Martian Manhunter was one of the original members of the League way back in the 40's, and according to the research I did last page on how often certain characters appeared in the lineup, he's been a staple of nearly every incarnation of the team from that point to his recent death (being a member of the League more often than even Batman, Superman or a GL).
Bats, Wondie and Supes are famous characters in their own books coming together in the League, but from a certain point of view J'onn is the Justice League character. It's definitely where he's most relevant.
edited 16th Aug '12 8:56:28 AM by KnownUnknown
Oh I agree that the Martian Manhunter is essential to the League, but the top guys at DC have never cared for him. A lot of writers realise how important he is; otherwise he'd have been long forgotten. Who got shafted from the initial lineup of the 52 reboot? Even if Johns didn't love Hal and Barry he'd be asked to keep Flash and GL in. Aquaman is somewhat replaceable, but I think DC would prefer any of the other League mainstays over J'ohn.
Only 5 DC superheroes have had either a live action or cartoon tv series to themselves.
Edit:
40's? And I think Manhunter was the first character to be written out of the League. Might be wrong though.
edited 16th Aug '12 9:10:33 AM by C0mraid
Am I a good man or a bad man?Yeah though I'm guessing in New 52 they introduced Cyborg to add a bit of diversity because the League really does look like a white-man's/woman's club. Even the characters who aren't human are also white which is why I think in the film John Stewart would be a good choice for Green Lantern. I haven't read New 52 Justice League yet but have acquired the graphic novel of the first few volumes and shall be reading it on my 5 hour journey tomorrow so I guess I'll be able to evaluate better after that.
I had no idea they killed J'onn off
They could but I think it's a kinda cool concept of an outsider bringing the whole team together.
edited 16th Aug '12 9:31:37 AM by PiccoloNo92
That would be cool: Megan Fox for Wonder Woman
(joking btw). Though depends on whether WB would be willing to take the risk. They like to play things safe (like most) and they probably see it as a gamble releasing a big blockbuster that doesn't star either Batman or Superman (especially after GL bombed).
edited 16th Aug '12 10:00:22 AM by PiccoloNo92
The Justice League didn't exist in the 40s. You're thinking of the Justice Society.
IIRC, J'onn debuted in the late 50s Detective Comics, and the JLA debuted, with him as a member, in the early 60s.
He could make a good Batman.
Funny thing is if he gets the role, he'll be the first man to be both Batman and the Lone Ranger.
I feel I should point out, in regards to your earlier post (#252) that Martian Manhunter first appeared in 1955, and the Justice League first appeared in 1960.
I've often thought of J'onn as being analogous to The Vision. The team just doesn't feel right without him.
edited 9th Oct '12 7:32:13 PM by Robbery
Well, I hope DC Comics actually makes a Justice League movie. The fact is Marvel Comics has already beaten them to the punch when they made that Avengers movie, and made them look like fools. DC really needs to get its act together and show that they can complete with Marvel on this!
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!No offense, but Marvel has kinda been stomping DC in regards to films that aren't Batman. The real trick, though, will be just to get the right people behind it, and to unify the various efforts to make DC movies. I know some people are still resistant to the idea of a shared universe and some feel it'll just be copycatting Marvel, but it really would help keep people on track with these projects.
All of that said, I would love to see a Justice League movie.
Although, I think they should do this first:
They should see if Superman is successful. If it is, and it proves to be a good starting point (because Batman would have been a terrible one), then lead it into a Batman/Superman movie. If that does well, then pull out one or two of the other Leaguers to see how well they work. Its easy to see where to go from there.
Unfortunately, this method pretty much relies on the movies being, well, good. So if there's a bomber in the group, the effort pretty much dies.
Of course, by all accounts WB *isn't* waiting to set things up. I've heard contradictory reports over whether Man of Steel is even going to be canonical for the JLA movie.
Home of CBR Rumbles-in-Exile: rumbles.fr.yuku.comHonestly, I think the Nolan bat films were pure monkeys-and-typewriters. They got lucky by chance, and were just smart enough to stay out of Nolan's way.
Home of CBR Rumbles-in-Exile: rumbles.fr.yuku.comI think part of why DC is lagging behind is because the Marvel adaptations seem content to be fun popcorn flicks, while the DC adaptations are trying to be epic and majestic. Sometimes that works, like with the Dark Knight trilogy, but other times it can really turn people off, like with Superman Returns.
The thing is, the timing on the new Superman film is a result of the suit against Time Warner/ DC by Siegel and Shuster's heirs. Part of a ruling (which is being contested by Time Warner)is that if a Time Warner doesn't have a viable Superman film in theatres by a certain date, they owe the heirs money for "lost revenue" (because the heirs get a cut of the movie profits, apparently). It amounts to the heirs saying "you aren't properly exploiting this property, and thus aren't making as much money as you could be on it, and so are keeping US from making as much money as WE could on it."
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You know Nolan had a hand in writing those scripts, right? Or did the "monkeys and typewriters" refer to some other part of the production?
edited 10th Oct '12 9:19:56 PM by Robbery
Its monkeys-and-typewriters that WB picked Nolan in the first place. The script and casting and such is good, because Nolan controlled basically everything.
Exec#1: And the director of the next Batman is...
(Pulls card from Hat)
Exec#1: Chris Nolan..??!
Exec#2: Oh yeah... he directed Memento. That amnesia-tattoo movie. That was pretty sweet.
Exec#1: Cool. Hooker-o'clock?
Exec#2: Awesome!
edited 12th Oct '12 4:32:06 AM by korpse_man

Well that's what I thought tbh but I've only a recently jumped on the comic book wagon and my biggest exposure to J'onn has been through the cartoons where I always thought him quite a cool character. Never thought he'd be too popular but thought there wouldn't be much objection to him being in the team.
And I think his coming to Earth could be a great set-up for the plot. Could give it a much grander scope.
edited 16th Aug '12 8:47:24 AM by PiccoloNo92