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J'onn J'onzz was a leading citizen of the planet Mars. He was well known
for both his expertise in science and as a master tactician. When a planet wide racial war
erupted between green-skinned Martians and the white- skinned desert dwelling Martians,
J'onn was placed in charge of the green- skinned army.
On
Mars, the primary source of fire was the Blue Flame of Mars. While J'onn wanted to utilize
the flame for space exploration, Commander Blanx, head of the white-skinned Martian army,
wanted to use the flame for the war. The battle ended with a personal combat between
J'onn
and Blanx. However, Blanx, through trickery, emerged victorious and had
J'onn exiled into
the Martian desert.
During the first year of the exile,
J'onn was mysteriously
teleported across the vast reaches of space to Earth by Professor Erdel. Erdel, who was
originally trying to establish a communications link between the two worlds, was surprised
to find an alien teleported to his workplace. Dr. Erdel was later killed by his own
computer.
Trapped on Earth,
J'onn used the Martian ability to shapeshift
and took the form of a human. Altering his name to John Jones, he joined the local police
department as a detective. During this time, he kept his Martian form a secret, even from
his fellow police officers. Eventually, however, he revealed to the populace of the Earth
the existence of the Manhunter from Mars. When the alien Appellaxians tried to conquer
Earth, J'onn was one of the seven heroes who formed the original Justice League of America
to defeat them.
During this time,
J'onn served with the Justice League against
their first battles with Starro, Despero, Doctor Light, and the Demons Three. He also met
the Justice Society in their first trip from Earth-2. Aside from the League,
J'onn worked
solo, defeating the Babylonian idol-head of Diabolu and the international crime cartel
called Vulture.
Finally,
J'onn repaired Erdel's damaged teleporter and figured
out a way to reverse it, returning J'onn home. However, when he arrived on Mars, instead
of finding the gleaming cities, he found only rubble. During J'onn's exile on Earth, Blanx
got control of the Blue Flame and destroyed most of the planet. The few surviving Martians
were constructing a huge space ark to transport them to another planet, Cygnus V.
J'onn,
who aided these last Martians, defeated Blanx and led the survivors to another world in
1965. They eventually found an inhabited planet, and the inhabitants welcomed the Martians
with open arms. The Martians dubbed the planet New Mars, or Mars II.
J'onn led a peaceful live on New Mars, and occasionally acted as
its defender when the need arose. It was during this time, J'onn also briefly returned to
Earth to avenge the death of his best friend on New Mars. On this adventure,
J'onn
defeated the corrupt Martian commander N'or C'ott. After that, J'onn teamed with the
League to protect New Mars against Despero, inadvertently fought Superman over the crystal
key, and was forced to fight Firestorm when mind-controlled by the
Appellaxians.
After N'or C'ott, a new commander rose to power, one who was not
content living in peace on New Mars. This new leader, simply calling himself the Marshal,
wished to resettle on Earth and conquer its populace. Against the Marshal's wishes,
J'onn
escaped to Earth to warn Earth's inhabitants and the Justice League. After the League was
defeated, the JL Satellite damaged, and the Earth's defenses crippled by the Martian
fleet, J'onn and his lover J'en snuck aboard the lead Martian ship, where
J'onn defeated
the Marshal in personal combat. Though he stopped the warring Martians, he was no longer
welcome among them. Thus, J'onn was once again exiled on Earth.
It was after the failed Martian invasion that Aquaman disbanded
and reformed the Justice League of America, with J'onn joining. When Aquaman left this
League to spend more time with his wife Mera, J'onn took over the leadership reigns.
J'onn
led the rookie League up against such threats as Amazo, the Overmaster, Despero, and
Brimstone. During this time, J'onn readopted the alias of John Jones, opening an detective
service, Biloxi Investigations, in Manhattan. He also rented out an apartment with fellow
Leaguer Steel in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths,
J'onn participated on a
strike team, led by Pariah and the Supermen of Earths 1 & 2, against the
Anti-Monitor's base. He also joined the rest of the heroes to finally defeat the Anti-
Monitor.
When Darkseid waged his campaign to destroy Earth's legends, the
President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, ordered all super-heroes to cease their
activities. J'onn felt there was no option but to disband the Justice League of America
for good.
From the Justice League of America to the Justice League
International, J'onn remained with the League, to him it became perhaps the only family he
had and he became very protective of team mate Gypsy treating her like a daughter. In one
of the first cases of the JLI J'onn battled a sentient virus and via the magic of Dr Fate
is was held prisoner in J'onn's alien cells. For months he held it save inside himself
unaware of the effect that he was having on him.
The strain of containing the virus started wearing away at the
mental block about his true path, this was boosted by the intercession of H'ronmeer the
Martian god of fire. The terrified J'onn ran from the fire god straight into the home of
Erdel who revealed the truth of J'onn's passage to Earth. Then using his rebuilt machinery
he sent J'onn back to Mars to fully confront H'ronmeer. In a game of cat and mouse J'onn
came to understand that H'ronmeer was not the dark god of death that humans might imagine
but rather was the protector of the dead who had sought J'onn out to remove the mental
block and allow the dead of Mars to rest in peace without J'onn's subconscious mind
hanging desperately onto them.
When he returned from Mars J'onn had changed, there was an inner
peace to him, he truly knew who he was and where he was from. When the JLI dissolved
during its period of Breakdowns, J'onn resigned and took the chance to leave planet and
meditate on his future. When he returned J'onn encountered the magician Bloodwynd who was
having trouble with his Bloodgem when J'onn tried to help him he found himself mentally
dominated by the Gem as Bloodwynd was sucked inside.
Under the control of the Gem. J'onn masqueraded as Bloodwynd for
months even to the point of joining the League as Bloodwynd it was only the suspicions of
the Blue Beetle and the help of the Atom and Ray that eventually freed Bloodwynd and J'onn
from the mutual trap. Shortly afterwards J'onn was recruited by the UN to head up the
Justice League Task Force.
The Task Force was initially conceived as a group of superheroes
from the Leagues roster's hand picked for each mission on a rotating basis. J'onn was
reunited with Gypsy during this time and later when the Task Force became the youth
training arm of the League he adopted a sterner facade in order to better deal with the
rebellious charges under him.
When the villain Dr Destiny and the entity Know Man tried to
blanket the Earth in a form of dream reality J'onn found himself in an artificial
recreation of Mars with his wife and daughter. Yet to him it was as real as the original
when his friends tried to persuade them otherwise he signaled his intentions to remain in
the dream paradise until it was destroyed by a gang of Know Man's agents. The strain of
loosing his family (even and illusionary family) a second time took a large toll on the
Martian Manhunter alienating from those that had been his friends and slightly undermining
the peace that he had previously obtained.
Recently J'onn had to battle the Hyperclan,
letting them think that he had betrayed the JLA and then attacking from
within, this combined with the battle with the forces of Heaven has also
taken a strong toll on J'onn who finds himself under more pressure that ever
from the world and his team-mates, his reaction to this has been to pull
back slightly, making him seem more alien than ever to those that do not
truly know him. Notes:
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