Let us face it, DC could not have gone wrong by asking one of Mars’ secretive, friendly, sole-surviving seven-foot aliens to make the best of his life among his Earth-ian counterparts as a secret agent, adventurer, and detective – AND HE LOVED OREOS. J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, in all his magnificence, created an identity bold enough to be labeled as the Chairman and founding member of the Justice League, imprisoned on Apokolips alongside the League’s other members.
When he was initially teleported to Earth a decade or so ago, he probably had no idea what was about to happen, but the Martian Manhunter has remained in the hearts and minds of DC fans long enough to be included in Snyder’s Justice League.
Given that when HBO re-signed Zach Snyder to finish the Justice League movie, the surprise appearance chosen to garnish it was the Martian Manhunter, the impact of the Martian Manhunter is undeniable. His arrival, long-anticipated and warmly welcomed, was a mainstay of the genre. By the way, Oreos still felt loved, but more on that later.
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: The Origins
One of the most important and interesting things about the Martian Manhunter that keeps his loyalists intensely invested in his tale is the variety and versions of his origin story. The most popular one, of course, is the tale of how our hero J’onn J’onzz derived his superhero name – he was introduced as a police-like figure on planet Mars, responsible for peace-keeping and ensuring the establishment of authority where necessary. The Manhunter is thereby very skilled and trained according to his job’s requirements – especially in telepathic communication with his fellow Martians, as well as carrying the experience equivalent to bouts of gold.
His direct involvement with the Earth and our matters is seen to begin in 1955 when a scientist by the name of Dr. Saul Erdel is conducting secret experiments with his technology and somehow invited J’onzz over from Mars to Earth. Leaving the reader shell-shocked and poor Dr. Erdel even more affected – because the latter quite literally, dies of shock-induced heart attack – Agent J’onzz was stuck on Earth amongst our kind not knowing how to operate the device that brought him here and no other known way of going back to his home planet.
The Martian Manhunter accepted his fate and remained amongst his human counterparts, effectively disguising himself and serving for the good of people on Earth as he did on Mars. His various roles included spy, diplomat, detective, head of corporate – very ideal superhero of him – and in trust, and in the true sense, he was a ray of hope and help for the weak and needy. It was subsequently revealed that Mars was already dying when J’onn was brought to Earth accidentally. The individual responsible for Mars’ fate was J’onzz’s twin brother Ma’alefa’ak, who quite intentionally launched a telepathically transferrable plague.
Another version of his origin story starts on Mars itself, however, this is about J’onn wanting to lead his people for the planet’s good and benefits. Known as the New 52 rendition available on the backup prints of ‘Justice League of America,’ Martians are shown as a race working by telepathy, living in peace with each other and with the planet as well. Not surprisingly, quite a lot is expected from someone who seeks to be a leader of such people. J’onn agrees to go through the training in the form of a ‘Rite of Passage’.
It includes being absolutely alone, away from his people, and detached from the present reality while preparing for all that may arise as unforeseen situations where he eventually may have to take decisions. Unfortunately, when he returns upon successful completion of his ‘training period’, he finds himself in the middle of a burning planet that he would call home with no one and nothing left to lead.
He then decided to adopt the name “Manhunter”, and in that unprecedented state of being truly alone and the sole survivor, he started to seek the cause of the loss of paradise he had sought to build with his efforts and time amidst the ashes that were left.
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: First Comic-Book Appearance
Our first glance at the Martian Manhunter is through the creation of Joseph Samachson[Sa-mach-son] and Joe Certa [Ker-ta]in Issue 225 of Detective Comics; the plot is also the more popular and established origin story.
As Professor Mark Erdel meets his death, he apologizes to J’onzz for accidentally teleporting him, and imprisoning him on Earth. Following this, J’onzz decides to adapt to Earth-life by first Americanizing his name and calling himself John Jones. He recalls that his fellow Martians were working on an interplanetary travel system called ‘Project Star-Ride’ anyway, but he has to be patient enough for it to bear fruit and to be able to go back to where he came from.
He is blessed with superpowers to help with survival until then, so he first goes to the seaside and uses that to obtain gold from the sea and make that his working capital to start out on a planet as alien to him as Mars is to Earthlings. The explorer in him then comes out as he is determined to use his powers of immaterialisation and invisibility to travel around the world. The travels tell him tales of all that the Earth is lacking, in contrast to his home planet – the crime rate here is too high for him to fathom as real.
Hence, John decides to help the Earth take its steps toward the “Great Evolution” that Mars has had ages ago resulting in the absolute wiping-out of the concept of criminal activities there. He becomes a police detective after establishing his ardent desire to serve people, but in the process realizes that he is repelled by fire, much like his fellow Martians; he could lose his powers and die at its helm.
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: towards The Justice League
Acceptance as a part of planet Earth was quite a journey for John as the Martian Manhunter, as he lived changing his identity, concealing himself while on his travels, mostly to protect himself and those around him too. He continued to have for a long time, several hidden identities all around the world. That aside, he used a meticulously constructed system to learn everything he could about his fellow beings on Earth.
His skepticism regarding identity revelation was founded in his experiences or so he thought, but the incidents with Superman revealing himself as Metropolis’ costume-wearing, superpower-bearing protector altered that for John. What had followed that happening was instrumental in the rise of peace and order on this planet – vigilante-justice seeking heroes were saving lives anywhere and everywhere, doing good not only to those around them, but impacting the wholesome image, persona, and reputation of Superman himself.
John decided to don an attire to reflect his Martian origin, but to save people from jump-scares of any sort, he kept his overall appearance more human-like. In the continuing battles against wrongdoers, he was joined by Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, and Hal Jordan and all of them joined hands to reach their common noble goal. Eventually, Batman, Wonder Woman, and of course Superman came into the picture and the Justice League of America was formed – making the center of the DC Universe and the primary shield of the Earth from threats be it from home or another world.
The Martian Manhunter’s DC rebirth was marked in 2016. J’onn left for Thanagar to look for the Nth metal. This was preceding the happenings of ‘Dark Nights: Metal’. On his journey, he freed Plastic Man, Mister Terrific, and Green Lantern as well, but Dark Knights appeared and used the Phoenix Cannon of Thanagar to cause a chain reaction that led to a possibility of everything being hauled into the Dark Multiverse.
The Martian Manhunter was captured by the Dark Knights, and his rescue is credited to Wonder Woman. He helped her in the battle with Barbatos and our heroes won. That result came with the destruction of the Source Wall, and the ending of No Justice. At present, the Martian Manhunter is serving as the new Chairman of the Justice League.
As a part of Snyder’s Justice League, his adventures are too-many, as well as too-much. Too many to watch, too much to take – but assuredly, it’s all worth it!
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: Steps In The World Outside Comics
The DC Animated Universe is also impacted by J’onzz as he appears in several instances throughout the flow of masterpieces from the source. Carl Lumbly voices the character, as well as the character’s father on ‘Supergirl’. In other instances, he also appears as the main character in the Justice League animated series, as well as a ‘Static Shock’ episode. Notably, in the sequel to the former, J’onzz mostly just men and coordinates missions from the Watchtower.
The third season rolls in with him departing to explore the Earth at Wonder Woman’s advice and reuniting with the Justice League in the series finale. Batman seems to be a good ol’ friend to The Martian Manhunter, as the latter makes an appearance in the ‘Batman Animated Series,’ ‘Batman: The Brave and The Bold’ multiple times. We also see him in TV Series like ‘Young Justice’, ‘Mad’ and the ‘Justice League Action’.
Making a mark in the world of novels, J’onzz shows himself in ‘The Last Days of Krypton’ by Kevin Anderson. Although the bit about him being a part of the Justice League is unconfirmed here, he does leave an ancient message of Jor-El, saying that winds have wiped out his entire civilization of Martians except him, and hopes that the viewers of the message “remember”. In the ‘DC Universe: Last Sons’ novel by Alan Grant, his role is primarily as he, Superman, and Lobo are attacked by race-hunters.
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: A Storehouse of Incredible Powers
Arguably one of the coolest creations of the DC Universe adorned with truly awe-inspiring powers, The Martian Manhunter has powers that not only make friends jealous but foes wary of him too. He turns out to be one of the stronger members of the Justice League, having additional unearthly powers like shape-shifting. He already is quite strong physically and can fly, but with the ability to make humans around him more comfortable, he adopts a more acceptable ‘Martian’ appearance by switching between morphing into his human-like alter-ego John Jones and green-dome look.
He can grow extra limbs and stretch himself too; if that wasn’t jaw-dropping enough, he can also create weapons. Telepathy and mind-reading are perhaps his biggest strength which is a big weakness, as it leads him to often become vulnerable when his mind breaks. Most humanly though, he has a fear of fire. This is a fact that might makes one cackle a little because you could easily wonder why and HOW on earth? The Guardians of the Universe had in their quest for galactic domination were to blame for that, and the fear of fire manifested over thousands of years.
Powers give him exceptional abilities, like being an expert actor. He does shape-shift at will, but he impressively stays in character too, going so far as to absolutely fool Lois for the longest time. He can lead and make infallible tactics proving himself to be intelligent and in addition, he possesses will like no other. To be unintimidated by and eventually befriend Superman, or to face Faora sure takes a lot of that, doesn’t it?
THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: Closing In
The Martian Man turns out to be deeply personal on many levels if one thinks about all that it could symbolize. When the series came to an end, it could only be called glorious and thought-provoking because the realization hits the reader like a steel chair on the face.
J’onn J’onzz as a character has been the epitome of quiet virtue, who could have as easily swayed to the bad side having suffered the way he did – family lost, and no home to go back to – stuck in a world clearly not his own. He chose to fit in and accept reality, only to end up helping other weak people to hopefully never see the days he did. It was a bold and brave move. And the writers have to be credited here. J’onn could also be considered a representative of how society treats those who belong to the LGBTQ+ community.
His representation as an outcast who did not “look like” a “normal part of the society” is jarring, and soul-stirring as it should be as a reality check. The attention to detail is so minute and yet something you could miss if someone didn’t point out the likeness. The character arc is beautiful, to say the least. The art by Rossmo and the penmanship of the other creators have shown him as an alien on Earth first, transitioning smoothly into *US* being a part of *HIS* world without us even realizing it.
J’onn’s weaknesses were hidden in his powers, as a result of the trauma he had faced. More appropriately speaking, it is repressed trauma that has not been dealt with. When he meets and comes face-to-face with his trauma during his battles with the evil, he takes time in coming to terms with it in a way that would be helpful.
That is not to say that he isn’t brave – in fact, it means he is insanely brave and that can strike a chord with all of us who may be battling our own demons. The humanization of an alien creature was at the foundation, with the brave young man dealing with the burning-up of his family as a trauma – simple thought if you look at it objectively but so delicately planned. While may we never have to relate, we do have our own issues that need addressing, and powering through because we deserve to feel worthy.
The legacy of the Martian Manhunter will go on for a long time, to be fair. Every day, a new lover of comic books emerges in popular culture as individuals are continuously becoming fans of the media. It might be difficult to know where to begin, and overwhelming at the outset. The ‘Martian Manhunter’ series is an excellent starting place for J’onn and beautifully establishes the tone for the character.
Let’s close with another very human relatable aspect of the superhero we all call The Martian Manhunter – his love for Oreos that often side-tracks the reader into a broken-humor kind of laughter. It’s such a wholesome addition to his otherwise action-packed adventures of his and is like a breath of funny much-needed in intense comics.
The tale so goes that copyright issues made DC Comics turn “Oreos” to “Chocos” on the pages, but our alien friend sure found a friend in these cookies on Earth. So much so, that a whole issue of a comic book is dedicated to this love, a whole other comic on Sandman features a panel detailing this obsession of Martian Man, and a table-top game by DC incorporates him as sitting on a throne of the cookies.