A few weeks back, I did a revamping of Martian Manhunter in Who’s Who in the DCU and, frankly, I think it was weak sauce. The idea was good, (if I might modestly say so myself, but the execution was all glittering generalities. And this shortcoming of mine ate at me. So, I did the only just thing. I revisited that Revamping and Revamped it, (if you will), punching it up and giving a considerably clearer picture of what I meant.
Won’t you click on that stunning picture of J’onn and see what I’ve done for yourself?
(And if you’re not tempted to do that alright, consider these words carefully: “Clark Kent Beefcake”. Now, can you resist? Who could?)
WELCOME TO THE REVAMPING
J’onn Jonzz, the Martian Manhunter
If you don’t remember what I wrote for the initial Revamping, here it is:
The problem with J’onn Jonzz is that everything he’s good at, someone else is too (and usually better). A super strong flying alien who’s (almost) the last of his kind? Well, Superman’s got him there. A shape shifter? Apparently Plastic Man can do it with more ease (although J’onn has no problem with colors). A detective? Oh, right, Batman.
There is, however, one aspect of the Manhunter’s character that few DC characters have ever tapped into. He’s a cop, and by all accounts, a damn good one. Unfortunately, given his frequent leaves of absence, John Jones has been bounced from the Denver police and most other stations won’t consider him without a demotion, if at all. There is one exception though.
The “sick” city of Vanity.
Following the events of that awful miniseries, it begins to dawn on J’onn that his disconnect from humanity has left him even more lonely and a less effective hero. Anxious to reconnect and make a difference, J’onn reassumes his identity of John Jones and becomes a detective in Vanity. Long without the one true hero ever to darken its door, Vanity has continued to get weirder and more dangerous. The police force isn’t corrupt as much as it is utterly beaten (and several members quite a big crazy). In a city that is almost literally driving its citizens to their doom, can the Martian Manhunter, he of great logic and reasoning, find a way to make sense of it all and save Vanity’s citizens?
This isn’t a story of one cop standing up to corruption, this is a story of one cop standing up to an entire system of living. The “man” isn’t aligned against him, the very structure of the city is. How does someone, even someone like J’onn keep hope alive and bring about change in a place that is built to be sick and in residents who have gotten used to the idea of being sick, and, might even like it a little? Most importantly, how does an already vulnerable Martian not fall prey to the very system that has rendered so many Vanitians crazy or bad or dead?
As you can see, lots of generalities, not much substance.
So, I went ahead and mapped out the first year of stories. Enjoy.
Issue #1– J’onn Jonzz arrives in town as John Jones, newest member of the Vanity Police Department. As he muses as what has brought him (our quick info dump to establish why he’s left Denver and what’s he doing in Vanity and how he’s feeling about himself and the world), a man comes crashing to the ground just in front of him. Jonzz is stunned because he was not altered by the man’s thoughts. As the man expires, Jonzz realizes why: the only thoughts in the man’s head were ones of joy.
Still shaken, Jonzz checks in at VPD headquarters and is assigned a partner, Detective Oren who immediately blows him off. Wandering the headquaters, Jonzz literally runs into his first case. Two best friends have been brought in for beating the hell out of one another. They both insist they never would’ve done it, except “the woman in statue told them, too.” Taking advantage of the lack of structure in the VPD, Jonzz takes the case on himself. Assembling information from several other similar reports, Jonzz ends up in a cemetery. There he finds Death Doll, a former Vanity hero turned crazy person who has been merged with the statue since Aztek #3. He manages to free her, marking the beginning of an odd friendship between the two.
At the close of the issue, Jonzz is called in on his first “real” case, a murder.
Issue #2– As Jonzz arrives on the crime scene, his partner brushes past him, looking terrified. However, when Jonzz attempts to read Oren’s mind, he is stunned to find it entirely blank. Confused, Jonzz enters the site of the actual crime and has an immediate panic attack. The room is filled with the smell of fire, despite their being no sign of it. Slipping back outside to get control of himself, he overhears a call coming over the scanner about a super villain attack.
Converting to Martian Manhunter, he flies off to confront the villain, who turns out to be Synth. Synth is a character from Aztek as well. He possessed superhuman intellect, but only every other day. At the moment, it is not one of those days. He’s tearing apart the Vanity Art Museum mindlessly destroying art, attacking people, and generally being a very dangerous nuisance. Engaging him, Manhunter quickly realizes he cannot properly fight Synth in this space without endangering everyone. Therefore, instead, he leads Synth on a chase through the museum, stalling for time until midnight. Manhunter does so successfully and at the stroke of the next day Synth becomes smart again and realizes that there is no way he can win. He turns himself over to the cops rather than face the proposition of being beaten by Martian Manhunter.
In the confusion that follows, J’onzz slips away in human form. Before heading home he decides to check in on the autopsy of the murder victim and finds the cause of the smell at the crime scene: the victim was cooked from the inside out.
Issue #3– In the interrogation room, there sits the prime suspect in a murder case. The VPD is convinced he’s the killer, but all they have is circumstantial evidence. The suspect is apparently amused and has stated that he will not call his lawyer for 24 hours. If the cops can prove in that time that he did it, he will be arrested. If they fail too, however, the lawyer will arrive and, inevitably, the suspect will be released.
It has been 21 and a half hours. The crime scene has been gone over again several times. The evidence has been reviewed and reviewed again. The cops have used every interrogation trick they know. Still nothing has linked him to the crime. As everyone resigns themselves to defeat, Jonzz steps up and asks if he can interrogate the suspect.
He has an advantage on the rest of his brothers in blue in that he knows, from the suspect’s own thoughts, that he is the killer. However, knowing and getting him to admit it are two very different things. With the clock ticking, Jonzz must use the suspect’s memories against him to break him.
Meanwhile, another victim, cooked from the inside out, is discovered.
Issue #4– It’s Jonzz day off and he has nothing but meditation and Chocos planned.
Sadly, even the best laid plans of Martians go astray.
Death Doll shows up and makes a half-hearted effort to seduce him as a sign of “thanks” for what he did for her. He rejects her, telling her that even though his wife has been dead for sometime, he’s still married. She admits that she too feels that way about her husband (who died way back in Aztek #1) and the two decide to go out instead to a nearby diner, Sunny’s.
There, Death Doll exposes Jonzz to his first Sunny’s Special Choco Milkshake, an instant favorite, and tales of Vanity. Here is where we start to get a feel for how bizarre a town this really is.
Issue #5– Three weeks have passed since we last checked in on Jonzz and the bodies are piling up. The number killed by the “Barbecue Killer” (charming name, that) has risen to five and all parties remain just as in the dark as before.
Frustrated after the latest killing, Jonzz goes out as Martian Manhunter looking for a fight. He encounters a low-level supervillain, Javelin, and dispatches him with relative ease. He feels no relief.
Even though he’s not on shift, Jonzz returns to the headquarters to review the case files. He runs into his Captain there who reveals that Jonzz’s partner Oren used to be an excellent cop but hasn’t been since he was trapped in a huge fire about 6 months prior.
Issue #6– Victim #6 is found in a nightclub bathroom and Oren is once again nowhere to be found. Finding him back at the station, Jonzz lets loose a torrent of frustration on his absentee partner. After Jonzz corners him, Oren lashes out, punching Jonzz in the face. Unexpectedly, it hurts. Like being hit by Superman, Jonzz thinks. Pissed, Oren storms past the shocked Jonzz and out into the night.
Jonzz spends the rest of the issue pounding the pavement searching, in vain, for any witnesses.
Issue #7– Oren shows up on Jonzz doorstep at 3 in the morning, blurry-eyed and terrified. Talking quickly and erratically, he eventually confirms Jonzz worst fears. Oren is a white Martian whose brush with the fire, triggered something within him. The incident, however, seems to have bizarrely affected Oren. He’s aware of who he is (every morning, when he wakes up he’s in white Martian form) from internet research but has no desire to be a Martian and is terrified of what he might become if his memories eventually return.
Jonzz calls in both Martian Girl (for her white Martian-ness) and Death Doll (because of the craziness) and the issue closes with the four of them sitting around Jonzz apartment, shoring up Oren’s confidence and sharing take out Chinese food.
Issue #8– The Martian Manhunter is called in by the JLA to man the monitors because there is an opening in the rotation and he gladly acts a per diem for them. While he’s there Zauriel arrives to do some more work on the museum and Batman slinks in to return some piece of sci-fi hardware.
The three heroes end up getting in a conversation and Manhunter tells them a story of the crazy, incompetent bank robber he dealt with earlier today. As he weaves his story, Bats and Zauriel occasionally drop into the story with comments, observations, or recollections of their own. Their levity is brought down when Manhunter picks up a transmission from the VPD band proclaiming that the Barbecue Killer has gotten victim #7.
Issue #9– Locking himself in his apartment, Jonzz begins to go over all the evidence looking for a common thread to tie everything together. Death Doll drops in with milkshakes for fuel and Oren stops by from time to time with whatever files, newspaper articles, or information from the street Jonzz requests.
72 hours later, Jonzz doesn’t know the killer but he knows the link and he knows who wants them dead, an ancestor of the founder of Vanity.
Issue #10– The VPD goes into high alert as teams are dispatched to the five remaining possible victims.
False alarms mount over the course of the 48 hour stakeout and people begin to lose faith in Jonzz. In the midst of the breakdown, the Barbecue Killer makes his move. He quickly dispatches the two sentries posted at his target’s house and gets the jump on Jonzz. Having scared the killer off (who we now know is a known low-level DC villain who is using his powers in a new way) but not captured him, Jonzz becomes the Martian Manhunter and goes into pursuit.
Issue #11– It is a battle royale. Martian Manhunter has the power advantage, far and away, but the killer is ruthless and has no problem using the landscape and the people against Manhunter.
In the end, Manhunter is victorious but the killer refuses to turn in the man that hired him, leaving the VPD with the collar but not the mastermind.
Issue #12– Clark Kent comes to town to interview the VPD’s big-time hero cop, John Jones. During the day, Clark gets shown around the city by Jones and that night, the two go out as Superman and Martian Manhunter to get an aerial perspective on things.
Beyond 12: Lockdown comes to town, with a job application
The VPD gets a new chief who’s a lot more interested in structure and rules.
A trio of white Martians show up in town to “heal” Oren.
Joy, from the Aztek series, awakens from her coma and goes to the VPD to demand someone find Curt Falconer.
Wonder Woman arrives with some advice.
The REAL Aquaman pays an angry visit.
AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
VOILA! Tell us all about what you thought at our long fallow “Welcome to the Revamping” thread. Or e-mail me at parallax2@juno.com! And don’t hesitate to make future recommendations either! I welcome challenges!
