A Mortal
1380 - An undead wraith from an unknown civilization is discovered by Martians on an inter-system probe that makes its way into the Martian system. It moves through the Martian population, feeding on their life force and adapting certain Martian abilities, where it is given the name A'Morrta'al. It pursues a crew of Martian observers on a satellite Observation Platform over Earth. When it kills the entire crew, it is left trapped on the platform, ultimately going dormant.
12 years ago - A'Morrta'al is awakened when J’onn J’onzz discovers the Martian Observation Platform orbiting Earth. It is released to the planet surface and begins siphoning people's life force until J’onn is able to stop it and return it to its prison.
5 years ago - A'Morrta'al is awakened again when the Martian Observation Platform is found by Star Labs astronauts. After consuming them it returns to the planet’s surface and hunts J’onn J’onzz, finding the Justice League headquarters where it begins to absorb their life force and powers. It is stopped by J’onn & Inza Nelson, who banish it into the Paths Beyond. The Justice League takes over the ancient Martian Observation Platform, converting it into their new Satellite Headquarters
Martian Manhunter is a really old character, but unlike a lot of his contemporaries he didn't build up a catalog of enemies in his original stories, most of his big conflicts happened alongside the rest of the Justice League. This puts him at a disadvantage here, because nothing fleshes out a characters timeline like having lots of interactions with lots of other characters. We want J'onn to have a whole bunch of villains all his own, so we've adapted a few character for the role. A Mortal, is technically ALREADY a Martian Manhunter villain, just not one you can really count as his own character...
So we just took it on ourselves to MAKE him his own character. This is essentially original content, but as I read what we did here I'm struck by how much it feels like something that must have already been there? See if you feel the same way...
So we just took it on ourselves to MAKE him his own character. This is essentially original content, but as I read what we did here I'm struck by how much it feels like something that must have already been there? See if you feel the same way...
A Mortal's StoryA Mortal literally has 5 appearances, four of them from the debut story arc of 1997's JLA. A new team of heroes arrives, the Hyperclan, who begin to save the world in extremely proactive or violent ways, seemingly making the Justice League appear ineffectual in comparison until it is revealed that they are actually White Martians in disguise. They begin to attack the JLA, and we get to see the League fighting heroes that are essentially their equal, highlighting everything that makes them cool, and makes the League feel like the most optimal level of influence for a superhero team. It's kind of a masterstroke by Grant Morrison to really set the tone and timber of his new Justice League. The White Martians would go on to continue to appear, but they don't become the Hyperclan again, unless you count a quick one-panel appearance Future State: Justice League. They're all still counted as Martian Manhunter villains since a) they're White Martians and b) he has so few to speak of, but for the most part they're all pretty good but unremarkable designs anyway.
The one exception, we think, is A Mortal. He has this really cool hooded skull wraith-like aesthetic... the sort of design that kind of pulls you in and makes you want to see more. If all of the Hyperclan is going to be considered Martian Manhunter villains, this is one we'd actually like to give a chance to stand on his own. So while we DO reference the Hyperclan over in the White Martians page, we decided to pull A Mortal out and give him an origin and storyline all his own. Welcome to the Martian Manhunter Rogues Gallery, A'Morrta'al! |
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