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J'onn J'onzz (New Earth)

Revision as of 15:21, 17 September 2009 by Darklighter88 (Message Wall | contribs)
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Quote1 I am Mars' sole survivor. There is a reason for that. Quote2
— Martian Manhunter


Origin

Centuries ago on the planet Ma'aleca'andra, the Green Martians known as M'yrnn and Sha'sheen gave birth to twin sons. The bearing of twins was uncommon among the Martian culture, and as such, the first of the twins was named J'onn J'onzz, whose name means "Light to the Light". J'onn's brother however, was born a mutant, bereft of a Martian's innate ability to communicate telepathically. He was named Ma'alefa'ak, whose named means "Darkness in the Heart".

As an adult, J'onn became a Manhunter (police officer) and married a Martian woman named M'yri'ah. The two established a modest home for themselves beneath the windswept Martian plains and gave birth to a daughter named K'hym.

Years passed, and J'onn's brother Ma'alefa'ak grew to despise everything about Martian culture. In an ambitious endeavor to commit full-scale genocide against his own people, he engineered a contagious virus known as H'ronmeer's Curse. The virus reacted to telepathic energy, and carried from one Martian to the next whenever they elected to use their psionic powers. The plague responded to a Martian's innate fear of fire, causing them psychosomatic stress so intense, that their bodies and minds would literally burst into flame. J'onn desperately tried to keep his wife and daughter from using their mental gifts, but they were unable and so, contracted the plague. K'hym was the first to experience the symptoms, and M'yri'ah followed soon after. J'onn was anguished as he watched his family burning to death before his very eyes. The trauma of the event shattered his psyche, and nearly drove him mad.

Welcome to Earth

Meanwhile on the planet Earth, a would-be scientist named Dr. Saul Erdel developed a transmitter machine based upon ancient Martian technology. 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, striking the Martian Manhunter at a point in time several centuries before Erdel would even be born. The beam brought J'onn back to Erdel's natural time era, where he collapsed on the ground outside of the Doctor's Colorado laboratory.

Jonn Jonnz First App

As he first appears to Erdel

Erdel brought the distraught Martian inside and attempted to nurse him back to health. The anguish of J'onn's mental state created a psychic bond between the two, and Erdel became aware of the events that took place on Mars. In an effort to heal J'onn's mind, Erdel used the mental link to fabricate a new history for the Martian. He created a back-story inspired by the writings of famous science fiction novelists such as Ray Bradbury and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Eventually, J'onn's sanity was restored, and he was prepared to function in this strange new world. Erdel put the idea into his head, that he should become a great champion, and thus J'onn adopted the heroic guise of the Martian Manhunter.

J'onn J'onzz is accidentally teleported to Earth by a human scientist, Dr. Erdel, who immediately has a heart attack and dies, leaving the Martian stranded and unable to return.[2] He is able to use his powers to fit in, adopting a human-like appearance and calling himself "John Jones". He joins the police force, secretly using his alien powers to help the inhabitants of his new planet. After he had given up his John Jones persona he became Marco Xavier in order to infiltrate the international crime cartel known as VULTURE. Early on, the Manhunter from Mars adopted a more characteristically superheroic modus operandi, openly fighting crime in a green-skinned form.

Early Years

Later it was revealed that Mars was dead when J'onn was taken, killed by a mental plague deliberately started by his brother Ma'alefa'ak. He took the identity of the Bronze Wraith, and fought crime with the Justice Experience.[3]

The Martian Manhunter's history is intimitely linked with that of the Justice League of America: He is a founding member of the team.

JLI

During the Justice League International years, J'onn is shown to be obsessed with Chocos, partially due to Captain Marvel's influence.

J'onzz reveals that his familiar appearance is not his true Martian form but a "compromise" between his true form and a human appearance - explaing that his real form is private and that, even on Mars, his "public" appearance was the familiar version.

In addition to serving in the League under his own identity, he also joins (under duress) as "Bloodwynd".

JLA

The 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; however, following two incidents (in which John Jones separates from the Martian Manhunter), he decides to focus on his original human identity and retire the others.

Later, the Martian Manhunter attempts to conquer his fear of fire and makes a deal with a flame-wielding villainess named Scorch, who wants J'onzz' telepathic help in dealing with her own mental issues. 20,000 years before, an extremely dangerous race of beings called "the Burning", caused large fires to help themselves to reproduce asexually. In order to prevent the Burning from destroying much of the universe, the Guardians of the Universe split the species into the Green Martians and the White Martians, changed their reproductive behavior, and instilled in them a fear of fire. When the Martian Manhunter confronts his fear of fire, he reverts into one of the ancient creatures and changes his name to Fernus. His genetic memory identifies threats such as Vandal Savage, who killed one of the Burning on ancient Earth. This same genetic memory also makes Fernus hate the Green Lantern, due to his association with the Oans.

Fernus increases the strength of the powers he inherits from J'onn: For example, he can phase other beings rather than just himself, and he has access to pyrokinesis. He can breathe fire of such intensity it harms Scorch, who had previously been thought immune to damage from fire. Fernus' tremendous strength also allows him to dominate the Justice League in combat even without his Martian telepathic powers. He can also heal himself from almost total destruction within seconds.

The Justice League eventually defeats Fernus by re-enlisting Plastic Man, who is immune to Fernus' psychic powers and has superior shape-changing abilities. It is implied that Batman recruited Plastic Man to the Justice League as a balance in case the Martian Manhunter ever goes out of control.

After destroying Fernus, J'onn grieves for Scorch, who had fallen into coma, and with whom he had fallen in love. J'onn later tells Superman that his aversion to fire has changed: he is now invulnerable to flames unless they are "flames of passion" or of some other "psychic significance".[citation needed]

Infinite Crisis and "One Year Later"

 Main article: Infinite Crisis

Although J'onzz is initially thought killed in the explosion of the Justice League Watchtower, Justice League member Manitou Dawn receives a telepathic vision of J'onzz assuring her that he "will reveal himself, in time" but needs her help to keep an eye on a mysterious, newly-powerful telepath - the mind-controlling villain Key - whose abilities he had always managed to dampen before.

J'onzz resurfaces during Infinite Crisis, unconscious and connected to Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s vibrational tower, along with Lady Quark, the Ray, Black Adam, Power Girl, Nightshade, and Breach. Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Nightwing free J'onzz and the others from Alexander's tower.

Oracle asks J'onzz to telepathically coordinate the heroes' response to the Society's global jailbreak. He joins the assembled heroes in the defense of Metropolis from the combined might of the world's supervillains and in the battle against Superboy-Prime.

In the following months, J'Onn masqueraded as U.S. Secretary of State Kakalios in an attempt to bring down Checkmate. He was successful in eliminating it as a U.S. government-controlled agency. However, it soon reorganized under the United Nations.

Death of the Martian Manhunter

Final Crisis #1

One of the most dramatic changes in J'onn's life occurred a short time later. While operating under the guise of William Dyer, he discovered that several Green Martians had crash-landed on Earth, and were being held by high-ranking members of the Defense Department. One of the Martians, Roh'kar, broke free of his confinement and made contact with the Martian Manhunter. The union was bittersweet however, as brainwashed assassin ended Roh'kar's life with a weapon designed to target Martians. [4] J'onn found five of Roh'kar's colleagues and rescued them from the bowels of a government think tank. He established a safe house for them and pledged to do everything in his power to keep them safe from government scrutiny.

Salvation Run and Final Crisis

When Checkmate decided to capture a number of super-villains and exile them on a "prison planet" in an event known as Salvation Run, J'onn volunteered to disguise himself as Blockbuster and infiltrate the planet to keep an eye on things, making periodic reports to Batman. Catwoman finds out his true identity and, to save her own skin, outs him to the other villains, who torture him. When the villains escape the planet, teleporting back to Earth, they leave J'onn in his cage to die.

He is "rescued" by Libra and the new Secret Society of Super-Villains who open a Boom Tube between the planet and Earth. Libra brings him back to Earth with the express purpose of killing him, doing so with his spear tipped scale staff, for the Human Flame to show the Society members that he can give them their hearts desire--Human Flame having wanted J'onn dead for foiling a crime of his years ago. In his final moments J'onn broadcast a telepathic message to fellow heroes Batman, Superman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Gypsy, and Black Canary prompting them to say his name and, hours after his death had been discovered, simultaneously record part of his life story in their sleep.

His remains were interred in a pyramid removed from Egypt and placed back in it's original location on Mars in a ceremony attended by many heroes. He was eulogized by Superman.

The Blackest Night

Recently the Blackest Night has started, the dead have raised in the entire universe and J'onn is one of them. After his resurrection and reclutation to the Black Lantern Corps he went to confront Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, who were talking over Batman's grave being robbed. He approaches them saying that they should be dead and begins to fight the two.

Powers

Genetically Modified Martian Physiology: Martian Manhunter has been described as "the Swiss Army knife of superheroes." He possesses many of the powers of Superman. Note: Many, if not all of the Martian Manhunter's powers and abilities are common to members of his race, even if demonstration of such abilities has not been explicitly shown in a canonical resource. His powers come from his alien physiology. Born of Mars over a millenia ago, from a super advanced civilization, boasting advanced technology and genetic modifications over its people, the Martian Manhunter would appear to be a genetically modified being with incredible powers stemming from the changes made in his body.[citation needed] Whether this is their natural state or an advanced state given to only a few individuals is unknown. The Martian's physiology would seem to be composed of a complex molecular chain that resembles polymer bonds but with the ability to be altered at will. The Martian Manhunter can change his mass, color, relative shape, imitating even clothing if desired. The bio-polymer is extremely flexible, durable, incredibly strong for a biological material and apparently self-sustaining[5]. No one has ever seen the Martian Manhunter eat, except for reasons of politeness or personal preference.[original research?]

File:MartianManhunter1.jpg
  • Shape-Shifting, Malleability, Plasticity, Elongation: The most incredible of the powers of the Manhunter is the ability to shape-shift. He is able to literally control the molecular structure of his body's bio-polymer and make it resemble anything he wants. He can form clothing, weapons with nonmoving or nonfunctioning 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. His ability to imitate people and their mannerisms has stood him in good stead for his disguises. He has recently been seen to shape-shift into the size and shape of a common house fly and to enormous sizes comparable to skyscrapers. He is also able to change colors.
  • Invisibility The Manhunter can cause the bio-polymers in his body to lose his ability to reflect light, rendering the Manhunter invisible to normal light and human sight. With more increased concentration, he can render himself completely invisible along the electromagnetic spectrum, including the infrared and the ultraviolet ranges of the spectrum. This invisibility does not affect every other sense and he could still be detected by touch.
  • Phasing: No physical explanation of this power make sense except that it is an aspect of his psionic powers shifting his mass into another dimension or out of vibrational phase with other objects in this dimension.[original research?]
  • Superhuman Durability: The bio-morphic structure of the Manhunter's body allows him to absorb almost all kinetic energies such as high caliber bullets, shrapnel or flying debris easily. He can harden his bio-polymers by rebinding them and increase his durability to the point where he is nearly on par with Superman. Along with his nigh invulnerability his shape shifting makes it even more difficult to harm. Hazardous environments effect practically do not affect the Martian Manhunter. He has proven to be immune to all known human diseases, but no experimentation has been done to see what more advance viruses such as ebola or anthrax might have.
  • Superhuman Strength: The Martian Manhunter is one of the strongest beings on the planet. The Martian's superhuman strength comes from his plasmorphic structure formed from immensely long and complex molecular chains,[citation needed] augmented with his psionic and telekinetic abilities allowing him to lift incredible weights without these weights crumbling under the stress. The Martian has been seen lifting tankers out of the ocean for vast distances, stalemating powerhouses like Superman, and he has even helped tow the moon and objects as large as the Earth itself together with Superman. By modifying the density of these bio-polymers, the Manhunter can make himself stronger by forcing the polymers into tighter bundles. While at a rest state the limits of his strength are unknown, the Manhunter can lift 100 tons without much effort. He is nearly as powerful as the likes of Wonder Woman and Superman when concentrating his bio-polymers to their full capabilities[6].
  • Superhuman Endurance: J'onn's endurance is just as formidable as his strength or invulnerability. He can operate under extreme conditions for an indeterminate period of time without showing signs of fatigue. The exact range of this power is unknown.
  • Regeneration: The Martian Manhunter has shown amazing regenerative abilities. His regenerative abilities are so great that he has been able to completely regenerate from nothing but his severed hand[7], regenerate in moments from nothing than a puddle of green liquid and other moments, having his head cut off, and he has shown total control over his molecular structure.
  • Flight: The Martian Manhunter flies by manipulation of gravitons (a subatomic particle associated with the force of gravity), manipulation of magnetic fields and control of his absolute molecular movement (a telekinetic effect).[citation needed] These combine to give him the ability to fly great distances with little fatigue and at great speed. He has been seen to fly at Mach 10 speeds (7690 mph) in the Earth's atmosphere. Speeds faster than this cause great environmental damage and are avoided unless absolutely necessary. His bio-polymorphic skin and overall toughness make these speeds bearable and cause him no injury. The Manhunter has also been seen flying in space with no difficulty, and in space he can fly at speeds that has allowed him to keep up with the likes of even Superman. J'onn can therefore fly at speeds exceeding the escape velocity of earth (7 miles per second) under his own power.
  • Superhuman Speed: Either through flight or natural movement, the Martian Manhunter can maintain speed and reflexes far in excess to that of even most superhumans. Like the power of flight, this is accomplished by manipulating the magnetic fields of energy surrounding his body, as well as ambient gravitational particles.[citation needed] Traditionally, J'onn only uses his superhuman speed while flying. He has admitted that he is not as fast as Superman but this can be argued as he has shown speed feats that is nearly at Superman's level, such as the speed necessary to fly around the earth destroying multiple targets around the planet in seconds and managed to also save Kyle Rayner in the end. He can process thoughts, move, and react at super speed. J'on has also demonstarted that he is fast enough to comfortably catch bullets and other propelled projectiles.
  • Extrasensory Input: J'onn possesses nine different senses. One of these senses could account for instances of the Manhunter's perceived precognitive abilities (see Trivia).
  • Longevity
  • Super Hearing
  • Super Breath: The ability to create hurricane force winds by blowing.
  • 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, he has shown that he could easily cause damage greater than 1000 lbs of TNT. It has also been seen to cause flammable objects to catch fire. The range of this power is also unknown but has been seen to be effective at ranges of 1000 feet and more. He can increase the power of his Martian Vision to levels that would even injure the likes of Superman. It also grants J'onn the ability to see into other spectrums of light. J'onn can use his Martian vision to see the invisible. For example, upon their first meeting, J'onn's power allowed him to see past Gypsy's Metahuman camouflage ability; other effects unknown.
  • Infared Vision
  • X-Ray Vision
  • Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Vision
  • Telescopic Vision
  • Microscopic Vision
  • Heat Vision
  • Telepathy: The Martian Manhunter is the most powerful telepath on the planet[8], and is one of the strongest telepathic being in the Universe. He is able to read the mind of any human with no difficulties, and the only minds that can cause him trouble are insane minds. He can even read their subconscious mind as well. He can scan the mind of every person on Earth within a matter of moments. He can read a mind over great distances. This telepathy extends to distances as far away as the moon, since it is known that the Martian Manhunter can communicate with Earth with his telepathy. It is not known whether there is a limit to the number of people he can be attuned to or whether there are any special requirements to being attuned to him. In addition to reading minds, the Martian Manhunter can literally reprogram the mind of a subject into believing whatever he wants them to. He can use this ability to help subjects forget things that he does not want them to remember as well as set up post-hypnotic suggestions.[9]
  • Illusions
  • Induce Sleep
  • Mind Scans
  • Mind Wipes
  • Mental Shield: He can prevent other telepaths from reading his mind. He can expand this ability and shield other people from telepathy.
  • Download Information: Has demonstrated this by downloading information on how to fly a martian space ship into Batman's brain.
  • Limited Mind Control: Insane minds seem to be the only minds he has some trouble controlling.
  • Thought Sensing: The Manhunter can use the mental signature of a being to track it and can detect lifeforms by their empathic as well as telepathic signatures. He can detect whether a being is intelligent and can communicate with it emphatically if it does not have a communication driven frame of reference for normal telepathy to function with. He can also detect various states of mind from anywhere in the world.
  • Telepathic Relay: Other wise known as a telepathic link. As a Class 3 telepath, the Manhunter is able to use his telepathic prowess as a relay station for a group of minds, who can then "speak" to each other through him. This relaying ability seems to be limited to the same range as the Manhunters normal telepathic range.
  • Telepathic Assault: The Martian Manhunter can also use his telepathic abilities in an offensive manner. He has the ability to cause mental shutdown in a target using his mental powers. The Manhunter does not use this power often due to the invasive nature and harshness of such a telepathic attack.
  • Mayavana(Formerly): One of the most prized abilities of the Martians is Mayavana. It is the ability to reach into another mind and create a mental reality as real as any normal reality. The strain of Mayavana is such that it can only be used once in a life time, and so is normally used on the one that a Martian loves the most. J'onn used it on the rampaging Despero so that he thought that he had destroyed the JLH (subsequently he reverted to an embryonic state) and therefore saved his friends.

Abilities

Expert Mediator: The Martian Manhunter's sound reasoning capabilities and long term association Earth's global population, gives him an edge in dealing with humans of diverse governments, cultures and religions. In the northern hemisphere, the Martian Manhunter is one of many costumed adventurers battling against entropy. In the southern hemisphere of Earth, the Martian Manhunter is more well known than Superman. Considered the scourge of the underworld because of his dedication to truth and improving the lot of humanity everywhere, he is feared by underworld criminals worldwide. His noted skills include:

  • Logical Mind: Advanced reasoning and logic capabilities.
  • Personable Attitude: Excellent human relations skills.
  • Emotional Attunement: Highly developed empathic abilities.

Weaknesses

Psychic Pyrophobia: The Martian Manhunter has a psychosomatic fear of fire. It is unknown what the source of this fear is, whether it is a personal fear or a cultural fear, but whichever it is, it is a paralytic fear with the Manhunter. Exposure to fire, causes him to lose his powers, and in the case of extreme fire, to lose his control over his biomorphic form. The Manhunter is more vulnerable in this form and can take damage in this vulnerable state.

He is now invulnerable to flames unless they are "flames of passion" or of some other "psychic significance".

Choco Addiction: It has also been suggested that something within J'onn's physiology makes him addicted to the chemicals used in the Earth snack, Chocos. Withdrawal symptoms include violent bursts of rage, and loss of intellect. However, these claims have never been accurately substantiated, and may even be false. [10]
.

Equipment

The Martian Manhunter owns one of two Kuru pendants. The pendant acts as a repository of ancient Martian lore and knowledge. The second pendant belonged to the late Martian, Roh'kar. J'onn is also known to carry a bag of Chocos with him for snacking.

Transportation

Self-powered flight

  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  • As revealed in the pilot episode of the Justice League animated series, the Martian Manhunter's true name is pronounced Zhahn Zhownz. Phonetically, this name is very similar to John Jones, the human alias that he operated under while working for the Middleton police department.
  • In Earth-One continuity, the Martian Manhunter quit his tenure with the Justice League of America in Justice League of America (Volume 1) #71 and did not officially return to active status until the reformation of the League in Justice League of America (Volume 1) 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. In canon continuity, every issue of Justice League of America (Volume 1) between #71 and #232 should be considered a de facto appearance of the Martian Manhunter
  • Martian Manhunter began as an ongoing series in 2000, written by John Ostrander, and illustrated by Tom Mandrake (with fill-in art provided by Bryan Hitch among others). The series lasted 36 issues before being canceled due to low sales. Outside of this, the Manhunter appears predominantly in Justice League comic books; he is the only character to be involved with every incarnation of the League. (From the late 1960s until the late 1970s, J'onn was absent from the JLA, having left Earth to find New Mars. This storyline is later retconned during the Crisis, and it is now assumed he was with the team at this time.) [11]
  • J'onzz has two minor appearances in the Sandman series, in the issue #5 story "Passengers", in which the Dreamlord Morpheus inquires about the whereabouts of his Dreamstone. At this time, J'onn identifies him as an old God, and he sees Morpheus as a floating face, rather than the humanoid form others see him in. He also appears in issue #71 of Sandman during "The Wake" story arc, conversing with Batman and Clark Kent about dreams.
  • Batman left one Choco on his casket.

Other Aliases

This section contains a list of alternate identities that the Martian Manhunter has used during his time on Earth (incomplete).

  • Bloodwynd [12]
  • Bronze Wraith [13]
  • Charley Dimes [14]
  • Jade Warrior [15]
  • Joan J'onnz [16]
  • John Jones [17]
  • Marco Xavier [18]
  • Secretary of State Kakalios
  • William Dyer [19]
  • Yuchiro Takata [20]
  • Hino Rei
  • Josh Johnstone [21]
  • Mrs. Klingman high school civics teacher of Clark Kent [22]
  • a cat

Footnotes

  • In his earliest appearances, the Martian Manhunter resembled a normal human, albeit with green skin. He was drawn with standard human eyes and eyebrows. In later years however, creators decided to give J'onn a more alien appearance and provided him with the more modernized beetle-brow look.
  • In some of his earliest adventures, the Martian Manhunter possessed the ability to see into the near future. [23] However, there have been scant examples of this, and it is no longer a power that he possesses in modern continuity. By his own account, the Martian Manhunter cannot perceive the future.
  • One of J'onn's alternate identities was that of a female Japanese journalist Hino Rei. The name is an in-joke, sharing a similarity to that of a character from the Sailor Moon anime series, also known as Sailor Mars. Surprisingly, Batman recognised the name, telling J'onn that it was "a giveaway".
  • Martian Manhunter (Volume 1)
  • Martian Manhunter (Volume 2)
  • Martian Manhunter (Volume 3)
  • Martian Manhunter: American Secrets

Related

External Links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 1) #4
  2. ↑ Detective Comics #225
  3. ↑ Chase #6
  4. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 3) #1
  5. ↑ JLA Vol.3 #89
  6. ↑ Green Lantern #44
  7. ↑ Martian Manhunter Vol.2 #8
  8. ↑ Green Lantern #44
  9. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 1) #4
  10. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #24
  11. ↑ JLA Incarnations #4
  12. ↑ Justice League Spectacular #1
  13. ↑ Chase #6
  14. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #1
  15. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #2
  16. ↑ Justice League Task Force #7
  17. ↑ Detective Comics #225 (and many other issues)
  18. ↑ House of Mystery #160
  19. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 3) #1
  20. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #2
  21. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #20
  22. ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #20
  23. ↑ Detective Comics #226


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