I haven't spent as much time at Comic Vine since they got stingy with their image hosting, and never much bothered with their forums, but user and blog commentator
MartianManhunterIsBetterThanCyborg
pointed out a thread to me a while back. The premise was simple: thread author waezi2 would offer two historic members of the JLA, and the first to receive ten positive votes would move on to successive rounds. 1550 responses later, "Martian Manhunter came in SECOND place, after Superman!"
Adam Strange VS. Barbara Gordon
Connor Hawke VS. Oliver Queen
Congorilla VS. Plastic Man
Wally West VS. Barry Allen
Aquaman VS. Cyborg
Hal Jordan VS. Kyle Rayner
Captain Atom VS. Red Tornado
Wonder Woman VS. Donna Troy
Firestorm VS. Steel (Irons)
Bruce Wayne VS. Dick Grayson
Vixen VS. Black Canary
Martian Manhunter VS. The Phantom Stranger
Blue Beetle VS. Booster Gold
Elongated Man VS. Zatanna
The Atom VS. Hawkman
Hawkgirl VS. Hawkeye (WHA?)
Red Arrow VS. Mr. Miracle
Vibe VS. Gypsy
Captain Marvel vs. Big Barda
Mon-El VS. Superman
Steel II (Heywood) VS. Dr. Fate
Guy Gardner VS. John Stewart
Rocket Red VS. Dr. Light
Fire VS. Ice
Huntress VS. Lightray
General Glory VS. Orion
Maxima VS. Tasmanian Devil
The Ray VS. Agent Liberty
Bloodwynd VS. Animal Man
Metamorpho VS. Power Girl
Bluejay VS. Crimson Fox
Maya VS. Triumph
Starman VS. Supergirl
Atom Smasher VS. Obsidian
Zauriel VS. Blue Devil
Jade VS. Jesse Quick
I'd like to point out that the Manhunter from Mars took every single vote from the Phantom Stranger.
Green Arrow VS. Black Canary
Plastic Man VS. Barbara Gordon
Green Lantern Hal Jordan VS. The Flash
Aquaman VS. Red Tornado
Wonder Woman VS. Firestorm
Superman VS. Batman
Booster Gold VS. Martian Manhunter
Hawkman VS. Hawkgirl
Zatanna VS. Captain Marvel
Roy Harper VS. The Atom
Vibe VS. Dr. Fate
Dr. Light VS. Green Lantern John Stewart
Fire VS. The Huntress
Maxima VS. Orion
Animal Man VS. The Ray
Jade VS. Power Girl
Atom Smasher VS. Supergirl
Blue Devil VS. Major Disaster
Major Disaster was a second round only ringer. Maxima was a squeeker against Orion. I think waezi2 was a Hawkman fan, because he "accidentally" pitted the Winged Wonder against Big Barda after he'd already lost to the Atom, then Hawkgirl was given the only Marvel opponent of the first round, and then Hawkman was allowed to advance following the initial defeat once he won against his girlfriend. Anyway, Martian Manhunter had an actual match from Booster Gold this time instead of an absolute blowout, but still won handily 10-3.
Green Lantern Hal Jordan VS. Green Arrow
Aquaman VS. Plastic Man
Superman VS. Wonder Woman
Hawkman VS. Martian Manhunter
The Atom VS. Zatanna
Green Lantern John Stewart VS. Doctor Fate
The Huntress VS. Maxima
Power Girl VS. Supergirl
Animal Man VS. Blue Devil
Kind of lame that the already disqualified Hawkman was J'Onn's opponent, but an Alien Atlas victory of 13-5 makes it less annoying. Kind of neat that Huntress is in this long after daddy Batman.
Green Lantern Hal Jordan VS. Aquaman
Superman VS. Supergirl
Zatanna VS. Martian Manhunter
The Huntress VS. Green Lantern John Stewart
Again? The previously disqualified Zee (6) was beaten twice over by lord of the scraps Martian Manhunter (11.) The Atom and Animal Man were missed entirely, advancing unscathed to the next round.
The Atom VS. Martian Manhunter
Aquaman VS. Superman
Animal Man VS. Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
The Atom took an early, fierce lead, Manhunter closed the gap, position jockeying commenced, and finally closed 8-11 in a rally for the Martian Marvel. I forgot Jaime Reyes was ever in the League, but he snuck in to give Animal Man somebody to fight. The Huntress got free immunity as a result.
Animal Man VS. Martian Manhunter
The Huntress VS. Superman
The Sleuth from Outer Space, who's only ever had one ongoing eponymous series ever and a mini-series this decade thrashed an Animal Man with two ongoings to his name and a mini-series (two of which came out in the past decade) by 11-3. Superman then walked away the ultimate champion with 12-1 against the Alien Atlas. It took over three months for the tourney to run its course. MartianManhunterIsBetterThanCyborg requested a breakdown list of the results so, hey, here you go!
3 comments:
That contest was really fun, put I did struggle with choosing between Martian Manhunter and The Atom.
But it seems to be that Martian Manhunter has a newfound increased popularity. Nearly every comic book realted site seems to have many people who are now fans of Martian Manhunter. Maybe Cyborg on the League inversely benefited J'onn.
Yeah, J'Onn J'Onzz resonates conceptually with people, but in execution he tends to flatten out under the weight of the Magnificent Seven JLA. The heightened visibility also make him a magnet for criticism, but then you get someone like Cyborg to replace him and the dissent ramps up. A lot of readers embraced the Morrison JLA model, so it doesn't feel "right" without the Manhunter. I still want more "alone time" in a solo series, though.
Second place? Whoa...color me impressed. Way to go, J'onn! I haven't been on Comicvine in ages so I missed the voting. (Sorry I wasn't there to singlehandedly get Adam Strange out of that first round.)
I like the Phantom Stranger well enough (well, before the new 52) but wouldn't have had a problem voting for J'onn in that matchup. (Blue Beetle vs. Booster Gold--that is downright cruel.)
I think you guys on are to something with J'onn's growing popularity in the wake of the Cyborg debacle. Sometimes it takes a really boneheaded change to make you appreciate what you had before. (The new Youtube comments system, JCPenney becoming "JCP," iOS 7, etc. etc.)
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