History ComicBook / MartianManhunter

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Creator/MiguelFerrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood. He made his first film appearance in Martian form in 2021's ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', played by Creator/HarryLennix, as he's [[CanonCharacterAllAlong revealed to be the true form]] of General/Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' and ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''.

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: His usual "blank-eyed green-skinned humanoid" appearance is sometimes explained as being a compromise on his part between this and his true ShapeshifterDefaultForm, which is even less human.

* ArtifactTitle: The name Martian Manhunter, considering that he doesn't do as much detective work and became more of a straight alien hero.

* RaceLift: An unusual case. J'onn's first SecretIdentity in the comics, John Jones, was a white man. However, since around the time of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', where he was played by Creator/PhilMorris, J'onn's tended to have a primary secret identity as a black man, whether it's John Jones or someone else.

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood. He made his first film appearance in Martian form in 2021's ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', played by Creator/HarryLennix, as he's [[CanonCharacterAllAlong revealed to be the true form]] of General/Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' and ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''.

* IronicEcho: The ''Martian Manhuneter: American Secrets'' mini-series, set in the 1950s, begins with J'onn describing himself and the dying man he has just met by saying "I was a Martian, he was a beatnik", and ends with J'onn thwarting the plans of the only other survivor of Mars (who wants to turn Earth into a new Mars) and proudly stating "He was a Martian, I was a beatnik". ItMakesSenseInContext.

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood. It was revealed in October 2019 that he was to be featured in the ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' film[[note]]director Creator/ZackSnyder shared a storyboard of him and indicated he was played by Creator/HarryLennix, meaning General/Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick was J'onn J'onzz all along[[/note]], but the scene with the actor was never filmed during the original production. He is set to appear in the director's cut, ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', which filmed the cameo alongside some additional content with the character.

Comic-wise, J'onn's only had two short-lived ongoings over his existence: John Ostrander's 1998 series, which ran for 38 issues and two annuals, and Rob Williams's 2015 series, which ran for 12 issues. More commonly, Post-Crisis, he's had mini-series and one-shots: a 1988 mini by J.M. [=DeMatteis=], a 1992 mini by Gerard Jones, a 1996 one-shot by Paul Kupperberg, a 2006 mini by A.J. Lieberman, and a one-shot {{crossover}} with [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Marvin the Martian]] in 2017 with two stories, one by Steve Orlando and Frank J. Barbiere, and one by Jim Fanning.

He first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #225 (November, 1955), created by Joe Samachson and Joe Certa. An alien teleported to Earth by a FreakLabAccident, J'onn J'onzz (pronounced fairly close to "[[AlliterativeName John Jones]]" - in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' his first name seems to be halfway between the English "John" and the French "Jean" and in WesternAnimation/YoungJustice, it is pronounced Ja-Ahn) decided to use his abilities to help protect the innocent who could not protect themselves. All of his incarnations have that much in common (well, the Franchise/{{DCAU}}, ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and ComicBook/New52 versions came to Earth on their own, but that's a minor detail).

As part of the Creator/DCComics ComicBook/{{New52}} [[CosmicRetcon relaunch]], he became one of the central characters of ''Comicbook/{{Stormwatch}}'' and lost most of his friendliness, relationships to other DC characters, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking love of Oreos]]. He left after issue 12, wiping his teammates' memories of him in the process, and went on to lead the 2013 Comicbook/{{Justice League of America|2013}}. He got the love of biscuits back in the Williams series (it's hard to know how else to interpret having an entire persona obsessed with biscuits, to the point of calling himself Mister Biscuits), and his relationships to other characters came back from ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' on.

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood. It was revealed in October 2019 that he was to be featured in the ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' film[[note]]Director Creator/ZackSnyder shared a storyboard of him and indicated he was played by Creator/HarryLennix, meaning General/Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick was J'onn J'onzz all along[[/note]], but he was cut from the theatrical version. He is set to appear in the director's cut, ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''.

As part of the Creator/DCComics ComicBook/{{New 52}} [[CosmicRetcon relaunch]], he became one of the central characters of ''Comicbook/{{Stormwatch}}'' and lost most of his friendliness, relationships to other DC characters, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking love of Oreos]]. He left after issue 12, wiping his teammates' memories of him in the process, and went on to lead the 2013 Comicbook/{{Justice League of America|2013}}. He got the love of biscuits back in the Williams series (it's hard to know how else to interpret having an entire persona obsessed with biscuits, to the point of calling himself Mister Biscuits), and his relationships to other characters came back from ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' on.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Oreos - or rather, [[BrandX Chocos]]. In one story, when he was unable to find any, he HulkedOut and went on a rampage until he was fed some and calmed down.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Oreos - or rather, [[BrandX Chocos]].

* TheDreaded: There's a reason why Despero scares everyone shitless: because he's an endlessly hateful, world-demolishingly-powerful juggernaut who usually requires multiple teams just to slow him down. Pitting a single team against him is likely to result in the death of everyone in it unless it contains some ''serious'' heavy hitters.

* SuperpowerLottery: Although the extent of his powers varies depending on the writer, J'onn is usually portrayed as one of the half dozen or so heroes considered more powerful than Post-Crisis Superman (Pre-Crisis Superman was even too much for him). The FlyingBrick portion of his powers are roughly equal to Superman, plus there's [[ComboPlatterPowers all those other abilities he's got]].

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood. It was revealed in October 2019 that he was to be featured in the ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' film[[note]]Director Creator/ZackSnyder shared a storyboard of him and indicated he was played by Creator/HarryLennix, meaning General/Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick was J'onn J'onzz all along[[/note]], but he was cut from the theatrical version.

* GRatedDrug: J'onn was very fond of Oreos (later named Chocos, obviously due to copyright issues) during Giffen and [=DeMatteis=]' humorous run on ''Justice League International'' in TheEighties. When [[ScrewySquirrel Blue Beetle and Booster Gold]] hid these cookies (in a flashback written by John Ostrander), [[HulkingOut much rampage ensued]]. This becomes a TearJerker when a Choco cookie is [[spoiler:placed by ''Batman'' on his coffin at the end of ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis: Requiem''.]]

* EvilAlbino: Invoked by all Pole Dwellers/White Martians.

** And what appears to be one to [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] in [[http://eyzmaster.blogspot.ca/2011/01/comicpagesoftheweekend-marsneedschocos.html this]]. J'onn is addicted to cookies, two of the other superheroes hid them in a prank. HilarityEnsues.

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes before appearing years later in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/Supergirl2015'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood.

To the non-comic-geek public, he is best known for his role on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' animated series, where he was voiced by Creator/CarlLumbly. He appears in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' as Batman's close friend, and acts as the OnlySaneMan in a number of episodes. He has also popped up in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', voiced by Dorian Harewood, on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' where he's played by Creator/PhilMorris, and the SoBadItsGood aborted pilot, ''The Film/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', where David Ogden Stiers (Dr. Winchester from ''Series/{{MASH}}'') filled the role. The animated film ''[[Comicbook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' had MM voiced by Miguel Ferrer. He's also appeared in the animated ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' as Miss Martian's uncle, voiced by Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson, in ''[[VideoGame/LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes]]'', voiced by Creator/CamClarke, and in ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'', played by Creator/DavidHarewood.

* TheCape

* ChromeDomePsi

* TheSpock
* StraightMan

** The name J'onn J'onzz could be an allusion to John Bigman Jones, a Martian who is one of the main characters in the Literature/LuckyStarr series (a human, although the first book does feature a race of somewhat similar SufficientlyAdvancedAliens who left he surface of Mars once it became uninhabitable).

--> '''Firestorm''': Don't you ever feel cold with those clothes, J'onn J'onzz?
--> '''Martian Manhunter''': Martians feel no cold. Why do you ask?
--> '''Firestorm''': Geez, Mars doesn't need women. It needs a sense of humor.

* GRatedDrug: J'onn was very fond of Oreos (later named Chocos, obviously due to copyright issues) during Giffen and [=DeMatteis=]' humorous run on ''Justice League International'' in TheEighties. When [[ScrewySquirrel Blue Beetle and Booster Gold]] hid these cookies (in a flashback written by John Ostrander), [[HulkingOut much rampage ensued]]. This becomes a TearJerker when a Choco cookie is [[spoiler: placed by ''Batman'' on his coffin at the end of ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis: Requiem''.]]

In his 1998 series, Ostrander {{re|tcon}}vealed that J'onn largely functioned as the "Superman" of the Southern hemisphere, operating as its most recognizable hero [[note]]J'onn is Superman-class powerful, but also figuratively & literally empathic, pan-cultural and used to changing to adapt to his surroundings; it's easy to see why people might relate to him more than "American Way" Supes[[/note]], as well as maintaining numerous assumed identities the world over, including being a regular cab driver for Clark Kent.

Note that all these are subject to change without notice; in the telefilm, J'onn could just barely shapeshift and demonstrated no other powers (it was a ''very'' low budget show), but had no problem with heat. The ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' Manhunter can't heal within Earth's atmosphere, can project heat from his palms and remains almost exclusively in human form. The ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague JLU]]'' version lacked [[SuperSpeed speed]], {{invisibility}}, EyeBeams and his nine senses and [[KryptoniteFactor weakness to fire]] was only implied[[note]]This version of J'onn took a couple seconds worth of a jet engine going nitro right near his face and showed no ill effects[[/note]]. ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' also nixes the EyeBeams and nine senses and portrays the weakness to fire (or any extreme heat) as being a side effect of living on a colder planet.[[note]]And the producers considered his flight not a power by itself, but a simulation of the Kryptonian ability using telekinesis, but that was never fully explained in the show.[[/note]] And so forth.

Martian Manhunter is one of [[Franchise/TheDCU the DC Universe's]] odd men out. On the one hand, he's vastly powerful and a member of pretty much every version of the Franchise/{{Justice League|Of America}} ([[DependingOnTheWriter mostly]]), yet on the other, writers just don't seem to know what to do with him. His past has been {{retcon}}ned several times, his personality [[DependingOnTheWriter varies by writer]], and since he has more powers than {{Franchise/Superman}}, he suffers from occasional [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead mind squicks]], along with frequent bouts of ForgotAboutHisPowers and MindOverManners to keep him from resolving plots too quickly.

Martian Manhunter is one of [[Franchise/TheDCU the DC Universe's]] odd men out. On the one hand, he's vastly powerful and a member of pretty much every version of the Franchise/{{Justice League|Of America}} (unless we're talking Pre-Crisis continuity, in which case J'onn was largely PutOnABus from 1968-1984, only making a handful of appearances across the DCU during that time), yet on the other, writers just don't seem to know what to do with him. His past has been {{retcon}}ned several times, his personality [[DependingOnTheWriter varies by writer]], and since he has more powers than {{Franchise/Superman}}, he suffers from occasional [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead mind squicks]], along with frequent bouts of ForgotAboutHisPowers and MindOverManners to keep him from resolving plots too quickly.