J'onn J'onzz (Earth-One)

Martian Manhunter
Mainstream Universe‎, 1950s-1986
Gallery
Real Name	J'onn J'onzz
Main Alias	Martian Manhunter
Other Aliases	Manhunter from Mars · John Jones · Marco Xavier
Relatives	Unnamed parents, T'omm (younger brother)
Affiliation	Justice League Detroit, Biloxi Investigations · formerly Justice League of America, Middleton Police Department
Base Of Operations	Brooklyn · Detroit, formerly Mars · formerly Middleton, Colorado · formerly Denver, Colorado · Michigan · formerly Mars II
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Public Identity
Race	Martian
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Detective
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 7"
Weight	300 lbs (136 kg)
Eyes	Red
Hair	Bald
Skin	Green
Origin
Universe	Earth-One
Creators	Joseph Samachson · Joe Certa
First Appearance	Detective Comics #225 (November, 1955)

Mars once had crime... centuries ago! Until the Great Evolution, we had wicked men who preyed on the good. But our enlightened science made all crime obsolete!

— Martian Manhunter

J'onn J'onzz is the Martian Manhunter, a law enforcement officer from Mars who became a police detective and superhero after becoming marooned on Earth. He is a founding member of the Justice League.

History

On Mars, when a racial war broke out between the green-skinned Martians and the white-skinned ones, J'onn J'onzz, a leading citizen on his native world was placed in charge of the army. Having been defeated by the white Martians leader, Benn Blanx, J'onn was banished to a desert for thirteen years. During the first year, on the planet Earth, a would-be scientist named Dr. Mark Erdel built a transmitter machine. Seeking to make contact with extraterrestrial life, he aimed his device towards the vicinity of Mars and activated it. The transmitter beam streaked across both space and time, and it brought J'onn back to Erdel's Colorado laboratory. When J'onn shapeshifted into a human-like form, Erdel was shocked and suffered a heart attack that killed him. As he was dying, Erdel asked J'onn for forgiveness for making him a prisoner of Earth.

As he first appears to Erdel

J'onn was able to use his powers to fit into human society. He adopted a human appearance and called himself "John Jones." He became a police detective in the city of Middleton. For a long time, he worked as a policeman while secretly using his alien powers to solve cases and help people.

Some time later, the existence of the Martian Manhunter was accidentally revealed. From this point on, J'onn stopped hiding his superhero feats from the world, but he kept his double-identity as John Jones secret. It was at this time that he began to publicly appear in his green-skinned humanoid form.

He subsequently acquired policewoman Diane Meade as his partner, and an pet Zook who helped him solve cases.

In February, 1959, a panic is generated by the revelation of the presence of Martians (specifically from J'onzz and his enemy Commander Blanx and his followers) on Earth. Unable to cope with the situation alone, the Flash, summoned more experienced heroes, who would be an embryo of the Justice League. One year later, J'onn J'onzz was one of the founding members of the (official) Justice League of America.

J'onn's career as a police detective was ended by the Idol Head of Diabolu. This evil statue expelled a deadly cloud. John Jones saved a child from the cloud, but in doing so he was engulfed by it. His fellow policemen believed he must have died. J'onn took this as an opportunity to abandon his double life. He allowed the police department (even Diane Meade) to believe he had died, and as the Martian Manhunter he even attended his own funeral.

After this, J'onn J'onzz and Zook began a quest to combat the Idol Head of Diabolu, which they finally managed to destroy.

J'onn then briefly assumed the alias "Marco Xavier" in order to infiltrate the international crime cartel known as Vulture.

J'onn served as a regular member of the Justice League of America. However, when a group of evil Martians led by General Blanx destroyed the surface of Mars, forcing all the good Martians to flee in a rocket, J'onn accompanied them into space in order to colonize a new world, leaving the Justice League. This new world, known as New Mars or Mars II, is the fourth planet from the sun of the star-system Cygnus.

Over the next few years J'onn was rarely seen, but he occasionally showed up to help the JLA. Eventually he returned to the JLA full-time. When his own people tried to invade the Earth, J'onn rebelled against them and prefered to remain with the Justice League on Earth.

When the original Justice League of America disbanded, J'onn became a member of the new "Justice League Detroit".

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, several important details about the history of J'onn J'onzz were changed, retroactively altering the course that his career had taken up until that point.

This history is continued with appropriate Post-Crisis revisions at J'onn J'onzz (New Earth)
In the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Pre-Crisis Multiverse was collapsed into a single merged reality and Earth-One ceased its separate existence. Substantial elements (people, places, events, etc.) of Earth-One's reality were folded into the history of New Earth, but significant details about the original history were often changed or excised accordingly. This was the status quo of the DC Universe until Convergence retroactively prevented the Multiversal collapse.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Martian Physiology: Martian Manhunter has been described as "the Swiss Army knife of superheroes." He possesses many of the powers of Superman. His powers come from his Martian physiology.
  • Chameleon-like powers: Arguably one of the most incredible powers possessed by the Manhunter is the ability to shape-shift. He is able to literally control the molecular structure of his body and manipulate it into any shape he desires. He can form clothing and weapons with non-moving or non-functioning parts. There does not seem to be any limit to the number of people the Manhunter can imitate and has stood in as a double for many famous people. He is also able to change colors and turn himself into objects. J'onn once was able to mimic Superman's appearance and all his powers (and becoming invulnerable to fire!)- but an exposure to Gold Kryptonite eliminated this ability.
    • Elasticity
  • Invisibility
  • Phasing: The Manhunter can phase through solid matter.
  • Superhuman Durability
  • Superhuman Strength: Although not so strong as Superman, Martian Manhunter is able to hurt him in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Superhuman Stamina
  • Flight
  • Superhuman Speed
  • Super Hearing
  • Super-Breath
  • Enhanced Senses
    • Martian Vision: The actual nature of this power seems to vary depending on the reports. It has been seen to be a bolt of force, directed by the Manhunter's eyes causing considerable damage. It has also been seen to cause flammable objects to catch fire. J'onn can use his Martian vision to see people and objects that are invisible to others. For example, upon their first meeting, J'onn's power allowed him to see past Gypsy's metahuman camouflage ability; other effects are, at present, unknown.
      • Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Vision
      • X-Ray Vision
      • Telescopic Vision
      • Heat Vision
  • Self-Sustenance: Martian Manhunter is immune to the nature of space and is not inhibited by its lack of gravity. He can travel the reaches of space where no human body could possibly survive without the aid of technology or protection.
  • Telepathy: The Martian Manhunter is able to read minds and telepathycally communicate with others.
  • Telekinesis: J'onn possesses the ability to move objects with his mind, which he described as "molecular hypnosis" and "Martian mind-over-matter".
  • Precognition: In some of his earliest adventures, the Martian Manhunter possessed the ability to see into the near future.

Abilities

• Genius Level Intellect: The Martian Manhunter possesses highly advanced reasoning and logic capabilities, and uses them to great effect.
  • Investigation
  • Multilingualism: The Martian Manhunter is able to speak Martian and English.
  • Leadership
  • Tactical Analysis
• Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Weaknesses

• Vulnerability to Fire: The Martian Manhunter has a psychosomatic fear of fire. Exposure to fire, causes him to lose his powers and hurt him.
• Power Limitation: The use of Invisibility will temporarily deactivates all his other powers.

Notes

• This version of J'onn J'onzz, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

• In Earth-One continuity, the Martian Manhunter quit his tenure with the Justice League of America in Justice League of America #71 and did not officially return to active status until the reformation of the League in Justice League of America Annual #2. However, Post-Crisis continuity has retroactively re-inserted J'onn as an active League member for the entire span of the first iteration of the JLA.
  

Trivia

• In his earliest appearances from 1955 to 1959, the Martian Manhunter was drawn completely hairless, with a beetle-brow forehead and shaded eyes. But throughout most of the Silver Age, he was drawn less as an alien and more as a human with green skin, with standard human eyes and dark eyebrows. This humanized look lasted for several years, until the late 1970s when he returned to his original beetle-brow appearance.
  

Recommended Reading

• House of Secrets (Volume 1)

Related

• Appearances of J'onn J'onzz (Earth-One)
• Images featuring J'onn J'onzz (Earth-One)
• Quotations by or about J'onn J'onzz (Earth-One)
• Character Gallery: J'onn J'onzz (Earth-One)

Footnotes

Justice League member This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.