Can we solve the Martian Manhunter problem?

[Trey Strain]

Can anyone come up with a better name for this character, besides just shortening it to Manhunter?

And can any of our artists come up with a good costume that doesn't leave him semi-naked?

DC Comics would be eternally grateful to us, I bet.

[Robotman]

There's no problem to solve. Martian Manhunter is an awesome name.

He's an alien and a detective in his human guise. He's a Martian who tracks down criminals. Martian Manhunter.

[Trey Strain]

I don't think Green should be in his name either, since there's already a Green Lantern and a Green Arrow.

[j9ac9k]

I don't think there's anything wrong with his name either. Perfectly cromulant name that explains what he is. The "problem" (that I have anyway) is just that without a super-compelling storyline, MM is alien. As in, "it's difficult to identify with him" alien so that unlike other heroes, he doesn't represent the reader in their minds - which is a missed opportunity because alienation is super-prevalent. I think they keep making J'onn too measured and thoughtful about it whereas most people are not. lack of identification is also why I've never been a big fan of Thor, but Simonson's "Thor" run was one of the best of all time because of the storyline.

My 2 cents...

[OBrianTallent]

I like him just fine the way he is. His current costume is one of the best he's ever had also.

[Trey Strain]

Anyone who thinks everything is fine isn't expected to contribute.

[Jim Kelly]

The problem for MM is that he isn't as popular as he used to be. Back in the '90s, he was hugely popular--perhaps the most popular Justice Leaguer of them all. Both the Giffen/DeMatteis League and the Morrison League depended on his presence in the team--as the thing that held the group together. Quite literally with Grant Morrison's JLA, snce all the members were linked via J'Onn's telepathy.

I'm at a loss to understand what happened. Was it simply inattention--not enough writers using him in strong stories to keep him relevant? And the worst indignity--ultimately removed from the League as a charter member.

On the name front, I was thinking about this on the other thread and I thought Mars Alator would be a good codename. During the Roman occupation of Britain, the names of Roman gods were lent to Celtic gods--so Mars Alator is the Roman god as Alator--whose name means Hunter.

How much of old Martian Manhunter continuity still survives, I don't know, but I'd like to think he still came to Earth in the mid-'50s and worked covertly, adopting many different identities--John Jones, the Bronze Wraith, Bloodwynd etc.

[Outside_85]

Chiming in with the others; there isn't a problem.

A) He's a psionic shapeshifting alien, so him wearing anything more than enough to blend in just flies in the face of the repeated statements from him that Martians as a rule dont put any value in outwards appearance. Aside that, the New 52 outfit is superhero-y enough, as was the one adopted after WW3.

B) The name... well thats pretty hard to change now since he's used it for so long. Plus you have to consider that to him the Manhunter part is a job title, like captain, and that there are several other Manhunters around, so differentiating him by where he comes from is quite reasonable.

[blackbolt396]

There's no problem to solve. Martian Manhunter is an awesome name.

He's an alien and a detective in his human guise. He's a Martian who tracks down criminals. Martian Manhunter.

And he has the second best DC comic at this time , Omega Men is #1.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I'm at a loss to understand what happened. Was it simply inattention--not enough writers using him in strong stories to keep him relevant? And the worst indignity--ultimately removed from the League as a charter member.

Inifinite Crisis happened. The OYL JLA was initially written by Brad Meltzer, who didn't use him because he hated the guy, basically; right after came the Dwayne McDuffie league which suffered from more editorial edicts than probably any other; this led to most characters being taken away from him (Wally West was taken off the spotlight on the same breath, actually) and Dwayne's departure from the title, which then became a book with a fill in team about Vixen, Zatanna and Black Canary fighting the Royal Flush gang.

As a character whowas most relevant with the JLA, he lost some of his luster when he was taken out of it and some more when the team itself lost it's relevance.

[FanboyStranger]

The problem for MM is that he isn't as popular as he used to be. Back in the '90s, he was hugely popular--perhaps the most popular Justice Leaguer of them all. Both the Giffen/DeMatteis League and the Morrison League depended on his presence in the team--as the thing that held the group together. Quite literally with Grant Morrison's JLA, snce all the members were linked via J'Onn's telepathy.

I think J'Onn was popular in the JLA book itself in the '90s, but not popular enough to sustain his own series. I would rate his solo series by Ostrander and Mandrake second only to Simonson's Orion in overall quality amongst solo books for JLAers, but it was never a big seller despite being a lot better than, say, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, or any of the Super- or Bat-books of the time, not to mention other second/third tier solos. (The Flash would be the only other book that could really compete with Orion and MM, in my opinion.)

That said, I love the character, and I wouldn't change anything about him.

[Hypestyle]

Like wasp, hawkeye, hank pym, the Manhunter is "popular" within the context of Justice League team books and occasional guest appearances, but the fans don't show up enough when it comes to solo series. oh well.

[j9ac9k]

He was great in JLI because he was the rock amongst a bunch of potential screw-ups - the "adult." When he's part of the Big7, his impact is less. Then he becomes the utility player - either in the Watchtower like in the animated series or the telepath who handles their communication like Morrison's run.

[Jim Kelly]

I think J'Onn was popular in the JLA book itself in the '90s, but not popular enough to sustain his own series. I would rate his solo series by Ostrander and Mandrake second only to Simonson's Orion in overall quality amongst solo books for JLAers, but it was never a big seller despite being a lot better than, say, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, or any of the Super- or Bat-books of the time, not to mention other second/third tier solos. (The Flash would be the only other book that could really compete with Orion and MM, in my opinion.)

That said, I love the character, and I wouldn't change anything about him.

That's really true of a lot of DC series I've liked over the years. They're high quality but not big sellers. I think that DC has put out these books because it made them look good--they did it for the prestige. You already knew, just with the team on the MARTIAN MANHUNTER title, that they were going for quality. That doesn't mean a high selling MARTIAN MANHUNTER could not have been done--they just didn't make it a priority at that time.

[FanboyStranger]

That's really true of a lot of DC series I've liked over the years. They're high quality but not big sellers. I think that DC has put out these books because it made them look good--they did it for the prestige. You already knew, just with the team on the MARTIAN MANHUNTER title, that they were going for quality. That doesn't mean a high selling MARTIAN MANHUNTER could not have been done--they just didn't make it a priority at that time.

That tends to be true of most series I really like. I don't think any creative team that DC put together at the time could have gotten a MM title above 40,000 copies on a regular basis, which is what I tend to consider majorly successful for a second-stringer like J'Onn. Maybe Morrison if they paired him with a really hot artist at the time, but Aztek didn't sell, either. I still would have rather had the Ostrander/Mandrake series, though.