J'onn J'onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955). A roster member of the Justice League of America, he is one of the seven founding members and a reoccurring member for many incarnations and derivatives.
A green-skinned alien from Mars, he is accidentally teleported to Earth and is among the last living members of his species. Motivated by tragedies that include the loss of his own family and species, Martian Manhunter becomes a superhero and protector of his adopted homeworld. While among the most powerful of superheroes on Earth, J'onn is often marked for his wisdom, gentle character, and idealism in pursuing justice, making him an ideal leader and voice of reason in iterations of the Justice League.
He has also been featured in other DC Comics products, such as video games, television series, animated films, and merchandise like action figures. In live-action, the character first appeared in the television pilot Justice League of America, played by David Ogden Stiers. He also appeared in the series Smallville, played by Phil Morris, and in the Arrowverse series Supergirl, played by David Harewood. Harry Lennix played the character in the DC Extended Universe, under the guise of General Calvin Swanwick, in the films Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), with Martian Manhunter's true form appearing in Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021).
Publication history
Silver Age (1950s–1960s) Martian Manhunter aka John (J'onn J'onzz) Jones debuted in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955), written by Joseph Samachson and illustrated by Joe Certa. The character is a green-skinned humanoid from Mars, who is pulled to Earth by an experimental teleportation beam constructed by Dr. Saul Erdel. The Martian tells Erdel where he is from, and Erdel tells him that to send him back will require the teleportation beam's robot brain to be recalibrated, and that this may take years. J'onzz then unexpectedly uses his shapeshifting to assume the guise of a human; the shock of seeing this kills Dr. Erdel and leaves J'onzz with no way 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 Middletown, USA.Detective Comics #322 (December 1963)
During this period, the character and his backstory differ in some minor and some significant ways from modern treatments. Firstly, as with his counterpart, the Silver Age Superman, J'onzz's power range is poorly defined, and his powers expand over time as the plot demands. The addition of precognitive abilities (Detective Comics #226) is quickly followed by telepathy and flight,Detective Comics #227 (January 1956)Detective Comics #228 (February 1956) "atomic vision", super-hearing,Detective Comics #231 (May 1956) 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 in this version of him, 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 such as his younger brother T'om J'onzz.Detective Comics #287 Detective Comics #236 (October 1956), for example, features the character making contact with the planet Mars and his parents.
J'onzz 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 is 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, fearing overexposure.Detective Comics #273 (November 1959) The Martian and the archer inaugurated the team-up format of The Brave and the Bold.The Brave and the Bold #50 (October–November 1963) J'onzz appears there one other time, working with the Flash.The Brave and the Bold #56 (October–November 1964) In some stories he is shown travelling through space at near-light speedJustice League of America #3 (March 1961) or to other planets.Justice League of America #12 (June 1962)
The detective John Jones is ostensibly killed in action by the Idol Head of Diabolu, an artifact that generates supernatural monsters. J'onzz abandons the civilian identity as he decides fighting this new menace will take a great deal of his time.Detective Comics #326 (April 1964) At this point his feature moves to The House of Mystery, where J'onzz spends the next few years in battle against the Idol Head.The House of Mystery #143 (June 1964) to #158 (April 1966) Shortly after its defeat, he takes the persona of Marco Xavier to infiltrate the international crime cartel Vulture, which he defeats in the final installment of his original series.The House of Mystery #160 (July 1966) to #173 (May–June 1968)
As Superman was allowed by DC to become a fully active member of the Justice League, J'onzz's appearances there dwindled. He last participated in a mission in his original tenure in #61 (March 1968), shortly before his solo series was discontinued (The House of Mystery #173, May–June 1968). In #71, his people finally came to Earth for him and he left with them to found and become leader of New Mars. Over the next 15 years, J'onzz appeared sporadically in various DC titles.
Bronze Age (1970s–mid-1980s) In 1972, Superman was teleported to New Mars.World's Finest Comics #212 (June 1972) J'onzz briefly returned to Earth via spaceship in 1975.Justice League of America #115 (January–February 1975) J'onzz made another trip to Earth shortly thereafter,Adventure Comics #449 (January–February) to #451 (March–April 1977) leading to Superman and Batman fighting alongside him on New Mars.World's Finest #245 (June–July 1977) Three years later, he was discovered playing cosmic-level chess with Despero, using JLA-ers as the pieces.Justice League of America #177-178 (April–May 1980) The Martian again encountered Superman in outer space.DC Comics Presents #27 (November 1980) He permanently resurfaced in the DC Universe in 1984.Justice League of America #228 (July 1984) Shortly thereafter, the League had several members resign (among many other changes), leaving an opening for the Manhunter.Justice League of America #233 (December 1984) While staying on Earth, he decided to revive his John Jones identity, this time as a private detective, but had to explain his 20-year "disappearance".Justice League of America #248 (March 1986)
Post-Crisis (mid-1980s–mid-1990s)
In early 1987, DC revamped its struggling Justice League of America series by re-launching the title as Justice League. 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'onzz 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'onzz's obsession with Chocos cookies, due to Shazam's influence).
The 1988 four-issue miniseries 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 use retroactive continuity (retcon) to establish that his real form is private and that, even on Mars, his "public" appearance was the familiar version. The native name for Mars is said to be "Ma'aleca'andra" in his native language (a nod to "Malacandra", the name used by the inhabitants of Mars in C. S. Lewis' novel Out of the Silent Planet). 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's wife and daughter, has been dead for thousands of years.Martian Manhunter #4 (August 1988)
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) disguised as "Bloodwynd," a mysterious and powerful necromancer.Justice League America #63 (June 1992) J'onzz assumed the physical form, stand-offish mannerisms and magical powers of Bloodwynd, while Bloodwynd himself was transported and trapped inside of his "blood gem". It was during this time the JLA engaged Doomsday in The Death of Superman series. After being hurled by Doomsday into a burning building, Blue Beetle discovers the merged identity of the two heroes. Soon after, it is revealed that J'onzz accidentally bonded with Bloodwynd prior to joining the League. The two are eventually separated and both continue their associations with the League.Justice League America #77 (July 1993)
The 1992 miniseries American Secrets is set in the character's past, exploring a previously unknown adventure 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.
Post-Zero Hour (mid-1990s–mid-2000s) In 1997, J'onn J'onzz became a founding member of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter's new JLA where the team fought a group of White Martians, the Hyperclan.
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 38 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, though his primary and first secret identity is still John Jones. However, after Cameron Chase reveals some of his identities to the public, he begins to use fewer secret identities.Martian Manhunter (vol. 2) #17 In another incident, part of his psyche splits off from his main personality, taking on the identity of John Jones before dying; the experience leads J'onn to "retire" all of his other human identities aside from Jones to honor the part of him that died.Martian Manhunter (vol. 2) #31