Martian Manhunter

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Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter by artist Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 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 Black Lantern Corps
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	Superhuman strength (equal to that of Superman), speed, durability, longevity, flight Telepathy Molecular manipulation Martian vision

J'onn J'onzz, also referred to as the Martian Manhunter, is a fictional character 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 of J'onn J'onzz has featured in other DC Comics-endorsed products such as video games; television series; an animated film and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards.

[edit] Publication history

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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, — "Ma'aleca'andra" in his native tongue (a nod to "Malacandra", the name used by the inhabitants of Mars in C. S. Lewis's novel Out of the Silent Planet) who is pulled to earth by an experimental teleportation beam (originally presented as an attempted communication device) constructed by Dr. Erdel. 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 Apex City (later retconned as Chicago).

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 ^[2][3], "Atomic vision", super-hearing ^[4] 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.^[5] He abandons the detective John Jones identity when Jones is ostensibly killed in action.^[6] J'onn spent the next several years involved in mystical adventures involving the Idol Head of Diabolu, an artifact which generates supernatural monsters.^[7] He later takes the persona of Marco Xavier in order to infiltrate the international crime cartel known as VULTURE.^[8]

His appearances with the League kept him in the public eye long after his own series were canceled. He is a founding member of the team, and served as a member during many of its various incarnations. From the late 1960s until the late 1970s, J'onn was absent from the JLA, having left Earth to find and become leader of New Mars. This time period is later retconned during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and his period of absence is never again referenced.

J'onn J'onzz, trying (and failing) to relax in his true form and reflecting on his history with the League

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 mini-series 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 state that his real form is private and that, even on Mars, his "public" appearance was the familiar version.) 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) as "Bloodwynd"^{[volume & issue needed]}.

The 1992 mini-series 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.

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^{[volume & issue needed]}, 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^{[volume & issue needed]} 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.

Cover for JLA #89, featuring Fernus vs. Plastic Man. Art by Doug Mahnke.

In issues of JLA written by Joe Kelly, 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^{[citation needed]}.

Cover artwork for Martian Manhunter vol. 3, #2 (Nov, 2006)
by Al Barrionuevo

During the lead-up to the Infinite Crisis mini-series, the character is feared killed in an attack on the Justice League's HQ^{[volume & issue needed]}. He is later^{[volume & issue needed]} 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 mini-series focuses on J'onn's search for other survivors of Mars.

Following this mini-series, J'onn was intended to be in Outsiders^{[citation needed]}. 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 is quickly written out within the last two issues^{[citation needed]}. He is next seen working undercover during the events of the limited series Salvation Run.^[9] At the end of the series, J'onn is left captured and alone on an alien planet.

In Final Crisis #1, Libra summons a boom tube for J'onn at the behest of the Human Flame, who then kills J'onn in front of an onlooking Secret Society. Before his death he proclaims: "Your kind will fail... your kind will always fail... defeat is in your destiny, Libra... now and forever!" He is buried on Mars, where many of his colleagues attend the graveside burial service. The events of those two issues are explored in the one-shot, Final Crisis: Requiem.

In Blackest Night storyline, a black ring appears before the body of J'onn, saying "J'onn J'onzz of Mars.......RISE!!". Later, he appears before Hal and Barry (now a Black Lantern) telling both that they shouldn't be alive and should have stayed dead.^[10][11]

[edit] Powers and abilities

Martian Manhunter possesses a wide variety of superhuman powers, many of which are similar to those of Superman and Wonder Woman, including super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability and flight. Like Superman, Martian Manhunter has "Martian vision" (a term designating both the ability to see through solid objects and the ability to generate optic beams of force and heat). Superman once called him "the most powerful being on the face of the earth".^[12]

During the '90s, it was stated that the source of his flight and "Martian vision" is a form of telekinesis^{[volume & issue needed]} (he had occasionally^{[volume & issue needed]} demonstrated more traditional uses of telekinesis to levitate and animate objects during his Detective Comics and House of Mystery appearances). His martian vision has been shown to knock foes backwards on impact which could be due to their telekinetic nature^{[volume & issue needed]}.

The Martian Manhunter also possesses the power of shapeshifting, which he employs for various effects (e.g., adopting human or monstrous appearance, elongating his limbs, growing to immense size). He can alter the chemical makeup of his body to imitate various materials such as steel or stone. J'onn can render himself invisible, and is also able to become intangible so as to pass harmlessly through solid objects. 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 to the entire planet Earth^{[volume & issue needed]}.

He has demonstrated regenerative abilities, once able to regenerate himself from only his severed head but with great strain^{[volume & issue needed]} (due to the loss of mass he found it necessary to incorporate new matter from Martian sand). Early appearances of the character show him as able to breathe underwater; the last time he displayed this power was 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^{[citation needed]}.

Aside from his superhuman powers, the Manhunter is also a skilled and very capable detective. As Batman mentions in his file, that "in many ways, Martian Manhunter is like an amalgam of Superman and the Dark Knight himself."^[13]

[edit] Weakness

One of the Martian Manhunter's signature traits is his vulnerability to flame. 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.^[14] 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^{[volume & issue needed]}. Most recently it was revealed, during the Trial By Fire storyline,^[15] 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^[16]. 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^{[citation needed]}). Following Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, it has been shown that J'onn's weakness to fire has changed once again. Martians are no longer afraid of fire, but they lose their powers in its presence; physical fire and intense heat can injure and kill a Martian.

[edit] 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.

• 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 pessimist future for the character.
• Kingdom Come, features a J'onn mentally shattered from his attempts to understand humanity.

• Within the shared DC Universe, J'onn appears in the 30th century as an acquaintance of Dream Girl and assists the Legion of Super-Heroes against Mordru.^[17]
• 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.
• 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'onnz showcased in 52 #52 (but not in subsequent Countdown appearances of the Society).
• 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.

[edit] Precursors

• In Action Comics #16 (September 1939), the Zatara story is called "Terror from Saturn". A teleportation beam plucks Zatara from Earth to Saturn where he meets Porra who is the spitting image of the Martian Manhunter.
• In Batman #78 (August 1953), Batman met Roh Kar, First Lawman of Mars, who was on Earth chasing an alien renegade. Though displaying no innate super-powers, he uses technology to track brainwaves and fly. His appearance also resembles the Martian Manhunter.

[edit] 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.

• Frank Miller's dystopian The Dark Knight Strikes Again has a powerless alcoholic J'onn (murdered by Joker/Dick Grayson using fire).
• Martian Anteater - a member of Just'a Lotta Animals
• Jack From Jupiter - a member of The Seven in the Garth Ennis series, The Boys.
• Mr. Martian, CH'kk Kk'xx (Chuck Cox) - a Big Bang Comics hero
• Martian Man in the Guardians of the Globe from Invincible
• Vigilante from Venus - a female character in Top Ten
• Skrullian Skymaster from the Squadron Supreme
• The Freedom City sourcebook for the role-playing game Mutants and Masterminds includes pastiches of many popular superheroes, including Pseudo, a shapeshifting alien telepath who is a member of the Freedom League, which is an analogue for the Justice League
• Stalker from the "secret" Stormwatch team.
• Shapesmith from the Invincible series is also a Martian superhero with shapeshifting powers. He was inspired by Martian Man, an earlier hero in that universe who appeared to be a more direct analogue of J'onn as part of the original Guardians of the Globe.

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

Phil Morris as John Jones in Smallville.

• David Ogden Stiers portrays the character in the 1997 Justice League of America television pilot.

• Carl Lumbly voices the character in the Justice League animated series and the sequel Justice League Unlimited.

• Dorian Harewood voices the character in The Batman animated series.

• Phil Morris portrays the character in the Smallville television series.

[edit] Film

• Miguel Ferrer voices the character in the direct-to-dvd animated film, Justice League: The New Frontier.

[edit] Video games

• The Martian Manhunter is a playable character in the Justice League titles, Heroes; Injustice for All; Chronicles; and the upcoming DC Universe Online.

[edit] See also

• Miss Martian
• Jemm
• Faceless Hunter
• One Year Later
• White Martian
• Yellow Martian

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Martian Manhunter at the DC Database Project
• Profile On The Martian Manhunter
• Index of J'onn's Earth-1 adventures
• Martian Manhunter's secret origin on dccomics.com
• Alan Kistler's History of the Martian Manhunter - Comic book historian Alan Kistler examines the history of J'onn J'onzz and his various interpretations and origins. Several image scans.