Detective Comics

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Linkara begins this year's Secret Origins Month with the Martian Manhunter!
atopthefourthwall.com
Originally released November 14th, 2019.
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Really the Martian Manhunter's story is of a really laid-back kidnapping.

[@Igarappappa]

Robin: Fire is his one weakness! Batman: Yeah, fire is everyone's weakness. It's [bleep]ing fire.

[@idongesitusen5764]

Much like Kevin Conroy’s Batman, nobody embodies Martian Manhunter like Carl Lumbley. Something about his presence just fits, like Keith David.

[@dnmstarsi]

Same. I can't unhear Lumbly whenever J'onn speaks.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

Was he the one that did the voice for him on justice league?

[@WolfDB]

"Fire's his one weakness" "Yeah, of course it is. It's fire. Fire is everyone's weakness"

[@tannerprice2018]

“Oh, you’re Skrulls?” “Exactly, I- wait who?” Definitely the best joke.

[@elavedelosaugurios704]

Glad I am not the only who thought that

[@the4thwallkid132]

Isn't it weird to see humans abducting aliens instead of the other way around

[@cameoshadowness7757]

Humans are aliens to being on other planets...

[@the4thwallkid132]

@@cameoshadowness7757 That makes sense

[@badbeardbill9956]

"I abduct aliens!" - Paul

[@TOK150]

Yeah your right! Points for originality.

[@GarlicPudding]

The 4th Wall Kid And by ACCIDENT, no less.

[@buchiklop110]

"J'honn J'onzz is basically the heart and soul of the Justice League" He's honestly the same thing on the Supergirl TV show. He and his dad were the sole saving grace in Season 3.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

i lost track of supergirl (not out of spite, but because the schedule it got in my country made it hard to actually watch the episodes at time.sometimes they showed new episode late, sometime too early. it was a mess). i only watched it up to season 2 and early season 3. i can agree that j'onn and alex were among the best parts of th show (and superman as seen in the elseworlds crossover). kinda sad they tried to establish miss martian as j'onn's love interest (and then drop it) instead of establishing a "father-daughter/uncle-niece" bond

[@Shades14]

Ugh that part of the series is so gross!

[@opjm8664]

I like the implication that the scientist doesn't think alien invasions are a big deal because he's so used to Skurll attacks.

[@johnoneil9188]

Gotta love brilliant scientists who spend maybe years planning, constructing and assembling revolutionary machines that are years ahead of their time just to finish them and then go:"Ok....what does this do again?"

[@foxymetroid]

To be fair, he was probably high half the time and the thing was likely built out of boredom, with no real design. It only did anything because the Silver Age's science wasn't a party-pooper.

[@nathanschmitz2302]

@@foxymetroid There was that abducting beam invented by drunk scientists.

[@sarafontanini7051]

GENTLEMEN! BEHOLD! THIS THING I MADE! Wow. What's it do? I HAVE NO IDEA!

[@doctorhandsome]

"Only a science major can wipe out crime!" Sorry, I've got to do it: "Batman's a scientist."

[@Alejandroigarabide]

Fun and useless trivia fact: In Latin America (even as recently as the JLU dub) we don't know him as Martian Manhunter but Martian Detective ("El detective marciano"). EDIT: Update here. He's also dubbed as "El detective marciano" in the Snydercut.

[@Navarro1030]

In Brazil he was called "Ajax" util the 1980s. No joke.

[@Mask0fFate]

Huh. The more you know.

[@KingNanoA]

Pedro Navarro Ah, yes, Francis the martian.

[@tinkerer3399]

I like that name much better. I couldnt care less about "The Martian Manhunter" but "The Martian Detective" I'd pick up in a snap.

[@viscera_atrocity]

In Russian, he's known as 'Martian Human Hunter', as in a Martian who hunts humans.

[@kaicreech7336]

"On earth, such a thing is impossible," says a guy who lived in the DC Universe.

[@Fyrmer]

There aren't that many shapeshifters in DC, though. I mean, there's Clayface, but I don't think he was a shapeshifter yet when this comic came out. So, it's not unlikely for this scientist dude to consider J'onn's powers to be "impossible" among Earthdwellers.

[@Filbi]

To be fair, this is Earth-One at the very beginning of the Silver Age. All the crazy Golden Age superhero business didn't even happen on this Earth, and even Superman would only have been around for a few years at this point.

[@joshuaemmitt3980]

@@Filbi yeah but what about post crisis?

[@Filbi]

​@@joshuaemmitt3980Post-Crisis J'onn's entire backstory was rewritten in the Martian Manhunter mini, so this story didn't even happen

[@Gusweb98]

Martian Manhunter comparing stuff to Mars is almost the equivalent of saying "EvErYtHiNG wAs BeTteR oN mY eArTh!"

[@christiancrusader9374]

Except that doesn't seem to be his attitude for the most part.

[@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550]

Except he wasn't poorly written to be a big baby like Superboy Prime was.

[@mattwo7]

@Charles Swanson II To be fair he had an issue with the human penchant for war in contrast to Atreim, which isn't entirely unwarranted. I mean even if the stories of the Gundam franchise aren't canon (IDK if they are, I don't know how the SRW franchise's lore works), there's still historical wars and the series was around 30 games in by that point. The guy would probably hate the United States if it still existed.

[@FlashNeko417]

@@mattwo7 SRW lore basically works like this: If it was a thing in one of the shows featured in that particular game, it's a part of that game's worldsetting. Sometimes plot elements from different shows that run parallel to each other are combined into one thing for either the sake of lessening redundancy or making a point about both but generally, if the show had it the game has it.

[@mattwo7]

@@FlashNeko417 Well, that's a _lot_ of war.

[@TheAniSi]

John Jones The original JoJo

[@notsosmartguy6254]

Plot twist: his powers are just his stand.

[@Pinkanator]

What about Jesus

[@jamescallanan2443]

His stand is 30 Seconds to Mars

[@dejaypage1575]

J’onn J’onzz

[@drakkenmensch]

You thought he had been created by Joseph Samachson, but it was ME, DAN DIDIO!!!

[@supersmashbro596]

ya know one thing that strikes me as ironic about the martian man hunter? he has heat vision.... but yet ALSO has a crippling weakness to fire.

[@grantmoore8228]

Well Martin Manhunters fear of fire is purely psychological. Not only can fear sometimes be irrational but heat vision is a part of his species. It's like how someone scared of water won't be terrified if they suddenly cry, it's just a part of their body.

[@supersmashbro596]

@@grantmoore8228 it's specifically a weakness of the race. otherwise he's as invincible as superman is.

[@slashandbones13]

To be fair, that is a psychological weakness.

[@idongesitusen5764]

Read somewhere that Martian pyrophobia was made by Oans as a safeguard to prevent them from ruling space. Proof that Sinestro was right abou the paranoid smurfs!

[@JesseWFDusk]

I thought it was either laser eyes or some kind of pressure beam like Cyclops from the X-Men, but according to the DC Wiki it's sometimes heat vision. Weird.

[@jonathankent1517]

If you wanted to make another Simpsons reference joke, here's one for free. J'onn: I read your mind well, Earthman, and I understand your every thought and word. Ordell: You... you speak English! J'onn: I am actually speaking Rigellian, by an astonishing coincidence, both of our languages are exactly the same.

[@MrZerothejedi]

Jon Jonzz became a Detective and said "That was easy". He is truly Charmed.

[@Dynaman21]

So New Frontier making him the most over the top detective stereotype (because he got his ideas on being a detective from TV) makes sense now.

[@violacasper-schulte2797]

I love this oreo addicted, bondage harness wearing, mom friend acting, million year old Sailer Moon fan.

[@takerushirogane7583]

Yes, you can extract gold from water with chemistry. Efficient? No.

[@foxymetroid]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 But that's not extraction. That's converting one form of matter into another via nuclear fusion, which would possibly be even more inefficient, at least costwise.

[@PolarPhantom]

Alchemy was cool.

[@ForrestFox626]

That sound like a hassle.

[@takerushirogane7583]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 That's not extraction. There is literal gold ions there, just in ridiculously low concentration.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

It's very efficient for us Martians. It's why gold has no intrinsic value for us.

[@naotatheendlessesper]

It is time my friends. Whether you are a comic fan, a cartoon fan, a movie fan. Secret origins month will show you the origins of those you wish to know. Feed your curiosity.

[@carlrood4457]

The 1988 mini-series revamped his origin a lot. It introduced the "Gumby" look as his natural from and established the fire weakness as psychosomatic. It also established that he'd been transported through time, as well. By then we had good pictures of what Mars was like, so the idea of life being there recently didn't fly. It also pretty much became his post-Crisis origin. Pre-Crisis actually established his race as still alive and they even invaded Earth in a storyline that returned J'onn to the League after a very long time in comics limbo. It also led to JLDetroit, so not the most auspicious return.

[@aaa1e2r3]

Has there ever been any Martian Manhunter lead anti-smoking or fire safety PSA Comics? Sems like it would be pretty theme appropriate

[@mistertea603]

Honestly?... Yeah, that's Awesome!!!

[@DeisFortuna]

I mean, they probably tried, but his insurance wouldn't let him.

[@macuna1995]

"I could keep creating gold and become rich, but it is not necessary." J'onn J'onzz is just totally hip.

[@GarlicPudding]

Michael Acuna He even says he'll just craft enough gold to sell and get by, not live in luxury. Guy's frugal as heck.

[@docette2015]

Aww, poor Martian Manhunter only gets a mini-origin. I guess they can't all be epics -- and at least now I get the name! So that's good to know. But yeah, I can see why you described this over on tumblr as "a really laid-back kidnapping." I guess J'onn figured there was no use getting pissy when the guy genuinely didn't expect to get a thinking being. He just takes out his frustration by passive-aggressively calling Earth a "young planet" that is worse than Mars in SO many ways. XD Just wait until the retcons hit, J'onny. . .

[@dvader518]

So basically, Martian Manhunter is a fusion of Superman and Batman but with unique abilities (he can fly, shoot eye beams, has super strength and has one weakness like Supes and he is a detective like Bats)?

[@Savagewolver]

So that’s why he’s called manhunter. He was a detective. Then again, so was everyone else during that time period.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

that's why i like in spanish he is called "Detective Marciano"

[@Filbi]

Also appearing in Detective Comics around this time: Roy Raymond, TV Detective; Pow-Wow Smith, Indian Detective; Captain Compass, seafaring detective; and Mysto, Magician Detective.

[@GarlicPudding]

Filby Tbh a seafaring detective sounds interesting. Get someone with sailing/navy experience on it and there's potential.

[@Filbi]

@@GarlicPudding He was a detective AND a cruise ship captain! It's like The Love Boat but with murder!

[@Chagogo]

I find it funny how Secret Origins month is the same month as my birthday, my very own Secret Origin.

[@JaelinBezel]

Me too, but I've never made the connection

[@koyinproductions9053]

Same

[@IsaacMayerCreativeWorks]

5:12 “Space - - time - - or the fourth dimension! Also known as time!”

[@ShadowWingTronix]

Maybe he's a Motown fan but in his excitement got the name wrong?

[@SCWRMComms]

It's funny, one of the Disney comic stories of the '90s has Uncle Scrooge building a refining plant near the sea to extract minerals (especially gold, of course) from seawater. A plant functioning with nuclear energy, btw, complete with Donald in an hazmat suit changing plutonium bars. -Teo

[@lsgreger2645]

I think the origins of Martian Manhunter's Oreo addiction is much more interesting!

[@demonprincezenos]

LS Greger Mr. Biscuits wishes to know your location

[@mistertea603]

Just went down a rabbit hole looking what the hell you were talking about... Honestly, Kool!!!! I love this idea of this idea of this hulking intellectual from another planet just munching on Oreos while he's on duty...

[@MyMagnificentOctopus]

I just realized Marian Manhunter and Sean Connery in Zardoz have the same outfit except for the colors, and the cape.

[@AT4W]

...huh.

[@POLE7645]

Except for the thigh-high boots.

[@MyMagnificentOctopus]

@@POLE7645 Ah, you're right, MM has slightly less impressive boots.

[@ZgermanGuy.]

"will it reach into time?space? Another dimension?" Ah yes the time when science was a guessing game. Than again they were testing nuclear weapons like they were playing in a sandbox

[@TheJovian16]

Actually according to Arthur C. Clarke's last novel The Last Theorem, it's possible to filter gold particles from seawater so that science isn't that off.

[@johnmcclure40]

Sure, it's possible. You'd have to filter a few tons of seawater to get a fraction of an ounce, but you can do it.

[@alexiaNBC]

Martian Manhunter: I am vulnerable to flame Robot Chicken's Batman: Yeah, fire is everyone's weakness. It's ****ing fire!

[@tf2godz]

You know an Alien Detective superhero would be a really interesting idea. It's a shame most adaptations and later comics seem to ignore the detective aspect.

[@metal87power]

Obviously, John Jones knew how the modern man looks like from the Doctor's thought that he read telepathically.

[@sensibleGamer]

A decade of working nightshift I've NEVER been home when a new episode drops! A beautiful surprise to come home to

[@myriadmediamusings]

First exposure to MM for me was by the DCAU Justice League.

[@christiancrusader9374]

Same here.

[@mitchfletcher2386]

Same.

[@asalways1504]

I feel that the dcau was the first time a lot of us were exposed to Martian Manhunter

[@christiancrusader9374]

One of my favorite episode with him was the christmas episode where he went to the Kents with Superman for Christmas.

[@A1ml33y]

Mine too 😃 😃 😃 and that lead to me reading back issues of Grant Morrison's JLA .

[@KyleRayner12]

Let's see... He's going to do a popular modern-age villain next week. Could it be One-Face?

[@gennybaratta2460]

Modern Era? Villain origin? This can only mean one thing: Harley Quinn origin! :)

[@mask_vids9834]

I skipped a bit of the song so I ended up hearing “DRUGS- LINKARA”

[@TevyaSmolka]

I love martian manunter he's really awesome and extremely underrated

[@melainakiss]

The Silver Age is my favorite era of comics. I love cheesiness.

[@brianlewolfhunt]

Ok, how is it that I never realized the similarity between the Martian Manhunter and the Skrulls until now?

[@Enigma141]

"I am vulnerable to flame." SNOOOWWWWFLAAAMME!!!

[@NEligahn]

"Unlike a human being who is PERFECTLY FINE if you set them on fire!" Smash cut to John entertaining his neighbor with their complete immolation. "I'll bet it tickles!"

[@Jaebird88]

I look to the New Frontier as being an improvement to J'onn's origin over this one. Still, I can't say it is all that bad. More likely it could have been a script to some 50's sci-fi movie.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

another improvement in anotehr line is in the current Steve Orlando's Martian Manhunter, where is stated how j'onn used to be a cop in mars, and he becoming a cop/detective is just doing his job in a new planet. it adds consistency

[@TotalJusticeGaming]

Joining the police in this time period was that easy. Especially in the 20's or 30s. Unlike now where you need years of college and specialized education, you could just go to a police station that was hiring and ask to become an officer. It was mostly due to being starved for man power because of the war mind you, but yeah, you could just go in and get hired.

[@SuperWolsey]

Total Justice Gaming worked out well for Dick Tracy back then

[@richmcgee434]

@Total Justice Gaming You have some odd ideas there. The US wasn't involved in any major wars in the 20s and 30s, although there was the occupation of Haiti & the Dominican Republic and the suppression of the Ute & Paiute uprising. Even in 1939 when WW2 had just started up we were still noncombatants. There was a nationwide manpower shortage in the first decade of the period you're talking about, but that was due to over half a million (maybe as high as 675,00) US citizens dying in the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. You could make a case for the police of the 40s and 50s being shorthanded due to WW2 and the Korean War, but (particularly during WW2) the police were checking backgrounds of candidates closely due to their secondary responsibility for providing internal security against espionage. And really, the 50s and 60s didn't see much change in that, although now it was Communist activity driving things, not fear of Axis spies. Fortunately J'onn first shows up in 1955 (when the second Red Scare was starting to wind down) and "Middletown" isn't a major metropolis AFAIK, so he probably didn't have too much trouble getting a city police job without having to selectively modify too many memories. But for an average Joe to walk off the street and become a detective even then? Not going to happen.

[@richmcgee434]

@kory stephens Especially since he also managed to get promoted to the plainclothes division after a whole nine days on the job. One might almost call it implausible, but who am I to argue with a character that's been in print since 1931? Glad he stuck around, poor Little Orphan Annie would never have gotten rescued from the cliffhanger her own series ended on if it wasn't for Tracy. :)

[@davidspring4003]

I'm pretty sure you just need a highschool diploma and six months of police academy. At least in the US

[@sarafontanini7051]

it's a good thing his weakness was clarified from a general weakness to fire like it's some sort of martian kryptonite to more being PTSD from the destruction of his people which is way less silly

[@darkhero-3097]

Personally, my favorite Martian Manhunter origin is The New Frontier. It was a perfect comic. It’s also my favorite Green Lantern and Flash origin. I hope some time you get to do Plastic Man’s origin.

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

My 8th favorite DC Hero. Number 1 is Captain Marvel... actually he’s just my favorite superhero.

[@whitestarbreaker]

The Dc one or the marvel one ?

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

whitestarbreaker DC. Never met a human who likes Mar’vel or knows him as anything other than “that superhero who died of cancer.”

[@sesfilmsllc]

whitestarbreaker Oh Shazam.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@travishimebaugh8381 that reminds me of some fanarts saw once. one were billy accidentally transformed into "captain marvel carol danvers" and says "sorry for that. let me do it again SHAZAM" and morphs properly. AND one wherebilly becomes the "Mary Marvel" while Mary becomes "Captain Marvel" (and some commens joked this would be a greatsecret identity. who would ever think that the superpowered adult male is actually a teenage girl? or that the supoerpowered teenage girl is a guy?)

[@Clay3613]

CM is not a DC hero.

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

10:47 To quote Robot Chicken: "Yeah. Fire is everyone weakness, is fuckin' fire!"

[@bensneb360]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY My man J’onn J’onzz finally got a secret origins, I’ve been waiting years for this, and it didn’t disappoint 👽👽👽👽👽👽👽👽 Great review Linkara, and can’t wait for the rest of the reviews from my favorite time of the year for Atop the Forth Wall 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Takao0815]

Fun fact: One liter of seawater contains only a few billionths of a gram of gold. Was one of several ideas of gold winning which is not profitable.

[@TOK150]

I hooked up a flux capacitor to a matter/anti-matter reactor hooked up to the ultimate nullifier, all connected to a big red button. Well, here goes nothing!!!

[@johnmcclure40]

Oooh, you're making waffles?

[@TOK150]

john mcclure ... Yes.

[@andrewmihovich4252]

So... had to ask: does the Case of the Magic Baseball turn out to involve a guy with a distinguishing scar on his wrist and laundry mark on his clothes?

[@TimTE01]

I don't think so...

[@robertmoore0304]

4:30 Plus, the Christmas lights made it easier for him to contact Will in the Upside Down. He still hasn't asked if he's seen Barb anywhere in there.

[@Hanyoumaru]

Also, missed a Golden opportunity to not use "Life on Mars?" as the title card song

[@TheseThoughtsIThink]

finally. fINALLY. this is all I've ever needed in life. now I can die happy.

[@noahsatern8274]

DC The New Frontier has a great Martian Manhunter storyline. I would also recommend the current miniseries by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo.

[@KonElKent]

The best appearance of the Martian Manhunter in other media being, of course, David Ogden Stiers' portrayal in the 1997 JLA movie.

[@CurtissBGood]

Just had a thought! Back when you hired Linksano to work for you, you threatened that Nimuhe was programmed to send him to that Ice Planet you stuck OG Vyce on. When Mechakara returns he could weaken Linkara by sending his main science guy off to that now empty planet, and all he'd have for company would be the dead husk of OG Vyce! Also J'onn, your head is huge!!!

[@jackwells8107]

Love the new logo. Seeing the Martian Manhunter reminds me of the funniest thing to which I've ever been exposed. In Fred Hembeck's Abbot and Costello meet the Bride of Hembeck, in which J'onn J'onzz meet Johnny Storm.

[@Macrochenia]

Martian Manhunter started out as a detective? Finally, after decades of knowing about the character his codename actually makes sense!

[@TsukiCondor]

I always dig it when Secret Origins Month comes around,In my honest opinion people snub the Golden age and Silver as "Bigon time" while yes an amount of it hasn't aged well,You gotta at least admire how this is where the character started

[@TsukiCondor]

Also I have always had a soft spot for John,He is like the voice of reason when the JLA argue always there to help combat internal conflict

[@dvass7253]

One of the bajillion missed opportunities of the god-awful Justice League movie (and the DCEU as a whole, even though it has gotten better) is that they didn't have Harry Lennix's General Swanwick from Man of Steel and BvS reveal himself as the J'onn and help Batman recruit the rest of the League. It would have been such a cool and logical reveal - Lennix's demeanor and voice are perfect for the character.

[@alexandrefrauches132]

True. Not to mention that, if wasn't by the fact that DC/Warner build their universe in such a rush and bad way, they could had J'onn been the link between the movies leading up to the Justice League movie (kind like what Nick Fury was for the avengers), with him appearing in other movies, watching over the heroes, and then, in the league movie, he reveals himself and reunite the heroes so they can save the world from a big menace. There could even been a connection between J'onn and the villain of the movie. Instead of going with Darkseid and that awful CGI thing that was Steppenwolf (both of them should been saved for a sequel), they could had gone with the White Martians, who in the comics had many battles against the league and their origin is connect with J'onn. So many opportunities that were missed in the DCEU.

[@androzani84productions85]

Did you just predict Zack Snyder’s Justice League?

[@dvass7253]

@@androzani84productions85 I guess I kinda did.

[@TheComicRelief9001]

I always wondered why they call him the "Manhunter." Seems like kind of an extreme nickname for a guy who's really just a detective.

[@eamonndeane587]

I suppose you could say that he Hunts criminals.

[@johnnygyro2295]

Maybe the Martian Manhunters were their version of the Police? I'll need to look it up.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@johnnygyro2295 in spanish dubs he is called "detective marciano" (martian detective). and it has it's own charm. like "el detective de marte/the detective of mars"

[@Filbi]

"Manhunter" was a more common slang term for detectives back in the '50s.

[@simonhassnilsson7009]

It has returned!!! Rejoicing is to be had!!!

[@davidmelon9409]

I love MM. It bothers me that DC has practically tried to exclude him.

[@JaelinBezel]

It's because he's GREEN, isn't it?!

[@brandonlyon730]

And they have been replacing him for Cyborg for whatever reason.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@brandonlyon730 and even when DC uses him (like DC comics' current justice league run of the whole justice doom war), he kinda got used at the end "as sacrificial lamb" (luthor basically absorbed him into his customized body. long story) even though he was being shaped up as one of the main characters in the book

[@Filbi]

I get the feeling it's because most of the people running DC Comics these days grew up reading comics in the '70s and '80s, when J'onn wasn't in the Justice League but Cyborg was on the Super Friends show.

[@otakuevolution2131]

As you said, fire is pretty much everybody's weakness.

[@Macrochenia]

The whole "extracting gold from sea water" thing is based on the fact that there is actually an enormous amount of gold that's dissolved in sea water. Trying to extract it would cost exponentially more than the gold is worth, but it was a common thing in mid-20th Century science fiction for a time traveler or alien who was benevolent and visiting Earth to use their advanced technology to extract some and use it as a means of gaining currency to use without having to barter off their advanced technology or steal.

[@bromodragone8405]

"How do you know what people dress like and look like!?" Uhhhh, he read his mind. We literally just established this guy is psychic.

[@ZeroGForce]

Man, -Commander- Captain Sisko is _really_ insistent upon getting his flying cars. Damn spoiled 24th-century kid...

[@SpeedyEric1]

I haven't heard of the Martian Manhunter until the Justice League animated series first aired on Cartoon Network back in 2001.

[@CDRiley]

Same here.

[@TheLadySilverMoon]

The first time I saw the martian manhunter was in Justice League TAS, and he quickly became one of my favorite characters.

[@sonicathehedgehog7488]

The Martian family is so great they are interesting characters, but their origins are kind of confusing I know nothing about them.

[@darrenhood4033]

To be fair, in 1955 when the Martian Manhunter debuted, the very fact that this strange visitor walked among the humans in plain sight must have been thought of as imagination fuel for young readers who would now look at every dick in a raincoat as a Manhunter from Mars. Sci-fi was in its golden era a fun and exciting new frontier for writers and a delight for audiences and readers. It is badly aged as a result.

[@ianfontanet4230]

You know, on every comic books, something big and important would happened in issues 25, 50, 75, and even numbers that said a hundred, like 100.

[@jeremyadler9620]

Great episode. Loved your jokes about John reading the minds of the scientist and the police officer, as well as the whole "Skrull" bit :) I read the origin a few months ago when I was given a book of Detective Comic stories. I found this one really weird. One thing that I found funny was how the scientist brought John to Earth ... and just dies pretty much straight away! I thought, "Well! That was abrupt!". I actually thought that it was all a scam by the scientist to get out of trouble. He realises that he can't send John back, so decides to fake his death and get away when John leaves. It was also strange/funny how John got his job at the police force. It's just all so sudden! As is his revelation about his weakness. I get that fire is bad for him, but I have a hard time imagining a single cigarette would cause him THAT much trouble. It's just so small a flame, that it's difficult to see it causing him so much harm. Keep up the great work :)

[@opjm8664]

S'ally S'tevenson and J'ason J'ackson are sitting in their Mars car in a remote place ideal for making out. J'ason: *pulls out a chocolate bar* S'ally: You can't be suggesting we do... *that.* J'ason: I know it's a taboo, but *pulls out a pack of marshmallows and graham crackers* We've both wanted it for so long. S'ally: You're so bad! *the two then calmly roast the s'mores, which are called smores on Mars, while trading Martian ghost stories*

[@Rixec2]

Even if the Martian Manhunter didn't have the greatest of origins, at least it helped get him to where he needed to be to get better. Personally, if I had to rewrite it, I would have J'onn start to explore the city, marveling at how different it is without any dialogue, then have him get involved in a missing person's case he solves using his abilities, learning an alien was behind it and that inspires him to become a detective in order to help those in trouble.

[@GrohiikVahlokJul]

Wow, I did not know as much about this character as I thought, thanks for the video!

[@lauraellen81]

I always look forward to your new episodes. Your writing has gotten so great, you make me laugh a lot. And I really need the laughs right now. Thanks for doing what you do. :)

[@Monobrobe]

Wow, never would have thought the Martian Manhunter would have such an underwhelming origin story... is he called Manhunter because he’s a detective and hunts down criminals?

[@Filbi]

Yep, "manhunter" was a common slang term for detectives in the '50s.

[@JohnnyElRed]

The problem with powers like mind reading, specially on a detective story, is how the hell do you keep any kind of suspense or intrigue about who did it.

[@JohnnyElRed]

@@crocbattle07 Again, when you know everything the murderer knows, finding physical evidence shouldn't be much of a problem either.

[@MTdaBlacking]

You can make the character who has the power unreliable or have the ability itself be really vague, maybe give the ability to a questionable person authorities wouldn't listen to...

[@RabblesTheBinx]

@@crocbattle07 which is probably why they made it so that reading minds without permission is akin to rape in Martian culture.

[@johnmcclure40]

@@RabblesTheBinx Which is what he did to the professor in this comic... Well, that got icky.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

@@johnmcclure40 I mean, it was a retcon, so you can't really blame *this* comic for that.

[@ellnats]

oh my god that intro is freaking awesome

[@skyslasher2297]

Anyone else think J’ohn kinda sounds like Superman from the Just Imagine series

[@bluehero-96]

The fire weakness is stupid. Remember that he's bulletproof. Against bullets. That are heated up when fired.

[@kamenfann8880]

XD

[@bendewalt5560]

Im happy, ive waited fir this episode for years, and S.O.M 2019 HAS BEGUN!!!!

[@ShadowWingTronix]

When he was talking about the blinking lights I expected that Airplane II scene with Shatner. This did not happen.

[@AT4W]

Originally thinking of doing it, but felt like it didn't have enough setup.

[@MrZerothejedi]

I wanted to watch this episode because I love the Martian Manhunter and (as you said) we haven't had one of him yet. I was extra pleasantly when it was revealed (because I forgot) to be Secret Origins Month! Exciting :)

[@eamonndeane587]

Martian Manhunter is easily one of my Favourite Justice League characters, especially in Grant Morrison's JLA run and the DCAU..... So it saddens me a lot that the New 52 removed him from the Original roster and replaced him with Cyborg. If DC really wanted an African American superhero for the New 52 Justice League, I feel Static would have been a better fit (especially with the popularity of his Animated Series). It would be interesting to see MM in a Double Feature book like this. Great Carl Lumby Impression by the Way. I couldn't imagine anyone as perfect as him in the role.

[@jrcarter9175]

Or John Stewart or Black Lightning.

[@astrocitizen]

Hands up anyone else who was expecting at least one CAPTAIN SCARLET reference, what with all the "Earthman" talk as well as the shapeshifting and other matter manipulation.

[@ultra6671]

Something I find really funny about the Martians in DC is that according to Young Justice, their equivalent to bachelor parties involves venturing into a cavern and grabbing lava, AKA, one of the few things that can kill them, and using it to make the altar.

[@Hanmerhack]

I love the line in Welcome To The Work Week and the once guy was saying that as a kid it was all about the spit curl, but once you grow up you respect the beetle brow. Basically saying how Superman is bright and flashy is subtle and succinct.

[@tipulsar85]

For those of you who don't know what a robot brain is, Imagine if Intel or AMD Or Apple or Microsoft or even Google announced they built a a single desktop computer that could handle interdimensional communication and exploration.

[@Someguywhocooks]

Now John Jones is a pro fighter in the UFC and currently is the Light Heavyweight champ.

[@Bradman1978]

maybe smoking killed most the green Martians, and that is why fire is so bad.

[@judeskater93]

Nice to see Dr. Crafty being on thumbnails more often, it's pretty cool.

[@New3DSLuigi364]

I Can't wait for 2020; So He'll finally Add His NEW Glasses to the main AT4W Theme Intro instead of reusing the clips filmed back when he still HAD his Old glasses!!