J'onn J'onzz

* John Jones
* Martian Manhunter
* J'onn J'onzz

July 8th, 1993 (on paper, as Jones)

**J'onn J'onzz**, known by some as the **Martian Manhunter**, is an alien from Mars that eventually traveled to Earth and posed as a detective named **John Jones** in the **Middleton Police Department**. He was present at the time of the Black Zero Event in 2025, holding the position of head of United States Northern Command, and being tasked with preventing any possible threats towards the United States and her interests. Hence, he formed an alliance with the alien hero Superman in order to defeat the extreme threat posed by General Dru-Zod.

## Character Origins

Centuries ago on the planet Mars, the Green Martians known as M'yrnn and Sha'sheen gave birth to twin sons. The bearing of twins was uncommon among the Martian culture, and as such, the first of the twins was named J'onn J'onzz, whose name means "Light to the Light." J'onn's brother, however, was born a mutant, bereft of a Martian's innate ability to communicate telepathically. He was named Ma'alefa'ak, whose name means "Darkness in the Heart."

As an adult, J'onn became a Manhunter (police officer) and married a Martian woman named M'yri'ah. The two established a modest home for themselves beneath the windswept Martian plains and gave birth to a daughter named K'hym.

Years passed, and J'onn's brother Ma'alefa'ak grew to despise everything about Martian culture. In an ambitious endeavor to commit full-scale genocide against his own people, he engineered a contagious virus known as H'ronmeer's Curse. The virus reacted to telepathic energy and carried from one Martian to the next whenever they elected to use their psionic powers. The plague responded to a Martian's innate fear of fire, causing them psychosomatic stress so intense, that their bodies and minds would literally burst into flame. J'onn desperately tried to keep his wife and daughter from using their mental gifts, but they were unable to do so, and thus ultimately contracted the virus. K'hym was the first to experience the symptoms, and M'yri'ah followed soon after. J'onn was anguished as he watched his family burning to death before his very eyes. The trauma of the event shattered his psyche, and nearly drove him mad.

### Welcome to Earth

Meanwhile, on the planet Earth, a would-be scientist named Dr. Saul Erdel developed a transmitter machine based upon ancient Martian technology. Seeking to make contact with extraterrestrial life, he aimed his device towards the vicinity of Mars and activated it. The transmitter beam streaked across both space and time, striking the Martian Manhunter at a point in time several centuries before Erdel would even be born. The beam brought J'onn back to Erdel's natural time era, where he collapsed on the ground outside of the doctor's Colorado laboratory.

Erdel brought the distraught Martian inside and attempted to nurse him back to health. The anguish of J'onn's mental state created a psychic bond between the two, and Erdel became aware of the events that took place on Mars. In an effort to heal J'onn's mind, Erdel used the mental link to fabricate a new history for the Martian. He created a back-story inspired by the writings of famous science fiction novelists such as Ray Bradbury and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Eventually, J'onn's sanity was restored, and he was prepared to function in this strange, new world. Erdel put the idea into his head that he should become a great champion, and thus J'onn adopted the heroic guise of the Martian Manhunter.

When J'onn shapeshifted into a human-like form, Erdel was shocked and suffered a heart attack that killed him. As he was dying, Erdel asked J'onn for forgiveness for making him a prisoner of Earth.

It was later revealed that Mars was dead when J'onn was taken, killed by a mental plague deliberately started by his brother Ma'alefa'ak. He took the identity of the **Bronze Wraith**, and fought crime with the Justice Experience.

### John Jones, Police Detective

J'onn was able to use his powers to fit into human society. He adopted a human appearance and called himself "John Jones." He became a police detective in the city of Middleton. For a long time, he worked as a policeman while secretly using his alien powers to solve cases and help people.

Some time later, the existence of the Martian Manhunter was accidentally revealed. From this point on, J'onn stopped hiding his superhero feats from the world, but he kept his double-identity as John Jones secret. It was at this time that he began to publicly appear in his green-skinned humanoid form.

He subsequently acquired policewoman Diane Meade as his partner, and an pet Zook who helped him solve cases.

J'onn J'onzz was one of the founding members of the Justice League.

J'onn's career as a police detective was ended by the Idol-Head of Diabolu. This evil statue expelled a deadly cloud. John Jones saved a child from the cloud, but in doing so he was engulfed by it. His fellow policemen believed he must have died. J'onn took this as an opportunity to abandon his double life. He allowed the police department (even Diane Meade) to believe he had died, and as the Martian Manhunter he even attended his own funeral.

## Power, Skills, and Abilities (and Weaknesses)

### Powers

* **Martian Physiology:** Martian Manhunter has been described as "a living Swiss Army knife" as he possesses more abilities than Superman. J'onn's powers come from his alien physiology which seems to be composed of a complex molecular chain that resembles polymer bonds but with the ability to be altered at will. The Martian Manhunter can change his mass, color, relative shape, imitating even clothing if desired. The biopolymer is extremely flexible, durable, incredibly strong for a biological material and relatively self-sustaining.
	+ ***Shape-Shifting/Malleability/Plasticity/Elongation:*** Arguably one of the most incredible powers possessed by the Manhunter is the ability to shape-shift. He is able to literally control the molecular structure of his body's biopolymers and manipulate them into any construct he desires, in addition to and including his own body. He can form clothing and weapons with non-moving or non-functioning parts. J'onn is particularly skilled at adopting the human form and has stood in as a double for many famous people. His ability to imitate people and their mannerisms have stood him in good stead for his disguises. He is also able to change colors at will.
	+ ***Invisibility:*** The Manhunter can cause the biopolymers in his body to lose their ability to reflect light, rendering the Manhunter invisible to normal light and human sight.
	+ ***Density Control:*** By manipulating the density of his molecular bonds, the Manhunter can phase through solid matter. Likewise, the biomorphic structure of the Manhunter's body allows him to absorb almost all kinetic energies such as high caliber bullets, shrapnel, or flying debris easily. He can harden his biopolymers by rebinding them and increase his durability to the point where he is nearly on par with Superman. Along with his nigh-invulnerability, his shape shifting makes him even more difficult to harm. Hazardous environments practically do not affect the Martian Manhunter. In addition, Martian Manhunter's immune system protects him from many toxins and diseases that are hazardous to other lifeforms.
	+ ***Superhuman Strength:*** The Martian Manhunter is one of the strongest beings on the planet. The Martian's superhuman strength comes from his Biomorphic structure formed from immensely long and complex molecular chains and is further augmented with his psionic and telekinetic abilities allowing him to lift incredible weights without these weights crumbling under the stress. The Martian has been seen able to stalemate powerhouses like Superman, and has even drawn blood from beings as durable as Kryptonians with his punches alone. By modifying the density of these biopolymers, the Manhunter can make himself stronger by forcing them into tighter bundles. While at a resting state the limits of his strength are categorized as Enhanced Strength Class VI, thus able to lift 300 ton, he can increase this to Class VIII or possibly beyond with exertion, making him even stronger than the likes of Superman when concentrating his biopolymers to their full capacity.
	+ ***Superhuman Stamina:*** J'onn's endurance is just as formidable as his strength and invulnerability. He can operate under extreme conditions for an indeterminate period of time without showing signs of fatigue.
	+ ***Cellular Regeneration:*** The Martian Manhunter has shown amazing regenerative capabilities.
	+ ***Flight:*** By controlling his density, weight, and utilizing his telekinetic abilities, J'onn can combine all of these to give him the ability to fly great distances with little fatigue and at great speed. The Manhunter has also been seen flying in space with no difficulty and even in space. J'onn's maximum speed has been shown to be limited to Mach 1 (approximately 700 mph) but even then he rarely exercises such an ability for long distances, preferring to use a Javelin.
	+ ***Longevity:*** J'onn is well over 200 years old and he still describes himself as 'in his prime'. Apparently Martians are known to live in excess of 700 Earth years.
* **Telepathy:** J'onn's telepathy is heightened beyond the Martian normal limits due to his melding of minds with his mate M'yri'ah and thus he is able to read the mind of any human with no difficulties. He is able to read minds over great distances. In addition to reading minds, the Martian Manhunter has a multitude of other telepathic capabilities, one of which allows him to literally reprogram the mind of a subject into believing whatever he wants them to. He can use this ability to help subjects forget things that he does not want them to remember as well as set up post-hypnotic suggestions.
	+ ***Telepathic Relay:*** Otherwise known as a telepathic link. The Manhunter is able to use his telepathic prowess as a relay station for a group of minds, who can then "speak" to each other through him. This relaying ability seems to be limited to the same range as the Manhunter's normal telepathic range.
	+ ***Telepathic Assault:*** The Martian Manhunter can also use his telepathic abilities in an offensive manner. He has the ability to cause mental shutdown in a target using his psionic powers. The Manhunter does not use this power often due to the invasive nature and harshness of such a telepathic attack.
	+ ***Thought Sensing:*** The Manhunter can use the mental signature of a being to track it and can detect life forms by their empathic as well as telepathic signatures. He can detect whether a being is intelligent or not, and can communicate with it empathically if it does not have a communication-driven frame of reference with which normal telepathy may function. He can also detect various states of mind from anywhere in the world.
* **Telekinesis:** A further remnant left on his mind by his beloved M'yri'ah, J'onn possesses the ability to move objects with his mind.
* **Meditation:** Martians enter a meditative state as a form of sleep.
* **Genius Level Intellect:** The Martian Manhunter possesses highly advanced reasoning and logic capabilities and uses them to great effect. Despero once claimed that Ted Kord's mind (IQ 192) was the most intelligent mind he had ever encountered, with J'onn J'onzz being the previous bearer of such an honor. The Martian Manhunter's particularly astute reasoning capabilities and long-term association with Earth's global population give him an edge in dealing with humans of diverse governments, cultures, and religions. As a result, in the northern hemisphere of Earth, the Manhunter is one of many costumed adventurers battling against entropy, yet in the southern hemisphere, he is more well-known than even Superman and is very highly praised in South American nations.
* **Forensic & Investigative:** J'onn is a skilled detective, having been in some form of law enforcement for centuries, though by his own admission he is merely a hobbyist when compared to the likes of Batman.
* **Multilingualism:** Through his own life experience and telepathic training, J'onn is a gifted linguist and is able to learn an entire language within an hour.
* **Indomitable Willpower**

### Weaknesses

* **Vulnerability to Heat & Fire:** The Martian Manhunter has an allergic reaction to fire and intense heat. Exposure to heat causes Martians to become stressed, fatigued, and delirious; and thus unable to utilize their abilities effectively. Direct exposure to fire or extreme heat will cause a Martian to lose his control over his biomorphic form, reverting into their natural form. The Manhunter is much vulnerable in this form.
* **Chocoholism:** Something within J'onn's physiology makes him addicted to the chemicals used in the Earth snack, Chocos. Withdrawal symptoms include violent bursts of rage and loss of intellect.
* **Psychic Feedback from Insane Minds:** Telepathic contact with a mind driven to insanity can cause a telepathic feedback effect that can have disastrous consequences for J'onn.

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* J'onn is addicted to Chocos. It's so bad Justice League staged an intervention.
* From his work as a Manhunter, J'onn has developed a friendship with fellow Manhunter Lobo, and and enemy rivalry with Despero.
* Due to the complexity of Martian biology, it takes about eighty-five Earth years for a Martian to reach full maturity - that's about forty-five years on Mars.
* His archenemy is Malefic.
* He decided to translate the name of the team as Manhunters, because the other translation is Predator and he didn't want to humans to fear him due to *Predator* movie.
* In 1997 he saved Sinfi Reynard from a crashed motorhome and visited her in the hospital for six years. He weren't with her when she woke up due to Brainiac's invasion.

### Notes

* In Earth-27, J'onn is a composite character with John Tane and Mark Shaw. John Tane is the western era hero Johnny Thunder, who was also part of the Rough Bunch, with Hawkman's previous reincarnation as Nighthawk and Jonah Hex; Mark Shaw was one of the people who took the name Manhunter in the comics.
* In comics, usually white martians are the other race of martians, evil and warmongers. Roy didn't like the racist undertone of this so he changed the story to white martians being the result of a virus. Also, in comics Malefic is J'onn's brother, but Roy felt that since J'onn is the ultimate lawman of Mars, the connection between him and Malefic could be based more on their opposing legalities, with J'onn the Sherlock to Malefic's Moriarty.
* Chocos are the comic book version of Oreos.
* His birth date is a nod to his first appearance: *Detective Comics #225*, 1955.