Green Lantern Corps, they retreated to Biot, their homeworld in Sector 3601, an uncharted area of space incapable of sustaining organic life. Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman, came to Biot and became the Manhunters' new Grandmaster. He used his mastery over machinery and Kryptonian technology to upgrade the Manhunters with organic enhancements. They seem to have rebuilt the first Central Power Battery originally destroyed by Hal Jordan (under the influence of Parallax). Henshaw decided not to interfere in the reformation of the Green Lantern Corps after an encounter between a Manhunter and Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
[edit] Sinestro Corps
The Manhunters have recently resurfaced as part of the Sinestro Corps. They carry miniature yellow Power Batteries inside them which are used by the Sinestro Corps members to charge their yellow power rings.
[edit] Chant
The Manhunters usually chant the phrase, "No man escapes the Manhunters," which is heard on the Justice League cartoon series as well. This could be in reference to their cult-like perception as being invincible. Coincidentally, underneath their masks lies a chalky white skin, and their secret Earth base of operations was in Louisiana, a state with historic roots of voodoo, during the Millennium series.
Manhunters have had a mixture of oaths over the years: "No evil escapes the Manhunters!", "Death to the Green Lantern Corps!", and "No man escapes the Manhunters!"
[edit] Technology
Manhunter technology has been used in the creation of the OMAC drones. The Kryptonian technology was incorporated into the Manhunters by Hank Henshaw on Biot, which enabled them to use the Central Power Battery on Oa as a power source for the Manhunters.
[edit] Other media
The Manhunters have appeared in the Justice League episode "In Blackest Night", where they were voiced by James Remar. Like their comic counterparts, they were the first before the Lantern Corps. But when they couldn't discriminate good from evil, the Oans reprogrammed them for other tasks such as hunting, guarding, they didn't seem to object, at least, not out loud. The Manhunters bring Green Lantern John Stewart to trial for accidentally destroying the planet Ajuris 4. It is later revealed that the planet's destruction was faked with the help of Kanjar Ro as part of the Manhunters' plan to overthrow the Oans and taken the Corps' power source, which they believe is rightfully theirs. When five of the Oans came to testify for John, the Manhunters took advantage to attack Oa. The Justice League, assisted by the Corps, battled them. The Manhunter who was apparently their leader made it to the power source and absorbed all its energy, draining power from the rings and the Oans. The Manhunter shed his metallic form and grew to immense size. John managed to defeat him by chanting the Lantern oath, absorbing the hunter into his ring and expels him out. This was based on the comics story No Man Escapes The Manhunters, which appeared in Justice League of America #140-141 (1977).
[edit] References
- Alan Kistler's profile on Green Lantern
- Secret Origins issue #22, 1988 (Millennium tie-in focusing on the Manhunters' post-Crisis on Infinite Earths retconned history)
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