Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Which Martian Manhunter Villains do Idol-Head Readers find Most Interesting?

It's been about three-quarters of a year since the Idol-Head of Diabolu reader poll asked for you to select as many of eighty-eight J'Onn J'Onzz jerks as you were interested in reading about here. Finally, here are your top three favorites, so that I can finally take that blasted results panel off the sidebar!

Curiously, two femme fatales tied for second place, indicating a need for more Martian Manhunter villainesses and/or more coverage for these two here.

Bette Noir


Martian Manhunter villains who don't fall off the side of the Earth after one appearance are uncommon, as are one born with breasts. Bette Noir appeared to be a specter who specialized in psychic assaults. I had trouble getting into her, since Ostrander & Mandrake worked on a similar character called Spook in their run together on Grimjack. Bette turned out to have a far sillier background, complete with a Shyamalan "twist" I'll avoid spoiling. Visually, there isn't a lot there either. "Pale chick in black gown" is a comic book staple, with the '80s Batman frienemy with benefits Nocturna coming to mind. Still, Bette managed several appearances in Manhunter's solo series, including a team-up with a Vile Menagerie bastard, plus a guest appearance in another series after Martian Manhunter was canceled. Those are gold standard criteria for J'Onn's rogues gallery. It's too long been my intention to get her inducted, despite my lukewarm interest, ans a look at the character's currently slight wen resources only strengthens my resolve.

Cay'an

Man, there was a lot of Cay'an stuff online a few years ago, so I've been blowing her off all this time. I tend to forget that teh intarwebs' silken skein are hardly everlasting. Today, there's a couple or three pictures and one decent character biography... not that she deserves it. Cay'an appeared in the final issue of a seemingly universally panned mini-series even I haven't gotten around to finishing, in which she was revealed to be the mastermind of a plot against J'OnnJ'Onzz. She's basically the Green Lantern villainess Fatality with a far less plausible motivation and even skankier wardrobe than a Star Sapphire. Her name reminds me of chili powder and her swimwear looks like something Jessica Hahn would have modeled for Jim Bakker. Don't think I don't know you want to read me writing about her rather than subjecting yourselves to direct contamination.

Finally, your most interesting Martian Manhunter villain for which I gotta go'n write about now...
Ma'alefa'ak

Wak indeed, people. Wak, indeed.

3 comments:

LissBirds said...

Regarding "Cay'an," I just find it ironic that fans/writers/critics complain about how silly "J'onn J'onzz" sounds, and yet no one can think of anything better. Even the girl running around in Brightest Day has a silly name. And it can't be too memorable, because I can't remember it. D' something.

Bette Noir...tied for second? She was in what, two issues?

Diabolu Frank said...

Bette Noir was probably the best utilized Ostrander/Mandrake villain. She's made about five appearances over two series (two stories and a cameo in Martian Manhunter and a two-part appearance in Harley Quinn.) Plus she teamed-up with Dr. Trap for the big series finale (faking a Malefic appearance, as well,) and off the top of my head, that's the closest we've come to a MM Revenge Squad to date.

D'kay... like "decay." Get it? Like Ma'alefa'ak was really "malefic?" How clever! How droll! How I want to crush those fingers before they reach another keyboard!

LissBirds said...

Obviously I somehow forgot about Bette Noir. I give her points for appearing in another series.

Decay?! I didn't even get that! Sometimes I swear I should've been born blond.

That really is dumb. I should've added that to my rant against Brightest Day.