The Manhunter Conundrum
|
We've gotten a lot of comments about our use of Martian Manhunter, and I think that's a clear indication of just how starved for more J'onn content most fans are. Almost all of his silver age content was spent as a fill-in character on the Justice League to accomidate for the fact that they didn't want to overexpose Superman (Guess what Green Arrow was doing there), and his standalone stories were primarily back-ups, so he just doesn't have a TON of content to draw on before he was really built up to the character we know today by Grant Morrison's JLA.
So, given his prominence now, we kept finding ourselves in positons where we needed villains for J'onn and just struggled to come up with someone. Most of his available enemies were just a little too esoteric to adapt to our story correctly, necessitating some pretty creative reimagining. There's been quite a few more conversations that the one depicted here about trying to work out who should be the Martian Manhunter villain on Lex Luthor's first Injustice League, but this is a good microcosm of the sort of discussions that we've had. |
~"I absolutly adore what you've done with J'onn in this project, he's my favorite character of all time and it feels good seeing him get so much content. Especially since I find he often gets sidelined with fans."
I'm glad you appreciate it! I think the real key here is just the fact that we're basically gerating content for him, by virtue of creating characters for him to interact with. The biggest hurdle Martian Manhunter struggles with is that he just doesn't have a wealth of original content to draw from, since he mostly ran as a backup character for a lot of the Silver Age. He of course has the 1998 Ostrander series, but for most of his appearances you're relying on him tying into other characters and teams.
For the most part, I think what makes characters really start to click in our timeline is when they start being tied to other characters timelines. Every time we do that, it makes you refine the events just a little bit more. In this case, we've actually done a few different bad-guy teams that are meant to reflect the line-ups of various hero teams, and every time we do one of those that includes Martian Manhunter we have to scramble a little bit... but I think the results have been pretty great, and I'm glad you agree!
For the most part, I think what makes characters really start to click in our timeline is when they start being tied to other characters timelines. Every time we do that, it makes you refine the events just a little bit more. In this case, we've actually done a few different bad-guy teams that are meant to reflect the line-ups of various hero teams, and every time we do one of those that includes Martian Manhunter we have to scramble a little bit... but I think the results have been pretty great, and I'm glad you agree!
~"For Martian Manhunter's counterpart in Luthor's first Injustice Gang I would like to recommend Bette Noir. If you want to take out the Martian Manhunter, you need a telepath, disqualifying Arnold Hugo, Mr. V, and Doctor Trap, and I doubt that Luthor would go to Mars just to form an alliance with Bel Juz or Commander Blanx. Plus, Bette Noir was created by Cadmus, giving her a slight connection to Luthor."
I think you're definitelty on the right track here; the right move is absolutely some sort of telepath. Bette Noir was part of a valiant effort to create a Martian Manhunter rogues gallery, and as such is part of a very limited list of characters we COULD use. Unfortunately, we kind of inadvertently stole her whole deal with Scorch, didn't we? I think her history with J'onn in the Joe Kelly JLA does make her the better character, but unfortunately you're left with two different characters trying to fill the same niche, even if they have drastically different powers.
In addition, I just don't think we ever got a version of Bette Noir that really integrated into the larger DC cannon that well. Maybe there are examples I haven't seen... but I do think you're on the right track, it should be someone from earth with unique, specialized powerset.
In addition, I just don't think we ever got a version of Bette Noir that really integrated into the larger DC cannon that well. Maybe there are examples I haven't seen... but I do think you're on the right track, it should be someone from earth with unique, specialized powerset.
~"Following up on that other person's observation that an Earth-native powerful telepath would be the best fit for Luthor's Injustice Gang, I know you've stated a couple times before that you're not a fan of him but honestly I think that transferring Hector Hammond over to J'onn might be your best bet, especially since the movie made him a xenobiologist who dissected alien anatomies and that could work as a reason for him to go after J'onn in particular."
Ugh. I hate how much sense this makes.
Let me start by saying what I really like about your suggestion; first, yes I really think we're on the right track with going for powerful psychics, and yes, Hector Hammond is probably on the right power level. Second, the idea of giving J'onn a nemesis that is associated with xenobiology does a great job of putting them right in line with his actual biggest narrative weakness; the fact that he's a perpetual outsider. If we take it one step further and make him actually part of some sort of goverment organization built around containing extraterrestrial threats, he all of a sudden works for J'onn in much the same way that Lex works for Superman.
This actually reminds me of New Frontier, or the beginning of the Justice League animated series, where J'onn is a prisoner in some sort of lab? I wonder if that can be incorporated into this? Perhaps tying this into him meeting King Faraday?
I am still determined not to use Hammond, but in this case it's more because I really do think there's a better version of this premise you've created out there somewhere. I'm reminded of Max Lord as he was depicted during Infinite Crisis and beyond; I don't want to use him either, but it just makes me think that somewhere out there is the perfect character for this.
Let me start by saying what I really like about your suggestion; first, yes I really think we're on the right track with going for powerful psychics, and yes, Hector Hammond is probably on the right power level. Second, the idea of giving J'onn a nemesis that is associated with xenobiology does a great job of putting them right in line with his actual biggest narrative weakness; the fact that he's a perpetual outsider. If we take it one step further and make him actually part of some sort of goverment organization built around containing extraterrestrial threats, he all of a sudden works for J'onn in much the same way that Lex works for Superman.
This actually reminds me of New Frontier, or the beginning of the Justice League animated series, where J'onn is a prisoner in some sort of lab? I wonder if that can be incorporated into this? Perhaps tying this into him meeting King Faraday?
I am still determined not to use Hammond, but in this case it's more because I really do think there's a better version of this premise you've created out there somewhere. I'm reminded of Max Lord as he was depicted during Infinite Crisis and beyond; I don't want to use him either, but it just makes me think that somewhere out there is the perfect character for this.