Martian Manhunter

Martian Manhunter

The Martian Manhunter by artist Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics (vol. 1) #225 (November 1955)
Created by Joseph Samachson
Joe Certa
In-story information
Alter ego J'onn J'onzz
Species Green Martian
Place of origin Mars
Team affiliations Justice League
Outsiders
Notable aliases John Jones, Bloodwynd, Bronze Wraith, Fernus, Manhunter from Mars, Marco Xavier, Mrs. Klingman, William Dyer, Betty Nehring, John Johnstone, Joan Jones, Brainwave,[1] Blockbuster
Abilities

The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 1955). The character is known for being one of the core members of the Justice League.

The character of J'onn J'onzz has featured in other DC Comics-endorsed products such as video games, television series, animated films, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards.

Contents

Fictional character biography

Silver Age (1950s-1960s)-Detective Comics and House of Mystery Features, Early Justice League Membership

The Martian Manhunter debuted in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 1955), written by Joseph Samachson and illustrated by Joe Certa; the character is a green-skinned extraterrestrial humanoid from the planet Mars, who is pulled to earth by an experimental teleportation beam (originally presented as an attempted communication device) constructed by Dr. Saul Erdel. The Martian tells Erdel where he is from, and is told to send him back will require the Computer Brain's thinking plot to be changed. The shock of the encounter kills Dr. Erdel and leaves J'onn with no method of returning home. The character decides to fight crime while waiting for Martian technology to advance to a stage that will enable his rescue. To that end, he adopts the identity of John Jones, a detective in the fictional Middletown, U.S.A.[2] He is thought to have been inspired by a story in Batman #78 where a Martian Lawman comes to Earth and teams up with Batman and Robin to capture the Stranger, a Martian criminal called Quork who has stolen a spaceship and come to Earth.

During this period, the character and his back story differ in some minor and some significant ways from modern treatments. Firstly, as with his counterpart, the Silver Age Superman, his power range is poorly defined, and his powers expand over time as the plot demands. The addition of precognitive abilities (Detective Comics #226) are quickly followed by telepathy and flight,[3][4] "Atomic vision", super-hearing,[5] and many other powers. In addition, his customary weakness to fire is only manifested when he is in his native Martian form.

A more significant difference is that at this time, there is no suggestion that Mars is a dead planet or that the character is the last of his kind. Many of the tales of the time feature either Martian technology or the appearance of other Martian characters, Detective Comics #236 (October 1956), for example, features the character making contact with the planet Mars and his parents.

J'onn eventually reveals his existence to the world, after which he operates openly as a superhero and becomes a charter member of the Justice League. During the character's initial few years as a member of the Justice League, he was often used as a substitute for Superman in stories (just as Green Arrow was, for Batman) as DC Comics were worried about using their flagship characters too often in Justice League stories because of fears of overexposure.[6] The Martian and the archer inaugurated the team-up format of The Brave and the Bold.[7] J'onzz would appear there one other time, working with fellow JLAer the Flash.[8] In some stories he is shown travelling through space at near-light speed[9] or to other planets.[10]

The detective John Jones is ostensibly killed in action by the Idol Head of Diabolu, an artifact which generates supernatural monsters. J'onn abandons the civilian identity as he decides fighting this new menace will take a great deal of his time.[11] At this point his feature moves to House of Mystery, where J'onn spent the next few years in battle against the Idol Head.[12] Shortly after its defeat he takes the persona of Marco Xavier in order to infiltrate the international crime cartel known as VULTURE, which he defeats in the final installment of his original series.[13]

As Superman and Batman were allowed by DC to become fully active members of the Justice League, J'onzz's appearances there dwindled. He last participated in a mission in his original tenure in #61 (March 1968), shortly before his solo series was discontinued (HoM #173, May–June 1968). In #71, his people finally came to Earth for him, and he left with them to found and become leader of New Mars. However, over the next fifteen years J'onn appeared sporadically in various DC titles.

Bronze Age (1970s-mid-1980s)-Sporadic Guest Appearances, Return to the Justice League

In 1972, Superman was teleported to New Mars.[14] J'onzz briefly returned to Earth by spaceship in 1975.[15] J'onn made another trip to Earth shortly thereafter,[16] leading to Superman and Batman fighting alongside him on New Mars.[17] Three years later, he was discovered playing cosmic-level chess with Despero, using JLAers as the pieces.[18] The Martian again encountered Superman in outer space.[19] He permanently resurfaced in the DC Universe in 1984.[20] Shortly thereafter, the League had several members resign (among many other changes), leaving an opening for the Manhunter to take.[21] In staying on Earth, he decided to revive his John Jones identity, this time as a private detective, but had to explain "his" twenty-year disappearance.[22] This contradicts J'onzz's final story in the back of Detective Comics, wherein everyone was led to believe that Jones was killed.[23]

Post-Crisis (mid-1980s-mid-1990s)-JLI, Secrets Revealed

In early 1987 DC revamped its struggling Justice League of America series by relaunching the title as Justice League International. This new series, written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire (and later Adam Hughes), added quirky humor to the team's stories. J'onn is present from the first issue and within the stories is used as a straight man for other characters in comical situations. The series also added a number of elements to his back story that have remained to the present (such as J'onn's obsession with Oreo cookies, partially due to Captain Marvel's influence).

The 1988 four issue miniseries Martian Manhunter by J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Badger further redefined the character and changed a number of important aspects of both his character and his origin story. It is revealed that Dr. Erdel did not die and that the character's humanoid appearance was due to physiological trauma and attempts to block out the death of his race, his familiar appearance a "compromise" between his true form and a human appearance based upon Erdel's mental concept of what a Martian should look like. Later series retcon that his real form is private and that, even on Mars, his "public" appearance was the familiar version. The native name for Mars is said to be "Ma'aleca'andra" in his native tongue (a nod to "Malacandra", the name used by the inhabitants of Mars in C. S. Lewis' novel Out of the Silent Planet). The series also adds to canon the idea that J'onzz was not only displaced in space but in time and the Martian race, including J'onzz' wife and daughter, has been dead for thousands of years.

The 1990s saw the character continue to serve in many different versions of the Justice League of America. In addition to serving in the League under his own identity, he also joins (under duress) disguised as "Bloodwynd".

The 1992 miniseries American Secrets explored the adventures of the characters against the backdrop of a changing America during the 1950s. Written by Gerard Jones and with art by Eduardo Barreto, the series finds the Manhunter drawn into a murder mystery that rapidly escalates into paranoia and alien invasion.

Post Zero Hour (mid-1990s-mid-2000s)-Morrison's JLA, Ostrander's ongoing

In 1997, J'onn became a founding member of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter's spectacularly popular new JLA where the team fought a group of White Martians, the Hyperclan.

Martian Manhunter began as an ongoing series in 1998, written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Tom Mandrake (with fill-in art provided by Bryan Hitch among others). The series lasted 36 issues before being canceled due to low sales. Ostrander established that Martian Manhunter is the most recognized hero in the Southern Hemisphere, and that he maintains a number of different secret identities, many of them outside the United States. However, following two incidents later in the series in which John Jones separates from Martian Manhunter, he decides to focus on his original human identity and retire the others.

The series establishes that J'onn has a disturbed brother, Ma'alefa'ak, who uses his shapeshifting abilities to pose as J'onn, capturing and torturing Jemm, Son of Saturn, and terraforming part of Earth to resemble Mars (areoforming). This is all part of a grand plan designed to convince the rest of the Justice League that J'onn has turned into a sociopath. However, J'onn is able to clear his name and defeat Ma'alefa'ak despite having most of his body destroyed in an exploding spaceship (he is later able to regenerate his body from his severed hand).

The series also further established the history of both the Manhunter and the Saturnian race. The first issue revealed that there was a "real" human John Jones, a police detective who is murdered by corrupt colleagues, and that J'onn subsequently assumed his identity to complete an important court case.

In issues of JLA written by Joe Kelly,[24] J'onn attempts to conquer his fear of fire and makes a deal with a flame-wielding villainess named Scorch, who wants J'onzz' telepathic help in dealing with her own mental issues. The story served to redefine his traditional aversion to fire - he is now invulnerable to flames unless they are "flames of passion" or of some other "psychic significance." This change is forgotten about in later series and adventures .

Crisis Era (mid-2000s-early-2010s)-Brave New World, Death, Resurrection

During the lead-up to the Infinite Crisis miniseries, the character is feared killed in an attack on the Justice League's HQ. He is later revealed to be alive and a captive of Alexander Luthor, Jr. After Infinite Crisis, most of DC's series jumped ahead one year, having the weekly series 52 fill in the missing time. In 52 #24, it is revealed that the character had been working behind the scenes in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy Checkmate for its role in the death of Ted Kord.

Using the events of World War III as a catalyst, DC Comics redesigned the appearance of the character, changing his costume and giving an appearance that more closely resembles that of his Martian form. Those changes were further explored during a Martian Manhunter limited series that spun out of the DCU: Brave New World one-shot. Written by A.J. Lieberman with art from Al Barrionuevo and Bit, the series portrayed a Manhunter more mistrustful of humanity and their actions towards each other. The miniseries focuses on J'onn's search for other survivors of Mars.

Following this miniseries, J'onn was intended to be in Outsiders. He appeared in the third issue of the Outsiders: Five Of A Kind series with Thunder, and joined the team afterwards. Due to the change of writers, he was quickly written out within the last two issues. He was next seen working undercover during the events of the limited series Salvation Run.[25] At the end of the series, J'onn is left captured and alone on an alien planet.

In Final Crisis #1 (2008), written by Grant Morrison the character is killed, with the death being further developed in the one-shot, Final Crisis: Requiem. The character next appears in the Blackest Night storyline as a Black Lantern[26][27] At the end of the miniseries, the character is resurrected.[28] Following this, the character is featured in the weekly Brightest Day series. During the series, J'onn encounters another surviving green Martian: D'kay D'razz, a scarred and warped psychopath who wants J'onn to be her mate.[29]

In Brightest Day he is a very prominent character, finding a water source on Mars and was last seen talking with the daughter of the man who first saw him on earth. J'onn was seen last tucking her into bed in a retirement home, in the form of her father.[30] He was later seen at the old lab. However, plant life starts to die every time he gets near. He later went to see M'gann M'orzz in Australia during her mediation search, but found her beaten and tied up.[31] While tending to her, he is contacted by the Entity, who instructs him to burn down the newly formed forest.[32] When J'onn asks M'gann who did this to her, M'gann says she was attacked by a female green Martian. After this J'onn is sensing something in Star City.[33] J'onn arrives in Star City's new forest and attempts to complete his task, however he is stopped from doing that by the Entity. The Entity reveals to him that the newly formed forest he is to burn down is on Mars. After J'onn lashed out the Star City's forest, he returns home.[34] During this same time, J'onn was found by Green Arrow, who attacked him after mistaking him for some sort of monster. After being knocked unconscious and dragged out of the forest by Green Arrow, J'onn explained that the forest somehow tampered with his Martian shape-shifting abilities and temporarily drove him mad.[35] When J'onn arrives home, he saw his planet was newly formed forest on Mars.[36]

When J'onn enters his home, he is confronted by a female green Martian named D'kay D'razz, who is responsible for M'gann's attack. D'kay explains her origins and wants to be his mate. J'onn refuses, and learns that she is a psychopath when D'kay angrily lashes out to attack and enters his mind. J'onn tries to resist influence from D'kay's mind, but her control over his mind tempts him with visions of a fantasy world where all the Martians and J'onn's family are resurrected by the Entity.[29] While re-united with his lost family, J'onn discovers that they are false and realizes that they are a ruse and the death corpse is carved of Martian symbols of love and hate from D'kay's influence. J'onn arrives vengeful and wrings D'kay's neck in disgust.[37] J'onn defeats D'kay by forcing her into the sun, saved from the same fate by the White Lantern Entity, who informs him that his mission has been accomplished, and returns his life to him. The Entity then told J'onn to choose between Mars and Earth. J'onn chose Earth and returned only to be absorbed into the Earth by the Entity as "part of the plan".[38]

When the "Dark Avatar", made his presence known, Martian Manhunter is revealed to be part of the Elementals. Martian Manhunter was transformed by the Entity to become the element of Earth and protect the Star City forest from the "Dark Avatar", which appears to be the Black Lantern version of the Swamp Thing.[39] The Elementals are then fused with the body of Alec Holland in order for him to be transformed by the Entity into the new Swamp Thing and battle against the Dark Avatar. After the Dark Avatar is defeated, Swamp Thing brought back Martian Manhunter to normal. Afterward, J'onn help Melissa daughter of Dr. Erdel to removed the piece from her head after she losing her mind.[40]

Relaunch (2011- )-Stormwatch

Following the events of Flashpoint, Martian Manhunter becomes a member of the covert Stormwatch organization.[41] Despite now being allied with the mostly amoral Stormwatch group, it is mentioned that J'onn was still a member of the Justice League in the past. During his first appearance with the team, he accompanies Jack Hawksmoor and the Projectionist on a mission to recruit Apollo, whom J'onn is forced to fight after he attacks the agents.[42] In "Green Lantern Corps", Martian Manhunter arrives on Oa to extract information from Guy Gardner's prisoner before proceeding to erase his memory.

Powers & Abilities

The Martian Manhunter possesses a wide variety of superhuman powers, which have been shown inconsistently throughout the years.

In the current DC continuity, many of his powers are similar to those of Superman, including superhuman strength close to that of Superman, flight, invulnerability, vortex breath, and "Martian Vision" (a term designating both the ability to see through solid objects and the ability to project beams of energy from his eyes). Superman once said of the Manhunter, "He is the most powerful being on the face of the Earth".[43]

During the 1990s, it was stated that the source of his flight and "Martian vision" is a limited form of telekinesis (he had occasionally demonstrated more traditional uses of telekinesis to levitate and animate objects during his Detective Comics and House of Mystery appearances). His "Martian Vision" energy beams have sometimes been shown to knock foes backwards. On most occasions, however, these energy beams are depicted as heating objects rather than delivering a concussive impact.

The Martian Manhunter possesses the power of shapeshifting, which he employs for various effects (adopting human or monstrous appearance, elongating his limbs, growing to immense size, altering the chemical composition of his body, etc.). His default form during JLA meetings and in public is a "human-friendly" version of his actual birth shape.

J'onn can become intangible, passing harmlessly through solid objects. He can also render himself invisible. He lost the ability to use his other powers while invisible during the Silver Age.

He is a powerful telepath, capable of both perceiving the thoughts of others and of projecting his own thoughts. He often acts as a "switchboard" between minds in order to coordinate the Justice League's actions. The extent of his telepathic abilities is great; several times he has connected his mind to the entire population of Earth.

In the Alex Ross series Justice, J'onn's "telepathy" is described in terms provocatively similar to the concept of grokking from Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. In an internal monologue, the Manhunter says: "Since the first moment I chose this form and set foot on this world, I experienced it in ways no other human could. The humans call it telepathy. But that is only what it is like. There is no human word for how we Martians coexist with others.. We don't read minds. We share in other beings' thoughts."

J'onn is also capable of absorbing energy projectiles such as beams and other energy waves.

He has demonstrated regenerative abilities, once able to regenerate his entire body from only his severed head, but with great strain[44] (due to the loss of mass, he found it necessary to incorporate new matter from the Martian sand). Early appearances of the character show him as able to breathe underwater; he displayed this power when he encountered Zauriel in the sea of San Francisco in JLA #6. The Manhunter has sometimes been said to possess nine senses, but these additional senses are poorly defined and generally ignored by most writers.

Aside from his superhuman powers, the Manhunter is also a skilled and very capable detective. As Batman mentions in his file, "in many ways, Martian Manhunter is like an amalgam of Superman and the Dark Knight himself."[45]

J'onn J'onzz has also demonstrated the ability of generating and manipulating heat or energy beams, waves and blasts, and even absorbing extra mass from the earth to greatly increase his size.

Weakness

One of the Martian Manhunter's signature traits is his vulnerability to fire. Although it has been an element of the character since his earliest appearances, writers have depicted it with great inconsistency throughout the character's long career. In some instances, it is portrayed as a physical susceptibility inherent to the Martian race, while at other times it has been explained as a personal psychosomatic disorder. The degree of vulnerability has also been wildly inconsistent, in some cases capable of stripping away his powers and killing him, while at other times simply inflicting pain or delirium with no actual danger of physical harm. This weakness has been diminished or cured on more than one occasion, only to have it return with a vengeance in a later story. Thus, it is difficult to define.

In his earliest appearances, the character was shown as having a weakness to fire while in his native Martian form.[46] Over time, this was developed into the character having pyrophobia, with fire being the Martian's "Achilles heel", equivalent to Superman's weakness to Kryptonite. Exposure to fire typically causes J'onn to lose his ability to maintain his physical form, 'melting' into a pool of writhing green plasma. One portrayal explained that the flame weakness was tied into Martian telepathy, with fire causing so much chaos in Martian minds that they collapse. Most recently it was revealed, during the Trial By Fire storyline,[47] that this fear was instilled on a genetic level by the Guardians of the Universe 20,000 years ago to weaken what was then a very aggressive species on the verge of interstellar conquest - this act split the race into the Green Martians and White Martians, though no mention is made of the pre-Crisis third race known as the Yellow Martians.[48] At the end of the arc, this weakness was partially removed, with J'onn explaining that only fires of "psychic significance" were of harm to him, such as flames of suffering or passion (this was seemingly a roundabout way of limiting his weakness to flames of a mystical or pyrokinetic nature).

During the Fernus storyline, Batman noted that Martian shapeshifting was based around study and analysis of others rather than actual independent inspiration. Although their telepathy made this process virtually instantaneous, it also put the Manhunter at a slight disadvantage when faced with Plastic Man, a being immune to telepathy who could transform his shape with greater ease than a Martian's.

Other portrayals

In the various appearances of the character in other media (see below), the specific details of J'onn J'onzz' demonstrated powers and weakness to fire have varied greatly.

Rogues gallery

The following are enemies of the Martian Manhunter:

Ma'alefa'ak will appear in the animated film Justice League: Doom as part as the Legion of Doom.

Other versions

Within the publications of DC Comics, many alternate versions of the characters have appeared. Some of those have appeared in stories that set within the shared fictional DC Universe and others in self-contained stories.

Elseworlds

Those alternative versions have appeared in a range of genres and time periods and many appear in Elseworlds stories featuring a Justice League, including JLA: The Nail, JLA: Act of God, Justice Riders, the fantasy-themed League of Justice, the World War II-set JSA: The Liberty Files, and John Ostrander's dark JLA: Destiny which features a world without Superman or Batman. Other notable stories provide a more pessimistic future for the character.

Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come features a J'onn mentally shattered from his attempts to understand humanity.

DC One Million

In the Grant Morrison penned series, DC One Million, a version of the character is shown merging with Mars and turning it into a home for humanity and other races.

52

In 52 #52, a new 52-Earth Multiverse is revealed. On Earth-3, the many-membered Crime Society of America exists, with a monstrous version of J'onn J'onzz showcased in 52 #52.

Countdown to Adventure

Countdown to Adventure #1 depicts the Forerunner planet, in an alternate universe (Earth-48) where the races of the planets and dwarf planets in the universe conquer Earth; the leader of the Martian army and populace is General J'onzz.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Frank Miller's dystopian The Dark Knight Strikes Again has a powerless alcoholic J'onn (murdered by Joker/Dick Grayson using fire).

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, J'onn J'onzz was teleported to Earth and held captive in one of the Outsider's research facilities. After studying and torturing J'onn, the Outsider then sold him to the Russian government, after which J'onn attacked them and took over the country.[49] He disguises himself as Blackout for undercover work against the Outsider. After a confrontation with the Outsider, J'onn's cover was blown when the Outsider tells him that Blackout has no skill.[50] During the battle, Outsider used the recovered teleportation technology device to trap J'onn. The Outsider then threatened J'onn to tell him about any future assassins, when J'onn refuses, the Outsider closed the teleport cutting J'onn in half killing him.[49]

Parodies and analogues

There have been few parodies of Martian Manhunter made in recent times, due to the concentration on more well-known heroes like Superman and Batman.

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Reception

IGN ranked the Martian Manhunter as the 43rd greatest comic book character of all time describing him as one of the most sound members of the DC universe and being maybe one of the most criminally underrated characters in comics.[54]

Collected editions

See also

References

  1. ^ Mark Millar (w), Chris Jones (a). "The Secret Society of Super Villains" 'JLA 80-Page Giant' 1: 10/1 (July, 1998), DC Comics.
  2. ^ Detective Comics #322, December 1963.
  3. ^ Detective Comics #227 (January 1956).
  4. ^ Detective Comics #228 (February 1956).
  5. ^ Detective Comics #231 (May 1956).
  6. ^ Detective Comics #273 (November 1959).
  7. ^ The Brave and the Bold #50, October–November 1963.
  8. ^ The Brave and the Bold #56, October–November 1964.
  9. ^ Justice League of America #3
  10. ^ Justice League of America #12
  11. ^ Detective Comics #326 (April 1964).
  12. ^ House of Mystery #143 (June 1964) to #158 (April 1966).
  13. ^ House of Mystery #160 (July 1966) to #173 (May–June 1968).
  14. ^ World's Finest Comics #212, June 1972.
  15. ^ JLA #115, January–February 1975.
  16. ^ Adventure Comics #s 449, January–February through 451, March–April 1977.
  17. ^ World's Finest #245, June–July 1977.
  18. ^ JLA #s 177, April & 178 May 1980.
  19. ^ DC Comics Presents #27, November 1980.
  20. ^ JLA #228, July 1984.
  21. ^ JLA #233, December 1984.
  22. ^ JLA #248, March 1986.
  23. ^ Detective Comics #326, April 1964.
  24. ^ "Trial By Fire," JLA #84 (Early October 2003) - #89 (Late December 2003)
  25. ^ Salvation Run #3 (March 2008).
  26. ^ Blackest Night #1 (July 2009)
  27. ^ Green Lantern (vol. 4) #44 (July 2009)
  28. ^ Blackest Night #8 (March 2010)
  29. ^ a b c d Brightest Day #12
  30. ^ Brightest Day #2 (May 2010)
  31. ^ Brightest Day #6 (July 2010)
  32. ^ Brightest Day #7 (August 2010)
  33. ^ a b Brightest Day #8 (August 2010)
  34. ^ Brightest Day #9 (September 2010)
  35. ^ Green Arrow (vol. 5) #4
  36. ^ Brightest Day #11 (October 2010)
  37. ^ Brightest Day #15 (December 2010)
  38. ^ Brightest Day #21 (March 2011)
  39. ^ Brightest Day #23 (April 2011)
  40. ^ Brightest Day #24 (April 2011)
  41. ^ DC Universe: The Source » Blog Archive » Welcome To The Edge
  42. ^ Stormwatch #1
  43. ^ JLA #86 (Early November 2003).
  44. ^ Justice League vs Predator (2001), DC Comics, ASIN: B0006RKADO
  45. ^ Justice #1 (October 2005) - 12 (August 2007)-from Bruce Wayne's private files in the Batcomputer.
  46. ^ Detective Comics #233 (July 1956).
  47. ^ JLA #84 (Early October 2003) - 89 (Late December 2003).
  48. ^ First seen in Wonder Woman vol. 1 #104 (February 1959).
  49. ^ a b Flashpoint: The Outsider #3 (August 2011)
  50. ^ Flashpoint: The Outsider #2 (July 2011)
  51. ^ Young Justice (vol. 2) #6 (July 2011)
  52. ^ http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=629
  53. ^ http://www.tvguide.com/News/Justice-League-Doom-Cast-1038097.aspx
  54. ^ "Martian Manhunter is number 43". IGN. http://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/43. Retrieved May 19, 2011. 

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