I don't get it. Yes Martian Manhunter is in Stormwatch but he should get his own comic. He has a cool back story and powers so whats not to like?. Can you guys explain to me why he isn't more popular?
-jonEsherfey
I don't get it. Yes Martian Manhunter is in Stormwatch but he should get his own comic. He has a cool back story and powers so whats not to like?. Can you guys explain to me why he isn't more popular?
-jonEsherfey
Because we as fans have not done our share. We didn't campaign a fraction as hard as we could of for him in the years before the reboot. Not as many people bought his series and miniseries or so on and so forth. A great deal of us apparently just didn't start caring until it was too late.
Well, during the advent of super heroes during the spike in media, he was always absent...that has to be a factor right there.Every member of the original League has either had their own show or have been prominently featured in a cartoon.....Except J'onn. Unless you count that Justice league pilot that is laughable
Two reasons according to me:
1) It is difficult for most people to relate to him: he is an alien and has suffered the ultimate pain. loosing your family AND planet puts you in a different category. That is something none of us would like to experience.
2) He's your best buddy: What I mean is that we are all firmly convinced that even if we don't support him or show him affection, he'll still be around no matter what. He is infinitely reliable and indispensable. There is no good Justice League without a Martian Manhunter. We all know and accept it, yet we take it (and him) for granted.
@Avenging-X-Bolt: Why thank you.
Now if you sign this little contract here in exchange for a few drops of your blood, I'll make you a Latverian citizen and you won't have to care about anything anymore ever, just SIGN!
Sorry, I meant, have an other glass of Cognac, abandon your free will and just sign. Fatalis will take it from now on.
He hasn't had nearly as much outside media exposure as the other main members of the Justice League, he has no recognizable logo, and writers are often lost in just what to do with the character.
That being said, he should be more popular not only because he is a great character, but also because he has the most awesome superhero name of all time.
As some have said hes difficult to relate to and he doesn't have a large amount of villans. It would be difficult to craft some villans for him because it would basically be another book where a hero is fighting other-worldly beings. Since DC does a lot of those comics it would be weird to do another one. Also his fan-base is almost non-existant you just don't hear people asking for him a lot. I personally think he got snubbed when the new justice league book came out. He is waaaaayyy cooler than Cyborg. But because he appeals to the masses better he was chosen (wrongfully) over MM.
@Avenging-X-Bolt: I agree, we have to tell DC we want him to have his own series or to be a bigger part in the DC universe
He's hard to give his own series imho, just because his personality lacks a "star quality" - he's very quiet, kind of the rock of the group. Imagine Trek with Spock as the captain. We love him, and need him, but the show would not be nearly as fun.
I hope he replaces Cyborg soon...
@Malonius said:
MM could be potentially cool. I'd like to read the new Stormwatch to see what they're doing with him.
I like the book, but if you're going to read it just for MM, then you might as well just not. When he's awesome, he's f###ing awesome, but he's very underutilized, and he's recently left the team.
@The_Tree said:
@Malonius said:
MM could be potentially cool. I'd like to read the new Stormwatch to see what they're doing with him.
I like the book, but if you're going to read it just for MM, then you might as well just not. When he's awesome, he's f###ing awesome, but he's very underutilized, and he's recently left the team.
Thanks for the heads up. I thought he was in charge of monitoring extra-terrestrial activity on Earth in the new 52 Stormwatch. You can see I'm way behind.
@JonSmithsaid:
Yeah, yeah, all these are good answers, but they're jumping around the real reason.
It's because he's green.
THERE I SAID IT.
Haha, Brutally honest but probably true :P plus he's not nearly relatable in the slightest.
Here's some things I don't understand about MM. Like I said earlier, he seems like a potentially really cool character.
1. Why does MM even hang around Earth? Why not go anywhere in the universe?
2. I know he's devastated by the loss of his family and his species, but the way he handles it is very different then Batman and Superman. He doesn't seem psychotically obsessed with preventing injustice like Batman or feel the kind of Boy Scout conscience that Superman has that makes him want to help the people who adopted him. Why does MM do the super-hero thing at all? He doesn't owe humans anything as far as I know.
3. He's incredibly powerful. He could fight most of Superman's villains, but he doesn't have any of his own really. How does he spend his time? If he wants to be a superhero and has all this power, why not run around helping other superheroes out?
4. I know he's a great detective, but what kind of crimes are there really that could really challenge a guy like this.
I guess what I'm getting at is that MM is kinda superfluous in the popular DC sphere. His powers and history are kinda a combo of Batman and Superman so he doesn't have much to add to a situation except that his assistance would probably end most problems in less than a panel. Yet he strikes me as a very unique and intriguing character. He also kinda makes me think of Silver Surfer what with brooding and introspective personality, but Surfer is always caught up in Herald stuff and always driven to try to atone for his time as a herald. What is MM's motivation? What does he want to do with his life?
I was indifferent about Martian Manhunter. To me he was just there doing stuff. He seemed like a glorified babysitter in the justice league animated series. He is the most powerful Justice League member and the least active. Seriously the Justice league does not need MMH in terms of real world appeal.
@Malonius: 1. He hangs around Earth because it's his adopted planet, he loves Earth's people and customs and has formed a great deal of lasting relationships. To put it simply, it's his home now. 2. He has several of his own villains, and he did help other superheroes, mostly fellow Justice Leaguers.He also had a civilian life as John Jones.3. Martian Manhunter motivation is his compassion. He absolutely refuses to let his new home suffer the same fate as his old one.
Meh. I don't think he makes a good Justice League character the way he is now. Take away the super strength martian Vision ETC. He should be no where NEAR supermans level of strengh
Just leave him with intangibility, Limited shape shifting, and mind reading. THEN the character would make more sense to me.
@Twentyfive said:
He is straight up uninteresting.
I'll have to agree with you on this one. He can be pretty cool at times but there is nothing overly unique about him that makes him interesting. He has the same powers as nearly every other DC character plus a ton of other ones...the guy has way to many powers in my opinion and I don't overly enjoy that about a character personally.
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story. MMH is a character that is strictly a team character. I can't really see a solo series. People suddenly take interest in him (in my opinion) because he got replaced by Cyborg.
@Twentyfive said:
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story. MMH is a character that is strictly a team character. I can't really see a solo series. People suddenly take interest in him (in my opinion) because he got replaced by Cyborg.
Yeah the only reason there is so much commotion about him lately. Personally I like cyborg more, he is more unique than MM imo
@Twentyfive said:
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story.
That's not really true.
Superman can't miss his homeworld. He never knew it. He can mourn it and wish it was there, but that goes no deeper than "I wish there were more people like me around." Superman grew up as a human, he grew up ingrained in human culture and morality. Therefore he can only look through the eyes of a human. Incredibly powerful and superior in every way, but still human.
J'onn? he can look through the eyes of an alien. Malonius said he reminded him of the Silver Surfer, and he's perfectly right there, though perhaps not for the reason he though. Both the Manhunter and the Surfer are outside observers of humanity. So where someone like Superman has the option of trying to fit in or standing apart, the Martian will settle for simply understanding. robbed of any preconceptions of humanity, he's the perfect character to do that. And he's perfectly equipped for that task. With his shape-shifting, intangibility, invisibility and telepathy, he can walk among us unseen and explore every facet of our existence. He can leave no metaphorical stone unturned in the search for our inner goodness. All the littlest things that we take for granted like because we've lived with them since the dawn of civilization, the things that even Superman would take for granted, the Martian will see and find them wondrous.
The Martian's story is ultimately one of healing. He has suffered, badly. He has lost his family, his race, his home. But in the end he has found a new home, and it is filled with fascinating people. They can be grand in their goodness or they can be the lowest form of monsters, but they will never, ever cease to amaze him. And that's why he will never let anything happen to them.
That also tells us why the Manhunter has always been the heart of the league and the superhero community. Because he has nowhere else to go. He can walk among us, but only up in that watchtower, surrounded by people as strange to the world as he is, people who will accept him without questions, who have seen so many strange things that the sight of him evokes no confusion in their eyes, only there can he see anything resembling a home.
The Manhunter needs the League as much as the League needs the Manhunter.
@ratman19: Alot of characters are not relatable but people still like them. He just needs he's owe comic or be featured more in comics/cartoons.
Well said, man.@Twentyfive said:
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story.
That's not really true.
Superman can't miss his homeworld. He never knew it. He can mourn it and wish it was there, but that goes no deeper than "I wish there were more people like me around." Superman grew up as a human, he grew up ingrained in human culture and morality. Therefore he can only look through the eyes of a human. Incredibly powerful and superior in every way, but still human.
J'onn? he can look through the eyes of an alien. Malonius said he reminded him of the Silver Surfer, and he's perfectly right there, though perhaps not for the reason he though. Both the Manhunter and the Surfer are outside observers of humanity. So where someone like Superman has the option of trying to fit in or standing apart, the Martian will settle for simply understanding. robbed of any preconceptions of humanity, he's the perfect character to do that. And he's perfectly equipped for that task. With his shape-shifting, intangibility, invisibility and telepathy, he can walk among us unseen and explore every facet of our existence. He can leave no metaphorical stone unturned in the search for our inner goodness. All the littlest things that we take for granted like because we've lived with them since the dawn of civilization, the things that even Superman would take for granted, the Martian will see and find them wondrous.
The Martian's story is ultimately one of healing. He has suffered, badly. He has lost his family, his race, his home. But in the end he has found a new home, and it is filled with fascinating people. They can be grand in their goodness or they can be the lowest form of monsters, but they will never, ever cease to amaze him. And that's why he will never let anything happen to them.
That also tells us why the Manhunter has always been the heart of the league and the superhero community. Because he has nowhere else to go. He can walk among us, but only up in that watchtower, surrounded by people as strange to the world as he is, people who will accept him without questions, who have seen so many strange things that the sight of him evokes no confusion in their eyes, only there can he see anything resembling a home.
The Manhunter needs the League as much as the League needs the Manhunter.
@Twentyfive said:
He is straight up uninteresting.
This.
To the people who say he had no media exposure, what about this:
That's where my friends and I first learned about anything DC related
And what about this
He's popular now on comicvine BECAUSE he got replaced and people a)don't like change, b)like rooting for underdogs, c) don't like Blacks, and d)can connect with someone who lost their job to someone else.
He's just not a good character. If he was, he would have sold in a solo series in his 50 years of being a big dog.
Cyborg is a lot more interesting and he brings broader demographic appeal. He's the tin man with a heart of gold.
How would a MMH book be any different than a Superman book anyway?
And if Superman is called too powerful by so many people, then why would MMH be any different?
Also this:
@TrainMe said:
I was indifferent about Martian Manhunter. To me he was just there doing stuff. He seemed like a glorified babysitter in the justice league animated series. He is the most powerful Justice League member and the least active. Seriously the Justice league does not need MMH in terms of real world appeal.
@AtPhantom said:
@Twentyfive said:
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story.
That's not really true.
Superman can't miss his homeworld. He never knew it. He can mourn it and wish it was there, but that goes no deeper than "I wish there were more people like me around." Superman grew up as a human, he grew up ingrained in human culture and morality. Therefore he can only look through the eyes of a human. Incredibly powerful and superior in every way, but still human.
J'onn? he can look through the eyes of an alien. Malonius said he reminded him of the Silver Surfer, and he's perfectly right there, though perhaps not for the reason he though. Both the Manhunter and the Surfer are outside observers of humanity. So where someone like Superman has the option of trying to fit in or standing apart, the Martian will settle for simply understanding. robbed of any preconceptions of humanity, he's the perfect character to do that. And he's perfectly equipped for that task. With his shape-shifting, intangibility, invisibility and telepathy, he can walk among us unseen and explore every facet of our existence. He can leave no metaphorical stone unturned in the search for our inner goodness. All the littlest things that we take for granted like because we've lived with them since the dawn of civilization, the things that even Superman would take for granted, the Martian will see and find them wondrous.
The Martian's story is ultimately one of healing. He has suffered, badly. He has lost his family, his race, his home. But in the end he has found a new home, and it is filled with fascinating people. They can be grand in their goodness or they can be the lowest form of monsters, but they will never, ever cease to amaze him. And that's why he will never let anything happen to them.
That also tells us why the Manhunter has always been the heart of the league and the superhero community. Because he has nowhere else to go. He can walk among us, but only up in that watchtower, surrounded by people as strange to the world as he is, people who will accept him without questions, who have seen so many strange things that the sight of him evokes no confusion in their eyes, only there can he see anything resembling a home.
The Manhunter needs the League as much as the League needs the Manhunter.
Bravo, sir. Bravo.
@AtPhantom said:
That's not really true.
Superman can't miss his homeworld. He never knew it. He can mourn it and wish it was there, but that goes no deeper than "I wish there were more people like me around." Superman grew up as a human, he grew up ingrained in human culture and morality. Therefore he can only look through the eyes of a human. Incredibly powerful and superior in every way, but still human.
J'onn? he can look through the eyes of an alien. Malonius said he reminded him of the Silver Surfer, and he's perfectly right there, though perhaps not for the reason he though. Both the Manhunter and the Surfer are outside observers of humanity. So where someone like Superman has the option of trying to fit in or standing apart, the Martian will settle for simply understanding. robbed of any preconceptions of humanity, he's the perfect character to do that. And he's perfectly equipped for that task. With his shape-shifting, intangibility, invisibility and telepathy, he can walk among us unseen and explore every facet of our existence. He can leave no metaphorical stone unturned in the search for our inner goodness. All the littlest things that we take for granted like because we've lived with them since the dawn of civilization, the things that even Superman would take for granted, the Martian will see and find them wondrous.
The Martian's story is ultimately one of healing. He has suffered, badly. He has lost his family, his race, his home. But in the end he has found a new home, and it is filled with fascinating people. They can be grand in their goodness or they can be the lowest form of monsters, but they will never, ever cease to amaze him. And that's why he will never let anything happen to them.
That also tells us why the Manhunter has always been the heart of the league and the superhero community. Because he has nowhere else to go. He can walk among us, but only up in that watchtower, surrounded by people as strange to the world as he is, people who will accept him without questions, who have seen so many strange things that the sight of him evokes no confusion in their eyes, only there can he see anything resembling a home.
The Manhunter needs the League as much as the League needs the Manhunter.
Well said, good sir.
@Superdork said:
@Twentyfive said:
He is straight up uninteresting.
This.
To the people who say he had no media exposure, what about this:
That's where my friends and I first learned about anything DC related
And what about this
He's popular now on comicvine BECAUSE he got replaced and people a)don't like change, b)like rooting for underdogs, c) don't like Blacks, and d)can connect with someone who lost their job to someone else.
He's just not a good character. If he was, he would have sold in a solo series in his 50 years of being a big dog.
Cyborg is a lot more interesting and he brings broader demographic appeal. He's the tin man with a heart of gold.
How would a MMH book be any different than a Superman book anyway?
And if Superman is called too powerful by so many people, then why would MMH be any different?
Also this:
@TrainMe said:
I was indifferent about Martian Manhunter. To me he was just there doing stuff. He seemed like a glorified babysitter in the justice league animated series. He is the most powerful Justice League member and the least active. Seriously the Justice league does not need MMH in terms of real world appeal.
Comic book fans absolutely do not like change at all. This point has been proven by the fact that DC conformed to fanboy demands, and reverted most of their characters to their original legacy status. That is why Ronnie Raymond is still around. That is why Barbara Gordon is Batgirl now. I must say I am quite surprised that Jaime is still the Blue Beetle.
Cyborg is a LOT more interesting than MMH, but since he replaced a "classic" character, people won't give him the respect or credit he deserves. Just look in any battle thread with him in it.
Your post was beautiful, by the way. Thank you.
@Avenging-X-Bolt said:
Because we as fans have not done our share. We didn't campaign a fraction as hard as we could of for him in the years before the reboot. Not as many people bought his series and miniseries or so on and so forth. A great deal of us apparently just didn't start caring until it was too late.
It's not our fault. MM's mini's were pretty horribly written post IC. When they gave him this outfit....
Things started going to hell.
@Onemoreposter said:
@Avenging-X-Bolt said:
Because we as fans have not done our share. We didn't campaign a fraction as hard as we could of for him in the years before the reboot. Not as many people bought his series and miniseries or so on and so forth. A great deal of us apparently just didn't start caring until it was too late.It's not our fault. MM's mini's were pretty horribly written post IC. When they gave him this outfit....
Things started going to hell.
That outfit was an improvement... He's not going to strip for us.
I think it is because of his villains. He doesn't have any identifiable villains and he doesn't have enough. I think if they started to introduce him in a team up and then gave him his own comic than I think it could get more popular.
@Hazlenaut: One of the Atoms. Palmer, since (as I have been told) Choi is going to be in the JL at some point. Good job Choi, btw. Mr. Terrific, but his book sucked.
@AtPhantom said:
@Twentyfive said:
@Lost_Nomad: Thank you for your input. MMH does have some stories, like "Trying, but failing to fit in with humans, and missing his home world" but that is a Superman story.
That's not really true.
Superman can't miss his homeworld. He never knew it. He can mourn it and wish it was there, but that goes no deeper than "I wish there were more people like me around." Superman grew up as a human, he grew up ingrained in human culture and morality. Therefore he can only look through the eyes of a human. Incredibly powerful and superior in every way, but still human.
J'onn? he can look through the eyes of an alien. Malonius said he reminded him of the Silver Surfer, and he's perfectly right there, though perhaps not for the reason he though. Both the Manhunter and the Surfer are outside observers of humanity. So where someone like Superman has the option of trying to fit in or standing apart, the Martian will settle for simply understanding. robbed of any preconceptions of humanity, he's the perfect character to do that. And he's perfectly equipped for that task. With his shape-shifting, intangibility, invisibility and telepathy, he can walk among us unseen and explore every facet of our existence. He can leave no metaphorical stone unturned in the search for our inner goodness. All the littlest things that we take for granted like because we've lived with them since the dawn of civilization, the things that even Superman would take for granted, the Martian will see and find them wondrous.
The Martian's story is ultimately one of healing. He has suffered, badly. He has lost his family, his race, his home. But in the end he has found a new home, and it is filled with fascinating people. They can be grand in their goodness or they can be the lowest form of monsters, but they will never, ever cease to amaze him. And that's why he will never let anything happen to them.
That also tells us why the Manhunter has always been the heart of the league and the superhero community. Because he has nowhere else to go. He can walk among us, but only up in that watchtower, surrounded by people as strange to the world as he is, people who will accept him without questions, who have seen so many strange things that the sight of him evokes no confusion in their eyes, only there can he see anything resembling a home.
The Manhunter needs the League as much as the League needs the Manhunter.
Lovely. I was gonna post the clapping guy but tree beat me.
@Twentyfive:
Cyborg is a LOT more interesting than MMH, but since he replaced a "classic" character, people won't give him the respect or credit he deserves. Just look in any battle thread with him in it.
Yeah that's how I feel. last time I saw MMH was in the DC animated movie Justice league Doom. MMH was incredibly boring as usual.
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