Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Patron Saint of Loser Super-Heroes



Everything flows from Superman, the god of super-heroes. I suppose that would make Batman a demigod, overseeing non-powered caped crusaders, darknight detectives and the like. I’m not sure that Wonder Woman qualifies as a goddess, since most super-heroines follow the mold set by the first two, but merchandisers would argue otherwise. From there, deification is almost certainly overstatement, and archetypal heroes become more like patron saints of increasingly narrow sub-divisions. Flash presides over speedsters, and Green Lantern arguable over energy projection and outer space. Depending on your denomination, Aquaman or Sub-Mariner may be the guardians of undersea agents. Spider-Man represents heroes with feet of clay, Captain America patriots, Hulk anger and physical strength. As happens with saints, every little thing is governed by somebody, like Ghost Rider being the bikers’ hero, or Punisher standing for vigilantes, and so forth. If anything, the Manhunter from Mars would be the patron saint of loser super-heroes.

The basic premise of a police detective with secret alien powers isn’t bad, but the inept writing of Jack Miller and the pleasant journeyman art of Joe Certa served the material poorly. Further, the strip quickly lost focus, and jumped onto any fad that might bolster its status as a third rate back-up in a poor selling Batman title. Cops & robbers, pulp sci-fi, super-heroes, bug-eyed monsters, spies… nothing really worked out better than keeping the strip from cancellation. After thirteen years of scrimping by, The Manhunter from Mars strip finally kissed the dirt, followed by sixteen years of mostly terrible and diminishing guest-appearances.

What saved Martian Manhunter from the dust bin of history was his association with the Justice League of America. The super-hero market had bottomed out at the end of the 1940s, but editor Julius Schwartz had begun a successful revival in 1955. One of his company’s most enduring properties was the Justice Society, which gathered many of the most popular heroes onto one team. The premise remained sound, and Schwartz already had his well received new Flash and Green Lantern to start the ball rolling. Robert Kanigher supplied Wonder Woman, but Mort Weisinger was doing just fine with his Superman books without cannibalizing his sales to benefit another title. Jack Schiff was similarly stingy with his desperately flagging Batman line, as he was afraid of diluting what brand quality he had to work with. A team book didn’t seem the place to reintroduce more solo concepts, so the super-heroes who remained in publication to work with were Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and Aquaman. Schwartz has stated that he’d forgotten about Ollie Queen (or perhaps didn’t want to wrestle with Weisinger any more than he had to.) Martian Manhunter was allowed to become a co-founder by default, where his role was to fill in for Superman as needed. A few years later, when the actual Superman became active with the team, and more viable heroes joined over time, Martian Manhunter was discarded.

The Manhunter from Mars appeared sporadically until the mid-80s, usually in situations where he was begging for other heroes’ help, and sometimes getting into moronic fights with them first to appease the Marvel crowd. It wasn’t until JLofA writer Gerry Conway tired of having his headliners pulled out of the book by other editors that he started over with a new team of lesser lights that included J’onn J’onzz, still subbing for Superman. The Martian Manhunter was among the many heroes to become a toy in the Super Power Collection, and played token roles in merchandising tie-ins, but there was still no indication the character would ever rise above D-list status.

J’Onn J’Onzz’s big break came with the Crisis on Infinite Earths, when his Superman-Lite powers offered him a seat with the powerhouses during the event. What’s more, the revised history following Crisis rejuvenated the Man of Steel by stripping away a lot of his canonical baggage, including membership in the Justice League. This left a gaping hole in continuity for someone to fill, and Martian Manhunter was already on hand. Further, the Alien Atlas was one of the few heroes not so tied-up in revisions as to be excluded from a new League, and when Batman bowed out, Martian Manhunter took on his role as grim taskmaster. Channeling the twin gods of super-heroes, is it any wonder the Sleuth from Outer Space was finally transitioning from zero to hero?

Solo efforts for the Martian Manhunter were a bust, from his revised origin as a sort of R’brt N’vell, to his period detective dramas, to his short-lived sci-fi/horror ongoing. Still, so long as he remained in a highly visible leadership role in the JLA and as a single-bodied proxy for the World’s Finest, the Martian Marvel would command some small following. Despite never being able to pull his own weight, a poor rogues gallery, no supporting cast of interest, derivative powers and origins, a silly too common weakness, a lame costume and a great many more demerits, the Manhunter from Mars is still a power player in the DC Universe. Highly respected, he has even eclipsed heroes who alone easily outshone J’Onn J’Onzz in their day.

Now you might think that Martian Manhunter has plenty of unique powers, and so many in total that he’s destined to become truly great someday. I would dispute this. A-type personalities don’t care about passive powers like telepathy, invisibility and intangibility. When played straight, these abilities would make J’Onn J’onzz unbeatable, but decades of comics have made it perfectly clear that he is entirely beatable. Besides the omnipresent and laughable aversion to fire, vulnerability is in J’Onzz’s character to the DNA.

Realistically, humans like Batman, Black Canary and Green Arrow should all have died by now through their involvement with super teams. However, the Dark Knight is defined by being better than any super-human through his brains and skills, plus his moneymaking powers insure he will always play a pivotal role in stories that involve him. Green Arrow can be beaten, but part of his character is to be David to Goliath, the last hero standing with only arrows at his disposal, who still manages to save the day. Black Canary is the girl, and no one wants to see the girl picked on. Martian Manhunter though is insanely powerful while having only a small following and usually no presiding editor looking out for his interests. J’Onn J’Onzz is the hero who falls to make a villain look threatening and the heroes that will actually beat it look good. Even on lower tier teams, J’Onzz falls so a group effort can win the day. It isn’t Martian Manhunter’s place to be a winner.

Beyond that, because Martian Manhunter is the “name” you get when better sellers aren’t available, part of his appeal comes from his relationships with inferior super-heroes. From the street incredulity of the Detroit-based League to the silly shenanigans of the International era through the footnote trainees of the Task Force, J’Onn J’Onzz is synonymous with the lost legions. When Martian Manhunter is treated as a force to be reckoned with, it’s in a book with also-rans at his side. As a result, when the Alien Atlas stands among the most magnificent of DC’s heroic pantheon, he represents those little guys who aren’t considered good enough. The founding members of the Magnificent Seven are only six strong, because when Martian Manhunter is there, he gladdens the hearts of Vixen fans, of Booster Gold devotees, of those who mourn Damage. J’Onn J’Onzz is the geek made good, reaching lofty heights through networking, minor historical relevance, and simply being in the right place at the right time. Through the patronage of the Alien Atlas, even the most weasely, ill-conceived lameazoid super-hero can hope one day to become the least among titans.

15 comments:

LissBirds said...

As insightful and incisive as always, Frank--I'm glad to see your overview of who the Martian Manhunter is. I'm perfectly happy to accept J'onn J'onzz as the Patron Saint of Loser Super-Heroes (and perhaps lost causes?). Every superhero that I like (except Batman) is on the fringes of comics popularity--the proverbial bridesmaid. Adam Strange, The Question, Booster Gold, Ted Kord. Heroes that have a small, but devoted, fanbase.

"J’Onn J’Onzz is the hero who falls to make a villain look threatening and the heroes that will actually beat it look good." I found that line particularly interesting. It's like J'onn is an inverse superhero: his presence bodes ill instead of inspires hope. I think he's got way more gravitas in the way of tragedy/failure/losing than any of the trinity do. Batman's parents may have died, but Batman always wins. Only Harvey Dent comes close to J'onn J'onzz in terms of pathos, and he's a villain.

"Through the patronage of the Alien Atlas, even the most weasely, ill-conceived lameazoid super-hero can hope one day to become the least among titans." Well, as long as no one really pathetic makes it into the JLA, I'm okay with that. But I like your idea that he's the touchstone for the not-quite-good-enough superheroes. What with the crazy powers, uneven writing, weird costume, I'm now going to consider J'onn J'onzz the de facto leader of the Island of Misfit Toys. He only seems unwanted, but we know better.

Tom Hartley said...

In his first appearance we learn that he's homesick, has a phobia and is too ugly to show his true face in public. The only reason there's no mention of bed-wetting is that it wouldn't have passed the Comics Code. Definitely a hero for the sad kids.

Thanks for the best thing anybody has ever written about our favorite Martian. After this, you can post nothing but pin-ups for the next two months and no one will accuse you of slacking.

Diabolu Frank said...

I'm currently writing ongoing story synopsizes for the Atom, Bronze Tiger, Captain Atom, Captain Comet, Steel and many more to come, never mind my Detroit era Justice League blog. I'm all over the fringe.

Well, as long as no one really pathetic makes it into the JLA, I'm okay with that.

She said, grinning. Too late, and J'Onn's served with most of them, from Justice League Antarctica to the New Bloods to living under the same roof as Vibe.

Diabolu Frank said...

Tom, it actually fell well short of what I wanted it to be, but I figure I can go into finer detail down the line. I needed to finally get this "patron saint" post done now, since it tied into tomorrow's "Top Adversaries" post, and because I'd held on to the basics long enough already. The point is, those who love the powers miss the point. It's the sad sack but stiff-lipped soldier we adore.

LissBirds said...

Oh, geez. I forgot about Vibe! But he had character so he's not really that pathetic. I was thinking more...Congorilla. But, hey, who am I to cast aspersions on a monkey? People love monkeys.

Fell short? Not at all! Wow, I thought I had high expectations. Though I won't mind you going into more detail at all. I love analysis, especially when you have a knack for putting into words what I already know but don't quite realize that I do until I see it through someone else's analysis.

Tom--you forgot to mention being bald since childhood and never being able to kick a football before someone swipes it away from him. Maybe his redesigned uniform could consist of a yellow zig-zag shirt?

Frank, I'm glad chose to tackle the enigmatic task of defining the Martian Manhunter. I have a feeling this post took a little while to coagulate, maybe even years--or was this pretty much how you felt from the beginning of Martian Manhunter fandom?

Diabolu Frank said...

Coagulate f'sho-- though it wrote up pretty quick on the fly.

General Glory, Crimson Fox, Silver Sorceress, Scarlet Skier, Mystek, Despero, Geo-Force, Super-Chief, unfunny Ambush Bug, Zan, Jayna and the entirety of JLElite. Let's not even get started on the Yazz and Obsidian's crippling neurosis.

mathematicscore said...

This just about nailed it.

It crystallized for me reading Flashpoint (the 2000's elseworlds, not the upcoming event). J'onn is all kinds of badass, but ends up trusting Vandal Savage too far and gets burned alive for his troubles. It was Flash's book, and didn't matter thanks to "elseworld" but illustrated that being powerful and a nice guy doesn't mean you always get to win. At least you do some good and get to come back to life now and again...

Also, Yazz is wonderful. :)

Diabolu Frank said...

Oooooo! Vandal Savage kills J'Onn J'Onzz in that? That suits me way better than a Superman villain doing it, like usual! I need to get some more Vandal Savage material on this page!

will_in_chicago said...

J'Onn strikes me as the Patron Saint of Badly Used Characters. A good writer could take J'Onn's powers and background and make something truly remarkable. He has survived tragedies greater than either Batman or Superman. (Imagine losing your entire family and your world as an adult.) Yet time and time again, the character's potential is wasted.

My advice: Use characters to their full potential. That is what makes Batman more than just a rich man with a severe neuroses. Of course, I am not holding my breath for DC to do this.

LissBirds said...

Frank, you're just a tad too happy about your favorite superhero getting killed. lol.

I'm going to have to read that book now.

Yazz...I'll have to look up who that it.

Diabolu Frank said...

But Liss, it's Vandal Savage, a legit Vile Menagerie subject!

mathematicscore said...

Oh, it's a quality read, and I didn't feel like J'onn got thrown under a bus ala Jeph Loeb or Dan Jurgens.

Comics didn't come in today at my lcs, so I bought a bunch of back issues instead. I purchased Justice League of America Annual 3 and enjoyed an Alien Atlas/Man of Steel co-smash. Also, the usurper was the villian, of sorts... The real pleasant surprise was the Zero issue of The Ray. J'onn is all over the first part of it, and written by Priest. Priest officially has by vote for on going series writer.

LissBirds said...

Dan Jurgens throw J'onn under the bus? When?

JLA Annual #3 is a good read. That is, if that's the one with the noirish story in it...

Diabolu Frank said...

Liss, sweetie... JLOFA Annual #3. This one.

I don't know that I'd single Dan Jurgens out, as the entire Superman writing staff enjoys abusing their Martians, and Dan just took his turns. The Bloodwynd debacle is all on him, though. Oh wait-- Doomsday Wars alone is enough...

mathematicscore said...

I was thinking Doomsday Wars, but yeah, Bloodwynd in general, plus he had Martian Manhunter disappeared (into Bloodwynd) during the most visible, best selling storyline of the 90's, "the Death of Superman." And then during the Return of Superman, he had J'onn fall for Cyborg Superman's "Hey, look over there!" during Coast City's destruction... I don't dislike Jurgens, far from it, but he's often oblivious to the larger picture of J'onn Jones.