Justice League’s most sleazy couple redefines superhero weaknesses
0
0
It looks like Justice League’s Martian Manhunter has a type, and their dating history could put his fiery weaknesses in a new light.
One of the steamiest connections of the Justice League it’s highlighting what a weakness can really mean to a hero. Martian Manhunter’s romance with a teammate shows how the hero’s vulnerabilities can actually be something quite attractive to him.
Superheroes wouldn’t be who they are if they didn’t have a weakness in some way or another. Superman has the radioactive shards from his home planet in the form of kryptonite. The Flash is rendered powerless by the complete stoppage of movement caused by absolute zero. Even the mighty Green Lantern has shown a vulnerability to the color yellow in the past. Weaknesses make characters more complete and raise the stakes in their adventures. If a villain knows how to exploit a hero’s Achilles heel, he is in the best possible position to exterminate him. Some heroes may have more obvious disadvantages than others, but almost all superheroes have something that can hurt them.
That said, one hero seems to get a kick out of his weakness by teaming up with the most unlikely partners fans could have imagined. In Human objective #5 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood, the titular character continues his investigation into Justice League International to see who is responsible for poisoning Christopher Chance. Chance and his new romantic partner, JLI member Ice, have dinner with Martian Manhunter. However, J’onn has prepared for this encounter and begins a psychic interrogation of Christopher. What Martian Manhunter doesn’t expect is that Chance has already trained himself to defend himself against telepathic attacks. The two begin to root through each other’s psyche. Just as J’onn sees Chance’s backstory, Human Target sees Martian Manhunter’s private life, including various connections between him and his Justice League International teammate, Fire.
A Justice League player reveals that even heroes have problems
Obviously, it’s a little weird for Martian Manhunter to date someone who specializes in flames, since fire is his biggest weakness. But interestingly, this is actually the second heat-based hero he’s seen romantically, as J’onn had a brief romance with the flamethrower, Scorch. This seems to suggest that J’onn is inexplicably drawn to people who specialize in his greatest aversion. J’onn’s weakness has been reinvented several times over the years, but this takes it to a whole new level.
Martian Manhunter’s vulnerability to fire has sometimes been something that actually harms him physically, or something that only affects him psychologically. But the Martian Manhunter’s repeated connections with fire-based lovers suggest that the Manhunter’s true weakness is one of flesh, and that fire is truly irresistible to J’onn. At least, when presented in a personally seductive way. J’onn hasn’t had many long-term love interests, and it’s possible that’s because he knows he’s in the hands of someone who could turn him to ashes. It’s a bit spicier than you’d expect for a member of the Justice Leaguebut the story seems to paint a very obvious picture for Martian Manhunter.
