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Green Martians | |
Aliases: | Martians Ma'aleca'andrans |
Continuity: | DC Universe |
Category: | Alien |
Status: | Extinct |
Homeworld: | Ma'aleca'andra |
Stellar system: | Sol system |
Galaxy: | Milky Way Galaxy |
Body type: | Humanoid |
Average height: | 6'0"-7'0" |
Avereage weight: | Variable |
Limbs: | 4 |
Eyes: | 2 |
Fingers: | 10 |
Toes: | 10 |
Special adaptations: | Although Martians are characteristically humanoid in appearance, their natural metamorph abilities allows them to assume any shape they desire. |
Language: | Ma'aleca'andran |
Representatives: | J'onn J'onzz |
1st appearance: | Detective Comics #225 |
Green Martians are a fictional alien race featured in comic books published by DC Comics. They are most often represented in the form of the character J'onn J'onzz, aka, the Martian Manhunter. Green Martians first appeared in Detective Comics #225 in November, 1955.
Description[]
Biology[]
Although they can assume any shape, in regular form they are green and though they are still humanoid their body structure is different from that of a humans.
Green Martians can thrive in most environments. Their shape-changing abilities enable them to alter their body chemistry to adapt to nearly any environmental extreme. Due to their weakness to fire however, Martians are uncomfortable in environments with extremely high surface temperatures.
Culture[]
Religion[]
The natives of Mars were a polytheistic culture, worshiping a number of deities. The most famous of these was H'ronmeer, the God of Death and Fire (although some regions referred to him as the God of Life and Light). The telepathic plague of fire which killed nearly all Martians, known as "H'ronmeer's Plague", or "H'ronmeer's Curse", was named in his honor. Despite the name, the plague was actually cultivated by a mortal Martain, the mutant Ma'alefa'ak.[1]
While H'ronmeer was sometimes identified as the God of Life, the true Martian patron of Life was the Goddess C'eridyall.
Another deity was L'zoril, the Lord of Dreams. Due to the Martians' native telepathic abilities, L'zoril was a widely respected and often-feared God. On Earth, L'zoril is better known as Morpheus, or Dream of the Endless.
Above these Gods in the Martian pantheon was the Unnameable One - the Creator God. The Unnameable One is referred to as the God behind all Gods. [2]
Abilities[]
- Martian Physiology: The average Martian possesses the following power set:
- Extrasensory input: Martians possess nine different senses.
- Martian vision: Eyesight which extends the visible spectrum, visual acuity, and allows sight through most objects and barriers. Martian Vision is also similar to Kryptonian heat vision in that it can cause combustible objects to explode.
- Flight: The ability defy gravity and fly through sheer force of will. This ability is psionic in nature, and functions similarly to tactile telekinesis.
- Invulnerability: With the exception of fire, they are invulnerable to nearly all physical attacks. This is due primarily to their shape-shifting talents and the ability to increase the density of their molecular structure.
- Malleable form: Psionic control over their physical form, even down to the molecular level. As a form of shape-shifting, this power enables a Martian to contort their physical structure to adopt human form, elongate limbs, grow to immense size, and so on. They can also change the substance and material from which their body is made of. This allows them to produce weapons and clothing on ant type. They can maintain the selected form for an indeterminate amount of time without undue risk or strain. This ability allows for the following powers:
- Intangibility: The ability to decrease their molecular density to become incorporeal and thus able to pass through solid objects, as well as increase it to become tougher and stronger.
- Invisibility: The ability to bend light waves around their bodies, rendering them invisible to most forms of human detection. Through this byproduct of shape-shifting, they can also alter their body's temperature, allowing them to become invisible to most forms of electronic detection.
- Size alteration: Martians can expand or contract their mass and volume, in addition to their shape, to make themselves, or just portions of their bodies much larger than they are in their static form.
- Regeneration: The ability to rapidly heal wound, from minor cuts to regrowing lost limbs. This include the regrowth of major body parts such as the head, heart, or similar primary organs.
- Self-sustenance: Negating the need to consume food or drink. This also eliminates the need to produce waste.
- Superhuman speed: Either through flight or natural movement, they can maintain the speed and reflexes far in excess to that of a standard Earth human.
- This also allows:
- Superhuman endurance: Their endurance is just as formidable as their strength or invulnerability. When not in the presence of fire, they can operate under extreme conditions for an indeterminate period of time without showing signs of fatigue. The exact range of this power is unknown. When in the presence of fire, this endurance diminishes greatly.
- Superhuman strength: While the exact range of magnitude of a Martian strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that their strength levels easily surpass the capacity to lift 100 tons. This ranks them in the same strength level as a Kryptonian under a yellow sun.
- Telepathy: The ability to read the minds of others and project their thoughts to varying degrees. They can also project their mental essences into a gestalt community known as the "Great Mind". Through this, the community can enhance the telepathic strength of other Martians. This power can also enable them to reverse the effects of amnesia or psychological brainwashing. A Martian's expertise with telepathy varies from Martian to Martian. Some Martians, such as J'onn J'onzz, can use their ability with such precision that they can extract repressed memories from a subject regardless of how dormant the memory may lie.
- Mind control: As an extension of their telepathic powers, they can also use the ability to alter a subject's psychological profile, enabling them to manipulate, and in some cases, outright control their chosen target. This practice is greatly discouraged however, and only rarely used.
Weaknesses[]
Martians are much more vulnerable to fire than the average Earth human. At times this has been portrayed as physical, psychological, or a combination of the two. The effect of this is to strip any Martian of their powers as they involuntarily lose control of their body.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The concept behind the Green Martians was developed by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa.
- Green Martians are distinguished from their cousins, the White Martians.
- Green Martians are distant relations to the people of Saturn.
- In Pre-Crisis continuity, a group of Green Martians abandoned their homeworld to begin life anew on a planet that they named Mars II. The Martians from this world eventually attempted to conquer Earth, but were thwarted by the Martian Manhunter and his allies, the Justice League of America. This group of Martians, as well as Mars II are no longer considered part of canon continuity. [3]
Related pages[]
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Martian Manhunter Vol 2 0
- ↑ Martian Manhunter Vol 1 4
- ↑ Justice League of America (Volume 1) #229-230