With big names like Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash comprising its core roster, the Martian Manhunter, rarely gets the same time to shine in his own solo series. Ultimately, it’s because J'onn J'onzz is simply too powerful for a run-of-the-mill superhero story. But that could be J’onn’s greatest strength.
As far as powers go, Martian Manhunter is practically second to none. With physical strength and a traditional paragon power set rivaling Superman's, along with a host of other outlandish abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, intangibility, and shapeshifting, there is very little that the Last Son of Mars can’t handle on his own, and there are very few threats that can truly prove a challenge for the heart and soul of the Justice League.
The Man of Steel has said more than a few times that his alien ally is one of the most powerful beings on the face of the Earth, and there have been just as many instances where the Martian Manhunter has earned that endorsement. Even so, that same endorsement means that Martian Manhunter is probably the worst candidate for a traditional superhero solo series.
Martian Manhunter Is One of DC’s Most Powerful, So Why Can't He Carry a Solo Series?
His Abilities Don’t Have to Limit His Storytelling Potential
Outside his psychosomatic aversion to flames, Martian Manhunter could very well be nigh-indestructible, with many of the overused criticisms that “Superman is too powerful” more accurately falling on J’onn’s massive green shoulders. With such strength at his disposal, this iconic Justice League hero is truly ill-suited for an ongoing self-titled series that falls into the traditional vein of having its hero simply punch harder to win the day. But even though Martian Manhunter’s unlimited power limits him from a by-the-books superhero narrative, that doesn’t mean that the DC icon is exempt from the possibility of starring in incredibly compelling stories.
A Martian Manhunter series presents the unique opportunity to explore the psyche of a hero so alien and yet so indelibly human.
In fact, quite the opposite is true. J’onn J’onzz may be Mars’ sole survivor, but Martian Manhunter is one of the Justice League’s most enduring characters, and it's well past time for DC to explore just what that means. Disregarding inane conversations of power-scaling and other traditional superhero tropes, a Martian Manhunter series presents the unique opportunity to explore the psyche of a hero so alien and yet so indelibly human. Sure, even his codename reminds readers of his alien nature, although it’s that same alienation and status as a societal “other” that can connect the character to readers on a level that many may not expect.
The Justice League’s Heavy Hitter Martian Manhunter Is No Superman-Lite
There’s More Pathos to Martian Manhunter Than Typically Considered
Like his closest comparison and longtime companion, Superman, Martian Manhunter is the Last Son of a dead world. With each hero having dedicated his life to defending his adopted home, Earth, it’s easy to see plenty of overlap between these two alien juggernauts, but J’onn’s story is far more tragic than that of his Justice League compatriot. Yes, both heroes lost a world, but young Kal-El was merely a baby when he escaped Krypton’s destruction. On the other hand, J’onn had lived his entire life, centuries in some incarnations, steeped in Martian civilization.
Martian Manhunter had a wife, a child, and an entire existence that was snatched away from him before he arrived on Earth, a stranger in a strange land. Unlike Clark, who at least naturally blends in with the humans who took him in, J’onn is forced to hide his true form using a myriad of fabricated identities, in many ways making him more alone than Superman could ever be. This yearning for community and acceptance is where the story potential for Martian Manhunter lies. After all, who among us doesn’t understand the feeling of having to hide who we truly are?
Of course, J’onn shifts his form to resemble his human hosts, but he will never truly be human. Unlike the Man of Steel, J’onnz is legitimately alone as the last of his race. He hasn’t been afforded the opportunity to build a family either within humanity or with other survivors of his birth-world in the way that loved ones like Lois Lane and Supergirl have allowed Clark Kent. No, Martian Manhunter is truly singular with only the Justice League for family, and this sort of intense isolation is a breeding ground rife with the potential for exploration of what it means not only to be a hero, but what it means to be human.
A Good Martian Manhunter Story Should Make Readers Think
J’onn’s Alien Nature Speaks to His Humanity
These same explorations are just what could carry an ongoing Martian Manhunter series, especially if the series departed from traditional superhero fare. In fact, leaning into the isolated, alien angle of the character seems to be just what Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp, Javier Rodríguez, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is doing. Recently extended from six issues to twelve after an incredible reception from fans, it is proof positive that there is plenty of meat on the storytelling bone for a character like this.
DC's Absolute Universe Is Great, But Here's How Martian Manhunter Will Make It Even Better
Fans of DC’s Absolute Universe are getting their first look at Absolute Martian Manhunter, a book that promises to be the line’s best series yet.
In the Absolute Universe, where people feel more isolated than ever, digging into the alien, “other” nature of an entity like J’onnz, or in the case of his variant from DC's Absolute Universe, the Martian, is a journey that fans are desperate to go on. In many ways, and despite its historical superhero trappings, the story of Martian Manhunter is one that poses the very same questions that audiences have been asking themselves for as long as there have been stories to tell. What does it mean to be human? What does doing the right thing look like when you feel you don’t belong? How can one so alone find their place in a world they don’t recognize?
Questions such as these are worth far more than debates over who has the better heroic feats or which character can most easily defeat which cosmic threat, and questions such as these are truly where the storytelling potential for a Martian Manhunter series lies. Within the Absolute Martian Manhunter series and even with the potential of a brand-new ongoing for J’onn in Prime-Earth continuity, the creators at DC Comics have the opportunity to show fans just what makes the Martian Manhunter of Justice League fame tick, and if fans are lucky, they just may get some answers about themselves as well.
Comics, graphic novels, and other forms of storytelling starring Martian Manhunter and the Justice League are available now from DC Comics.
J'onn J'onzz, also known as the Martian Manhunter, is a Martian law enforcement officer who, after becoming stranded on Earth, transformed into a superhero and police detective. He was one of the Justice League of America's original .
