Broken Frontier

“They will descend upon our worlds to claim the loved ones we have lost.  They will forever hunger for those that still feel and live.  And if the universe is to survive, willpower and fear must come together because…across the universe, the dead will rise…”

With the Blackest Night descending, BF looks at one of the first Black Lanterns – J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter

Black Lantern J’onn J’onzz

John Jones, Manhunter from Mars, first appeared as a back-up feature in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955).  Created by Joe Samachson and Joe Certa, the Manhunter was accidentally teleported to Earth by a Dr. Erdel.  Stranded when Erdel fell to a shock-induced heart attack, J’onzz used his shape-shifting abilities to adopt a human form.  Deciding to aid the people of Earth, J’onzz took the earth alias of John Jones and joined the Apex City police department as a detective.

Most of J’onzz’s early adventures were “detective” tales, concluded with a brief shape-shift back into his Martian form to wrap things up.  In both forms, however, he used his amazing abilities to aid him in his pursuit of justice.  Interestingly enough, J’onzz’s primary super ability seemed to be to having whatever extranormal ability the story required him to have – shape-shifting, telepathy, super-strength (at various levels, depending on who was writing him), precognition (which was quickly forgotten), flight, invisibility, super-vision, transmutation and more.  One consistent was his innate Martian vulnerability to fire.  Throughout his run as a police “manhunter”, J’onzz generally dealt with either criminal or science fiction threats, but on a few occasions did face off against “super-villains”, including the Human Flame (Detective Comics #274, December 1959).

This “super hero” experience proved fortuitous, given that J’onzz soon would become a founding member of the Justice League of America in Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960).  Operating publicly in his Martian form, the Manhunter continued to adventure in increasingly fantastic stories in both Detective Comics and Justice League of America. 

In the pages of Detective Comics, the Manhunter’s tales increasingly took a science-fiction approach, with the introduction of an alien comic sidekick, Zook (Detective Comics #311, January 1963).  As the book slipped closer to cancellation, the Manhunter from Mars was replaced as Batman’s back-up feature following issue 326 (April 1964).  In this tale, J’onzz and Zook encounter the mystical Idol Head of Diabolu, a mystical artifact capable of creating monsters.  At the conclusion, the Manhunter’s “John Jones” identity is “killed”, leading him off to the pages of House of Mystery.  From June 1964 until April 1966 (House of Mystery #143-#158), J’onn engaged in monthly battles with monsters spawned by the Idol Head.  As these over-the-top mystical escapades grew more outlandish, the Manhunter found himself relegated to back-up status in the title, playing second fiddle to “Dial H for Hero”. 

In an effort to revitalize the feature, House of Mystery #160 (July 1966) took J’onn in a completely new direction – espionage.  Borrowing heavily from The Man from U.N.C.L.E., J’onn took on a new identity as Marco Xavier, an F.B.I. agent who was killed in action.  Taking up Xavier’s crusade against Mr. V and the league of evil known as V.U.L.T.U.R.E., the Manhunter’s adventures took an abrupt shift away from the camp of the previous two years.  The new concept never truly took root, and, following an ill-advised effort to cherry pick elements from the Xavier and Demon Head eras of Martian Manhunter, the feature was dumped from House of Mystery with issue #174 (May-June 1968, when it became a horror anthology title).

Around the same time, J’onn had also been underused in the Justice League of America title.  In Justice League of America #71 (May 1969), J’onn and the League clashed with a rival Martian named Blanx.  In the ensuing battle on Mars, the planet was rendered inhospitable (even more so than it actually was), prompting J’onn to resign from the League, leading his people to find and colonize Mars II.  For the duration of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, J’onn remained a bit player in the DC Universe, occasionally making appearances in Justice League of America and various team-up titles.

Heart of the League

J’onn’s next significant appearance came in Justice League of America #228-230 (July-September, 1984) when he returned to Earth to warn of an impending invasion from an expansionist faction of Mars II Martians.  Following these events, J’onn found himself outcast from his society, and joined a re-formed Justice League (Justice League of America Annual #2, October 1984) alongside Aquaman, Elongated Man, Zantanna and several new rookie heroes.  This new “street-level” incarnation of the League struggled to find readership, and when the title was cancelled in April 1987 (Justice League of America #261), it was J’onn who literally turned out the lights on the League.

Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, J’onn’s continuity was significantly revised; now the only survivor of the Martian race, J’onn’s Mars II years were forgotten.  With the launch of a new Justice League title in May 1987 (later titled Justice League International), J’onn found himself playing straight man and nursemaid to the offbeat heroes comprising this era’s Justice League (most importantly, however, was the introduction of J’onn’s obsessive love for Oreo cookies).  In contrast, one of the series writers spun J’onn off into his own mini-series (Martian Manhunter #1-4, May-August 1988), a deeper re-imagining of the character’s origins.  Significant changes introduced into the series was the “true” Martian form (much less humanoid then the one adopted for J’onn’s crimefighting career), the idea that Dr. Erdel’s machine had actually teleported the character through space AND time (meaning that the Martians had been extinct for thousands of years) and the concept that the weakness to fire was actually a psychological one (developed after the tragic fiery death of J’onn’s wife and daughter).

Along the way, J’onn remained a key player in the Justice League title (re-named once more to Justice League America) until the comically tinged series “ended” with issue 60 (March 1992).  The character departed but “returned” the next month in the reworked straight-superhero concept Justice League.  Although readers didn’t know it at the time, J’onn was actually the newly recruited (Justice League Spectacular #1, April 1992) hero, Bloodwynd (it was eventually revealed in Justice League America #74, May 1993).  Over the next several issues it was explained how the Martian Manhunter was bonded with the sorcerer Bloodwynd, before both resumed their own destinies.

Although J’onn had been out of the spotlight for a solid year (disregarding the under-apreciated 3 issue mini-series set during the 1950s, titled Martian Manhunter: American Secrets), he stepped up as the leader of a new Justice League spin-off, Justice League Task Force.  Running from June 1993 to August 1996, the series featured many second-tier heroes operating government black ops arm of the League.  Although the series failed to gain a string following, it is infamously remembered for a gender bending near sexual encounter for the green Martian (Justice League Task Force #8, January 1994).

In 1996, the Justice League franchise was relaunched yet again, first with the Justice League: A Midsummer’s Nightmare mini-series (September-November 1996) and then a new ongoing (JLA #1, January 1997).  Conceived as a return to “A-list” membership in the League, J’onn was featured as one of the “Big Seven DC icons” alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Flash.  The initial arc, although discarding many of the revisions made the 1988 Martian Manhunter series, did feature a strong spotlight on J’onn, when the League clashed with evil White Martians.

Darker Days
 
In tandem between JLA and a newly launched Martian Manhunter ongoing series (#0-36, October 1998-November 2001), the character of J’onn was fleshed out more than it had been in years, revealing multiple secret identities, evil relatives and the fact that the green skinned alien was the most recognized superhero in the Southern Hemisphere.  J’onn remained the “heart and soul” of the League until the Infinite Crisis arrived in 2005.  Quickly removed from the conflict by Superboy-Prime, J’onn began to take on a new world view.  Spinning out of the pages of 52 (2006-2007) and the World War III (2007) mini-series came an 8-issue Martian Manhunter mini-series (October 2006 – May 2007).  Sporting a new look that was closer to his true alien shape, J’onn was more mistrustful of humanity, taking a decidedly darker tone.

Left directionless after the series wrapped, Martian Manhunter bounced around from title to title, including a short stint in the revived Batman and the Outsiders (although his role in this was initially planned to be larger, a change in creative teams curtailed it) and the Salvation Run mini-series.  As a launching point for the much-promoted Final Crisis (2008-2009) event, the Martian Manhunter was kidnapped in the first issue by a cadre of villains.  In an effort to recruit criminals to his cult-like Secret Society, the evil Libra promised them their heart’s desire.  One of the villains that stepped forward was the Human Flame, desiring revenge on the Martian Manhunter for his defeat back in Detective Comics #274.  In a single panel, Libra quickly ran the Martian Manhunter through with a flaming spear, killing him instantly.

Although many DC fans were disappointed with the casual manner in which Martian Manhunter was killed off, a spin-off one-shot (Final Crisis: Requiem, September 2008) provided closure.  J’onn’s final battle with the Secret Society was expanded upon, and details on how at the moment of his death he telepathically touched the minds of his fellow heroes, preserving the history of the Martian race.  At his funeral on Mars, Batman silently placed an Oreo cookie on J’onn’s casket, a nod to their partnership in the Justice League.  Superman closed the memorial, with the following words;

"We'll all miss him ... and pray for a resurrection."

…

Unfortunately, that resurrection came in the form of a Black Lantern ring spiraling to the surface of Mars.  In the pages of Blackest Night #1 (September 2009), a zombified Black Lantern Martian Manhunter confronted Green Lantern and the Flash at the grave of Bruce Wayne, claiming they should both be dead.

J’onn’s story continues in the pages of Green Lantern #44