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In the 1950s, Dr. Saul Erdel succeeded in
building a teleporter. The first time he used it, it reached out to the planet Mars and
pulled back a native Martian. J'onn J'onnz arrived disoriented and ill, and Dr. Erdel
nursed him back to health, a telepathic link growing between the two of them. The Martian
civilization had lasted for centuries, reaching the point where life was focused on art,
spirituality, and intellect. At the time J'onn had been taken by Dr. Erdel's teleporter, a
great plague was sweeping through the population, one which had only just taken his wife
and daughter. Unable to deal with the trauma, he retreated into a set of false memories
Dr. Erdel had given him as a refuge, living as a human with his shape changing abilities
and eventually taking on the superhero identity of the Martian Manhunter.
After working as policeman John Jones in Denver, the Martian Manhunter joined the original
Justice League of America. He is the only member to have served in every incarnation of
the League, and his experience has contributed to victories many times. A few years ago he
regained his original memories of his home planet, including the fact that Dr. Erdel's
machine had not only snatched him across space, but across time as well. His wife, his
daughter, and the entire Martian race had been wiped out centuries ago by the plague he
remembered. J'onn, like Superman, was the last of his race - but while Kal-El had never
known his original world, J'onn had lived and loved -- and the loss of his world and
family has weighed heavily on him ever since.
Since the forming of the latest JLA, J'onn has taken up residence in Z'onn Z'orr, an
ancient Martian city unearthed in Antarctica by the Hyperclan (who turned out themselves
to be survivors of another Martian race). When not working with the League, he patrols the
southern and easter hemispheres (having decided that "America and Europe had plenty
of superheroes"). He also maintains a number of secret identities in different
countries, including private detective John Jones in New York.
J'onn J'onnz has powers on the same level as Superman's, plus shape-changing, telepathy,
and several senses beyond those possessed by humans. When the Justice League is on a case,
J'onn maintains a telepathic link among the members for enhanced communication and
coordination. He also has a psychological aversion to fire, which he associates with his
wife's funeral pyre, and which he can only overcome under desperate circumstances.
J'onn turns out to be immortal, and will eventually merge his being with the planet Mars,
bringing it back to life after millennia of barrenness.
Bio by Kelson Vibber
RELATIONS WITH THE CORE
MEMBERS:
Superman - Kal-El and J'onn J'onnz are both last survivors, differing mainly in
that Kal-El feels at home on Earth.
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