John Ostrander's Martian Manhunter

[mrwayne]

I was only able to get my hands on issues 0-9 of this series, and I really liked what I read. Having only a part of the run, though, has left me with some questions. J'onn's origin is retold in issue 0, and it establishes that the John Jones identity was the first one that he subsumed. However, I've read the synopses for some of the issues that came after 9 and saw that one revealed that J'onn was present in Smallville when Clark Kent arrived on Earth. Since I haven't been able to find these issues, my question is: if John Jones was the first identity, and he would have to have been on Earth for at least somewhere around 30 years (given Clark's age), do they explain why the population of Denver has never noticed that John Jones doesn't age?

(sorry if this is scatter-brained, running on 2 hrs. of sleep)

[Jeff Brady]

I was only able to get my hands on issues 0-9 of this series, and I really liked what I read. Having only a part of the run, though, has left me with some questions. J'onn's origin is retold in issue 0, and it establishes that the John Jones identity was the first one that he subsumed. However, I've read the synopses for some of the issues that came after 9 and saw that one revealed that J'onn was present in Smallville when Clark Kent arrived on Earth. Since I haven't been able to find these issues, my question is: if John Jones was the first identity, and he would have to have been on Earth for at least somewhere around 30 years (given Clark's age), do they explain why the population of Denver has never noticed that John Jones doesn't age?

(sorry if this is scatter-brained, running on 2 hrs. of sleep)

Before he was Jones, he was kind of a wanderer. And yes, he's been on Earth for a long time.

[mrwayne]

Issue #0 established that Jones was his first identity. John Jones was the cop that came to investigate the death of Dr. Erdel, who actually died bringing J'onn to earth. It also says that J'onn spent the rest of the time before he took over Jones's identity following him around. So if Jones himself was around for that long, I'm wondering if they ever addressed why his agelessness went unnoticed.

[hunter_peterson]

You would think that he WOULD age... it just wouldn't be real. J'onn is too smart to make such a dumb mistake.

[Ghost Shark]

He could just mess with people's memories and make them forget or ignore that he should be older than he is.

[dupersuper]

He could just mess with people's memories and make them forget or ignore that he should be older than he is.

I don't think J'onn would mess with peoples minds casually. I'd say he went away for a while, then returned having altered his records, or he's John Jones Jr. or III, plus he can fake aging with his shapeshifting...he has a lot of options.

[Nomads1]

That is a great run. another FANTASTIC collaboration between Ostrander and Mandrake. I wish it had gone further.
DC needs to collect it (as it does so much of Ostrander's work. I'm still waiting for the second Suicide Squad TPB).

Peace

[Desaad]

This is my favorite John Ostrander work. I know everyone loves his Spectre and his Suicide Squad, but while they were decent they never really clicked for me.

But Martian Manhunter was a really great series. It was a little cloying at times, inserting MM into every facet of the DCU continuity, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

[gwydion]

I've never read something from Ostrander that I didn't love. And he did the absolute best MM I've ever read. Best Spectre too.

[JSA]

I've never read something from Ostrander that I didn't love. And he did the absolute best MM I've ever read. Best Spectre too.

John Ostrander Rules

his SS is epic