The Martian Manhunter Pro/Con Workshop

[Jcogginsa]

Does J’onn have a home city or cities?

Who, besides “white Martians” are his archenemies?

We’ve established Miss Martian as a sidekick/protege, who else would count as extended cast? Gypsy? Jemm? I thought the idea of the various Manhunters being his “bat” family had legs.

I had an idea for a heavy reinvention of Malefic

In my version, Malefic would be J'onn's brother, born without the telepathy that is the root of Martia life. Malefic, isolated, eventually joined the Cult of Hronmeer. During the Death of Mars, Malefic was transformed into an energy being similar to Captain Atom. Malefic interpreted this s him being Hronmeer's chosen disciple, and traveled to Earth to spread his word

[shades of eternity]

I like it.

also, an idea I was kicking around is to cannibalize prebuilt characters such as Volcana.

have her be a sidekick or obstacle for a story arc, it doesn't end well and she now wants revenge on Jonn.

If she's anything like her superman: tas counterpart, she's been isolated all her life and this betrayal/obstacle runs deep, to say nothing of her powerset is excellent against Jonn.

[scary harpy]

What Are Martian Manhunter’s Nine Senses?

Okay, obviously he has the five main senses – taste, sight, touch, smell, and sound.

Now, here’s the tricky one. His Martian Vision definitely counts as its own unique sense, since his Martian Vision sees well beyond normal sight (on top of the heat vision aspect of the Martian Vision).

However, it can’t count as one of the alleged nine senses since the above panel shows that he has eight WITHOUT his eyes. The Martian Vision is part of his eyes, so if you count his Martian Vision as a sense (and we do), then it would actually be a TENTH sense.

Excepting Martian Vision, though, there still needs to be at least four other senses, and here they are. Amusingly enough, these are ALL courtesy of his second appearance ever, Detective Comics #226 (by Jack Miller and Joe Certa).

First off, there is his telepathy…

Next is his telekinesis…

Next is something that Mark dubbed “empathic precognition” (great name, right?), namely that he can not only see the future, but he can see DIFFERENT futures depending on variables…

Finally, and this is the most tricky one, but his “molecular hypnosis,” which is differentiated in the story from both his telepathy and his telekinesis, which means it must be its own thing.

What we believe this to be is the ability to, in effect, impose his willpower on others. We see this in a future issue where he can project his body to different places. Basically it is a form of hypnotic projection. The most famous use of this power was when he convinced Despero that Despero had actually killed all of the Justice League and destroyed the Earth itself.
So there you go, from the guy who gave you “Martian Manhunter has nine senses,” you have Martian Manhunter’s nine senses plus a bonus one, to boot!

Thanks to Mark for playing along! And thanks to Korneel for the fun question!
If anyone else has a question about comic books that they’d like to see answered, feel free to drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!

Cleary, the author has a different definition of 'sense' than I do. I really appreciate his historical research.

I agree that Martian vision (and, perhaps, other senses) is beyond/different from human. (But, I hate J'Onn having heat vision.)

I have no problem with J'Onn having telepathic or telekinetic senses.

"Emotional Precognition (and, perhaps, post-cognition) would be a new wrinkle for J'Onn. What if he could prediction someone's feelings in advance? The range could be anywhere from a hour to almost (?) a day. What if he could see someone's feelings in the past with a similar range? Would this make him (more) overpowered?

I don't see "Molecular Hypnosis" as a 'sense' as much as a telepathic power.

[Sutekh]

There's a difference between a character having some inherent drawback, and not being given the correct opportunity. You seem so eager to reinvent the character and rely on soundbites from casual non-fans as if they define the character's potential.

Attaching a big name to the character with a strong central theme would be a big step in the right direction. Look what Tom King did with Vision. You have to have a story that asks: what is this character about? What struggles do they go through? How can I present them in a new and interesting way? What sets this character apart, and how can I make readers relate to and be intrigued by that?

World-building is also really important. One of the main weaknesses J'onn has compared to the other big-time Leaguers is his lack of a core place and supporting cast. Granted, his theme is having lost his world, but they need to show us what it was he lost, and how he's making a new home for himself.

Here's a list of things we should see:

On Mars:

-J'onn's childhood
-J'onn's adolescence and training to become a Manhunter; we learn of his influential mentors, friends, and the process of choosing career paths in Martian culture
-J'onn's career as a Manhunter and warrior during conflicts with the White Martians.
-J'onn returning to Mars to investigate underground caverns or abandoned cities while uncovering some mystery, perhaps relating to Martians who used their psychic powers to exist on some psychic plane (could it be a trap?)

On Earth:

-J'onn learning about humanity in his early days as a detective, forming relationships with human officers
-J'onn going on a Siddartha-like quest where he imitates different forms of life (cop, gang member, celebrity, sex worker) learning different lessons along the way (Year One kind of did this to great effect)
-J'onn infiltrating a shady organization long-term, only to be found out, and having to use what he learned through psychic means to appeal to his captors
-J'onn accessing the minds of certain villains and being somehow negatively affected. Perhaps he battles some of them on a completely mental plane, navigating their psyche and having to exploit their weaknesses while facing his own.

Flesh him out. A good story will catch on. You don't need to depower him to make him unique.

You've got some great ideas here.

I like the idea of Mars having had a civilization millennia (or much longer) ago, but no longer being inhabited, and J'onn having been thrust forward in time somehow, to a future in which his world is long dead.

On the other hand, Mars could have just been an outpost of his species, who come from another world entirely (just as the yellow Saturnians are another sub-race, and not native to the moons of Saturn). Perhaps the 'martians' were separated from their home culture so long that they began to think of Mars as their home. Perhaps their home culture annihilated itself (or was destroyed by an external threat), and Mars was the only home they had left, one in which they lived underground and did everything in their power to remain effectively invisible, so that the threat that destroyed their home world wouldn't be able to find them, and conveniently explaining why their presence on Mars isn't visible to explorations from Earth.

The discussion about J'onn having arrived on Earth earlier, and perhaps even served alongside the Justice Society / All-Star Squadron, is also interesting. With his powers, he could easily have taken on another form and appeared to be a pre-existing character, or a new character could be inserted into the golden age stories, which would later be revealed to have been J'onn, in another of his heroic identities.

I'm also a fan of the idea of his powers being primarily psionic in nature, and him not being 'Superman + telepathy + telekinesis + shapeshifting + incorporeality.' Cutting it down to shapeshifting, telepathy and telekinesis (which he'd use to simulate super-strength and invulnerability, much like Conner Kent/Superboy used to) would certainly cut down his raft of powers, and keep him unique from Superman / Shazam / etc. It seems like it's easier to write stories for someone with a limited palette of powers (which is why we have more books about Batman than about the Specter, I imagine), and sometimes makes the hero seem a little bit thick if we readers know he's got the power to handle any situation (because we saw him use it five years ago) but the writer has forgotten about it (or is pretending it doesn't exist) to challenge the hero. (This seems to happen all the time with the Flash. "You do know that you are faster than the dude that just zapped you, right, and that the only reason you got shot is because you are an idiot and ran up in front of him, stopped to pose and talk, and watched him shoot you?")

[stephens2177]

Jonn was thrown into the future from his planet Mars,which was inhabited but his ppl.

Jonn being a JSA member with no one knowing he is a Martian is cool,and having him "go undercover" (as John Jones) until the JL show up.

He should be a telepath who has TK that works on him and only him,and can manipulate himself completely.

Thats my very very basic premise

[CaptCleghorn]

I actually would like to see a story of J'onn's early days on Earth. Keep his timeframe the same where he shows up in the mid 1950s. He's a Martian, we're not beholden to any lifespan. If the JSA existed on the earth he was on, I could easily imagine him searching them out after their vanishing before Congress.

A James Robinson "Times Past" structure would be great for a character like J'onn in watching him grow and adapt to a rapidly changing alien world. This would be what I'd like to see IF the JSA and everyone else were on the same Earth. After all, isn't Rebirth bringing back much of DC's lost history?

[WonderScott]

In his late 90s series J'Onn had an adversary named Bette Noire.

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Bette_Noir_(New_Earth)

IIRC correctly she only appeared in an issue or two.

[CRaymond]

Cleary, the author has a different definition of 'sense' than I do.

I dunno. Telekinesis COULD be described as a expanded form of "touch", and telepathy an expanded form of "hearing" or "sight".

I figured most superman sight powers would be a shapeshift of the eyeball, like his iris opens into weird shapes. Square iris = telescopic, triangle = microscopic or whatever.

[Incognito]

Martian Manhunter's Powers:
- Telekinesis: Telekinetic Pull/Push/Blast/Attack/Wave/Maneuver/Projection/Grip/Hold, Self-Telekinesis - Telekinetic Strength, Telekinetic Durability, Telekinetic Flight, Spatial Sense, Self-Molecular Density Manipulation, Self-Body Manipulation, Invisibility, Intangibility, Shapeshifting (he wears a bio-suit, which allows him to change its shape and colour through his mental commands) and ''Martian Vision'' - instead of heat vision, it's beams of pure psionic energy.
- Telepathy: Mind Reading, Psychic Communication, Memory Reading, Mind Walking, Mind Link, Psychic Shadow/Shielding, Telepathic Surgery, Psychomentry, Empathic Senses, Astral Projection.

Martian Manhunter's Abilities:
- Skilled Detective
- Expert Driver/Pilot
- Skilled Tactitcan
- Skilled Combatant
- Genius Level Intellect
- Polyglotism

Weakness
- Vulnerability to Heat and Cold: Enough amount of heat could make him lose his form and turn into 'liquid; while enough amount of cold can slow down his molecules and it will make him helpless to use his self-telekinetic powers to break free.
- Pyrophobia
- Chocolism
- Non-Organics: Martian Manhunter can't sense or read non-organic beings such as Plastic Man (non-organic metahuman), Red Tornado (robot) and Solomon Grundy (zombie).
- Vibrations: Strong levels of vibrations can mess up his form.
- EMP: EMP can interfere with telepathy.
- Insanity: Telepathic contact with a mind driven to insanity can cause a telepathic feedback effect that can have disastrous consequences for J'onn.
- Power Depletion: Extensive use of powers over a long period of time could deplete Martian Manhunter's energy reserves.


I once had the same idea that J'onn served alongside the Justice Society as a pre-existing character under a different superhero alias also his origins of coming to Earth is that he crash landed in Roswell 1947, I was thinking that he could be 'Captain Triumph' because he is an obscure golden age character, and they both have semi-invulnerability, invisibility and shapeshifting so maybe he's hiding most of his powers to make himself not look too suspicious. Another idea, is that he could take various forms to be used for each indiviudal members of heroes, for example, his form as 'John Jones' can be used for talking to Batman and secretly knowing who Batman is, a worker from 'Daily Planet' for Superman, an agent of argus for Wonder Woman etc. The reason why he uses these selected forms is to find the perfect candidates to stop a powerful alien named Despero from invading their planet, and this could be the formation of the JL.

Martian Manhunter's powers are rooted in psionic, and have many application from his TK and TP but he has a lot of weaknesses which balances him out by not being too powerful and/or similar to Superman.

Forms (before the formation of the Justice League)
- Detective John Jones of the GCPD (Batman)
- Josh Johnstone (Superman)
- Lora Denton, Agent of ARGUS (Wonder Woman)
- William Dyer (Aquaman)
- Goldie Johnson (The Flash)
- Hino Rei (Green Lantern)

[CRaymond]

Why does J’onn choose his green beetle-browed humanoid shape when he acts as a superhero?

[stephens2177]

Martian Manhunter's Powers:
- Telekinesis: Telekinetic Pull/Push/Blast/Attack/Wave/Maneuver/Projection/Grip/Hold, Self-Telekinesis - Telekinetic Strength, Telekinetic Durability, Telekinetic Flight, Spatial Sense, Self-Molecular Density Manipulation, Self-Body Manipulation, Invisibility, Intangibility, Shapeshifting (he wears a bio-suit, which allows him to change its shape and colour through his mental commands) and ''Martian Vision'' - instead of heat vision, it's beams of pure psionic energy.
- Telepathy: Mind Reading, Psychic Communication, Memory Reading, Mind Walking, Mind Link, Psychic Shadow/Shielding, Telepathic Surgery, Psychomentry, Empathic Senses, Astral Projection.

Martian Manhunter's Abilities:
- Skilled Detective
- Expert Driver/Pilot
- Skilled Tactitcan
- Skilled Combatant
- Genius Level Intellect
- Polyglotism

Weakness
- Vulnerability to Heat and Cold: Enough amount of heat could make him lose his form and turn into 'liquid; while enough amount of cold can slow down his molecules and it will make him helpless to use his self-telekinetic powers to break free.
- Pyrophobia
- Chocolism
- Non-Organics: Martian Manhunter can't sense or read non-organic beings such as Plastic Man (non-organic metahuman), Red Tornado (robot) and Solomon Grundy (zombie).
- Vibrations: Strong levels of vibrations can mess up his form.
- EMP: EMP can interfere with telepathy.
- Insanity: Telepathic contact with a mind driven to insanity can cause a telepathic feedback effect that can have disastrous consequences for J'onn.
- Power Depletion: Extensive use of powers over a long period of time could deplete Martian Manhunter's energy reserves.


I once had the same idea that J'onn served alongside the Justice Society as a pre-existing character under a different superhero alias also his origins of coming to Earth is that he crash landed in Roswell 1947, I was thinking that he could be 'Captain Triumph' because he is an obscure golden age character, and they both have semi-invulnerability, invisibility and shapeshifting so maybe he's hiding most of his powers to make himself not look too suspicious. Another idea, is that he could take various forms to be used for each indiviudal members of heroes, for example, his form as 'John Jones' can be used for talking to Batman and secretly knowing who Batman is, a worker from 'Daily Planet' for Superman, an agent of argus for Wonder Woman etc. The reason why he uses these selected forms is to find the perfect candidates to stop a powerful alien named Despero from invading their planet, and this could be the formation of the JL.

Martian Manhunter's powers are rooted in psionic, and have many application from his TK and TP but he has a lot of weaknesses which balances him out by not being too powerful and/or similar to Superman.

Forms (before the formation of the Justice League)
- Detective John Jones of the GCPD (Batman)
- Josh Johnstone (Superman)
- Lora Denton, Agent of ARGUS (Wonder Woman)
- William Dyer (Aquaman)
- Goldie Johnson (The Flash)
- Hino Rei (Green Lantern)

I like this whole idea,but imo he should either have full TK or self TK and not both,and imo again it should be self TK,that way he has all the cool self matter manipulation abilities,let Megan be a full TK.

Oh and I would also drop the spatial sense,and the martian vision.

I like the list of weaknesses,but I think they should be streamlined to weaknesses- that any telepath would have trouble with,and if heat and cold are going to actually work on him then I am cool with dropping the fear of fire,cause there would be concrete ways to take him down,heck captain cold and heat wave could give him a run for his money,and that is exciting to me.

I would also say YES he can swim and survive at the bottom of the ocean,but can NOT fly in space or he will die.if heat and cold will effect him,space would kill him

[stephens2177]

Why does J’onn choose his green beetle-browed humanoid shape when he acts as a superhero?

He doesn't want to freak ppl out with his normal state,but at the same time wants to let ppl know he is a Martian and proud of it.

Or you can say the "brow" state is his bodies natural warrior state and the other is his peaceful state

[CRaymond]

He doesn't want to freak ppl out with his normal state,but at the same time wants to let ppl know he is a Martian and proud of it.

Or you can say the "brow" state is his bodies natural warrior state and the other is his peaceful state

Hrmm I hadn’t considered that Martians would have a naturally occurring aggressive and docile forms. That’s an interesting thought, even if I don’t care for MM’s green superhero form being a “friendly” choice.

I’m also glad others agree that his fire weakness works better as a physiological one as opposed to a psychological phobia.

[scary harpy]

What did everyone think of J'Onn in Scooby Doo & Batman: the Brave and the Bold?

[stephens2177]

Hrmm I hadn’t considered that Martians would have a naturally occurring aggressive and docile forms. That’s an interesting thought, even if I don’t care for MM’s green superhero form being a “friendly” choice.

I’m also glad others agree that his fire weakness works better as a physiological one as opposed to a psychological phobia.

I mean in his hero form he gets bigger and looks like he can go,so why he have 2 forms,if the power rangers can do it,Jonn should be allowed to also lol.

Mentally being afraid of fire is silly,when it's easier just to say he can't keep control over his form when it's burning.freezing him would stop him cold hehe.
Either he turns to puddy or he gets frozen,I think those are good physical weaknesses.