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The Martian Manhunter
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Real Name
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J'onn J'onzz
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First Appearance
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Detective Comics (vol. 1) #225 (November, 1955)
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Creators
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Joseph Samachson, Joe Certa
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Team Affliation
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Justice League, Outsiders, Stormwatch
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Aliases
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John Jones, The Manhunter from Mars, Bloodwynd
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Base of Operations
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Several, Often from Wherever the Justice League Headquarters are
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Powers
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Super-Strength, Super-Speed, Heightened Senses, Shapeshifting, Invulnerability, Invisibility, Telekinesis, Intangibility, Flight, Telepathy, Heat generation through Martian vision.
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Skills and Abilities
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Expert hand-to-hand combatant, Skilled detective
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Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz or John Jones in his human identity), also known as the Manhunter from Mars, is an alien superhero in the DC Universe and a founding member of the Justice League of America.
Origin
After being teleported from his home planet of Mars, J'onn J'onzz decided to use his fantastic Martian super-powers to defend the Earth as the Martian Manhunter.
Biography
Pre-Crisis
J'onn J'onzz, an alien living on the planet Mars, was a respected Manhunter, a sort of peacekeeper/police officer, who helped fight crime and evil on his homeworld and was well trained in detective work and his innate Martian Powers. He was married to M'yri'ah and the two had a daughter named K'hym, and J'onn loved both of them deeply. One day, J'onn J'onzz was pulled to Earth by an experimental machine by the human scientist Doctor Saul Erdel through what was intended to be a communication device that acted as a teleporter. When Doctor Erdel saw J'onn, the sight of him gave him a heart attack, leaving J'onn with no way home, stranded on a strange alien world, as J'onn was unable to get the device to work.
While stuck on Earth, J'onn decided to continue the work of a manhunter, disguising himself as a human police officer. As time went on he took down various criminals and gangsters, as well as alien menaces. He even spent time in the identity of super-spy Marco Xavier to fight the evil organization known as Vulture. He also ended up joining the Justice League of America and was a co-founder of the team.
Later, J'onn was able to rejoin his people once more, who had relocated to the new world of Mars II (AKA New Mars), located somewhere in Cygnus. For this time, he had taken a leave from the Justice League and was largely absent from Earth affairs or the affairs of other superheroes, apart from a few meetings. However, years later Mars II was destroyed and the Martains plotted to take over the Earth. J'onn took the side of the Earth and warned the Justice League of the upcoming invasion, and after a pitched battle was able to halt it. The Martian Manhunter stayed on Earth thereafter, remaining with the Justice League. Soon, J'onn would join a new Detroit-based Justice League team made up of young and untested heroes.
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event that ended with history being rewritten, certain things from J'onn's past had changed. J'onn would learn that many of his people died sometime before he was taken to Earth, due to a mental plague caused by his brother Ma'alefa'ak. In addition, he also learned that J'onn was not only displaced in space by Dr. Erdel's experiment, but also in time and that his family had died over a thousand years prior. This also suggests that the events of New Mars may never have happened in this new continuity. For a time, J'onn took the guise of a human superhero named The Bronze Wraith and fought on the short-lived superhero team The Justice Experience.
J'onn went on to fight alongside the Detroit-based Justice League and grew closer to them. Eventually, he survived that team's decimations by the plots of Darkseid (who was using his subject Glorious Godfrey to turn the Earth against superheroes) and Prof. Ivo, leaving the Martian Manhunter as the remaining Justice League member, with the others either dying or leaving the team due to the fallout of the attacks. When a new Justice League team was created, J'onn joined and quickly proved to be one of the team's most invaluable members.