Martian Manhunter No. 4 review: Red Martians and lizard-brains

Has the Martian Manhunter met his match?

Not everyone likes comics about heroes in tights, fighting monsters in outer space. It’s certainly been done a million times, so the lack of enthusiasm is understandable. However, it’s a whole different ballgame if you bring those Spandex-wearing warriors to Earth, and the monsters along with them. Martian Manhunter is a new look at one of the most reliable and famous superheroes of all time, the pyrophobic J’onn J’onzz. Under the guise of deceased officer John Jones, the alien adventurer has been fighting crime on good ol’ Earth, and just recently revealed his extraterrestrial nature to his detective partner, while also tackling a case that reeks of Martian misdeeds, which shouldn’t be possible since J’onzz is the last of his kind. Or IS he? Writer Steve Orlando, artist Riley Rossmo and colorist Ivan Plascencia, with letters by Andworld Design and a variant cover by Josh Middleton, have given readers a startling and unique look at the Martian Manhunter, with plenty of surprises and insights one might never had expected.

DC Comics

Fire plagues, dirty deals, and alien copulation

Last issue, J’onn J’onzz came clean to his Earth, cop partner about his alien status, and the missing girl they are tracking down was being experimented on by what appeared to be a red Martian. This issue gives us some more backstory on H’ronmeer’s Curse, a Martian plague that supposedly killed everyone except the Martian Manhunter himself. Apparently, the curse spreads among the Martians like an idea, like a meme, living inside their minds, and the denials of the Health Council are only causing a build-up that is sure to burst at some point. Diseases that travel like ideas are terrifying, because ideas travel at least as fast as the speed of sound, if not faster. It was shown that J’onzz has done some enforcing for the local gangster on Mars and, in this issue, he reaches out to them for assistance in getting his family off the planet, in case H’ronmeer’s curse explodes onto the populace, which is some pretty telling foreshadowing. Then he goes home and makes love to his wife, which involves intertwining their malleable flesh into grotesque shapes. Ew.

DC Comics

The minds of lizards and Martians are…odd

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Flashing forward to the current day, John Jones is working the missing girl case, distancing himself from his partner at her request. He has the collar of the girl’s pet iguana and uses his Martian empathy to imagine where the lizard would go to feel safe. Tracking it to a valley, he connects their minds and sees some weird stuff, from a reptile’s point of view. The connection allows him to learn that the lizard was used as a weapon to kill the girl’s family, which caused the iguana no small amount of anguish, and left behind trails of “fear foam,” which appears to be a uniquely Martian concept. The missing girl, Ashley Addams, is being put through some evil procedures by an angry red fella who mentions being frozen into one shape, which is a direct reference to the opening page in which Martian scientists were discussing H’ronmeer’s Curse and how they had tested a “memetic vaccine” on “the frozen”. So clearly, angry, red guy wants revenge on J’onzz because he’s the only Martian left to seek vengeance on for medical experiments performed who knows how long ago.

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Detective Meade has been out busting heads, tracking information about Ashley Addams, and she drags a human trafficker into the police station for questioning. Later, John Jones swings by the station to interrogate said trafficker, who quickly reveals himself to be the angry red fellow from earlier, who is named Charnn, and who is looking forwards to hurting the Martian Manhunter very badly. This issue finally tied a bunch of things together, which should escalate the pace of the story in issues to come. 8/10, recommended. Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.

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