Martian Manhunter and Lessons on Compassion and Empathy
J’onn J’onzz, or the Martian Manhunter’s struggles in The New Frontier comics can show us how to become our best selves through empathy and compassion
This article includes affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases.
I’ve written before about my love for Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman; it’s a nearly perfect work of fiction, a phenomenal take on a character that means so much to so many people. In the entire canon of DC’s comic history, there is only one story that I think stands above it in terms of quality and emotional resonance: Darwyn Cooke’s The New Frontier.
The New Frontier sets out on what seems an impossible task. It aims to show the DC universe as though it were the real world, matching its publication history to true events and allowing time to pass for the characters in a way regular comic publishing prohibits. In The New Frontier, superheroes arrive on the scene in the same year their characters debuted in real life, and the real-world events of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s play a major role in the narrative. It’s a bit like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Life Story series, but for the entire DC universe.
There are a lot of amazing things about Cooke’s New Frontier, from the tight plotting to the incredible art. It’s even more impressive when you consider that Cooke served as both writer and artist for the entire project. What is truly special about the book, however, is the values it conveys–particularly those espoused by a certain super-powered alien. No, not Superman; while Big Blue is a major player in the book, I’m more interested in Martian Manhunter.
“My martian name is J'onn J'onzz. Here on Earth, I shall be known as John Jones.
Police detective John Jones. I'll be one of the good guys.”
- J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter)
J’onn J’onzz is a green martian who is pulled to Earth during an experiment performed by a scientist named Dr. Erdel. Unfortunately, J’onzz’s sudden appearance and frightening visage cause Erdel to suffer a fatal heart attack, stranding the martian alone on an unfamiliar world. J’onzz quickly uses his shapeshifting powers to rent a room in Gotham City, where his story truly begins.
Scared and confused, J’onzz learns about humanity the only way he can: by watching television. It’s one of my favorite sequences of panels in the book, actually–over two pages, J’onn repeatedly shapeshifts into characters like Groucho Marx and Bugs Bunny as he watches various programs. He is enchanted by the diversity and creativity of human beings, and after several weeks, he comes to the following resolution: “Two things become clear to me. The first is that this is a world where good and evil struggle in all levels of existence. I want to be a force for good.”
Think about that for a moment: a world where good and evil struggle in all levels of existence. J’onn J’onzz is not concerned only with supervillains and world-shattering crises. He understands that everyone struggles, in ways big and small, every single day. He finds those struggles valid. He knows little about Earth–he’s not even here by choice–but he knows that its people need help, and he wants to be someone who can provide it. The problem: he can’t reveal his true nature without frightening the very people he wishes to save (an idea that is also explored with New Frontier’s Batman).
“Two things become clear to me. The first is that this is a world where good and evil struggle in all levels of existence. I want to be a force for good.”
- J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter)
The story emphasizes the tragedy of J’onn’s situation by drawing a direct parallel between him and Superman. At a movie theater, J’onn sees a Superman cartoon and laments that Supes is lucky–he’s an alien, but he looks human. He can find acceptance. When the cartoon ends and a sci-fi film begins, J’onzz is initially amused at the film’s inaccurate portrayal of Mars, but ultimately feels only sadness at mankind’s irrational hatred of things that are considered other: “The characters in the film, and even the more gullible movie patrons–I could feel their fear of the unknown. Their hatred of things they can’t control or understand.”
The theme of fearing the other is reinforced by plotlines that focus on the civil rights movement, which J’onn takes a deep interest in. Notably, he’s one of the few protagonists in the book who follows the case of John Henry–a character whose role in the series deserves its own article. Of Henry (a character who fights against racism after his family is killed by the KKK), J’onzz says this: “A true American hero, like the fathers of the Revolution. He fights alone for the oppressed, against an evil the rest of the country ignores.”
Later, when J’onn sees a news report about Henry’s heartbreaking murder at the hands of a lynch mob, he laments, “That man was a hero… a freedom fighter! A symbol of hope and resistance.” He is crestfallen to see the indifferent reaction of the people around him, who merely shrug off the man’s death.
Henry’s murder–along with a televised message from the Flash, wherein the hero reveals that he is being forced into retirement by a government crackdown on powered individuals–ultimately convinces J’onn to give up on humanity and try to return to Mars.
“And we stand today on the edge of a new frontier. The frontier of unknown opportunities and perils. …A whole world waits to see what we shall do. And we cannot fail that trust, and we cannot fail to try.”
- John F. Kennedy (As quoted in New Frontier)
Sadly, J’onn is eventually captured while trying to board a rocket that may return him home. He nearly makes it aboard but gives up his chance in order to save King Faraday, a government agent who–in attempting to capture J’onn–has put himself in danger of being killed by the rocket’s launch. Afterward, when Faraday questions why J’onn would save him, the martian gives this reply:
“It would have… diminished me to let another creature die unnecessarily. But I also saw into your mind, and by extension, your heart. I could see that you are a man of conviction and I know you believe you are doing the right thing. You are not… evil. Within your mind I can see that your struggle is in the name of good. You believe it is a struggle that will end. In your heart, you honestly believe that there will be a better day, when all of this won’t be needed. To find that within you, King Faraday… it has filled my heart with hope.”
What a great passage! J’onn understands that when we hurt each other, we diminish ourselves; more importantly, he perceives the goodness–the humanity–even in a man who is trying to hurt him.
“Within your mind, I can see that your struggle is in the name of good. You believe it is a struggle that will end. In your heart, you honestly believe that there will be a better day when all of this won’t be needed. To find that within you, … it has filled my heart with hope.”
- J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter)
King Faraday is not a particularly good man; he can be callous and cruel, and of the entire cast of New Frontier, only J’onn ever really seems to connect with him. And yet, that connection is so important to the book’s final act. Faraday ultimately sacrifices himself to save J’onn, and in doing so, gives proof to the Martian Manhunter’s hope: the hope that underneath it all, human beings are good. J’onn’s friendship with King stands as a powerful statement on the importance of empathy and hope. That through compassion, we can be transformed into our best selves.
Author:
Ethan McIntyre is a writer and podcaster with a deep love of comic books, horror movies, and giant robots. You can find him on his blog, It Came From Off Panel, or on Twitter @offpanelpod, where he discusses nerdy topics like tabletop games and the weird skull bear from the film Annihilation.
Read more on working with others: Real Life Party Members and Traveling Companions and Why Don’t We Trust Others
