Between DC's film and TV slate, nearly every Justice League member has found a live action home in the next few years... except for The Martian Manhunter. It's too bad that a founding member is getting left out of all the fun. I assume that he will eventually show up somewhere, but I don't get the hesitation to use him. He is a pretty unique character and I loved his characterization in DC's animated properties - there's no reason he can't be a success in live action as well.
These two shared a Silver Age adventure back in STF #936
at least smallville gave him some exposure
ReplyDeleteYeah, in this age of CGI, his default appearance and shape-shifting powers should not be big problems.
ReplyDeleteJ'onn really blossomed as a character in the post-Crisis era, first in the BWAH-HA-HA Justice League, and then in the more serious JLA revival under Morrison and his successors.
Unfortunately the executives at DC don't think he's a viable movie character. There was a widely publicized interview from last year around the time that David S. Goyer made ridiculous sexist comments about She Hulk by calling a giant grwwn porn star and he also said that Martian Manhunter was "goofy" and that anyone in the audience at the comics panel he was on that had heard of Martian Manhunter before had probably never been laid. This is the guy Warner Brothers hired to write their DC movies.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger problem is the Martian Manhunter has always been more powerful than Superman. I'm not certain why fire is always the default for his weakness, I have cerebral palsy and always thought that it was a slap in the face for MM to succumb so fast whereas Superman at least fought against the Kryptonite.
ReplyDeleteBy taking away his weakness, they aren't rebooting him. David Goyer probably needs to get laid more often.
They could always use a green CGI modeled after Michael Berryman. ;-)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that a cool way to play him in the movies or on television would be as he was originally played in his early Detective Comics days as police detective John Jones who just happens to have a secret that gives him an advantage (or several advantages) over the bad guys. I would play it very noir-ish and full of cold war paranoia and only show fleeting glimpses of his green martian self....
ReplyDelete"police detective John Jones who just happens to have a secret that gives him an advantage (or several advantages) over the bad guys"
ReplyDeleteand a two-packs a day Oreo habit?
^_^
Shhhh! Don't say the "O" word! They're "Chocos"!
ReplyDeleteYeah, "Chocos", yeah, that's the ticket... ;)
No live-action home for J'onn J'onzz? WRONG! :-) Phil Morris played him as a recurring character in several episodes of SMALLVILLE, or did you forget? Sadly, we didn't get to see him use his shape-shifting ability much, but he was there all the same.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, "in the next few years" Smallville has been gone for a while now.
ReplyDeleteWell the Martian Manhunter got in a TERRIBLE pilot JLA film.
ReplyDelete