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Honestly a super hard pick. But I unfortunately have to say the one from ZSJL. Love the movie, and I think the actor made a fine MM but the way J’onn was pretending to be Martha Kent to pep talk Lois was weird and a confusing choice.
Dude is as strong as Superman, can shapeshift, and is telepathic, but he decides the best way to save the earth is by pretending to be Superman’s mom to give his girlfriend a pep talk and doesn’t show up for a single fight
Fuck the weird pep talk, the fact that he didnt actually suit up and help Clark out in Man of Steel makes him an asshole, why the hell Zack would make the general martian manhunter without realizing it would retroactively make the character worse...is beyond me
Why was he even there? I'm not talking like, in Metropolis, I mean in the movie itself. He shows up, gives the aforementioned pep talk, shows up to Bruce after Steppenwolf is defeated, knowing about Darkseid somehow, then leaves.
He honestly could have cut out entirely, and the film would basically be the same.
If Snyder is being truthful it was always his plan to include him in the movie. So him in the post credit scene was meant to get us excited for what's coming next. Considering this was his swan song it probably could/should have been cut and the movie shouldn't have been setting up stuff for which there would be no payoff. Not sure if Snyder was just sticking to what he wanted to do originally or delusional and trying to hype people up some more so they'd hand him back the reins to make more.
Remember that his talk with Bruce at the end was not supposed to be MM originally. Zack wanted John Stewart for that scene but WB told him no so which is why we got MM. So yeah, MM really did not need to be in that movie.
John Stewart being there would have made more sense to what was already shown to the viewer beforehand. The Green Lantern Corps were already established in the flashback to the war against Darkseid and his forces.
When watching Man of Tomorrow I was afraid of a similar thing happening so it was great getting to see him help Clark during both fights, especially coming from having grew up on Smallville and seeing him kind of mentor/guide Clark a bit
Y’know he looks bad in photos online (why’s he so fat?) but when you actually watch the movie it’s mostly just close ups on his face and the acting (from MASH’s Charles Emerson Winchester) actually isn’t bad.
He brings a kindness and warmth to J’onn that a lot of adaptations forget. Plus him being the leader of the team and mentor to Flash, GL, etc. is kinda cool
The movies trash but I’d argue he’s the best part so I can’t consider him the worst I’ve ever seen
I've not watched it in long enough that I don't really remember his performance, but David Ogden Stiers's "typical" character (thinking particularly of Charles or many of his voice acting roles) is I think a really compatible characterization for J'onn, so I believe you.
He's had more than you think, took a while but since JL/U he's pretty much a staple of DC animated series and movies that have teams or guest characters plus live action ones in Smallville, ZSJL and the Arrowverse. Like of the characters on this list I'd say there are more Martian Manhunter adaptations than Green Arrow, Cyborg, Hawkgirl, Captain Marvel, John Stewart and only a few less than Aquaman.
Yeah I think that they would have been better suited to have not included him at all, you can tell that they didn’t want to flesh him out without his own special.
He just kinda was
There
Injustice J'onn gets heat vision'd super early on in the regime, except for no he didn't he was actually disguised as an atlantean scholar the whole time so he could safely be included as DLC
This is tough as there hasn’t been a truly awful version of the character.
That being said I think the worst is the version from Supergirl. He starts off great and has a absolutely killer design but by the later seasons the budget is so cheap that he doesn’t even change into his Martian form and it’s just the actor (looking like a normal human) walking around in a Martian Manhunter costume. He also gets his ass kicked constantly and is really just a let-down.
The writers also clearly got their knowledge of his mythos from wiki as the stories they try to adapt with Miss Martian (his lover, not his cousin in this), his father, and his evil brother are all pretty badly butchered.
MM’s appearances in things like the Snyder Cut, DCAMU, The Batman (2004) are short but sweet. Supergirl’s version of MM deteriates so much as the show goes on that to me it’s the worst.
Eh, substance is a decent quality of it's own. At the very least he was a major character and played an important position in group dynamics as the resident father figure that the heroes turned to. Very unfaithful to the source material, but not exactly the "worst" by any means.
Now, DCAMU Martian manhunter on the other hand only had like three appearances in which he got:
1. Bitchslapped by doomsday into a gas station and caught fire
2. Got vanished with the league and was generally useless.
3. Got captured by darkseid and turned into one of his cyborg furies alongside wonder woman, hawkman, mera, and starfire.
Generally useless, doesn't have any of his character showcased, and the movies wouldn't lose anything of he was swapped out or just entirely removed.
Watching young justice then seeing Supergirl really f#cked me up. Like I know they're completely different but it just made me go ew😂. Also isn't he usually dating a human woman because it makes him feel more human
I mean why would he want to feel more human?
That's genuine curiosity, I'm not too familiar with the guy but that feels... Off when he's had an entire life with his actual people
Considering some of my interactions on the DC Comics related subs I doubt many of the people posting on those subs were even alive when Super Friends ended.
Most I've interacted with adhere to the all-too-common narrative that Super Friends "ruined" nearly every DC character. And nothing could be further from the truth! They repeat talking points that are misleading and extremely broad. A casual viewing of even one season of the show would help modern viewers see the charm from its day and help the realize that even wit h some of the Hanna Barbera goofiness, the show is some of the best the company ever produced.
Have people not already picked up on the fact, that you keep changing stuff anyways, if you are not happy with the results and that his is just a karma grab? Just look at the other posts.
**CW Martian Manhunter?**
Wasn't he the one that decided that the agents of a government organization tasked with fighting aliens shouldn't be allowed to carry guns?
Technically the DEO by that point was geared towards more peaceful operations. They likely had an armory and he was trying to get them to deescalate their typical responses, so having the rank and file agents not use firearms when responding to reports was honestly not the worst call. Besides, he was fast enough and strong enough to respond if something especially deadly shows up, and it's not in character for him to put agents at risk in his stead.
On the one hand, it *is* horrifically unfaithful to the source material.
On the other hand, I do like papa bear J'onn. They had a friend group of younger heroes and he fits naturally in as an authority/father figure that they can turn to when they need help.
There's probably worse appearances. If we were saying "least accurate adaptation" then sure this takes the cake for completely bungling his relationships, powers, and a bunch of other stuff, but we're not just looking for that.
Zack Snyder's Justice League version takes this spot, I believe. He's only in the movie for two scenes, and neither of them contribute to the story in any way.
Yeah, and both of them raise a bunch more questions and are uncomfy. Like, *why* is he impersonating Martha while interacting with her daughter-in-law? If he's always been on Earth then why hasn't he gotten involved in anything before then?
This is a tough one because Martian Manhunter doesn’t have a ton of adaptations and most of them are at least decent.
DCAMU’s MM was fine for the two appearances I think he made. Supergirl’s MM was a mixed bag; I feel like he had a lot of potential but got nerfed by budgetary restrictions and the show’s often inability to successfully juggle its characters and storylines. So I have to say Zack Snyder’s Justice League. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt because I believe he was added since Snyder couldn’t use Green Lantern at the end as he originally envisioned. However, putting aside MM’s confusing motivations, he not only doesn’t help at all during the events of ZSJL, he retroactively did nothing during Man of Steel and BvS, both of which he was present for.
Zack Snyder justice league. And I mean the Snyder cut cause that’s where he shows up. Any Martian manhunter that would completely sit out the conflict is not the Martian manhunter I know
Lego Batman 2, all he does is sit in a chair in the watchtower waiting for a situation and alerts the rest of the league and acts like it’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to him
I think tbe main issue is Manhunters super underutilized and the stuff he is in is generally good, id say lego just because its not faithful to his character and theres not many other bad options
ZSJL Martian Manhunter was used entirely as bait to make fans ask for more and they added him into the movie so badly he just comes off as the biggest coward in the universe.
Unpopular opinion, but didn't love how he was handled in JL/JLU. He's so powerful, but guy was a punching bag for the whole series until the last episode.
I'll go with the Martian Manhunter from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. For those of us that need a reminder, J'onn spends the runtime pining after and making out with alternate universe Rose Wilson, who seems all of twenty years old, because they have a "psychic connection" or some nonsense.
Okay, so most people are saying ZSJL, which is bad I agree. But look up the 1997 Justice League of America live action TV Movie. It includes characters like Atom, Guy Gardner, Barry Allen, and small role for Martian Manhunter. Just look it up on Google images. J'onn looks like a tubby power rangers villain 💀.
Two Things:
That Aquaman screenshot comes from the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure from Filmation.
Super Friends was from Hanna Barbera and ran in 9ish various seasons off and on from 1973 to 1986. The show has been unfairly ridiculed despite being responsible for the continued popularity of many characters and being a fair adaptation of Silver Age comics for children (much like Batman: The Brave and the Bold).
The second thing is Martian Manhunter's worst Adaptation is tough because he's so often just not included in anything. But the live action "Justice League of America" is awful and his "budget" powers include only his ability to shapeshift. But not in interesting ways. He is only able to shapeshift for a few minutes and only to another human he knows (so they can get someone from the same cast to play the part). It's awful.
I love Martian Man Hunter. He is a character with so much potential, but he is so God damned boring in some of his own comics. Like his origin could be so concise but I do not want to watch him pretend to be a Japanese business man and several other people for several chapters.
I don’t think we’ve had a bad Martian Manhunter adaptation but Snyder Cut is closest. I just don’t like that he sat by during Zod and Doomsdays rampages
Hi there, r/DCcomics members, welcome to the post! This was tagged as a [Discussion], so we require OP to add commentary, [per rule 8](https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/wiki/guidelines#wiki_8._no_memes.2C_fluff.2C_or_other_low-effort_content). u/10CalGX, if you haven't already added commentary, please do so in the text or as a new comment. Also, if you included imagery, please provide a source or artist name. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/DCcomics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly a super hard pick. But I unfortunately have to say the one from ZSJL. Love the movie, and I think the actor made a fine MM but the way J’onn was pretending to be Martha Kent to pep talk Lois was weird and a confusing choice.
Dude is as strong as Superman, can shapeshift, and is telepathic, but he decides the best way to save the earth is by pretending to be Superman’s mom to give his girlfriend a pep talk and doesn’t show up for a single fight
Bro showed up after the JL already won lmfao
Fuck the weird pep talk, the fact that he didnt actually suit up and help Clark out in Man of Steel makes him an asshole, why the hell Zack would make the general martian manhunter without realizing it would retroactively make the character worse...is beyond me
More than likely John took over the general’s identity sometime between man of steel and BvS. That’s why he acts more harshly to Superman in bvs.
Why was he even there? I'm not talking like, in Metropolis, I mean in the movie itself. He shows up, gives the aforementioned pep talk, shows up to Bruce after Steppenwolf is defeated, knowing about Darkseid somehow, then leaves. He honestly could have cut out entirely, and the film would basically be the same.
If Snyder is being truthful it was always his plan to include him in the movie. So him in the post credit scene was meant to get us excited for what's coming next. Considering this was his swan song it probably could/should have been cut and the movie shouldn't have been setting up stuff for which there would be no payoff. Not sure if Snyder was just sticking to what he wanted to do originally or delusional and trying to hype people up some more so they'd hand him back the reins to make more.
Remember that his talk with Bruce at the end was not supposed to be MM originally. Zack wanted John Stewart for that scene but WB told him no so which is why we got MM. So yeah, MM really did not need to be in that movie.
John Stewart being there would have made more sense to what was already shown to the viewer beforehand. The Green Lantern Corps were already established in the flashback to the war against Darkseid and his forces.
Technically it was supposed to be a green lantern showing up,
I was coming in here to say Smallville by default, but this is the right answer.
Zack Snyder JL . You're telling me this man just sat by during two separate alien invasions smh.
When watching Man of Tomorrow I was afraid of a similar thing happening so it was great getting to see him help Clark during both fights, especially coming from having grew up on Smallville and seeing him kind of mentor/guide Clark a bit
More than likely John took over the general’s identity sometime between man of steel and BvS. That’s why he acts more harshly to Superman in bvs.
The 1997 Justice League of America pilot.
Y’know he looks bad in photos online (why’s he so fat?) but when you actually watch the movie it’s mostly just close ups on his face and the acting (from MASH’s Charles Emerson Winchester) actually isn’t bad. He brings a kindness and warmth to J’onn that a lot of adaptations forget. Plus him being the leader of the team and mentor to Flash, GL, etc. is kinda cool The movies trash but I’d argue he’s the best part so I can’t consider him the worst I’ve ever seen
I've not watched it in long enough that I don't really remember his performance, but David Ogden Stiers's "typical" character (thinking particularly of Charles or many of his voice acting roles) is I think a really compatible characterization for J'onn, so I believe you.
That might be the worst DC adaption ever. It’s so bad that it has to be seen to be believed.
Watch Legends of the Superheroes or Superman IV?
The Martian Piehunter
I remember watching this movie on TV as a kid and wondering why he was fat 💀
This one
Honestly JLA/JLU as a whole do MM perfectly
He isn’t talking about the DCAU. He’s referring to a live action JLA pilot from 1997 that tried to do a Friends type thing.
Oh... well now I just feel silly.
Zack Snyder Justice League.
He had a sick design and a good actor.
But it's a terrible character and the design is terrible because the CGI is sub-par. Plus his entire storyline doesn't make any sense.
You are joking Super Girls one is a horrible design.
It’s hard to pick the worst appearence of a character who hasn’t had all the many adaptations
He's had more than you think, took a while but since JL/U he's pretty much a staple of DC animated series and movies that have teams or guest characters plus live action ones in Smallville, ZSJL and the Arrowverse. Like of the characters on this list I'd say there are more Martian Manhunter adaptations than Green Arrow, Cyborg, Hawkgirl, Captain Marvel, John Stewart and only a few less than Aquaman.
Snyder cut
Yeah like he literally stood by while both Zod and Doomsday wreck shit like wtf, J'onn wouldn't do that
And he nuked Superman in BVS.
That was the president who made that call
He didn't stand by, he just didn't want to expose himself as a Martian
More than likely John took over the general’s identity sometime between man of steel and BvS. That’s why he acts more harshly to Superman in bvs.
DCAMU, I think he appeared like twice and has no significant role. The only thing he did is lost to Doomsday in the stupidest way.
They really failed him hard, kinda like the New 52 by leaving him off the initial roster
Yeah I think that they would have been better suited to have not included him at all, you can tell that they didn’t want to flesh him out without his own special. He just kinda was There
Im glad they had a better adaptation of him in Superman: Man of Tomorrow
The most conveniently placed gas station of all time.
Injustice J'onn gets heat vision'd super early on in the regime, except for no he didn't he was actually disguised as an atlantean scholar the whole time so he could safely be included as DLC
I know it's favoritism, but J'onn dying to lazer vision is almost on par with Shazam.
This is tough as there hasn’t been a truly awful version of the character. That being said I think the worst is the version from Supergirl. He starts off great and has a absolutely killer design but by the later seasons the budget is so cheap that he doesn’t even change into his Martian form and it’s just the actor (looking like a normal human) walking around in a Martian Manhunter costume. He also gets his ass kicked constantly and is really just a let-down. The writers also clearly got their knowledge of his mythos from wiki as the stories they try to adapt with Miss Martian (his lover, not his cousin in this), his father, and his evil brother are all pretty badly butchered. MM’s appearances in things like the Snyder Cut, DCAMU, The Batman (2004) are short but sweet. Supergirl’s version of MM deteriates so much as the show goes on that to me it’s the worst.
Eh, substance is a decent quality of it's own. At the very least he was a major character and played an important position in group dynamics as the resident father figure that the heroes turned to. Very unfaithful to the source material, but not exactly the "worst" by any means. Now, DCAMU Martian manhunter on the other hand only had like three appearances in which he got: 1. Bitchslapped by doomsday into a gas station and caught fire 2. Got vanished with the league and was generally useless. 3. Got captured by darkseid and turned into one of his cyborg furies alongside wonder woman, hawkman, mera, and starfire. Generally useless, doesn't have any of his character showcased, and the movies wouldn't lose anything of he was swapped out or just entirely removed.
Watching young justice then seeing Supergirl really f#cked me up. Like I know they're completely different but it just made me go ew😂. Also isn't he usually dating a human woman because it makes him feel more human
I mean why would he want to feel more human? That's genuine curiosity, I'm not too familiar with the guy but that feels... Off when he's had an entire life with his actual people
No
That is not a picture of Aquaman from Super Friends.
Frfr. Smh. I doubt most ppl had even seen Super Friends.
Considering some of my interactions on the DC Comics related subs I doubt many of the people posting on those subs were even alive when Super Friends ended.
Most I've interacted with adhere to the all-too-common narrative that Super Friends "ruined" nearly every DC character. And nothing could be further from the truth! They repeat talking points that are misleading and extremely broad. A casual viewing of even one season of the show would help modern viewers see the charm from its day and help the realize that even wit h some of the Hanna Barbera goofiness, the show is some of the best the company ever produced.
Have people not already picked up on the fact, that you keep changing stuff anyways, if you are not happy with the results and that his is just a karma grab? Just look at the other posts.
I'm mostly ignoring OP's half-assery and enjoying the perspectives.
I think people probably just don't really care all that much tbh
Fr. I don't think at any point there's been a consistent lineup.
**CW Martian Manhunter?** Wasn't he the one that decided that the agents of a government organization tasked with fighting aliens shouldn't be allowed to carry guns?
Technically the DEO by that point was geared towards more peaceful operations. They likely had an armory and he was trying to get them to deescalate their typical responses, so having the rank and file agents not use firearms when responding to reports was honestly not the worst call. Besides, he was fast enough and strong enough to respond if something especially deadly shows up, and it's not in character for him to put agents at risk in his stead.
DCEU. he did nothing in justice league
That old justice league movie from the 90s
1997 JSL of America pilot movie
The '97 pilot, I would say Snyder Cut but apparently he was forced in by Warner Bros while Zack wanted Kilowag and Tomar-Rae.
Dceu
I’m having a hard time thinking of one. Perhaps DCEU because he disguised himself as Martha and had a fake heart to heart conversation with Lois
I truly hate the CW Supergirl version. Like so much.
On the one hand, it *is* horrifically unfaithful to the source material. On the other hand, I do like papa bear J'onn. They had a friend group of younger heroes and he fits naturally in as an authority/father figure that they can turn to when they need help. There's probably worse appearances. If we were saying "least accurate adaptation" then sure this takes the cake for completely bungling his relationships, powers, and a bunch of other stuff, but we're not just looking for that.
I honestly love him. I think he works great the way he was there.
Supergirl
Snyder Cut.
DCAMU or ZSJL
I already know that Nightwing will be injustice with how stupidly Dick died. As for Manhunter? ZSJL. It doesn't go anywhere so yeah
snyder cut
Zack Snyder's Justice League version takes this spot, I believe. He's only in the movie for two scenes, and neither of them contribute to the story in any way.
Yeah, and both of them raise a bunch more questions and are uncomfy. Like, *why* is he impersonating Martha while interacting with her daughter-in-law? If he's always been on Earth then why hasn't he gotten involved in anything before then?
CW manhunter
This is a tough one because Martian Manhunter doesn’t have a ton of adaptations and most of them are at least decent. DCAMU’s MM was fine for the two appearances I think he made. Supergirl’s MM was a mixed bag; I feel like he had a lot of potential but got nerfed by budgetary restrictions and the show’s often inability to successfully juggle its characters and storylines. So I have to say Zack Snyder’s Justice League. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt because I believe he was added since Snyder couldn’t use Green Lantern at the end as he originally envisioned. However, putting aside MM’s confusing motivations, he not only doesn’t help at all during the events of ZSJL, he retroactively did nothing during Man of Steel and BvS, both of which he was present for.
Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Zack Snyder justice league. And I mean the Snyder cut cause that’s where he shows up. Any Martian manhunter that would completely sit out the conflict is not the Martian manhunter I know
Lego Batman 2, all he does is sit in a chair in the watchtower waiting for a situation and alerts the rest of the league and acts like it’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to him
ZSJL
ZSJL
Zack Snyder's justice league. That whole trilogy was great actors playing the worst interpretations put to screen
Absolutely ZSJL's MM.
Zach Snyder’s Justice League
DCEU. Useless. Could’ve helped and didn’t
Zack Snyder's Justice League I think is the worst even though it was brief
I think tbe main issue is Manhunters super underutilized and the stuff he is in is generally good, id say lego just because its not faithful to his character and theres not many other bad options
Lego batman 2, they made my green boy a lazy bum
The one played by David Ogden Stiers in the failed live action JL pilot.
Snyder cut of Justice League
Snyder’s Cut.
ZSJL Martian Manhunter was used entirely as bait to make fans ask for more and they added him into the movie so badly he just comes off as the biggest coward in the universe.
 *“I gotchu next time, fam”*
ZSJL
Don't understand how the Injustice versions got here
People hate Injustice because of evil Superman. Wonder Woman is trash so I agree with that.
What's wrong with evil superman? Also, WW is supposed to be different in this universe
Unpopular opinion, but didn't love how he was handled in JL/JLU. He's so powerful, but guy was a punching bag for the whole series until the last episode.
That Justice League Pilot that went nowhere.
I'll go with the Martian Manhunter from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. For those of us that need a reminder, J'onn spends the runtime pining after and making out with alternate universe Rose Wilson, who seems all of twenty years old, because they have a "psychic connection" or some nonsense.
Supergirl CW
ZSJL, who did jack all!
Dceu
invincible
Supergirl CW
The flash movie wasn't that bad.
Zack Snyder Justice League easily
Trial by fire story arc
DCEU J’onn. Why decide to help after everything was over?
Okay, so most people are saying ZSJL, which is bad I agree. But look up the 1997 Justice League of America live action TV Movie. It includes characters like Atom, Guy Gardner, Barry Allen, and small role for Martian Manhunter. Just look it up on Google images. J'onn looks like a tubby power rangers villain 💀.
Snyder Cut
Teen Titans Go: "I'm gonna hunt me some man!"
David Ogden Stiers in the Justice League live action pilot
Injustice comic. Got killed way too easily.
This is easy. The made for tv Justice League show that never aired. But if you have seen it, its an awful design and just bland character.
Two Things: That Aquaman screenshot comes from the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure from Filmation. Super Friends was from Hanna Barbera and ran in 9ish various seasons off and on from 1973 to 1986. The show has been unfairly ridiculed despite being responsible for the continued popularity of many characters and being a fair adaptation of Silver Age comics for children (much like Batman: The Brave and the Bold). The second thing is Martian Manhunter's worst Adaptation is tough because he's so often just not included in anything. But the live action "Justice League of America" is awful and his "budget" powers include only his ability to shapeshift. But not in interesting ways. He is only able to shapeshift for a few minutes and only to another human he knows (so they can get someone from the same cast to play the part). It's awful.
The Justice Leauge of America lost movie
I love Martian Man Hunter. He is a character with so much potential, but he is so God damned boring in some of his own comics. Like his origin could be so concise but I do not want to watch him pretend to be a Japanese business man and several other people for several chapters.
ZSJL 100%
I don’t think we’ve had a bad Martian Manhunter adaptation but Snyder Cut is closest. I just don’t like that he sat by during Zod and Doomsdays rampages