The Martian Manhunter played a role during the Fall of the Wall saga in the Checkmate series in which we saw the conspiracy unfold that forced Amanda Waller to resign her position as the White Queen of Checkmate. Now I'm not going to get into details about that too much but in a nut shell it involved MM impersonating the Black King for a while and later MM probing Deadshot's mind and extracting some information that allowed the other royals ( Black King, Black Queen and White King) to black mail Waller.The Fall of the Wall saga was my first look at the "cone head" version of MM. That was kinda at a time where my interest in comics was on the low end so I had no idea what the Hell that look was all about. I didn't like it, and if some body (Frank) out there wants to tell me what that look was all about (Frank) I'd love for them to leave a comment (Frank) to that end. Fairly recently I discovered that great show Young Justice and I thought it was interesting how MM was sporting that new costume on the show but not the cone head thank God. I think this version of MM's costume is pretty cool. Maybe I even think I like it a bit more then the original. So what say you people? Cone head or no cone head?
I'm not Frank, but I think the cone head is what the Martians really look like, and he adopts the rounder head to fit in better with the humans. I could be wrong, though.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. Cone head is the original one in Mars. Round Head is a camuflage to make him more human friendly.
ReplyDeleteI liked this suit too, and the one at Brightest day.
Oh, and Blogger is Stupid again.
I agree with Random, but it does bring up one of the points that used to irritate me as a major fan of J.J. He's a shapeshifter from another planet, but all he usually shape shifted to was forms that were human. At least now he's taken on more creative executions of his power and doing some more alien shapes.
ReplyDeleteIt is almost as frustrating as the idea mans best friend on Krypton looks just like a dog does on earth.
hey Dan i like that, J.J! just like Jimmy Walker from that late 70s comedy show "Good Times". now i got this picture in my head of MM slapping his hands together as he enters the Hall of Justice and yells "Dynommmite!".
ReplyDeleteok anyways folks thanks for the comments but none of ya said succinctly if you prefer J.J. with or with out the cone head. i like him more humanoid looking cause i'm just kinda homo-sapien centric that way.
I used to love that show. The first thing I always remember is that picture of the Black Jesus with the 4 ft. diameter afro that Florida had hanging over their kitchen table
ReplyDeleteI like the way the DC animation studio has done the change from the round human head to the pointy head thing. Subtle but enough to notice it. I think it was Young Justice but I could be wrong.
Aliera, when you get to the Blogger sign in screen, uncheck the box that says [remember me] or [stay logged in]. That got me through. It looks like the newest version of Blogger is conflicting with the newest update for Internet Explorer 8.
ReplyDeleteya know i love all you guys but it's nice to have someone in my age bracket like Craig leave a comment from time to time.
ReplyDeleteby the way people. i went to my local comic shop to pick up Heroes for Hire #8 and noticed in a newspaper bin that had the DC Reboot on the front page of U.S.A. Today.
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ReplyDeleteYou rang?
ReplyDeleteAlright, the Martian Manhunter fought Black Adam in 52 Week Fifty (June, 2007). Then in 52/WW III Part One: A Call To Arms #1, Black Adam caused J'Onn to psychically "hear" the millions killed in Bialya. 52/WW III Part Two: The Valiant #1 followed J'Onn through a resultant existential crisis, which continued in
52/WW III Part Three: Hell Is For Heroes #1. J'Onn Manhuntered-up for the final battle in 52/WW III Part Four: United We Stand #1 . From there, J'Onn kind of got pissed at all humankind for no good damned reason, embraced his inner Skrull, and had a stupid bipolar mini-series that I'll be covering weekly in July and August.
Craig, thank you for the help...Again!
ReplyDeletethank you Craig for that informative response. i may actually have to print out some of those pages on your blog those links lead to. so basically JJ has had some issues with trying to find his place in the world as it were. well who can't relate to that huh!? probably another reason why i love the character so much.
ReplyDeleteand Aliera it seems that your back in business 100% thank goodness.
Dan, the Manhunter used to pull more alien form back in the Silver Age, especially when he was searching for the Diabolu Idol-Head. When taking on other forms, J'onn J'onzz also possessed their powers and weaknesses. Presumably, he could become a Kryptonian and fight Superman, but that aspect of his powers wasn't used beyond the early 1960s.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I'm not Craig, but you said Frank enough times in the initial post to cover it. I'll just claim I shapeshifted into a Craig for the purposes of this conversation.
In bad stories, J'Onn J'Onzz is a disgruntled fish out of water, trapped on a world not his own. In good stories, he's a resident alien who loves humanity and knows his role, but is often amused by or disappointed in us. Think of his as a Peace Corpsman or an educated soldier trying to help people he has a solid understanding of, but can't always support or relate to.
Also, the conehead looked stupid when used in super-hero form, but is fine when J'Onn is being a meditative naturist at home. I know most super-heroes have penises, but they don't need to wear striped codpieces to draw undue attention to that fact. The OYL and BD costumes were both fine by me.
sorry about the name foul up Frank it was you i was talking to. as to JJ's anatomy changes i understand. i'm not a superhero, nor do i have a cone head but i do have a penis. i don't own any striped codpieces but i do have briefs. would any body out there like more information or was that enough?
ReplyDeletePre-WWIII wasn't he spending his time trying to infiltrate the government, getting the President to shut down Checkmate as vengeance/justice for their role in Max Lord shooting Ted Kord in the head? But then naturally the UN stepped in to fund Checkmate (that have such impeccable judgment) and it became bigger than ever. That would make me a bit disgruntled as well, plus Black Adam is a scary sociopath with a receding hairline. (Oh god he's gonna find me and rip something off.)
ReplyDeleteQuick, Cap! Find something to hide behind! Preferably Superman! I know it was a bit outside the stream, but I liked the way Justice League: A New Frontier handled MM. It showed him suitably alien, but doing his best to fit in and doing a damn good job at it. Loving the good bits of humanity (bugs bunny) and being disappointed by the, well, bad bits. Altogether, I think if they continued to write him that way I wouldn't ever have many issues with him. As to his costume, I'm a purist, but his changes don't bug me nearly as much as the other heroes do. Not sure why. I'm happy just so long as I see the big red x on his chest. Although, yeah. I don't particularly need to stare at a codpiece. Unless Dave wants to buy one and post pictures. ;)
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