Martian Manhunter's Badass Former Identity Returns To DC Canon

Warning: contains spoilers for "A Face in the Crowd Part Four" in Action Comics #1040!

Thanks to his shape-shifting abilities, the Martian Manhunter has assumed a variety of personas and now his most badass version is returning to DC canon. In Part Four of “A Face in the Crowd,” appearing in Action Comics #1040, the Martian Manhunter faces an opponent from his past, who bears a grudge against one of Martian Manhunter’s personas—the Bronze Wraith. Whether or not the Bronze Wraith was in continuity was open to debate—until now.

Since his first appearance in 1955’s Detective Comics #225, the Martian Manhunter has been one of DC’s most enigmatic heroes. Much like Superman, he is one of the few survivors of his race and, like Superman, he possesses a fantastic suite of powers, such as flight, super-strength, heat vision and shape-shifting. Thanks to this last ability, the Martian Manhunter was able to pass as human for years, prior to the emergence of costumed heroes. He has been a founding member of the Justice League and one of its longest-serving members. Recently, the Martian Manhunter has been facing old foes, such as the Human Flame and now another villain has returned, seeking revenge on the Manhunter for his actions as the Bronze Wraith. The story is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Shawn Aldridge, illustrated by Adriana Melo and Riccardo Federici, colored by Hi-Fi and Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

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The Martian Manhunter is in his house, enjoying quality time with his cat. Suddenly, he is attacked by fire—his one weakness. As he recovers, Trapp bursts through the door, ready to deliver the death blow to the Manhunter. Trapp tells him he is here to avenge his wife, who the Martian Manhunter killed while he was the Bronze Wraith. The Manhunter tells Trapp it was an accident, but he will not listen. Just as Trapp prepares to kill him, the Manhunter’s cat attacks, providing a distraction that allows him to overpower Trapp. He continues to taunt the Manhunter for his actions as the Bronze Wraith, but he tells Trapp he is not the Bronze Wraith, or even J’onn J’onzz—he is the Martian Manhunter.

In DC continuity, there is a gap of years between the end of the Justice Society and the emergence of the Justice League, but in between the two teams was a group called the Justice Experience. The team, introduced in 1998’s Chase #6, consisted of a variety of heroes, including the Bronze Wraith—who was revealed to be an earlier persona of the Martian Manhunter. However, thanks to continuity shuffles over the years, his time as the Bronze Wraith had been seemingly erased, but now there is no doubt. The Martian Manhunter’s time as the Bronze Wraith proves once again that, despite his longevity, the Martian Manhunter is still one of DC’s most mysterious heroes. He has fought evil under his own name, and a variety of other aliases as well—are there others he has not told anyone about? In the past, Martian Manhunter has been not only the Bronze Wraith but Bloodwynd as well, leading to the possibility of more personas.

The Martian Manhunter is extremely long-lived and, with his shape-shifting powers, he can assume a variety of identities and personas. Now one of his most awesome personas, the Bronze Wraith, has returned to DC canon.

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