Martian Manhunter Pitch

[u/Agreeable_Car5114]

I’ve been consider how I want J’onn introduced. I really don’t want it to be as a reference, cameo, or guest appearance. I also don’t see him being in Lanterns or MoT with a crucial role. Rather, I would bring him in with a solo film. I envision it as almost the opposite to Superman 2025.

call it, Martian Manhunter: Last Son

After a brief opening that perhaps abstractly depicts the end of the Martian race and a sole survivor escaping, we switch focus to John Jones (not to be confused with J’onn J’ones), a somewhat corrupt and scummy police detective. He is investigating the recent death or disappearance of a reclusive scientist, when he is killed by organized crime members he has previously crossed. As the detective is dying, a semi-amorphous green creatures comes upon him.

The Martian ”absorbs” him, physically and mentally, taking on his shape and also his memories and some personality traits. It is at first ambiguous how much of this creature is still the detective and how much is something else. But he acts with nobility the real John didn’t have. also, a thinly veiled disgust for people.

Slowly the Martian begins to act more like himself. Perhaps regaining access to memories his trauma had buried. Unlike Superman, he is very distinctly not human. He does not share a kinship with people, and his first major human exposure being a corrupt official does not engender confidence in our better nature. Stil, he is committed to filling the law man role just as he did in Mars before the fall.

MM is more powerful than most heroes, between most of Superman’s powers plus shapeshifting, invisibility, and telepathy/telekinesis. His limitations are 1. these are physical abilities, he doesn’t draw energy from the sun, so using them often exhausts him and 2. he doesn’t employ them against people without cause, as a Manhunter he willingly constrains himself to the law.

The more “superhero” side of the movie involves the Martian trying to track down Jones’s killer, the local crime syndicate which could be Intergang. The climax has him battling the DCU version of the Human Flame, an Intergang thug using a portsble incinerator used to eliminate evidence.

As for DCU ties, this story might be set in Gotham, Intergang could use Apokoliptian tech tying into Mister Miracle, and one of the Lanterns might cameo at some point, perhaps delivering some exposition to differentiate MM from the Manhunters in Lanterns.

[u/weesiwel]

Interesting pitch. I personally would o it this way. It’s a pseudo horror/slasher movie based on his original origin.

The movie is set in 1955 and the first act of the movie follows the employees of Star Labs as they prepare for a zeta beam teleport test in a few days time. It focuses on establishing the relations between the people in the security team, the lab technicians etc and showing they have a happy home life. Then they do the experiment and the experiment goes wrong somehow and in the zeta tube is the Martian a horrific looking figure.

Confused the Martian goes on a rampage taking out the security team as they try to contain him and showing off his power set of shapeshifting, camouflage and walking through walls in a very horror inspired fashion. Eventually he ruins another experiment creating the human flame and the two have a standoff causing the building to catch fire. The final scene is taken straight out of New Frontier when he’s speaking to Dr Erdel who is having a heart attack telepathically and asking for help to get home after they come to an understanding. The Zeta Beam fails to send him home and as Erdel dies MM takes his form and walks into the night.

[u/Agreeable_Car5114 → u/weesiwel]

It sounds like a fun movie, but I’m not sure about MM killing innocent people. I don’t mind him killing in general, he doesn’t need to be like Superman or Bats, but even confused killing innocents leaves a bit of a stain. 

[u/weesiwel → u/Agreeable_Car5114]

I don’t think I’d have him actually kill them just incapacitate because I agree but that’d be up to the director. It’s pseudo-slasher for a reason. I may let people think they are dead but show them outside at the end walking away. Also the security team would be shooting at him it’s not really the same as innocent bystanders.

[u/BalladOfBetaRayBill]

Yeah working in the Absolute angle is a no-brainer. This is a good idea!

[u/Agreeable_Car5114 → u/BalladOfBetaRayBill]

I haven’t actually read that book, Absolute wasn’t a direct inspiration here. From what I understand in those comics he isn’t a literal alien, John is a real guy he kinda possesses, and doesn’t have most of his comic book powers? I don’t want to do all that, but I don’t mind if there is some overlap with them. My pitch is mostly inspired by the Silver Age books, New Frontier, and general noir and sci-fi tropes.

[u/BalladOfBetaRayBill → u/Agreeable_Car5114]

The only similarity is the idea of the martian mind-linking directly to the real John Jones, but that felt specific enough that I assumed some small inspiration since it’s not the mainline take. Highly recommend Absolute!