J'onn J'onzz

J'onn J'onzz, known to the world as the Martian Manhunter, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955). A roster member of the Justice League of America, he is one of the seven founding members and a reoccurring member for many incarnations and derivatives.

A green-skinned alien from Mars, he is accidentally teleported to Earth and is among the last living members of his species. Motivated by tragedies that include the loss of his own family and species, Martian Manhunter becomes a superhero and protector of his adopted homeworld. While among the most powerful of superheroes on Earth, J'onn is often marked for his wisdom, gentle character, and idealism in pursuing justice, making him an ideal leader and voice of reason in iterations of the Justice League.

Quick Facts

Character name

Martian Manhunter

Publisher

DC Comics

Debut

Detective Comics #225 (November 1955)

Creators

Joseph Samachson; Joe Certa

Species

Green Martian

Homeworld

Mars

Alliances

Justice League
Justice League International
Stormwatch
Justice League United
Justice League Task Force

Partners

Wonder Woman
Miss Martian
Plastic Man
Superman
Batman
Vixen
Aquaman
Manhunter

Lore & Background

J'onn J'onzz's story begins with his debut in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in Detective Comics #225 (November 1955), written by Joseph Samachson and illustrated by Joe Certa. He is a green-skinned humanoid from Mars, pulled to Earth by an experimental teleportation beam constructed by Dr. Saul Erdel. The Martian tells Erdel where he is from, and Erdel tells him that to send him back will require the teleportation beam's robot brain to be recalibrated, and that this may take years.

J'onzz then unexpectedly uses his shapeshifting to assume the guise of a human; the shock of seeing this kills Dr. Erdel and leaves J'onzz with no way of returning home. The character decides to fight crime while waiting for Martian technology to advance to a stage that will enable his rescue. To that end, he adopts the identity of John Jones, a detective in the fictional Middletown, USA. During this period, his power range is poorly defined, and his powers expand over time as the plot demands.

The addition of precognitive abilities (Detective Comics #226) is quickly followed by telepathy and flight, "atomic vision", super-hearing, and many other powers. His customary weakness to fire is only manifested when he is in his native Martian form. In this version, there is no suggestion that Mars is a dead planet or that the character is the last of his kind. Many tales feature either Martian technology or the appearance of other Martian characters such as his younger brother T'om J'onzz. Detective Comics #236 (October 1956) features the character making contact with the planet Mars and his parents.

Did You Know?

He once played cosmic-level chess with Despero, using JLA members as the pieces.
The native Martian name for Mars is 'Ma'aleca'andra', a nod to C. S. Lewis' novel Out of the Silent Planet.