Even Martian Manhunter Admits His Name Makes No Sense

Warning: contains spoilers for Action Comics #1037!

The Martian Manhunter, one of the more powerful heroes of the Justice League, has a serious problem that is now finally being addressed: his name. J’onn J’onzz (his Martian name) has a long and storied history, beginning in 1955 and stretching until the present day. Fitting, then, that in Action Comics #1037 the Martian Manhunter would finally address the issue of his long-standing codename, and the unfortunate implications therein.

Initially the Martian Manhunter did not appear in a mainline title in DC Comics at all. Rather, his first appearance was in a back story of Batman’s own Detective Comics series, Detective Comics #225. J’onn was a martian who was accidentally teleported to Earth and became trapped on the planet when the teleporter malfunctioned. Until his fellow Martians could mount a rescue mission, J’onn decided to remain on Earth fighting crime in his human form as John Jones – a detective.

J’onn quickly acquired a massive set of powers, and would come to be known as the alien equivalent of Superman in more than a few Silver Age stories. But his ability to shapeshift into new forms was the most useful, and allowed him to live multiple lives. But after a bout of soul-searching, J’onn admits as he walks home, he’s “…the Martian Manhunter…but what the hell does that even mean?” In a bit of self-reflection, J’onn – and his writers – ask a very apt question, especially for 2021.

In the 1940s and 1950s, various radio programs depicted hard-boiled detectives in search of their quarry, like Raymond Chandler’s The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Along with Private Eye, the term Manhunter was used to describe these detectives. While J’onn J’onzz started out as a human detective, the word Manhunter has lost relevance over time. Indeed, to some new comic readers, the name could mean that the Martian Manhunter hunts humans as one hunts game in the wild – something completely untrue to his character. The term Manhunter has unfortunately fallen out of favor decades ago…and DC has noticed.

Even J’onn, upon realizing his long history of wandering as many different forms, says “I’m more vagabond than manhunter.” In a very meta sense, this could point to J’onn’s long history of power fluctuations, mostly caused by DC writers not knowing exactly what to do with the character. Martian Manhunter isn’t seen much as the centerpiece of many stories these days, but perhaps the character needs a new focus…and a new name.