THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER (J'onn J'onzz, aka John Jones)
Created By: Joseph Samachson & Joe Certa
First Appearance: Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 1955)
Role: The Guy Who Gets His Ass Kicked so Superman Can Look Good, Grab-Bag of Powers Guy
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, The Outsiders, Stormwatch
PL 13 (346)
STRENGTH 15 STAMINA 15 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+11)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+10)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+10)
Insight 3 (+8)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Investigation 8 (+13)
Perception 8 (+13)
Stealth 5 (+8)
Technology 4 (+10)
Vehicles 3 (+5)
Advantages:
Benefit (Cipher- Multiple Identities), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Languages 3 (Any He Needs), Power Attack, Set-Up, Ranged Attack 8, Takedown, Teamwork
Powers:
Power-Lifting 5 (25,000 tons) [5]
Impervious Toughness 7 [7]
Flight 14 (32,000 mph) [28]
Quickness 6 [6]
Regeneration 4 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [5]
Immunity 10 (Life Support) [10]
"Martian Senses" Senses 4 (Extended Vision 2, Vision Penetrates Concealment) [6]
"Telepathy" Communication (Mental) 4 (Extras: Area, Selective) [24]
Morph 4 (Any Form) [20]
Mind-Reading 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Cumulative, Effortless) (49) -- [59]
- Dynamic AE: "Martian Vision" Blast 14 (Feats: Dynamic) (29)
- Dynamic AE: Shapeshift 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (17)
- Dynamic AE: "Intangibility" Insubstantial 4 (Feats: Selective, Dynamic) (22)
- Dynamic AE: "Invisibility" Concealment 4 (Visuals) (Feats: Dynamic) (9)
- Dynamic AE: "Mind Over Matter" Move Object 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (21)
Unarmed +11 (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Martian Vision +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Mind-Reading -- (+12 Mind-Reading, DC 22)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +15 (+4 Impervious), Fortitude +15, Will +11
Complications:
Weakness (Fire)- Even proximity to fire has a huge negative effect on J'onn psychologically, but touching it does extra damage- he'll take more damage than an un-powered human from it. Sometimes. Things change A LOT- sometimes it's more psychological, and other times it's basically this all-consuming Death Blast.
Responsibility (Martian Stuff)- J'onn went from one of many Martians to the last Martian to one of many Martians again- he often has to deal with evil members of his race (who are really coming off like a bunch of dicks sometimes).
Enemy (Ma'alefa'ak)- J'onn apparently has an evil brother who disguised as him for a time.
Total: Abilities: 112 / Skills: 52--26 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 170 / Defenses: 17 (346)
J'onn J'onzz- The Iconic Leaguer:
-The Martian Manhunter's had an odd run- going from an early science fiction-style character to a central Justice Leaguer, to a forgotten hero, to a guy without a book so HE of all people became "The Iconic Justice Leaguer". His various books over the years all inevitably lead to cancellation, but a combination of traits (like his "lost alien" nature, distinctive appearance, and immense power level) saw him fit into the League well enough that he's been an ongoing DC character almost since his debut.
-J'onn J'onzz made his debut BEFORE the Silver Age truly began, in 1955, as a back-up story in a Detective Comics issue, done by two creators I've never heard of before. He is an unfortunate Martian who is pulled away from his homeworld, and unable to return home- he decides to fight crime as a detective, waiting for Martian technology to advance enough to allow him to return. The act proves popular enough to show up repeatedly, gaining "Silver Age Superman"-like powers that expand with each issue (gaining, in order, precognitive abilities, telepathy & flight, "atomic vision", and super-hearing)- pretty soon, his Grab-Bag of Powers is one of the biggest in all of comics! He meets many other Martian characters, and operates as a superhero by joining the Justice League of American in its debut (replacing Superman, as DC was afraid of... hee hee... OVER-EXPOSING THEIR POPULAR CHARACTERS... can you imagine if they had that issue today?).
J'onn's Silver Age Adventures:
-J'onn lasts a while on JLA, but once Superman & Batman are officially OK'd to join, his appearances dwindle, and he's gone by 1968- Horsenhero has mentioned that fans were often asking "why is this green, bald guy is on the team?"- his own act wasn't really that popular (he was a back-up in House of Mystery by this point, facing the demonic Idol Head of Diabolu and a crime cartel called VULTURE until it was cancelled), and he wasn't a major character at DC. The fact that this was a dark period for DC's sales post-"Batman's TV Show Being Cancelled" didn't help, and soon his solo feature was gone- his people finally came for him, and he left to become a leader on New Mars. Yes, really. Personally I look back at this version and find it weird that this doughy-looking bald guy with thick, dark eyebrows is there- he just looks like a normal dude painted green.
-J'onn would reappear several times over the next fifteen years, usually in back-up stories and supporting roles, something that's bizarre to me as a fan, because I came into DC with him being treated like some BIG DOG character that was very integral to their universe. In reality, he was a minor act for years, and treated as such! The whole "J'onn is super-duper important and everyone looks up to him" thing was a LATER addition, essentially manufactured to make him a bigger deal! Can't say I blame them, though- it's always good to have a Top-Tier Powerhouse get taken seriously. The Martian Manhunter would FINALLY make his DC return in 1984, and join the struggling JLA book three years later, being a central member of the Giffen/DeMatteis "Bwa-hahahahahah!" League as a semi-serious figure to act as a permanent "straight man".
-DeMatteis would actually COMPLETELY REVAMP J'onn, retconning his whole origin so that the doctor who brought him to Earth didn't die, his natural appearance was more alien-looking, and oh- he was THE LAST MARTIAN ALIVE, as he'd been pulled through time as well as space. Always funny how DC is perfectly-willing to rewrite someone's entire history and purpose thirty years after their introduction like that. Because of DeMatteis' hard work, J'onn pretty much officially became "The JLA Guy"- ALWAYS joining some incarnation of that group. Grant Morrison would utilize J'onn's many powers as a big part of his JLA run as well (introducing the concept of "White Martians", an asshole version of J'onn's green kind), and John Ostrander would write one of those "well-thought-of but low-selling" solo books in 1998. Here, we'd discover that J'onn was a big hero in the Southern Hemisphere, maintaining numerous secret identities.
DC Gets Bored of J'onn:
-However, life soon starts to suck for the guy- by being the most powerful person on the League who ISN'T Superman, he ends up in the position of getting his green ass spanked by anyone coming down the pike who wants to FIGHT Superman, in order to show off how awesome and strong Kal-El is (basically, "Wonder Man Syndrome"). And as the highest-tier guy around without his own book (it got cancelled pretty quickly), he's ALSO prone to getting rapid-fire storyline developments, like bouncing around an Oustiders comic for two seconds, leaving Earth, or being killed for a while by something stupid in Final Crisis. He temporarily became a "Burning Martian"- a version of his race from before the Guardians of the Universe modified them to protect the rest of the galaxy, but this was quickly forgotten (as was his then-immunity to fire aside from "Flames of Passion"). He got a "Kid Version" with Miss Martian... who promptly became more popular than him, and now shows up in ancillary materials.
The Martian Manhunter's Numerous Powers:
-J'onn, as expected, is expensive as balls, owing to a huge grab-bag of random-ass powers (X-Ray Vision? Telepathy? SHAPESHIFTING? Intangibility? INVISIBILITY?)- I've heard fans of his whine openly about how he should be EASILY the most-feared member of the League, and even Superman should be afraid of him, but despite all his ability, he never actually DOES kick anyone's ass super-hard with it. He's basically an "All Talk" Powerhouse with vast power, but few accomplishments. The fact that he has one of the most easily-exploited weaknesses in comics doesn't help (Batman once effortlessly took out a half-dozen guys of equal power with a single lighter).
-Determining which powers are inside an Array and which aren't isn't easy (DCA's build is different from my own, for example), but I think it's pretty clear that Martians' Morphing & Mental Communication are outside of it (J'onn ROUTINELY keeps the entire JLA linked telepathically while doing other stuff, and the Hyperclan maintained their fake shapes easily while using other powers). Inside the Array are Invisibility, Intangibility and Shapeshift, making him basically entirely-impossible to trap or keep down (Shapeshift allows side tricks like Elongation or extra Intimidation owing to scary shapes). There's also whatever the hell "Martian Vision" is (have they ever explained that?), which is a trick he occasionally busts out, but never seems overly-powerful (I don't think I've ever seen him actually TAKE OUT a villain with it, though the Hyperclan could). He can forcibly Read Minds as well.
-J'onn also maintains the Flying Brick array, at PL 13 levels equal to Power Girl, putting him just under Wonder Woman (and two below Superman). Pushing himself (ie. Power Stunts), he can use Mind Control, alter memories, induce sleep, Mind Blasts, and other things (ie. a bunch of stuff writers showed him doing, but nobody else remembered).