Martian Manhunter in the 2010s

As it turned out, the murder of J'Onn J'Onzz was surely among the shortest-lived deaths in a comic book history partially defined in popular culture by its genre-specific impermanence. Pronounced deceased on May 28, 2008, the Final Crisis-branded coda mini-series starring the villain Human Flame (who had sought Martian Manhunter's death by Libra) was still being released when Blackest Night debuted. On July 15, 2009, 413 days from his expiration date, J'Onn J'Onzz of Mars was ordered to "RISE" and join the hateful undead Black Lantern Corps. Another 259 days later, a dozen "White Lantern" rings compelled their bearers to "LIVE" unto a Brightest Day. The Alien Atlas co-starred in the bestselling year-long biweekly ensemble maxi-series and seemed poised for another chance at a solo ongoing.

Comic book continuity is a sort of gentlemen's agreement, where readers suspend disbelief to allow for all the stories being told at a particular publisher to have "happened" as one overarching cohesive universe. A broad general audience expecting entry-level reading with every comic purchase had no use for that sort of thing, but as their attention and dimes shifted to television, the nerds living vicariously through a four-color existence demanded it. There was a loose coexistence until 1986, when fears of insolvency and irrelevance pushed DC toward a more contemporary and "Marvel" type of tight interrelationships. DC was always a square peg in a round hole in that regard, but aside from intermittent fixer-uppers and a few "hard" reboots, you could argue that there was a through line from their publishing beginnings to the present.

Then, Flashpoint. DC was tired of being eternally #2, and the slow steady decay of an ever narrowing market necessitated the sensationalism of a "New 52"-title strong across-the-board-of-the-Titanic restarting of their history. Talent-wise, DC just rearranged the deck chairs, and they were so indecisive that the public wasn't sure it even was a complete restart until months into the relaunch, but sure enough it seems to have been. Yes, still weasel words over seven years later.

Despite all the groundwork for spin-offs laid down in Brightest Day, none of it led anywhere, and we were now in a universe where the Martian Manhunter was at a halfway point between familiar super-hero uncle and scary inscrutable alien who had only the briefest association with the Justice League before seemingly, violently betraying them... To join, of all things, Wildstorm's integrated and reconfigured Authority (though back to being called Stormwatch to preserve future branding opportunities.) No need to go into too much detail, because the arrangement lasted less than a year before J'Onn erased the members' minds about his ever having served alongside them. Next up, a new incarnation of Justice League of America (various anti-heroes, second-stringers, and rehab attempts) manufactured by Amanda Waller to "take out" the real Justice League (essentially the 1960s founders with Cyborg replacing J'Onn.) I won't go too far into them either, since despite launching with FIFTY-THREE variant covers that title lasted barely more than a year. Next up, Justice League United, the de facto JLCanada. Seventeen issues. Fifty-two covers total. Martian mulligans. He's back on the main team, currently, following a "Rebirth" that seems to have let some of the old continuity back in.

There was finally another "ongoing" series (three years too late) and a maxi-series launched late in the decade, both a dozen issues of "everything you thought you knew was wrong, but you apparently thought you knew something from this book, which won't stick, so also wrong." Eh, nobody reads comics anymore. But the Cyborg swap also meant the Martian Marvel was no longer carried into DTV animation or feature films alongside the Justice League. But you saw Justice League, so whose to say which pro/con column that falls into. Martian Manhunter still gets lighter play in animation, too part in successful video games like Injustice 2, and has been a series regular on the CW TV show Supergirl since 2015. By the end of the decade, that will have seen over 100 episodes. It's not a billion dollars at the box office, but fish jokes aside, J'Onn is no Aquaman. And it sure beats being a zombie super-villain.


2010
Justice League: Cry for Justice #7 (April, 2010)
DC Holiday Special '09 #1

BRIGHTEST DAY PART 1
#0, #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #8

Green Arrow #4

BRIGHTEST DAY PART 2
#9, #11, #12, #15, #18, #19, #22

2011
Flashpoint #1
DC Retroactive: JLA - The '90s #1
Stormwatch #1
Stormwatch #2

2012
Legion Lost #5

STORMWATCH
#3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9

Superman Annual #1

2013
Justice League #17

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#1, #2a, #2b, #3

2015
All-Star Section Eight #3

MARTIAN MANHUNTER
#1, #2, #3,#4, #5, #6

2017
Doomsday Clock #1-12

Current as of 5/4/19

2011 New 52 Martian Manhunter Designs by Cully Hamner and Jim Lee

MARTIAN MANHUNTER
"The big gun of Stormwatch. The goal was to create a warrior look for the Martian Manhunter-- he's a bad dude-- but at the same time make him somewhat regal looking. He's not a brawler; he's a master strategist. DC co-publisher Jim Lee stepped up to lock down the final design...

The sides of Manhunter's head proved tricky for artists when this new design was first being incorporated. The raised forehead yet slightly sunken, ridged sides took some practice before it became second nature to draw."

The New 52 has proven a solid jumping off point for me as a devoted DC reader, although the truth is that I've been steadily losing interest across a decade, and should have probably quit them between the Crises Identity and Infinite. I came in with Jenette Kahn, Dick Giordano and Paul Levitz, whose aesthetic is simply not compatible with that of Dan DiDio, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. That said, I remain excited by the potential of the New 52 Martian Manhunter, who despite recently leaving Stormwatch remains a pivotal figure in the integration of the Wildstorm properties into a merged DC Universe. I'm more excited about Helspont as a Superman villain than I ever was in his days as the Magneto of the WildC.A.T.s, and it's great fun to feel the fresh synergy of Daemonites roaming in a shared history with Mars. After a year's worth of revised, mysterious continuity and some hindsight, I've come to appreciate J'Onn J'Onzz being freed from the shackles of staid establishment. He's not a Justice League founder anymore-- and he may have betrayed them as an early recruit! Is the Blue Flame that empowers Helspont the same as the one that destroyed Mars in the Bronze Age? If Martian Manhunter wasn't tied down to every incarnation of the JLA, what has he been getting up to with his clandestine operations? Might we finally get an Alien Atlas built up to stand as a solo hero again, with creators actually looking into his rogues gallery instead of inventing redundant retcon lame-os?

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Another major step forward in my book was the redesign of the Manhunter from Mars. I have much love for J'Onn J'Onzz, but I've always tried to view him with a critical eye and recognize his failings. Let's be honest, no thought went into his original costume, and it was about as generic as Martian gear gets. Chest straps, a belt, trunks, boots, cape. Tweaks were made over the years, my favorite being the raised, folded collar on his cape, but he might as well have been a low rent luchador if not for the brow and green skin. Over time, the simplicity of the suit gave it a nostalgic appeal, but the uninitiated would be forgiven for assuming that J'Onzz was simply a variation on the Hulk (as I've learned from experience.) As much as I want to hold on to the old J'Onn I bought as a Super Powers figure back in 1985, his look has held him back for decades. Visually, there was nothing about him that said "the Sleuth from Outer Space," or much of anything besides "retro extraterrestrial."

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I've been frustrated for over a year with DC releasing design sketches for New 52 heroes on their blog, many with only minor tweaks, but skipped the fairly radical Martian Manhunter revision entirely. Yeah, I'm sure Apollo and Midnighter were worth way more web traffic. It's not like their every solo comic combined amounts to fewer issues than the 1998 Martian Manhunter series alone. Thanks to DC's irritating oversight, like sand in my eyelid, I had to wait until the trade paperback collection Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side was released in late May to finally see the above images. I bought the comics as floppies, so between the wait and their not being very good, I was pissed off enough not to bother buying it. I've waited for months to see if a scan would turn up online, and finally found some at The Art of Jim Lee tumblr and Character Model.

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I liked Apollo's new outfit, as I found the old one about as dull as any super-hero who ever existed, so the only direction was up. Midnighter's is-- well-- comically inept. Jenny Quantum and Jack Hawksmoor were given modest positive alterations, while the Engineer seems to have been left alone. All were by Cully Hamner, who I've erroneously been crediting for the new look Martian Manhunter. No one has yet to draw J'Onn's more alien head as well as Hamner, but the two designs he turned in for the Alien Atlas leave a lot to be desired. The first one kept J'Onn's red "x" chest straps, which I have long felt are too common amongst prominent DC heroes (Hawkman and Adam Strange come readily to mind.) I hate when the "x" is used as an icon for the Manhunter, and I'm happy to see it ultimately excised. However, aside from the "x," nothing in that first design says "Martian Manhunter" except the guy wearing it. The flap on the cape kind of alludes to his old collar, but the degree of skin exposure around the neck better recalls Superman. The reverse teardrop cape serves even less purpose than a normal cape, is effeminate, and just plain embarrassing. The random techie crap on the chest is dated and dumb, the plunging "v" neck pities the fool, and the artist seemed to lose interest from the waist down. Piping is to 2012 as multiple bootstraps were to 1994.

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Hamner's revised attempt looks like a swell N'or Cott update, but what about this tells you it's meant for the premier Martian super-hero? Remember in the '90s when you'd get a costume redesign for a story, and then Toy Biz would turn it into Arctic Gear Batman™ or Stealth Armor Iron Man®? This looks like that action figure variant, except dressed down, like he comes with a vehicle or snap-on extras. Besides a souvenir novelty-sized Blood Gem and boots that vaguely resemble cavalier stock, there's nothing Martian Manhunter here. That is, unless he's going undercover as Johnny Utah to prove that the Ex-Presidents are, in fact, surfers.

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I typically like Hamner's work, and the final Martian Manhunter design seemed keyed in to his sensibilities. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Jim Lee, who I feel is one of the worst, most creatively bankrupt designers in comics. Lee was really inspired here though, and deserves kudos. As much as I miss the collar, the skin tight yet angular cape is slick. The bottom straps of the old chest piece remain intact, but the upper portion is a unique horizontal plateau. The eight sided "pie" belt buckle dating back to the oldest comics is elevated to emblem status, which frankly warms my heart, since it was also present on my Super Powers figure. In order for it to stand out from a Plain Jane black and white image any schoolchild could draw in seconds, the "slices" are rendered gray and the slits a luminescent red, oddly complimentary. In an intriguing blending of cultures, an Eastern style breechcloth covers a pants/boot combo once worn by Cossacks, giving an added exotic effect to the alien's otherworldliness. While the seashell temples and insectoid forearm plates have that stink of cheap television sci-fi and video games, they also serve to separate the Martian Manhunter visually from the Hulk, which is a good thing in moderation. As previously noted, application of those physical affectations has been inconsistent, and the great thing about a shapeshifter is that it leaves a lot of the presentation up to the artist's prerogative. They can go for handsome humanoid or creepy creature as desired, and that flexibility should lend them enthusiasm, always preferable if you want good work.



Other elements have been up for grabs. Miguel Sepulveda drew the chest symbol as an Atom atom, which I could have done without, and the dhoti has contained a variety of designs. Sometimes the suit is colored bright purple, which is a bit loud but contrasts perfectly against green skin. Other times, the purple is so dark as to turn blue, and often is a dark blue at that, which is more familiar and preferable to me. The new get-up doesn't have much "Sleuth from Outer Space" in it, but as a battle suit for cosmic conflicts, I think it's aces. There's also room to play, since the new Martian Manhunter seems geared toward a more multifaceted presentation. I like this track, and hope DC has more in store for J'Onn J'Onzz...

Superman Annual #1 (October, 2012)

I personally haven't read the first New 52 Superman Annual, because New 52, and also Superman. However, Anj of Supergirl Comic Box Commentary alerted me to a four page diversion that revealed more about the Martian Manhunter than anything I've covered in the first year of Stormwatch.

Starlight Runner Observatory outside Seattle, Washington was introduced as a new base of operations for the Martian Manhunter. I'm not sure if the imaginary locale was meant to have any lasting significance, since it wasn't shown, the panel instead favoring the Seattle skyline with an emphasis on the Space Needle. Inside a cluttered but seemingly advanced lab, "John Jones" appeared to be African-American, reflecting this year's Justice League: Doom animated movie. The lighting was dim, so Jones' race and mode of dress were difficult to determine. On my first reading, I thought he was wearing a lab coat, but a second pass indicated a jacket... maybe?



As I understand it, The Eye of the Storm was a Daemonite prison ship that was appropriated as the mobile secret headquarters of the DCnÜ Stormwatch. It was meant to contain Helspont, a Daemonite High Lord who had conquered whole star systems for the empire, only to be betrayed when his power and legend grew too great. Helspont was inadvertently freed by the traitorous Eminence of Blades when he nearly destroyed the Eye in Stormwatch #6. Helspont had ample resources on Earth, despite it being beneath the Daemonites' notice in his time, and currently operated out of a Himalayan base. Most recently, Helspont had begun attempting the forced induction of powerful aliens residing on Earth into an army for use against his many enemies. Helspont had previously tried to woo Superman, and failing that, was pressing him in a less gentle fashion. In the annual, Starfire and Hawkman had their own visitations, all related to the fabled "Thirteen Scions of Salvation."



Back to Seattle, where John Jones had a thought while observing several monitors. "It is a Daemonite ship, but I sense a limited crew. I am certain that was the Kryptonian who impacted with the moon. Despite our recent... differences... I must involve Stormwatch. Surely they would shun their usual arrogant isolation in order to--" The thought/allusion to Stormwatch #12 was interrupted by a voice from behind. "They will not help you, son of Ma'aleca'andra."

The intruder looked like a female version of Helspont, but with an actual face instead of a skull. "I am who I am. Unlike you... 'John Jones.'" Mister Jones had initially asked who this person was, but what was not freely given could be taken. "Your name is Salu. A Daemonite... and retainer to Helspont...?"



"Your telepathy works through the Blue Light of Truth that infuses me? Impressive." Jones transformed into a more bestial variation on his Martian Manhunter form."Then you will really appreciate this! I know of your overlord and the devastation he has left in his wake. He will not be allowed to harm this world." J'Onn blasted Salu with an exaggerated and elongated hunk of Martian right cross that put her on her ass. Salu wiped at her bleeding nose and mouth. "Helspont does not harm worlds, Martian Manhunter. Nor does he take life. He only ensures that the Intergalactic Bestiary can thrive. In that regard, I did not come to battle, but to make an offer on behalf of my dominant. But since you will clearly not give your submission willingly... I will beat you into it!"

J'Onzz refused the offer with a sardonic tone, but was scalded and humbled by a blast from Salu's energy projecting staff. The Alien Atlas cried out from the pain, which Salu offered was but a fraction of what Helspont had suffered over many millennia. Per Salu, the son of Ma'aleca'andra had no actual choice in serving Helspont, but she would leave him alive to come to the correct decision on the matter. J'Onzz opined that Helspont's concept of salvation would cost billions of lives, but was countered with Salu's perception of the worthlessness of humanity. "You are not one of them... alone among so many... death would be a sweet release, I imagine... Know that if you are not an ally of Helspont, you will most assuredly be... his enemy."



As you may have noted, these few pages finally reestablish the John Jones identity, not to mention the term Ma'aleca'andra and potentially a new version of the fire weakness. Back when I did the New 52 Wave 3 Martian Manhunter #1, I was thinking a lot about how an integrated DC/Wildstorm Universe could work. One notion I had was to finally solve the decades unanswered question of who the unnamed aliens were that instigated Commander Blanx's Martian genocide with a possibility unavailable in 1969: Helspont. I even figured that you could tie the Blue Flame of Mars to the energy wielded by his Acuran body. Perhaps Helspont got so powerful by converting the souls of Mars into his personal and quite substantial energy source, while hanging Blanx out to dry for the crime? I probably went deeper into it than anyone at DC ever would, but the harebrained notion might not be so far from where the company is actually heading, with teasers like this. I mean, a bestiary is just a more antiquated version of "menagerie..."

"Alien Extinction!" was by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Pascal Alixe, Tom Raney, Marco Rudy, and Elizabeth Torque. For more on the issue, check out Anj's comprehensive coverage!

More New 52's Day

• National Comics: Eternity #1 (September, 2012) @ DC Bloodlines

Stormwatch #9 (July, 2012)

Midnighter was concerned about his increasing pleasure from killing. He and Apollo were sent by the Engineer to investigate an unidentified alien with an unfamiliar power ring arriving in Devon, United Kingdom. Despite being able to shrug off a punch from a world-class super-human like Apollo, Midnighter chopped off its arm with a big knife.

Jack Hawksmoor, Jenny Quantum and Martian Manhunter were in Italy dealing with the destructive public rampage of the Vitruvian Man, "A mind on the edge of despair... it's strange but... he actually thinks he is one of us." Jenny trapped him in dark matter, Jack rebuilt Rome in a day (scripted pun paraphrased,) and J'Onn made sure the bystanders would remember nothing.

The captured and mauled alien had no heart nor blood to pump, save for a "napalm-like liquid" coursing through its veins. Its power ring normally kept it alive, but in its absence, Stormwatch's ship did the job.

Manhunter sent a telepathic call to the Engineer when their other guest woke up. J'Onn learned that Piero Rosci had been "improved" into the Vitruvian Man with the help of none other than Leonardo Da Vinci. This was done under the orders of a Stormwatch precursor called "the Veiled Sect." Piero had fallen for Isabella, but the Dark Lords forbade outside relationships, so she was assassinated. Assuming the killer was one of his own teammates, Piero went into hiding. After years of mourning the anniversary of Isabella's death, Piero had finally snapped. At least that is what the Vitruvian Man told J'Onn in polite conversation, since Piero's brain had been worked over to resist telepathy.

The Vitruvian Man stressed out over the retelling, beyond Manhunter's ability to psychically sedate him. Jenny believed what Piero was saying, and worried for her own future love life as hormones kicked in. Piero's telekinesis ripped through the Eye of the Storm, until Midnighter dropped out of nowhere to snap Piero's neck. Just as suddenly, a Red Lantern power ring flew up to him, stating, "Lucas Trent..." The Engineer managed to project a field of "pure rage" around the ring, holding it in "a stasis of fury."

Apollo thought Piero was a "poor guy" who could have remained in hiding if not for his breakdown. Jack thought he had a "good run" over half a millennium. The Engineer felt the team owed their newest member a debt of gratitude. Manhunter concurred "It's true. We all froze. Only Midnighter instinctively reacted." Trent remained isolated from the team, and later ran a virtual reality simulation where he fought Batman, preparing for the day his masters in Stormwatch decided to get rid of him as he had Piero.

"The Da Vinci Coda" was by Paul Jenkins and Miguel Sepulveda. I also read the second half of this crossover with Red Lanterns by the same creative team, and haven't been able to motivate myself to read any more in the two months since. I wish the depths of this title were unusual, but they're actually so emblematic of the New 52 that it makes me want to fold up all my DC blogging and call it quits. I'm thankful Martian Manhunter will be out by #0, so I can drop this and virtually every other DC title (I might stick with National Comics.) I could point out how nonsensically stupid, bloodthirstily stupid, and mean-spiritedly stupid the book is, but that's self-evident, and we all surely have better things to do than dwell on it.

New 52's Day

• Animal Man #2 (December, 2011) @ DC Bloodlines
• Aquaman #9 (July, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• 2012 Capstone DC Super-Pets! advertisement @ Power of the Atom
• DC Comics - The New 52 FCBD Special Edition #1 (June, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman

Martian on Finite Earth

Stormwatch #12 came out this week, though I won't read it for another month. I'm not concerned about it getting spoiled, as we all know from the solicitations that this is the issue where the Martian Manhunter gets written out of the book. Presumably, the exit is motivated by his taking part in another solo/team/event series yet to be announced. The departure did not appear to be planned from the beginning, although one wonders if J'Onn J'Onzz's presence was intended to make the former Wildstorm team more palatable to DC readers before reverting back to a more "pure" version of the group.

Reader will_in_chicago asks, "What characters from either the Milestone or Wildstorm lines would work well with the Alien Atlas?" I was very excited by the Manhunter from Mars acting as an emissary to the newly integrated Wildstorm Universe, as he helped welcome the Charlton and Fawcett properties after their integration following Crisis on Infinite Earths. One mistake that I think the New 52 made was the "Five Years Later" conceit, wherein whichever stories from the old continuity still stand will be consigned to a truncated timeline. Instead of getting in on the ground floor of a legitimately new DC Universe, it turns the entire line into an X-Men comic with megatons of back continuity being vaguely hinted at constantly. A side effect was that the Authority went back to being Stormwatch, and the Martian Manhunter was entrenched amongst them, until he wasn't. There were no proper introductions outside of Apollo and Midnighter, and the Martian Manhunter just sort of hung out for a year before bailing.



The simplest answer to Will's question is that after the build-up of the New 52, I still want to see Martian Manhunter as a member of Stormwatch. When first introduced in the early '90s, Stormwatch was the official super-team of the United Nations. They were like the Global Guardians played straight in the Chromium Age, with obvious influences from Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D., Tower's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Hasbro's G.I. Joe. The team also tended to fight a lot of aliens, since one of the diving concepts behind the Wildstorm Universe was a centuries long intergalactic war between the "good" Kherubim and the "evil" Daemonites. The individual members of the team never amounted to much, and most were slowly pushed out when Warren Ellis reworked the title and staffed it with his own creations. Eventually, Ellis just decided to rename the lot as the Authority, leaving Stormwatch and its related characters up for grabs. Thanks to his now erased but still felt history with the Justice League International, as well as the whole being an alien himself thing, Stormwatch seemed like a good place for the Alien Atlas to build a new backstory from the ashes while propping up a group that never quite left the shadow of the WildC.A.T.S. I'd have kept Weatherman One for tension, Battalion as the natural leader, and kept a few of the more well liked characters like Backlash, Diva, Winter, Fuji or Hellstrike. I'd have probably also recruited DC spy types from series like Suicide Squad and Checkmate. Heck, why not borrow from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, now that DC owns that, too?



Milestone has always been adjunct to DC, since Dwayne McDuffie and company may have an ownership stake, but DC bankrolled the initiative. As a result, they've always kinda sorta been part of the DCU, and at the same time, partitions remain that continue to separate the companies. Also, Image Comics was formed by the biggest artists of its time, whereas Milestone was the big black publisher that couldn't land Christopher Priest, Larry Stroman, Mark Beachum, Brian Stelfreeze, etc. etc. I never really warmed to Milestone, but their shortlived super group the Shadow Cabinet could definitely intermingle with Stormwatch. Hardware would also be a great mixer to set next to the Manhunter.

Despite his time with the "Detroit" Justice League and the second incarnation of the JL Task Force, I'm not big on J'Onn J'Onzz mentoring teen teams. For one, he's not that great of a team leader. For two, he's not a very protective guardian or even the strongest role model. Third, Young Justice made that more of a Red Tornado thing, and The Usurper can have it. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Charles Xavier. Still, Static could be cute in a non-Teen Titans team, perhaps a new Gen¹³ where Gypsy might also find a slot.



Ideally, I'd prefer a Martian Manhunter solo series, but he's had so many "bold new directions" that I feel he'd be ill-served divorcing himself from old continuity. I have a fantasy about rebuilding his Silver/Bronze origins of the Martian Marvel using Wildstorm characters. It was revealed in a 1977 story that J'Onn secretly co-founded the Justice League in 1957 with Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman to battle Commander Blanx. How about a DC version of Team One forming to deal with the first invasion of Helspont, leading into the modern incarnation of Stormwatch (relative to their Demon Knights beginnings?) It always seemed redundant for DC to buy Wildstorm, since so many of their characters were Jim Lee's versions of DC characters. Having lost DC's Golden Age to Earth 2, suddenly WS could fit nicely as a covert replacement. I still see so much potential for Martian Manhunter's involvement in the DC/Wildstorm merger, but I expect little of it being realized. Nice to daydream, though.

Stormwatch #8 (June, 2012)

The Engineer was wrestling with a minor mutiny from "Charlie," the Daemonite A.I. that ran the Eye of the Storm, and was in a foul mood. "Since I'm not in the habit of continually repeating myself, J'Onn, let's get to the subject of answers."

"My people had assumed the Gravity Miners were a simple legend-- propaganda created by the Daemonites to justify their position in the galactic hierarchy. I now believe we were mistaken. So the legend goes, thousands of years ago the Daemonite elite caste sent their drones to proliferate throughout the galaxy some ten million light years from ours. Needing to move quickly between worlds, the Daemonites theorized that the exotic sub-atomic particle we call the Pradesh Graviton would aid them in instantaneous matter transmission. Instead, the formation of these gravitons opened a doorway into 5-space, through which came the 'Chrszy-rr.' In the Daemonite native tongue, it means 'Gravity Miners.' The Chrszy-rr came directly to the Daemonite home world and began to siphon away their gravity. Within nine Earth days they had virtually destroyed that planet. Within ninety... they had obliterated almost one-third of the Daemonite Galaxy. Being of extra-dimensional origin, the Chrszy-rr do not function as we do. They have no language, no organized society. No ethics or morality. No motives. They just are. The Chrszy-rr will not bargain with us. They will simply take what they need.

The Engineer wasn't interested in pessimism, and didn't intend to see the universe end on the first day of her watch as team leader. Manhunter thought the Daemonites might have information on how they repelled the Chrszy-rr, so Engineer put the squeeze on Charlie. It didn't want to surrender the information, and Angela didn't have time to force it out. Instead, she located the coordinates of Daemonite home worlds, and threatened to send the Chrszy-rr after them if Charlie didn't offer a solution.

Midnighter and Jenny Quantum were observing the Gravity Miners' invasion point in Pripyat, Ukraine. Jenny saw a last resort possibility of closing it, because if she screwed up the attempt, it could destroy the universe. She also noted that Midnighter "liked" Apollo, and thought that was nice, even though she suspected that she would never have a boy of her own because of her powers. Midnighter did not like where this was going. "The galaxy's about to disentangle and you want to talk about boys. I'm just wondering if you understand the gravity of the current situation."

The Engineer had learned that the Chrszy-rr needed a physical connection to our dimension to maintain their access point, which was why they had kidnapped Apollo. J'Onn J'Onzz believed that if Stormwatch could enter the invaders' dimension to retrieve their teammate, they could then close the doorway to Earth. Using a device from the ship's armory, J'Onn explained that he could travel with Jenny, who would "introduce a randomization matrix" through the sort of quantum math he'd been teaching her. Midnighter volunteered to replace Manhunter, since he had the best knowledge of the Gravity Miners, and would be needed if the mission with Jenny failed. J'Onn objected, but the Engineer overruled.

Jack Hawksmoor asked Pripyat to create a new graviton, which confused the miners. Midnighter used the distraction to locate and rescue Apollo. Jenny left to plant the "bomb" that would seal the exit, and needed Midnighter to pull her back into the force bubble the trio were traveling in, but was refused. Midnighter felt that Jenny was too powerful to be allowed to continue existing in three dimensional space. "The power to determine the fate of a trillion suns in the hands of a twelve-year-old who may pull the trigger the first time a boy is cruel to her... that's too much of a risk for me to allow." Midnighter and Apollo returned to the Eye of the Storm, the gateway vanished, and a story was already being unfurled to explain the loss of Jenny Quantum, despite a valiant effort to save her. The Engineer explained, "Uh... that's all well and good-- but she made it back five minutes ago."

Later, the Engineer had a sit down with J'Onn J'Onzz over warm beverages to ask if Earth was truly in the clear. "For the moment. Or perhaps we never were... Time exists at all points in 5-space." The Chrszy-rr knew Earth was out there, and could simply start again at the dawn of time, which would only be a temporal paradox in linear 3D time. If that were to happen, J'Onzz felt there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Elsewhere, Jenny confronted Midnighter. The only reason that she didn't turn him into a cockroach was because of Apollo. Jenny didn't agree with Midnighter's logic, and was free to make her own decisions. "For example, I made a decision about you. You're not going to like it." Midnighter wanted to know what that was exactly, but Jenny just grinned and left him hanging...

"Supercritical: Part 2" was by Paul Jenkins, Ignacio Calero, and Daniel Hor with Sean Parsons. While I disagree with the adversarial turn in Jenny's relationship with a Midnighter, who in the past continuity was her adoptive father, it makes sense in a New 52 where they barely know one another. This was a fun "big ideas" tale that suited the team and proved quite satisfying as a two-parter. I enjoyed the art and the characterization, although Engineer could dial down the verbal aggression a tad. I wish Jenkins was staying on, since he provided the first workable dynamic for this group, but he's gone and Martian Manhunter is soon to follow. It figures that this would happen just as I was finally digging the title, but that's another three buck I can put toward non-DC purchases.

New 52's Day

• Action Comics #7 (May, 2012) @ Power of the Atom
• Animal Man #1 (November, 2011) @ DC Bloodlines
• Aquaman #8 (June, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• Wonder Woman #8 (June, 2012) @ Diana Prince

Stormwatch #7 (May, 2012)

At the Eye of the Storm, the headquarters of Stormwatch, Jack tried to tell Martian Manhunter a joke. "And this is humor, Jack Hawksmoor? ...Congratulations." That was "Not the reaction I was looking for--" but J'Onn was busy teaching Jenny Quantum the mathematics of higher-dimensional space. The adolescent was herself more preoccupied with hounding the Engineer for a puppy. In the monitor room, Midnight recalled his first Stormwatch mission in the Himalayas. Engineer whined about her ex, Harry Tanner, and interfaced with "Charlie," the hostile Daemonite A.I. that ran the ship.

In Pripyat, Ukraine; an abandoned city on the outskirts of the old Chernobyl reactor; a couple of guardsmen were torn apart by an unknown force. Midnighter detected "very exotic subatomic particles" in the area, so Apollo volunteered to take a door to investigate. Things went awry, and Engineer was soon chewing Midnighter out for acting without her knowledge or consent. On further study, J'Onn recognized "They're back... Jenny! Can you do the formulae?" She couldn't, although she also felt Manhunter "got the formula all wrong," anyway. J'Onzz planned to take Jenny on-site, but his new boss said "Not a chance in hell. I want to know what is going on. Because I promise you, J'Onn, you seriously do not want to challenge my authority."

"Engineer, I have no time to explain. The longer we wait, the greater the danger. I beg of you to trust me. I need to take the girl down. Just the two of us. Right now. I have to be sure. Please. Trust me." Umm... I'm really uncomfortable with this whole thing going on here with the words. English isn't J'Onn's first language, you know. He just wants her to do quantum mathematics without the universe exploding from distractions. For serious. Jenny managed to keep screwing with physics long enough for the Alien Atlas to get to Apollo, while Jenny followed orders to capture a "strand" of the attacking entities in a bubble, and everybody escaped through a door.

Jack talked to the radiation-scarred personifications of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ladies were caring for Pripyat, an old man on life support, who had accidentally "lit a candle" for the malevolent forces. While Hawksmoor was "away," the entity nearly escaped, and did manage to drag Apollo back to hell before being destroyed by Charlie. Midnighter was freaked out by Jenny's power, while Engineer was irate with J'Onn, demanding answers. "They are an ancient enemy, known to my people. Also, to the Daemonites. They have been to this universe once before, and almost destroyed it... They exist in a parallel dimension, unaware of our existence. In their plane, gravity is a commodity. They came here once before to mine for it. And in so doing, they destroyed countless galaxies. I believe the reaction at the Chernobyl reactor created a subatomic particle we call a Pradish graviton, which the miners saw as a beacon. They are going to come back. And they are going to tear apart our universe. And there is nothing we can do to prevent this from happening."

Silence. Thought. Perhaps mourning.

"Now can I have a puppy?

"Supercritical: Part One" was by Paul Jenkins and Ignacio Calero with Sean Parsons & Julio Ferreira. My first reaction to flipping through this book was a pushback against new artist Ignacio Calerro. Despite issues ranging from plagiarism to toes that looked like the back of Charlie Brown's head, I liked looking at Miguel Sepulveda's modern, digital-happy work. Calerro is very much a throwback to Wildstorm in its Image days. I spent a lot of brain power trying to spot esoteric influences from that period, like Liam Sharpe, Ryan Benjamin, Dale Keown, and even the late, little seen Nick Manabat. I kind of hated it at first, but it grew on me as I read the story. There blessedly wasn't a lot of Martian Manhunter x-treme in the actual '90s, but I get a nostalgic kick out of him finally getting a good quality grade riff on that fashion here. That hi-top fade of flesh and bone needs to get sanded down, though.

Paul Jenkins seems to take his cues from the early Ellis material-- it's all Soviet radiation cosmic technobabble body horror type stuff. It's about gravity mining, which is downright metatextual, because this story has the density of a dwarf star in comparison to anything else in the New 52. I really felt like I read something when I closed the book. The plot is boilerplate and the characters are thin, but they bounce off one another in a fun way, instead of the constant bitchiness/creepiness of Cornell's issues. I especially liked Martian Manhunter's interaction with Jenny Quantum, which played very comic book mentor-pupil, and made it feel like he was bringing something to the team beyond being the green guy in the background of the Apollo & Midnighter show. Plus, if Jenkins is going to script him as Mr. Spock, he needs a foil like Jenny to take the piss out of him. Anyway, this issue was funny, weird, and satisfying in a way new to the book. Shame this team only has another issue together...

New 52's Day

• Aquaman #7 (April, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• The Huntress #6 (May, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Steel in Action Comics #7 (May, 2012) @ DC Bloodlines
• DC Comics - The New 52 FCBD Special Edition #1 (June, 2012) @ Power of the Atom

One Year Later...

With a second Zero Month coming in September to celebrate the first year of the New 52 and shake up the status quo once again, I thought now would be a good time to see what this time has meant to the Martian Manhunter, and where he might be going from here.

J'Onn J'Onzz made his DCnÜ debut in Stormwatch #1 (November, 2011), but his earliest retroactive appearance to date was in Justice League #8 (June, 2012). He is from a Martian race that appears to have been well versed in the history of the current universe. For instance, J'Onzz can recite a millenia old legend of how the Daemonites, a shapeshifting species at perpetual war with their former masters the Kherubim, had their homeworlds destroyed by the gravity mining otherdimensional menace Chrszy-Rr. J'Onzz's own race is believed to be extinct, although it remains to be seen if it was by either of the 2½ means depicted in older DC continuities.¹ It has been strongly insinuated that J'Onzz is concealing the existence of other living Martians, but whom and how many are unknown. I would not be at all surprised if the integrity of the Manhunter's origin is to be compromised to set up a Big Bad as the author of his people's seeming destruction, who would then of course challenge the greater DC Newniverse (Despero? Darkseid?)



At an unknown point, J'Onzz took up residence on or around Earth. He became affiliated with a clandestine group called Stormwatch, which appears to have existed in some fashion since the 12th century or so. Associated members have defended the planet from evils mundane, magical, and extra-terrestrial ever since. Presently, the team exists at the pleasure of a secret cabal called the Shadow Lords, who may not be altruistic, and reside on a plane that living beings cannot reach. The current Stormwatch team resides in a commandeered Daemonite spaceship called the Eye of the Storm, where Helspont had been imprisoned by his own people. Helspont was freed during a destructive battle aboard the ship involving the Martian Manhunter, and has gone on to trouble Superman. There are an awful lot of ties between Martians and Daemonites, which hardly seems coincidental.



Within the past five years, J'Onn J'Onzz became involved to some degree with the Justice League, the preeminent collective of the recently surfaced "super-heroes." The Martian Manhunter became a publicly known figure through this association, and he appears to have been the only hero to be considered for membership since its founding so far, although Manhunter has stated that he did not formally join them.² This is in large part due to his unexplained "betrayal" of the team, which involved his coming to blows with the lot before disappearing entirely. It has been hinted that J'Onzz was already a member of Stormwatch, and was spying on the League. Although some duplicity on Manhunter's part was discovered, the League do not appear to be aware of Stormwatch's existence, and are definitely unaware of Martian Manhunter's whereabouts. Further, the public was not informed of his falling out with the group.



The Martian Manhunter appears to be very concerned with building and testing super-teams in preparation for some coming threat of epic proportions. He was part of a Stormwatch away team that forcibly drafted Apollo, a rare super-human comparable to Superman, onto the team. J'Onzz helped some Green Lanterns recover a captured squad in an unannounced guest appearance. Similarly, the Alien Atlas clashed with and then assisted the captive Legion Lost, although he ominously predicted that they would all die in the present before ever returning to their home in the 30th century. The Martian continues to monitor the Justice League without their knowledge.



It does not appear likely that J'Onn J'Onzz has a civilian identity, given his status amongst Stormwatch. His only human form assumed to date has resembled his old continuity identity of Caucasian detective John Jones, but he went unnamed. No friendships outside of Stormwatch have been revealed, and even there he has only expressed closeness to Harry Tanner (who betrayed the team,) the Projectionist (a newer member lost to kidnapping) and his respected leader Adam One (whose destabilized mind rendered him incompetent on his last mission.) Adam was quasi-killed by the Shadow Lords at the end of the first story arc, which may have created a rift between J'Onzz and his seeming masters. Of the remaining team, J'Onzz has seemed to take up Adam's abandoned role as mentor to Jenny Quantum (a type of duty he was prone to in the old continuity,) but does not seem to be particularly friendly toward anyone.



From the looks of things, the newly introduced Vitruvian Man casts serious aspersions on the Shadow Lords, and after a crossover with the Red Lanterns, Stormwatch will confront the renegade Harry Tanner. There's a good chance Stormwatch will then confront the Shadow Lords or, perhaps, their rivals. Finally, the Martian Manhunter will battle all of Stormwatch as he did the Justice League, then quit the team "forever." What is the motivation for all of this?



Let's look at the facts. We know the Martian Manhunter possesses his old powers of shapeshifting, super-strength, flight, telepathy, and intangibility. Per the Shadow Lords, he now has some vague power of "energy manipulation," and he may have enhanced metasenses beyond the good old Martian Vision (which encompassed laser vision, x-ray vision, telescopic vision, microscopic vision, etc.) I don't recall if we've seen invisibility yet, but that's probably there. The Daemonites, the sinister alien invaders who've plagued all of the DC/Wildstorm relaunch books and then some, have most of those same powers in the new continuity. What if J'Onn's secret is that there are no such thing as Martians, or that the ones that do exist are related to the Daemonites (not to mention the type of Durlan J'Onn saved from a virus in Legion Lost? The Daemonites now have a backstory similar to Saturnians, yet unseen in the DCnÜ but retroactively made descendants of Martian clones in the prior continuity. J'Onn being the only DC hero on the only active Wildstorm team makes a lot more sense if Wildstorm continuity were being grafted onto his DNA.



Another question is, why oust Martian Manhunter from Stormwatch? There have been indications that a confrontation with the Justice League is eventual, and the WS team is a lot more formidable with the Alien Atlas on it. However, we know there's a Trinity War coming in 2013 involving the League in conflict with other super-heroes, as opposed to Stormwatch. It ties into the appearances of the mysterious woman revealed to be Pandora, who turned up in all of the New 52 #1s in some fashion. You know who else has been covertly "seeded" into titles? J'Onn J'Onzz, who established his lack of a prior relationship with Guy Gardner in a recent unsolicited cameo. This is the same Guy Gardner who is soon to lose most if not all of his fellow Justice League International cohorts to cancellation, despite solid sales. Given that this turn occurs in an annual co-written by Geoff Johns, surely something major is afoot. You know who else J'Onzz helped in that comic? Green Lantern John Stewart, currently on trial for insubordination against his Corps, and seemingly soon to collide with the Justice League in Trinity War. Suppose Martian Manhunter involved himself in that matter with designs? Other rogue heroes involved in the Trinity War include the Atom, Hawkman, Element Woman, Black Adam, and most tellingly, a youth bearing a strong resemblance to Vibe. Each of these characters had ties to the Martian Manhunter in the old continuity, and its just the sort of ramshackle collective only J'Onn J'Onzz would entertain.




Ideally, I would best hope for Martian Manhunter #0 to come out in Septemberby a swell creative team to build up J'Onn J'Onzz as a solo character, with or without all these elements I've theorized about. I'd vastly prefer the Alien Atlas stand on his own over being just another strongman in a team book. However, the signs as I see them point to Justice League International being canned to make room for a new team book involving heroes gathered by the Martian Manhunter. I've long felt that the DC Universe needed a powerhouse team between the Justice League and Justice Society for all of the "name" heroes who fall between them and deserve better than mingling with pikers like the Outsiders. Actually, that name is as good as any, so long as it leaves the word "Justice" out of the mix. Perhaps J'Onzz remains loyal to the Shadow Lords, and will be a third party challenging Stormwatch for artifacts of power to use against the coming evil. Maybe he's been another Daemonite sleeper agent all along. Could be J'Onzz is playing all sides to his own ends, but the Martian Manhunter is immersed in manipulations that I suspect will bring the character to the forefront of DC Comics in the coming months. That, or just more wishful thinking on my part. My track record for predicting developments on this blog have not been the best...




¹: Mars was a living world throughout the Silver Age, until it was rendered uninhabitable by the evil Commander Blanx in a real estate deal gone genocidal. J'Onzz went on to lead a band of survivors on another world. In the late '80s, all of the old Mars stories were rendered fantasies implanted in J'Onn's mind, and he was instead the sole survivor of a plague. In the late '90s, the plague was made into a virus engineered by J'Onzz's evil twin brother Ma'alefa'ak, with significant alterations made in the retelling.

²: This matter is more than a bit galling for longtime fans. The Martian Manhunter was one of five heroes to found the Justice League of America in 1960's The Brave and the Bold #28, which excluded Superman and Batman from the cover and from full membership until after the group got their own series. He's been replaced by Cyborg, a relatively minor character who didn't even exist until decades later.

Stormwatch #6 (April, 2012)

The Eye of the Storm, the headquarters of Stormwatch, went boom. Some of the debris was promised to hit Earth in an upcoming issue of Superman. Having left Hyperspace and entered the regular kind, military authorities became aware of the spaceship's presence. Jenny Quantum created a forcefield bubble around herself, the Engineer, Jack Hawksmoor and Martian Manhunter, the latter having established a telepathic link for communication. Midnighter was blown out into space, but was rescued by Apollo, who flew him back to Jenny's bubble. "God, you're hot."

The Eye was large enough to qualify as a city, so Jack Hawksmoor made contact with its avatar, an irate Daemonite. "--You humans stole me-- bound me. And made me into a slave!" J'Onn J'Onzz maintained a mental rapport, and painfully acknowledged of the artificial intelligence consciousness, "He has woken it! Its psychic presence-- it is enormous!" It had been switched off since Stormwatch "stole" the station, and would "joyfully die" in service to the "holy cause" of killing these jerks. The Engineer somehow powered-up Jack's synapses, making his consciousness strong enough to rival the Daemonite's. Instead of a brawl, Jack convinced the intelligence to "repurpose the millions of tiny forcefields that keep the station running" to "haul it back together." As a reward, the Daemonite would not be shut down again, and would have opportunities to aid its people. "Worthless unbeliever. I shall be your "city"-- but remember, you are parasites to me."

The Eye restored and in Hyperspace, Midnighter needed medical assistance, but demanded it for Jenny first. The Engineer wanted Harry Tanner's blood, as did Midnighter, who agreed to join Stormwatch with her as leader. As for Apollo, "Oh, if I join up-- he will too."

J'Onn J'Onzz did not know how to contact the redubbed "Shadow Lords" with Adam One gone. "I presume the Projectionist would have been told, being our new leader. She might know now. Which is worrying. But it is the way things have been done for centuries." J'Onzz was stressed over his inability to decipher what the horn was, and the betrayal of Tanner. "I considered him a friend. This is what he used to kill us. The Projectionist, whom he took to hide himself and limit us-- I was starting to enjoy her company a great deal. She is a warrior. If she can, she will contact us." J'Onzz noted Apollo, "said I was 'with the Justice League'-- a shorthand for 'public hero' that many humans use. But I have never actually attempted to join them. Because then I would have to keep secrets from them-- because the part of my life in Stormwatch means I would have to betray them!"

The U.S. military locked into the space sector where the Eye had appeared, intent on attacking it and taking its Hyperspace technology should the opportunity present itself again.

A meeting was called. For the first time, Stormwatch was on its own, and put leadership to a vote. Jack abstained with a caveat about loyalty to Adam One, while J'Onzz would support the consensus in this time of crisis. Apollo, Midnighter and Jenny approved the Engineer's nomination of herself. Their new mission: Securing alien artifacts and other objects of power previously known only to Adam One, but now accessible to the Eminence of Blades for his own plans. "To find them, we're going to need to become... explorers of what might have been."

Meanwhile, Harry Tanner held a sword to the Projectionist's throat, ordering her to cover their tracks from Stormwatch. Accessing media from another world through this realm's amplification of her powers, she noted that the team would be busy saving the universe from an upcoming threat...

"The Dark Side: Finale" was by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. Talk about ending with a whimper. It was also something how all the forward momentum of an already limp plot petered out halfway through the issue, so that readers were treated to whole pages of random army guys at computers talking over coffee. It's such a treat to see Jack Hawksmoor look at grid coordinates for another full page. Yeah, you super heroes sit at that conference table like you really mean it.

New 52's Day

• The Huntress #5 (April, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Aquaman #6 (April, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit

Stormwatch #5 (March, 2012)

A member of the collective of Stormwatch's mysterious bosses, the Shadow Cabinet, showed up to pin Adam One to a wall and declare that he had to die. Apparently, one has to pass through a "death pit" to enter the realm where the Shadow Cabinet exists, and so Adam was rendered clinically dead to pay them a visit. The visitor next asked who should now lead Stormwatch. The Engineer protested, asked questions, and tried in vain to probe the uninvited guest with her sensors. "I'm the one who writes your enormous checks. I'm the one who wiped your identities from the public record. I know you all very well" He then began airing dirty laundry about the individual members as a means of explaining how knowledgeable he was and why they should be disqualified from leadership. Jenny Quantum was too young, Jack Hawksmoor too unpredictable, the Engineer too individualistic, and Harry Tanner too lacking in power.

"J'Onn J'Onzz, the 'Martian Manhunter.' Telepathy, strength, shapeshifting, energy manipulation. He wants humans to think he's the last Martian: a tragic, noble orphan. But--" J'Onzz ordered him to be silent twice. "I know what you are, remember? I do not doubt you. And before you say it, I do not wish to lead Stormwatch." That left the Shadow Cabinet's choice for new leader, the Projectionist.

Meanwhile, Apollo and Midnighter were scurrying through the Eye of the Storm headquarters, looking for a discrete escape route. Midnighter revealed his face, that his name was Lucas, and that the pair were truly "two of a kind." Which is code for homosexual analogues of two-thirds of the DC Trinity, to be clear, who are fated to someday soon form the beast with one back and a reacharound. Midnighter was already finishing Apollo's sentences as part of his power, which wasn't at all like being stabbed in the neck with a chin spike.

The Shadow Cabinet...er... went back to his island home, unaffected by Jack's attempt to contain him. Meanwhile, Harry Tanner had himself snuck off to steal a bunch of Stormwatch's records, attracting Midnighter's attention. The Eminence of Blades claimed that without his leadership, the threat warned of by the Scourge of Worlds would destroy their world. Midnighter determined that Harry had an actual lying power, and after Tanner had tried to kill him and expressed a willingness to rule the world if need be to save it, took offense. Their battle was relatively brief, stopped short by Harry taking the Projectionist hostage. The pair went out an airlock just as a bomb Harry had set to "blow the alien horn" shattered the Eye, with the intention of killing everyone aboard instantaneously.

"The Dark Side: Part Five" was by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. In a book now defined by the deus ex machina, it should come as no surprise when random cosmic guy shows up to tell bits of everyone's heretofore unrevealed DCnÜ history and crown a leader. I'm also done defending Cornell's underuse of the Martian Manhunter, especially in an issue where he and Apollo are conveniently distracted to facilitate a brawl between two lesser combatants. Tanner turned heel as expected, and stands revealed as a prefabricated nemesis for the rogues gallery-challenged Midnighter. Adam One and Projectionist are off the board, either because Cornell wrapped up his personal toys for later use elsewhere or because their whole purpose was to fall by numbers here. I'm really glad J'Onn J'Onzz is guest starring in a bunch of other books of late, because everyone else writes and draws him better than the "home team." Sepulveda can't even keep straight whether J'Onn's chest symbol is eight symmetrically crossed bars (a.k.a. the classic "pie") or the Atom's atom (three elliptical circles with six curves.) He also draws the back of J'Onn's head like its sloughing flesh off a ridge, or perhaps like he has a second brow, or maybe he's got a highrise Moe Howard. It's not as silly as the Coneheadhunter, but it's still pretty darn silly.

New 52's Day

• The Huntress #4 (March, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Aquaman #5 (March, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit

Stormwatch #4 (February, 2012)

" Projectionist, this is the Midnighter. I hope you're listening in on my cowl mike-- because that monster that was sent from the moon--? It just absorbed all your teammates. The ground here is still erupting-- and the creature's using your team's powers-- including... the Manhunter's telepathy... trying to make me throw myself into that thing."

At the Eye of the Storm, the Projectionist offered to send a door to teleport Midnighter away. "--You're not one of us. You don't deserve this." Midnighter argued that the scale was too big to walk away from, or leave to super-team "amateurs." As it happened, Apollo was falling like a meteor into the vicinity of the monster, which worked with the vigilante's plan.

Inside the monster, Adam One acknowledged his poor leadership had killed his team, the Engineer conducted futile analysis, Jenny Quantum wondered if a better self-understanding would have helped her save the day, Jack Hawksmoor prepared to die, and Harry Tanner remained an enigma. Martian Manhunter observed, "I cannot probe its diffuse mind. I must stop it using my mental powers-- even if that kills me."

Midnighter had the Projectionist hack his cowl sensors so that she could show him how Stormwatch's satellite headquarters worked, without either having actual knowledge. "I have an intuitive understanding of control systems. I think I know what I'm looking at." Midnighter sweet talked Apollo into trusting him (complete with cheek stroking,) then had the Eye fire a massive beam of collected sunlight at him.

Apollo felt more powerful than ever, blasting through the monster and freeing its undigested Stormwatch members. Manhunter went straight to checking on young Jenny. Somehow, Tanner knew that the ancient hidden city Hawkmoor had been trying to contact was named Alba Umbra, which allowed "the God of Cities" to finally established benign contact with its eternal spirit. The aged lady asked, "Are... the beasts back? They... killed all my people. I had to use the alchemy in me to... hide." Alba Umbra was convinced to unearth itself, sending the moon monster reeling.

Adam recognized the city, but couldn't recall details with the holes in his memory. Jack surmised that it had been attacked first because of its alchemical abilities, "changing the nature of stuff..." The Engineer dismissed Adam as leader, then sent Jack and Midnighter to find the city's power source. She would join Apollo and Harry in fighting off the monster, to which Midnighter replied, "Good. Finally! That's how I'd have called it." She didn't enjoy the mutiny, but "I'm an engineer. I fix things. And this was so not working... But I remember when we were a team. We could still be a good team"

Martian Manhunter followed Jack and Midnighter, then did something with his hands to analyze "this transformative crucible." He couldn't see its use, but Midnighter could, and had the also present Jenny activate it... explosively... knocking J'Onn for a loop. Harry pleaded ignorance about the moon menace as he watched Alba Umbra transform it into glass. Engineer noted "Once our team might have put all these jigsaw pieces together. But Adam just seems to like staring at what this chaos is producing."

The team marveled at their mess, then were suddenly whisked away by an emergency teleport door. A cosmic being was on the bridge of the Eye, stating "I represent the Stormwatch Shadow Cabinet. I'm here for Adam. He's failed as your leader. So it's time for him to die." Projectionist added, "He keeps saying that!"

"The Dark Side: Part Four" was by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda. Paul Cornell kept telling everybody that all the wack-a-doo b.s. going on in this book would amount to something. Apparently, that something was the readership's collective sigh that the dude bails after #6. Not one-- not two-- but three gods pop out of boxes to tell plotlines from the first three issues to talk to the hand. "Those sixty pages you read earlier? That 'plot?' Nope. Stops right here." They're really tired contrivances too, like "Let's fill the energy guy up with enough energy to shoot super-energy that'll wipe out the bad guys in one fell swoop" and "Our secret bosses show up to fix everything." GTFO. Midnighter coming on to Apollo was less like all those cynical, sarcastic British techno-thrillers they're known for and more like the sorts of panels from '60s Young Romance comics Roy Lichtenstein would have swiped from. The rest of the paper doll version of the Authority just goes through the motions of a post-Morrison team book as written by an incompetent acolyte. Also, artist Miguel Sepulveda shows a Rob Liefeldian hatred of feet. Lacking the common courtesy to offer spontaneous manifestations of fog or smoke or dust clouds, Sepulveda just draws toes like Charles Schultz drew Charlie Brown's hair. At least we're 2/3rds to completely done.

New 52's Day

• Aquaman #4 (February, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• Green Lantern Corps #4 (February, 2012) @ DC Bloodlines
• The Huntress #3 (February, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman

Demon Knights #2 (December, 2011)

16th (or so) Century Europe. Little Spring, on the outskirts of Alba Sarum. Dinosaur "dragons" were set upon a bar/inn where a group of extraordinary individuals had been gathered by fate. Among the defenders was Vandal Savage: "Excellent! I haven't eaten one of these in centuries!" As he used one dinosaur's corpse to beat another, he demanded "Die, tasty rare creatures--! DIEEE!"

Al Jabr introduced himself to Madame Xanadu while using sword and sorcery against the "True dragons, not heraldic ones! They're incredibly rare, I've never seen one." Xanadu just repeatedly told him to shut up while defending herself. The Shining Knight criticized the slight armor of the amazonian Exoristos, who relied on the old saw of using her sexuality against male opponents. The Demon Etrigan sprouted wings and roasted a dinosaur from the inside. Vandal Savage made another barely in-character joke, because they're easy and go over well with fanboys.

Back at their mobile palace, Mordru and the Questing Queen got annoyed over their dragons being killed and plotted like every other evil duo in a generic fantasy setting.

The Horsewoman rode into town to warn everyone to flee the coming hoard, then rode back out again. That might have been remotely useful before the dinosaur attack. Eh, she got her first full appearance and name out of it.

The Shining Knight dropped a hint about designs on the queen. Savage revealed that he'd once worked with the hoard while eating dinosaur. Has this joke been fully digested and evacuated yet?

The Demon tried to fly away with Xanadu, but they were attacked by barbarians riding pterodactyls, making this book seem even more like Fire and Ice without the ice or very much fire.

Mechanical dragons showed up. Why not lead with mechanical dragons? No easy jokes for Vandal Savage. Al Jabr used the advanced technology eventually dubbed "telescope" to detect them. He doesn't believe in magic, seeing it only as "knowledge we don't understand." Arthur C. Clarke was a medieval scholar?

The Shining Knight said "Magic, priest!" I first misread this as "Magic Priest," and thought "he" was announcing another new character, or at least as reading soundtrack selection from the Ronnie James Dio discography. Disappointment. Then "he" hopped on the pegasus Vanguard to battle the pterodactyl riders.

Mordru created some enormous fireball deal to immolate the entire village. Exoristos said "Oh, dung."

"They Shall Not Pass" was by Paul Cornell, Diógenes Neves and Oclair Albert. It was a collection of things I hate. Smug, "hip" dialogue that dry humps tropes while posturing at being above them. A collection of corporate IPs seemingly thrown together for no greater purpose than maintaining copyrights. Unique characters mangled into archtypes to suit a team book dynamic. A plot that would be thin for a single issue stretched out over an arc. A string of action set pieces without any dramatic heft or even cheap spectacle. Pretty much the entirety of Tolkien quest fantasy as a genre. Dung indeed, getting by on nostalgia, modest charm, and reasonable Top Cow style artwork.

DCnÜ Year's Wildstormin' Eve

• Captain Atom: Armageddon #9 (August, 2006) @ Power of the Atom
• Justice League #1 (October, 2011) @ Justice League Detroit
• DC/WS DreamWar #6 (November, 2008) @ DC Bloodlines