Who Is Martian Manhunter? Justice League Snyder Cut's Secret Character Explained
Zack Snyder's Justice League features a big DC cameo in the Martian Manhunter; we're breaking down who the mysterious character is in DC lore. After Snyder departed production of the film due to clashes with the studio and a family tragedy, Justice League opened to a critical drubbing and thin box office returns in 2017 after being reworked by Avengers director Joss Whedon. Following a massive fan campaign on social media, HBO Max signed off on letting Snyder finish crafting his version of the movie.
That new version is finally here, and it features a surprise cameo for a DC stalwart in the guise of a character audiences have seen a couple times before. General Swanwick (Henry Lennix) is revealed to be the Martian Manhunter, a benevolent alien living in secret among humanity. This was a long-rumored appearance, as Snyder has previously shared storyboards of Lennix shapeshifting into the hero.
But who exactly is the Martian Manhunter, and why is he so important to the Justice League? To understand, we have to take a look back at DC's rich history, starting with the Silver Age.
Martian Manhunter's origins date back to the Silver Age of comic books in the 1950s. A scientist called Dr. Saul Erdel uses an experimental teleportation beam to bring the Martian Manhunter to Earth. The shock of seeing an alien ends up killing Erdel, with the Martian Manhunter stuck on Earth. A shapeshifter, he generally adopts the identity of John Jones - a play on his Martian name, J'onn J'onnz - a detective in a place called Middletown.
J'onn is best known for being a foundational member of the Justice League. He appeared in the very first Justice League story alongside Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman to take on the alien Starro. J'onn would remain in the Justice League for the vast majority of its iterations, adapting to life among humanity even in the Hall of Justice or on the Justice League's orbiting satellite headquarters.
Martian Manhunter is quite simply one of the most powerful characters in DC Comics. He can fly and has super strength and durability just like Superman. He can also create heat vision and x-ray vision like the Man of Steel. Additionally, he can shapeshift into virtually anyone. He also has the ability to turn both invisible and intangible - bullets go right through him, assuming they don't just bounce off of him. J'onn is also a telepath and can control objects with telekinetic abilities. If there's a standard superpower, J'onn probably has a version of it.
Just like most Silver Age DC heroes, Martian Manhunter does have a weakness - he's both weakened by and terrified of fire. It's a curiously common weakness, but when a character is as powerful as J'onn J'onnz, an relatively easy deterrent would be needed should he ever go rogue.
As mentioned, audiences were already somewhat familiar with Martian Manhunter, even if they didn't know it. Henry Lennix debuted in 2013's Man of Steel as General Swanwick, a good man who was understandably wary of Superman when he made his debut on the world stage. He would return for 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, newly promoted to United States Secretary of Defense, as he attempts to navigate the elaborate plot Lex Luthor sets up to bring down Superman. The fact that Swanwick was Martian Manhunter the entire time lends an entirely new layer to the character.
Martian Manhunter's past exploits in the DCEU aren't really investigated very thoroughly in Justice League, as the character only appears in two scenes. It stands to figure he had a similar origin as the comic book iteration, and rather than becoming a detective to help people, he joined the military with the same intent. An important military appointment would be a much better way of monitoring for alien threats than, say, a job on the sports desk at the Daily Planet.
Martian Manhunter has two crucial scenes in Zack Snyder's Justice League. The first takes place fairly early in the film, when Martha Kent comes to Metropolis to visit Lois Lane, who is still devastated and in isolation after Superman's death. Martha shares Lois's grief but pleads with Lois to go back to the Daily Planet and get on with her life. After leaving her apartment, it's revealed that Martha was actually Swanwick, who says the world needs Lois Lane just like it needed Superman.
The second scene comes at the very end of the film. After experiencing another Knightmare vision, Bruce Wayne awakes at his posh lake house to discover Martian Manhunter floating outside his window. The heroes exchange greetings and J'onn explains who he is and that he's been protecting Earth from coming threats, hoping to do so with the help of the Justice League. It's a strange, somewhat hopeful way to end the film, but it makes the world of the DCEU seem immediately vaster and more complex.
Snyder's Justice League sequels would have seen Batman's Knightmare visions become reality after Darkseid kills Lois Lane and Superman gives in to Anti-Life. Darkseid and his followers would have decimated Earth, leading Batman to front a rebellion against the forces of Apokolips. A time travel plot would have unfolded as Batman and the Flash try to save Lois and reset the timeline. Though he's not featured in Batman's Justice League Knightmare vision - that lineup included Batman, Deathstroke, Cyborg, Mera, the Flash, and the Joker - but it's easy to imagine Swanwick either working directly with Batman or in some other form to fight back against Darkseid.
Clearly, bigger things were planned for the Martian Manhunter than was hinted at in Justice League. His introduction is the gateway to a bigger, grander scale for the DCEU, one that of course may never happen now. But even if Zack Snyder is done with the world of DC superheroes, this should still only be the beginning for the cinematic life of J'onn J'onnz, a foundational DC character.
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