Third Book of Despero, the Reborn: Justice League of America #249 (4/86)

Interlude: On the planet Kalanor, servants tended to a blazing pit. "Behold the Flame of Py'tar. Those who are not destroyed by its purifying embrace achieve wisdom and power beyond imagination. Will you risk the flame, master?" A nude silhouette with a scalloped head answered, "For what I seek, I would risk eternity." This being then allowed the blaze to immolate him. "The pain is indescribable: It goes beyond agony to the far reaches of madness. He welcomes the pain, he embraces the madness. Soon he will have power enough to take vengeance on the Justice League. His wild laughter ends in a scream."

Second Book of Despero, the Reborn: Justice League of America #248 (3/86)

Interlude: Kalanor was a peaceful, fertile world until, "the world and its inhabitants were his possessions... to do with as he pleased; to toy with... to mutilate... even to destroy, if the whim took him." While for a decade, things returned to normal, there were still some who worshipped him as a god. The escaped convict from last issue arrived there and set foot on Kalanor, flanked by white hammer-headed aliens garbed in purple robes. "It's good to be home."

First Book of Despero, the Reborn: Justice League of America #247 (2/86)

On the prison planet of Takron-Galtos, home of the galaxy’s most dangerous arch-criminals, a fuschia fiend in a blue hoodie murdered a guard. This dastardly desperado then stole a rifle, with which he gunned down two more alien guardsmen with one blast. He jacked a ship, and used his telepathy, limited as it was by prison-drugs, to learn the pattern of the laser defense field to escape. “My followers wait to greet me on Kalanor. I shall not disappoint them.”

The Dynastic Centerpiece of Diabolu

Returning to my lecture subject from yesterday, Scipio's Theory of Dynastic Centerpiece as it applies to the Martian Manhunter, I feel we should first look to his examples of same in other hero "families." It seems to me that, ironic though it may be, the grandaddy of Dynastic Centerpiece wasn't a DC character until what, 1986? Later? Anyway, that would be the Marvel Family. Captain Marvel/Billy Batson is of course the "DC," Captain Marvel Jr. the "Junior Counterpart," "Mary Marvel the "Female Counterpart," Tawky Tawny the "Animal Companion," the wizard Shazam the "Elder Statesman," Beautia Sivana could stretch as "the Romantic Interest," Uncle Marvel the "Civilian Companion," Black Adam "the Black Sheep," Sterling Morris the "Authority Figure" and so on.

Expanding to the rest of the DCU (sans the too obvious,) we can get an even better understanding of the iconic DC family...

Dynastic Centerpiece: Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Hawkman
Kid Sidekick: Wonder Girl III, Aqualad, Speedy, Golden Eagle.
Junior Counterpart: Troia, Tempest, Connor Hawke, Northwind
Black Sheep: Artemis, Koryak, Shado, Fel Andar
Elder Statesman: Phillipus, Atlan, Wildcat, Carter Hall/Prince Khufu
Female Counterpart: Champion, Dolphin/Aquagirl, Black Canary, Howkgirl/woman
Animal Companion: Kangas, Tusky
Romantic Interest: Steve Trevor, Mera
Civilian Companion: Etta Candy, Vulko,
Authority Figure: Hippolyta
Contextualizing City: Themyscira, Poseidonis, Star, Midway

Next there's the concept of the Anti-Dynasty of supervillainy...
Arch Enemy: Cheetah, Black Manta, Hath-Set
Lunatic: Dr. Cyber, Piranha Man, Byth
Hero-worshipping Villain: Silver Swan, Golden Eagle
Civilian Enemy: Veronica Cale, Kristopher Roderic
Untouchable Crime Lord: Ares, Kanjar Ro
Magician: Circe, Gentleman Ghost
Evil Opposite: Artemis, Ocean Master, Merlyn
Femme Fatale: The White Magician, Hercules, Mera
Mental Challenger: Dr. Psycho, Shadow Thief
Physical Challenger: Giganta, Lion-Mane

Now, you'll note that four heroes enter each category, but as few as one actually enjoy a relevant slot. Green Arrow has developed a pretty solid positive DC, but his anti-DC is about as bad as it gets. Merlyn? For serious? This is why the Idol-Head Blog is so important to me: Martian Manhunter has got this, man. I filled every slot with relative ease, usually turning back equally worthy candidates. In fact, I specifically avoided as many upcoming Vile Menagerie entries as possible, and look who I have to work with! Really look, especially if you have the opportunity to write the Martian Marvel. All your work has been done for you if you'll just take advantage...



Junior Counterpart: Jemm, Son of Saturn
Since Morrison connected the character to Mars in "Rock of Ages," and especially with Ostrander's follow-up in J'Onn's own title, this was an early lock.

Female Version: Ms. Martian
Not so long ago, this would have either been a reach or just a token slot for the next candidate up. Now, simplicity itself.

Kid Sidekick: Gypsy
Cindy had to get in here. Ever since her reappearance in JLI, Gypsy and J'Onn have been closely linked as surrogate daughter/father.

Black Sheep: Glenn Gammeron
Never heard of Gammeron, the bounty hunting frienemy with history dating back to before J'Onn lost his family? Speak up now if you're hot for an entry on ol' Glenn. I dig this cat a lot, and the JLTF synopsis are likely years away...

Civilian Companion: Cameron Chase
Damned if this DC thing isn't vindicating many of Ostrander's choices, but linking his run to D.C. Johnson's late, lamented series was a great idea.

Elder Statesman: King Faraday
Darwyn Cooke didn't see this team-up coming, and it was his own notion, and wouldn't you know J'Onn & King grew to be among his favorite "New Frontier" characters? Mine too.

Animal Companion: Zook
Junior counterpart, kid sidekick... you just knew Zook would get in here, as well. I'm still not comfortable referring to Zook as a sentient "pet," but that was how the character was usually described.

Authority Figure: H'ronmeer
Don't get much more authoritative than your own personal Jesus.

Arch Enemy: Despero
No. I'm sorry, I thought you were trying to correct this choice with anyone else. I'm glad we see eye to eye on this.

Lunatic: Malefic
Like someone might claim Malefic as an archenemy. Malefic does my heart good by insuring Ostrander is also villified here. One a lousy, one-note, derivative waste of multiple story arcs Malefic was. But he's assuredly nuts and someone was bound to chime in if I left him out.

Hero-worshipping Villain: Triumph
Potentially a controversial choice, but if anyone delivered fan service to the haters of this continuity implant, it was Big J'Onn and his left arm of iron. That's also either the second or third point for Christopher Priest's efforts. Shame he never developed the Osprey...

Civilian Enemy: Director Bones
Another no-brainer, although I understand Amanda Waller could have served just as well.

Untouchable Crime Lord: Vandal Savage
This was a tough call, as Savage is a greater DCU villain and Flash has some degree of ownership. The Faceless Mr. V could have gone here, but he was ultimately touchable. Savage, while not typically associated with J'Onn J'Onzz, was probably his second most common foe of the 90's. I look forward to providing greater detail, and only regret the trend didn't continue into the oughts.

Magician: Lord Asmodel
This was the only tricky one for me, as J'Onn tends not to deal with magic types. There was that one fight with Etrigan, and the witch he teamed-up with the Spectre to fight, but those were pretty weak reaches. Asmodel meanwhile has a history of kicking Martian Manhunter's ass, so he seemed a solid choice.

Evil Opposite: The Marshal
One of the greatest Manhunter covers of all time was by Chuck Patton, and the only way you could tell J'Onn from the Marshal was their costumes. Let's not forget, it was the Marshal and his brotherhood forces who were responsible for permanently evicting the JLofA from their satellite.

Femme Fatale: Bel Juz
I had more options here than I expected, but since no one else can really claim Bel Juz as one of their own, she seemed appropriate.

Mental Challenger: Professor Arnold Hugo
The man! The myth! The melon!

Physical Challenger: Brimstone
He's big, he's strong, he's made of fire, he has ties to Darkseid, and several fights with the Alien Atlas under his considerable belt.

Contextualizing City: None. I don't know when it was decided John Jones was a detective in Middleton, but his generic beat was almost never identified in the Silver Age. After he quit the force, whatever city he happened to be in was also rarely named, and pretty near never the same. Marco Xavier was all over Eurasia. There's just no good reason to pin J'Onn down to one burg, unless maybe Haven: The Broken City is still around somewhere. I do think J'Onn should have a cool base, whether it be a new Z'onn Z'orr, a repurposed Satellite/Watchtower, or what have you.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #10 (1/86)

The Martian Manhunter resurfaced in Crisis #10 (Jan.'86,) having discovered a large central collection of the evil-doers (including Despero!) "No, Hector Hammond, nothing can help you now. I am tired of you humans! Tired of your evil! Tired of your lust for power!" The furious Manhunter, eyes ablaze with Martian Vision blasts, commanded "Surrender to us now. Let us return order and justice to this Earth!" It goes without saying that J'Onzz, Platinum, and The Atom taught the creeps a little something about opportunism. Sometimes in the midst of all this, the Detroit League sans Steel regrouped at the Bunker to check on Commander Steel, filled with regret over his actions and the fate of his still-missing grandson. Manhunter chastised, “Haven’t you done him harm enough? ...We can only hope that he finds us. Assuming he’s still alive.” Back in the midst of Crisis, the Anti-Monitor returned, and Manhunter joined with the most powerful collection of heroes ever before seen in an attempt to stop him. They failed. "And, from the dawn of creation...comes death...It is the end of all that was."

The History of the DC Universe had been rewritten, and all alternate Earths merged into one reality. Now, there had only ever been one Batman, and he began his war on crime just a few years prior to the Crisis. Supergirl and Wonder Woman never existed. The Justice Society members were the first ever super-heroes, protecting the Earth from World War II until a congressional committee helped bring their careers to an end in the 1950's. There was still a heroine called The Huntress, but Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle never married, so her entire life and parentage had changed. J'Onn J'Onzz joined with the rest of Earth's heroes to destroy the Anti-Monitor, saving the last existing reality from destruction in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (Mar.'86). It would be another two years before we would learn just how much the Crisis changed the history of Mars, and The Manhunter himself.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER: The Motion Picture Part 1 (2000)

Back when I had the "Rock of the JLA" site, I did a fan casting of higher-profile friends, enemies, and associates for a theoretical movie. In those days, I was stuck on WebTV, meaning almost all the pictures on the site were low-res found images off other sites. I wanted to preserve that project as it stood, so mistakes and lapses in quality are all intact. I think it holds up pretty well, though many of the actors are now too old, and Jennifer Jason Leigh wasn't in "Fried Green Tomatos. If we had IMDB back then, I didn't know it. Resized for space, part one of two, rolling...

MARTIAN MANHUNTER
The Motion Picture
WARNER BROTHERS does not Present
"MARTIAN MANHUNTER" AVERY BROOKS CLANCY BROWN with CHARLES FLEISHER as the voice of 'L-Ron' Music Composed by JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Character Animation and Visual Effects by INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC Executive Produced by NOBODY & This is a joke Produced by JOEL SILVER Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS and KEITH GIFFEN and MARK WAID and GRANT MORRISON THIS IS NOT A REAL MOVIE. I'M JUST PLAYING DON'T SUE ME Directed by JOE DANTE

Let's just be up front about this...There will never, ever be a Martian Manhunter movie. Even if one were ever produced, it would undoubtedly suck. If abominations like "Batman & Robin", "Superman 4:The Quest for Peace", and "Captain America" could happen, what chance has MM got?

On the other hand, most of these actors could potentially provide their voices to an animated show. Unlikly as that may be, I can tell you from experience that hearing Avery Brooks' voice while reading J'Onn in JLA just enrices a person's reading experience. Give it a shot...



Avery Brooks as The Manhunter from Mars
J'Onn shouldn't just be a tall guy with a deep voice. The actor has to be able to emote, even when he isn't speaking. When he does speak, the words should have weight, but he shouldn't come off as cold. I've always imagined a little cracking in J'Onn's voice, especially during his many heartfelt speeches. Brooks captures all of these things, plus he's fairly tall, to boot!

FILMS:
American History X
The Big Hit

TELEVISION:
Spencer for Hire (Hawk)
Star Trek:Deep Space Nine (Capt.Ben Sisko)


Clancy Brown as Despero
Anyone who saw the only good "Highlander" movie knows Clancy Brown can play a balls-to-the-walls destructive madman. If you caught "Stephen King's Pet Sematary", you know he can pull off the creepy serial killer part. What you may not know is that the same guy also provides the golden throat for Lex Luthor on the WB's Superman cartoon. He'll need a little bit of all three to play a sadist like Despero.

OTHER FILMS:
Blue Steel


Alyssa Milano as Gypsy
She's perky! She's tough in a cute way! She's Tony's daughter! How could they not be the boss of Judith Light? Who am I trying to kid? I'm not a huge fan of Gypsy to begin with, and all the actresses that came to mind are too old for the role. I do like Ms.Milano, and it's not like it's a demanding part. Bonus-She'll make anyone who plays MM look even taller!

MOVIES:
Embrace of the Vampire
Poison Ivy 2

TELEVISION:
Charmed
Melrose Place
Who's the Boss

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Cameron Chase
For this role, you need someone who's attractive without looking "Hollywood". She has to appear immediatly formitable, and noticably intelligent. In roles from Dorothy Parker to the "Single White Female" psycho, Leigh has proven that she's right for DEO Agent Chase. I think she can hold her own against a seven foot Martian, and still make it all believable.

OTHER FILMS;
Dorothy Parker and the Viscious Circle
Fried Green Tomatos
Rush

Don Cheadle as DEO Director Bones
Right off the bat, for those who don't know, Mister Bones was African-American. Second, Bones is a reformed who, who still believes he's doing the right thing by safeguarding the United States from the metahuman community.

Now, you've got to get the sense that this is a good man doing bad things, and you've got to get it across through nothing but a computer generated talking skeleton...and voice acting. Bones doesn't have one of those James Earl Jones reverb voices, so he's got to sound normal, yet sympathetic and devoted, even borderline fanatical and conniving. It would take a stunning talent to pull all that off, and his name is Don Cheadle. He's one hell of an actor, with roles ranging from an impassioned small town prosecutor to a drug-dealing hood caught up in a political race. He's even got the right build for the role, should the latex route be taken.

FILMS:
Boogie Nights
Bullworth
Devil in a Blue Dress
Hamburger Hill
Rosewood
Volcano

TELEVISION:
Picket Fences


James Van Der Beek as Triumph
Have you ever read one of Wizard Magazine's comic book Casting Calls? I know I gag at some of their God-awful choices to play heroes that people actual care about. They just love picturing wrestlers, Baywatch babes, and soap stars as their favorite heroes. I usually don't, but visions of teen idols dance in my head when I think about Triumph. No one on Earth liked this egotistical pretty boy, who always whined about how he should have been one of the greats of the DCU. So, you need someone young and blond with that forced pseudo-depth required to deliver lines like, "I love Monica, but I can't betray Susan to my passion." Or maybe, "That's yer dream Daddy, not mahne!" Here's your guy!

FILMS:
Varsity Blues

TELEVISION:
Dawson's Creek

Desperately Seeking Despero in December '07

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: VILLAINS Poster
Art by Ian Churchill
From the cover of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13, featuring Martian Manhunter foes Despero, Mongul, and Gorilla Grodd!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 21, 2008 * Poster * $7.99 US