It’s time for another edition of Demanded Characters. During this time of new figures I see my Justice League really starting to fill out. However, I’m still waiting to see what the Four Horsemen can do with one of the most human of all the JLA members, even though he is not from Earth. I am of course talking about J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter.
Last week the fans called for an animated style choice, an option that really took a beating from the classic shirtless Amazo look.
I can remember as a kid wanting and liking the Super Powers figure of J’onn, but not knowing anything about him. He was not on TV and I did not really read comics, so all I knew was he was a green super hero. As I grew up I found out more and more about this character and found him to be one of the most human of all the super heroes. The paradox about this is he is one of the characters that was not born on the planet Earth.
On his home planet of Mars J’onn was a peace keeper keeping his planet safe from all types of threats. After losing his family and entire society in a horrible epidemic, J’onn wandered the planet of Mars all alone until he was brought to this planet by a scientist. Once here he was no longer alone, but because he was an alien he was more isolated than ever. He found solace by taking on the identity of a detective, John Jones, and first settling in Denver then moving to Gotham, where he would come into contact with the town’s boogie man, the Batman.
This is the best part about J’onn, he is our eyes in the DCU. He is learning about Meta-humans, how to deal with having a secret identity or 10, and he shows us a wide range of emotions. J’onn is arguably the strongest hero on the planet, with so many powers an abilities, yet he is also one of the most fragile. He takes on the lives of various people: from a hard nosed detective, to an old lady in China, to a super hero named Bloodwynd. J’onn is well respected in the super hero community, sharing confidences with Batman, sharing stories of being an alien on earth with Superman, and being a caring yet firm resource for Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. He is the Data of the DCU, and we as readers learn more about the life of a hero from J’onn then any other character.
J’onn has been part of almost every incarnation of the JLA, even if we don’t know he is on the team. Currently though, he is not part of the JLA, but Batman’s Outsiders, as a spy on the prison planet in Salvation Run.
The big question: Which version of Martian Manhunter do you want to see first?
The Choices:
Classic J’onn
Forget the weirdo I want original Martian
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