Origin Story of Martian Manhunter

Martian Manhunter is one of the most powerful superheroes of DC. He is a part of the original 7 member Justice League of America. But still is often ignored and has no to zero coverage in the mainstream media. The character of Martian Manhunter was developed by writer Joseph Samachson and was designed by artist Joe Certa. The character has appeared in several video games, television series and animated films. Manhunter’s character saw its first appearance in 1955 in comics.

Backdrop of Martian Manhunter’s story 

Martian Manhunter is also referred to as J’onn J’onzz. Manhunter is one of the last survivors of his home planet (Mars). J’onn somehow survived but his family and friends were not this fortunate. J’onn J’onzz was unable to save his wife and daughter, they burnt to death in front of him. This is one of the biggest nightmares of the Superhero from Mars. The memories of losing his friends and family constantly hunt him. However, the Martian was accidentally transported to Earth. With time J’onn J’onzz was able to settle on the Earth (initially facing few issues and problems). He adopted the planet as his second home and was also accepted by the people of the planet.

Powers and Weakness of Martian Manhunter

The Superhero from Mars possess powers which can even give superheroes like Superman a run for their money. J’onn aka Martian Manhunter is one of the most versatile superheroes of comics when it comes to superpowers and abilities. Manhunter can shapeshift, has superhuman strength and has heat vision. Martian Manhunter also possesses special powers like invisibility, telepathy, telekinesis and regeneration. The variety of powers and abilities makes one of the strongest creatures in comics.

But the superhero has a weakness too. Manhunter’s biggest weakness are his tragic memories of seeing his planet getting destroyed, death of family and friends. This hunts him and is his biggest nightmare. Any memory associated with this tragic event makes the Superhero very uncomfortable and almost incapable of fighting. Anything associated or related to the tragic event can bring flashbacks of the incident in front of J’onn. Of all the elements, fire is the most prominent weakness of Manhunter. As it reminds him about his tragic past. This weakness of J’onn is somewhat like Superman’s weakness to Kryptonite. 

J’onn J’onzz encounter with Dr. O’ Dell

Now let’s talk about an incident where J’onn encounters Dr. O’ Dell and accidentally ends up killing the old scientist. The incident takes place when the old scientist was conducting an experiment with his great invasion. Dr. Dell had created a robot brain computer which was capable of teleporting objects from outer space to the scientist’s lab. In the process, after activation of the system. Something unexpected happened, a green -skinned alline appeared from the machine. He introduced himself as J’onn J’onzz from Mars and said he’s a fellow scientist. Dr. Dell felt sorry for disturbing him and apologized for the incident. While Dell was preparing to send J’onn back to his planet, the Martian took the form of a human. This act overwhelmed the old scientist, leading him to death from a heart attack.

Martian Manhunter’s face off with Black Adam

The Superhero from Mars has also faced Black Adams. This incident took place in the comics in the mid 2000’s. Where Manhunter is shown taking on Black Adams. In the storyline Martian disguises himself as a young girl and tries to defeat Black Adam through telepathy (weeks before World War III). But Martian Manhunter couldn’t defeat Adam as he gets exposed to Black Adam’s dark memories. After this storyline, Martian Manhunter was given a new costume and DC also gave him a new appearance in the late 2000’s phase. This appearance closely resembled his Martian form.

The current scenario of Martian Manhunter in Comics 

The Superhero is one of the most underutilized characters of comics. And also the most ignored and overlooked character of Justice League. The character is hardly seen in the mainstream. Many feel that DC could have used this versatile multi powered Superhero in a far better manner. However, DC has completely missed the trick and have criminally underutilized Martian’s character on the big screen.

Conclusion

The Superhero (J’onn J’onzz) passionately fights for Earth, to make sure that his adopted home planet never suffers like his beloved home planet (Mars).

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