tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post6542975375380265224..comments2024-03-21T06:36:04.196-05:00Comments on The Idol-Head of Diabolu, a Martian Manhunter blog: Master Characters: Martian Manhunter as The Recluse HadesDiabolu Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-27257069704777866642013-10-31T04:11:09.339-05:002013-10-31T04:11:09.339-05:00Liss, I narrowed Blanx down to one of those two ar...Liss, I narrowed Blanx down to one of those two archetypes, kept second-guessing myself with the other, but finally committed to The Traitor. It's tough because Blanx was perhaps the easiest fit of the core Vile Menagerie for The Dictator, but it doesn't quite work under scrutiny. I also kind of wanted to save the Businessman/Traitor for Arnold Hugo, but the Professor demanded a rather unexpected alternative.<br /><br />One thing Stormwatch alluded to was other Martians surviving in secret with J'Onn's knowledge. It occurs to me that you can keep the paranoia alive by using those liabilities to push the Manhunter is undesirable directions. Between seeing <i>12 Years a Slave</i> and hearing recent interviews with Elizabeth Smart, my mind conjures up all sorts of scenarios that could compromise J'Onn's decisions and ability to act in a neo-noir fashion. Kind of a dark place to go, but certainly a unique one for a DC pantheon type.<br /><br />I maintain that "Joe Friday" is a good yardstick for measuring the handling of John Jones, though my mind has wandered toward a more '70s cinematic place in recent years... a bit more mercurial.<br /><br />Do watch <i>Breaking Bad</i>. Knowing your tastes, I think you'll like it. Unlike a lot of modern shows, it plays fair with the audience, rather than trying to trick or dazzle it. The characters are established well and maintained honestly. Even with the twists and turns, it's fairly straightforward, teasing inevitabilities rather than misdirecting. Also, there's a very comic booky dynamic to the dueling lives of Walter White/Heisenberg and his sidekicks. Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-15903374854123778982013-10-30T23:34:57.182-05:002013-10-30T23:34:57.182-05:00Funny, when I dug out my copy, I had a bookmark in...Funny, when I dug out my copy, I had a bookmark in "Hades/The Recluse." So I concur with your analysis if J'onn. If I had to consider another, it would be Osiris/Male Messiah, if only because that archetype represents the surface asepects of superheroes.<br /><br />For Blanx, I'm thinking Businessman/Traitor or King/Dictator, or a blend of the two. As outlined in the book, The Dictator character is a pretty classic power-hungry villain type.<br /><br />That's a good point about J'onn's fears. I was thinking more of his fears for the present rather than the past--what is he afraid of now? <i>American Secrets</i> relied heavily on his need to keep his identity secret amidst an already-paranoid world. That can't really work in any modern story featuring J'onn, but then again, maybe that's why there haven't been any great recent Martian Manhunter comics. (And also perhaps why I never warmed up to the 90's solo series.) I think they need to work the psychological angle again, but without letting him become completely paralyzed like you pointed out. The Martian Manhunter, to me, is a pretty cerebral and psychological hero, and I think those two spheres need to be played up again.<br /><br />I still have to watch <i>Breaking Bad</i>....<br /><br />And the quote about cynics is absolutely true. After you pointed out the parallels between J'onn and Joe Friday, I starting thinking that J'onn really is a product of the 50's. Last summer I caught <i>The Untouchables</i> on the local "old TV" channel and I stumbled upon yet another 50's/60's parallel--a morally superior good guy still tough enough to keep a hard edge while righting society's wrongs is basically Silver Age J'onn J'onzz in a nutshell.LissBirdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17059648604602469375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-26330823975842353292013-10-29T07:31:36.112-05:002013-10-29T07:31:36.112-05:00Liss, "Master Characters: Commander Blanx&quo...Liss, "Master Characters: Commander Blanx" will be up before the end of the month. Out of curiosity, which archetype would you assign J'Onn and Blanx? I agree that one of the problems with Ma'alefa'ak is that he's just the flip side of the Hades coin, a common, easy dynamic in comics. There's more energy when pro-&-antagonist bring different qualities into a story.<br /><br />While I think J'Onn works best from a place of vulnerability, perhaps that aspect has been overplayed in his solo projects, especially the 1988 mini-series. J'Onzz has already been victimized by his worst fear, so his story is about moving forward from that horror and preventing it from visiting others. Too often, he's an Alien Atlas with feet of clay, instead of a compromised but girded survivor. He's Walter White emboldened by cancer to change the rest of his life, not the emotionally crippled, externally motivated Jesse Pinkman.<br /><br />I never watched the Robert Stack <i>Untouchables</i>, but DePalma's carries your parallel well enough. Kevin Costner also managed to be both naively optimistic and mortally pragmatic in his portrayal. Great noir requires romanticism, even if delusional. As Carlin said, "Scratch any cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist."Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-70132608011889122252013-10-29T01:44:31.581-05:002013-10-29T01:44:31.581-05:00I have this book, too, and your analysis in light ...I have this book, too, and your analysis in light of it is awesome. (Gotta love a Philip Marlowe reference.) I think if more writers followed your line of thought, there'd be a best-selling solo Martian Manhunter solo series out there in world.<br /><br />I wonder if part of the lack of motivation might come from a failure to exploit J'onn's weaknesses? I don't mean the weakness to fire, but exploiting his deepest fears. (Which aren't particularly defined.) But I think using a negative emotion such as fear to drive a plot rather than worry about his goal-oriented motivation is one solid way to write a Martian Manhunter story. (After all, <i>American Secrets</i> is full of paranoia, some of which lives in J'onn's mind.) Perhaps conventional writers have been looking at him all wrong.<br /><br />On the surface he's pretty straightforward, and the Darwyn Cooke interpretation could be shallow if not handled well--it could just boil down to a <i>Dragnet</i>-like procedural. But even characters like Joe Friday and Eliot Ness have their weaknesses, and when those are exploited, the story works much better. (I'm not sure if how familiar you are with <i>The Untouchables</i>, but one of the greatest episodes involves Eliot Ness falling to pieces after he's framed. If someone's values their sterling image, that's the last thing they can handle.) <br /><br />Personally, Darwyn Cooke's interpretation really resonated with me because it showed how J'onn was an innocent in a world of cynics--i.e. the one truly good guy out there. (Which in a weird way, meshes with <i>American Secrets</i>, though maybe not at first glance.) It's saying something when a character can be work both as a wide-eyed naive newcomer AND a noirish tough guy. Can Superman do that??<br /><br />Somewhere in all of Schmidt's archetypes is perhaps why Blanx works better than Malefic, too--perhaps Blanx hits at J'onn's core, whereas with Malefic, it's just a grudge match.<br /><br />I've love to hear more analysis like this--I don't think anyone has completed figured J'onn out.LissBirdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17059648604602469375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-57594490888527102262013-10-03T14:09:05.647-05:002013-10-03T14:09:05.647-05:00I really liked this article. I think much of it c...I really liked this article. I think much of it can be applied to J'Onn. He likely shies away from being too close to people as he has seen those dearest to him and his world destroyed. He has a keen intellect and a compassionate heart and I think that as much as he loves humanity, he is puzzled by us. I think that a lot more can be done to flesh out J'Onn. Thanks again.will_in_chicagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01468337654400802576noreply@blogger.com