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Post by goku on Oct 24, 2010 14:39:45 GMT -5
You can discuss everyone's favorite Martian here. I believe he's always been the soul of the JLA if Superman was the heart.  |
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Decoy Elite
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Post by Decoy Elite on Oct 24, 2010 14:40:55 GMT -5
J'ohn is the best JLA member IMO. He's always been the most useful and the only one who actually stays with the team consistently.
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Post by Lord Saturn on Oct 24, 2010 14:45:52 GMT -5
Martian Manhunter is an awesome character... love his versatility.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 9:09:31 GMT -5
The one complaint I have always had with the Martian is that he can never hold down an ongoing series. The longest solo series he ever had was 37 issues, including issue 0. He does make up for that though due to his consistent appearances is numerous Justice League titles. He has been in so many incarnations. Justice League of America, Justice League International, Justice League Detroit. The list goes on.
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Post by Supreme Marvel on Nov 17, 2010 9:12:52 GMT -5
I think they need a good character writer for him. For me I think Mark Waid would be a perfect person to write him.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 9:16:21 GMT -5
I have seen several who can write his character well, over the numerous comics I have read with him. Lieberman, Waid, Morrison, Ellis, Simone (surprisingly). There are others. Some, however, write his character terribly. Writers give him little respect and have had him job a few times. In my opinion, people overestimate how many times the Martian has jobbed, because it actually is not as often as people assume, but it has happened more than it should, nonetheless.
I have mixed feelings about Geoffcon Man's writing on the Martian though.
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Post by Supreme Marvel on Nov 17, 2010 9:23:48 GMT -5
He got people to realises the whole "Why do people always forget? I'm just as strong as Superman." A lot of people saw that.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 9:34:34 GMT -5
One area I can commend Johns in is that he accurately appropriates the Martian's physical powers. Most writers understand that he is a rough physical match for most of DC's other powerhouses, but some do forget about that. Johns does depict his physicality and the majority of his powers correctly. He even remembers that the Martian is no longer weak to fire, as evidenced by the Martian's withstanding fire in Brightest Day and Crisis of Conscience. I actually expected Johns to ignore the fact that his weakness to fire has been negated; so that was surprising for me. Johns also seems to have a decent grasp of his history.
The main problem I have with Johns' writing on the Martian is the way he appropriates his telepathy. He always seems to massively undersell it. Identity Crisis, Crisis of Conscience, and Brightest Day are examples of that. Zatanna being able to mindwipe him and then the Martian's inability to enter her mind and read her thoughts are some of the most extreme cases of PIS I have ever seen. In Brightest Day also, J'onn needed M'gann's aid to perform a wide-scale telepathic search to find D'kay. I can list several examples of J'onn demonstrating planetary scale telepathic ability. There is no reason he should need M'gann's help with that. That is my primary complaint with his writing on the Martian.
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Post by Supreme Marvel on Nov 17, 2010 9:40:47 GMT -5
Yeah, J'onn does get undersold most of the time. The telepathy thing is a major point. I've seen him scan the planet in seconds. So he should be able to go into one mind without to much trouble. Depending on who it is maybe. Someone with barriers may be harder, but someone like Zatanna I can't see why.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 9:44:34 GMT -5
He has scanned the planet three or four different times and connected his mind with every hero on the planet. The problem with his failure to read Zatanna's thoughts is that he has invaded minds such as Doctor Fate, Morgaine Le Fey, White Martians, Green Martians, Spectre, Alan Scott, Despero, presumably every hero on the planet (due to planetary telepathic links with every hero), etc. There is no reason in the world for Zatanna to resist his telepathy.
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Post by Supreme Marvel on Nov 17, 2010 9:47:06 GMT -5
Isn't Despero more poweful that J'onn? In terms of telepathy.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 9:55:18 GMT -5
Depends on how you define more powerful. In versatility and feats in general, the Martian is more powerful by a mile. Despero usually seems to be more powerful because he has been able to dominate the Martian's mind before. As far as I can tell, Despero is extremely telepathically powerful offensively but not nearly as much defensively, nor does he possess nearly as great amounts of variety.
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Post by Supreme Marvel on Nov 17, 2010 10:20:04 GMT -5
Good to know. Thanks.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 10:22:48 GMT -5
Sure thing.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 11:00:23 GMT -5
I was actually disappointed that in Brightest Day, the new Green Martian turned out not to be Cay'an. Writers seem to have completely forgotten about her.
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Post by goku on Nov 17, 2010 11:12:47 GMT -5
J'onn isn't a solo series type of character.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 11:17:59 GMT -5
@henshin: He could be if he were more popular, but that has always been the major obstacle with whatever ongoing series he has or otherwise would have had.
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Post by goku on Nov 17, 2010 11:21:43 GMT -5
It could be done well in the hands of a good writer. I just think that they should explore more topics outside of his Martian race and him being the sole survivor. I know that's a big part of his character, but a solo series with him, and how it affects those around him, particularly the other JLA members, would be nice to see.
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Nov 17, 2010 11:24:55 GMT -5
@henshin: I can understand your point.
Have you read his ongoing? The one from the late nineties?
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Post by goku on Nov 17, 2010 11:27:33 GMT -5
I have actually, but not the entirety. Have you read his older stories collected in the Showcase Presents?
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