A Guide For Writing the Modern Martian Manhunter, Part 5

Top Ten Things Writers Needs to Remember When Writing the Martian Manhunter

Here's Number 10, Number 9, Number 8, and Number 7.

6.  The non-question of J'onn's costume.

Trying to decide what the Modern, post-Blackest Night Martian Manhunter will look like will be easy.  The question of "what should he look like?" shouldn't even enter your minds.

Just go back to what works.

Here's what works:

And here's the modern version of what works:

For the costume: navy blue cape, red cross-straps, blue boots, gold medallions, popped collar or folded collar (artist's choice), and the "pie" belt buckle.  As for our Martian friend himself, he's got a superhero physique, a prominent brow, and green skin.  He looks different enough to be recognized as an alien, but not too far removed from a humanoid form to be relatable.

Edited to add: I'm not hard-set on the costume's color scheme per se, and as long as there are no bodysuits involved, I'll probably be happy.  But I am dead-set on how J'onn himself looks.  Keep the beetle brow, of course, but by all means, get rid of the conehead.

And when going icognito in his secret identity of John Jones?  Then J'onn wears a suit, a trenchcoat (with popped collar--isn't he stylish?), and like all proper noir detectives, a Fedora.  Let's not forget the tie.

A classic never goes out of style.

Jaunting about town?  J'onn still wears a suit, sans overcoat.  It doesn't matter what color, really.  Usually it's blue, but I've seen him take a chance and wear the occasional burgundy suit.

As you can see, he rotates his ties in addition to his suits.  And the pocket hanky?  A must.

Now.  Let's look at a modern mishap, shall we?  This is what J'onn looks like after he decided he'd parade his natural Martian form in public:

Is he supposed to be Nosferatu?!

What IS this?  What is this saying to the reader?  I believe in intuitive character design: at first glance, you should get a pretty good handle on what a character is all about.  Is he good or bad?  Can you tell by looking at him?!  Why is he so angry?  What's with the grabbing hands?  The dark bodysuit?  Is he an assassin?  What's with the conehead?  Does he use it for sonar reception?  I know J'onn was off "finding himself" during this period and wanted to stop compromising his appearance based on satisfying the public conception of what a Martian looks like.  But J'onn never harbored dislike for humanity--he was distant, yes, but never unapproachable, and his looks reflected that.  Changing his look to the alien conehead look throws out the unapproachable bit right out the window and gives our hero an air of "I don't care what you think about me," and I don't think that's who J'onn is deep down.  The conehead looks just looks sinister to me, and if there's a shapeshifting telepath from Mars running around, the last thing I'd want is for him to look unfriendly.  Not to mention that it also throws the sanctity of the true Martian form right out the window--something that used to be private, even back on Mars.

Really, he looks like Nosferatu:

I found your reference photo!

And by no means should J'onn ever been seeing wearing a T-shirt and jeans while barbecuing/spooning with Scorch.  (T-shirt + bald = Mr. Clean!)

Don't ask.  You don't want to know.  Trust me.

Why is all this important?  Clothes make the man...or Martian.  J'onn is a classy kind of character, he's formal and probably a traditional kind of guy.  So he should dress that way: a nice sharp suit (not striped), with a Fedora to clue the reader in to his being a detective.  Just like I think all comic book journalists should wear press passes in their hatbands, all detectives should wear Fedoras.

As for his superhero costume, J'onn is the gentle giant of the Justice League.  His costume should represent that.  He shouldn't look angry or distant or emo or too alien--in post-Crisis continuity he choose his traditional look as an amalgam of his true Martian form and what humans expected Martians too look like.  (Pre-Crisis, well, that's what Martians looked like and how they dressed.)  The Martian Manhunter should never look pissed off unless he has a REALLY GOOD reason to be, and that coneheaded guy up there looks like he'd rip your lungs out if you so much as looked at him crossed-eyed.  I suspect that's why he's reaching out like that....

In short: to return J'onn to his classic roots, return him to his classic duds.  Classic superhero costume, and a sensible suit (with hat) while in human form.