J'onn J'onzz
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Real Identity: J'onn J'onzz
Affiliation(s): Justice League/Unlimited
Appearances (JL/U): Secret Origins Part One, Part Two, Part Three, In Blackest Night Part One, Part Two, Enemy Below Part One, Part Two, Paradise Lost Part One, Part Two, Injustice For All Part One, Part Two, War World Part One, Part Two, Brave and the Bold Part Two, Fury Part One, Part Two, Legends Part One, Part Two, Knight of Shadows Part One, Part Two, Metamorphosis Part One, Part Two, Savage Time Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Twilight Part One, Part Two, Tabula Rasa Part One, Part Two, Only a Dream Part One, Part Two, Maid of Honor Part Two, Hearts and Minds Part One, Part Two, A Better World Part One, Part Two, Eclipsed Part Two, Secret Society Part One, Part Two, Hereafter Part One, Part Two, Comfort and Joy, Starcrossed Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Initiation, Hawk and Dove, Fearful Symmetry, the Return, Greatest Story Never Told, Ultimatum, Dark Heart, Cat and the Canary, Ties that Bind, Doomsday Sanction, Task Force X, The Balance, Double Date, Clash, Hunter's Moon, Flashpoint, Panic in the Sky, Divided We Fall, To Another Shore and Destroyer
Appearances (SS): A League of Their Own Part One and Part Two
Appearances (JLI Comics): The Mirror Crack'd, The Mirror Crack'd Part Two, The Mirror Crack'd Part Three, The Mirror Crack'd Part Four, The Mirror Crack'd Part Five, The Mirror Crack'd Part Six, and The Mirror Crack'd Part Seven
Voiced By: Carl Lumbly
J'onn J'onzz is a telepath who can use his uncanny shape-shifting abilities to adapt and blend into any situation. By altering his physical density, he can also become immaterial and pass through solid objects. Because he comes from a cold barren planet, exposure to intense heat can weaken him. He can also fly and is gifted with super strength.
J'onzz comes from the planet Mars and was married to My'ria'h. Together, they started a family with two children. In the 10th century, the Martians were wiped out by an alien race led by the Imperium for their telepathic energy. Jonzz and some other Martians tried to subdue the aliens with strong knockout gas made from an alien plant. When the battle with the aliens ended, he was the last on standing and kept the aliens locked up for hundreds of years, until a human expedition to Mars unleashed the aliens. Jonzz awoke and traveled to Earth and warn its government of an impending invasion. When Jonzz arrived, he was captured by the Imperium's advance agents and kept in stasis. He managed to generate a telepathic call to six superheroes: Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. Together, they destroyed the Imperium and routed out all remaining invasion forces around the planet. With the offer of kinship and a second family to call his own, Jonzz agreed to help form and join the Justice League.
Codenamed Martian Manhunter by the media, Jonzz rarely shows his emotion and speaks very wisely, showing his age and experience. He is also has a vast knowledge of the sciences and is a formidable force with his telepathy and range of powers. As an observer of Earth culture, J'onzz is fascinated by contradictions of the human race. When he secretly walks among us, he is overwhelmed by the conflict between intellect and emotion he senses within every one of us. Often, it is too much for his alien mind to absorb, so he retreats to the orbiting Justice League Watchtower, where he spends most of his time. Although he is the heart of the Justice League, no one in the universe is more alone than J'onn J'onzz.
The Justice League, in essence, became J'onzz' new life. He focused on it at every turn. So much so, he began to distance himself from coming to truly understand and treasure human life. When the Justice League expanded, he took on the role of the League's coordinator. He further became isolated. After, the JLU prevented the theft of the Viking Prince's corpse, Jonzz realized that unless he connected with the humans, he was destined to live out the same bitter end that the Prince endured. Jonzz resigned from the League and decided to live among the humans on Earth as his John Jones persona. He briefly helped fight Parademons on the Great Wall of China then returned to his companion.
For years, J'onzz crossed oceans and continents and lived as people of varying ages, nationalities, races, and genders. He ended up in New Delhi, India. He shapeshifted into the form of a middle-aged Indian woman named Amrit Jessawalla. He noticed a widower named Eruch sitting alone on a bench in Buddha Jayanti Park with an ache in his heart that was palpable. He reached out to him in friendship. They became fast friends and spoke every morning in the park. One such day, Amrit asked Eruch how his grandson was. Eruch confirmed the fever passed and he was back to his normal rascally self. Amrit countered he loved him for it. Eruch laughed and admitted he did. He noted she never talked about her family. Amrit revealed she lost them long ago but it still pained her to talk about them. He apologized but she insisted she was not offended. He was relieved and revealed their morning talks brought new light into his life and he treasured their friendship. Amrit agreed and felt the same way. They bid each other goodbye.
Amrit returned home and J'onn shifted back into his true form. He could sense the Flash's surprise birthday party at the JLU Metrotower in Metropolis. It took effort to turn his consciousness away but he couldn't help but smile. He later shot up in bed upon sensing the Justice League was under attack and even shifted to his "acceptable form" but he stopped himself and reminded himself it was no longer his role to be a superhero. He shifted back into Amrit. The next day, Amrit felt discomfort. Eruch asked her what it was. She called it a mild headache but he knew better. They sat down on a bench. Amrit felt an intuition the planet had suddenly gone out of balance and an old friend may be in trouble. Eruch implored to go and help. Amrit believed there were other old friends that could help. Eruch suddenly vanished and a boy appeared in his place. It started happening all over the park. J'onn J'onzz shifted to his superhero form and with great reluctance, followed the telepathic trail of pain and rage and loss and devastation to Metropolis.
J'onzz observed the battle between Overman and the Justice League. He fought the urge to return to India and shouted "Enough!". Everyone paused for a moment. J'onzz allowed his emotions to get the best of him and used telepathy without restraint, to tear through Overman's psyche. He realized Overman was not behind the global disappearances and was just a broken man from a parallel universe. Overman collapsed from the ordeal. J'onzz felt bad for violating his mind. Wonder Woman believed he had no choice. He countered there was always another choice. He suddenly perceived something had changed and it was very wrong. J'onn J'onzz, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Shayera Hol, Batman, Vixen, and Green Lantern took Overman to the Watchtower with Lois Lane. J'onn had another episode sensing the imminent collapse of reality itself but picked up emanations from deep within the vortex above Metropolis. Overman broke out of his prison and declared he was superior to all. He vowed to kill J'onn J'onzz first but Wonder Woman, Vixen, and Green Lantern immobilized him quickly.
Overman was overcome with panic when he made eye contact with J'onn J'onzz, who threatened more telepathic invasion. Overman quickly asked him what he wanted. J'onn asked him to behave. Overman capitulated. Lantern shifted the construct into a generic prison cage. J'onn was disgusted with his actions and doing it so eagerly. Wonder Woman deduced he came back to the League because someone he cared about was one of the people who disappeared. He acknowledged she was insightful as ever and found it odd the life of one person seemed more important than the lives of billions. She told him it was human. Lane suspected Overman could be hiding something and speculated they could be on the cusp of a Nazi invasion of their world. Batman assured her J'onn was thorough. J'onn told Lane her loss was clouding her vision. Lane assumed he read her mind. He stated he read her heart. J'onn believed he could telepathically follow the emanations he sensed to the source of the dimensional overlap. Batman was skeptical about hinging Earth's survival on a psychic intuition. Shayera Hol pointed out their choices were limited so J'onn's plan was the best option.
J'onn, Flash, Shayera, Batman, Vixen, Lantern, and Overman boarded the newest addition to the fleet, the Infinity-1 Javelin, and took off for the vortex. J'onn merged his consciousness with the Javelin's A.I., thinking it should help them navigate the warp. Flash was not convinced it would work. J'onn urged them to press on and they disappeared into the vortex. J'onzz informed them Shayera Hol's confidence in him was misplaced because he was overwhelmed by what felt like a million universes forcing their way into his mind at once. Batman told J'onzz he was stronger and stronger than anyone he knew. He pointed out after he lost his family and his world, he found the will to survive and begin again. J'onzz couldn't do it. Batman implored him to. He was moved by Batman's faith and friendship and focused his telepathy. He located Amazo at the crossroads between the universes and emphasized they had to stop it before it brought all of creation crashing down.
The League encountered Amazo and it explained what it discovered, the key to its completion. J'onzz keyed on a certain mirror fragment as ground zero for the dimensional overlaps. The telepathic emanations were unmistakable as they were unbearable to him. He revealed there was a being of incalculable power and if it broke through, the remains of the Mirrored Room then the Multiverse would be destroyed. Amazo was still intent on letting it come in order to complete its evolution. J'onzz grabbed Amazo by the head and used telepathy to show what its actions did to the universes. Amazo refused to gain a soul at such a cost. Batman implored him to help repair the Mirrored Room but the being tapped into Overman's rage and resentment. Overmen plowed through Amazo into the mirror fragment. A doppelganger dubbed Amazo II emerged. With a single gesture of the hand, the League and Amazo were rendered unconscious. Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice Alliance of Earth-D arrived and were apprised of the situation.
Amazo II revealed itself and emitted Anti-Life like toxic radiation. Wonder Woman asked what it wanted. Amazo II revealed its origins and admitted to manipulating their Amazo into providing the vibration needed to shatter the doorway. It assumed the League and Alliance would resist. He immobilized them and cast the battle into the landscapes of everyone's minds. Eventually, both J'onn J'onzz and his Earth-D counterpart sensed something wasn't right and melded minds to discover what Amazo II did. J'onzz looked deeply and saw the truth. He yelled out to everyone to stop and told them it wasn't real then pointed out the entire conflict took place in the matter of instants within their minds. The Wonder Woman of Earth-D questioned how that was possible. J'onzz countered with asking why an entity so extraordinarily powerful that would extinguish them in a single moment would bother to engage them in combat.
Amazo II replied heroes like them took pleasure in the battle for the greater good especially against impossible odds which fed some need in their souls it couldn't fathom. J'onzz asked why it gave them what they desired. It admitted it did so to demonstrate how futile their plight was. They were all still in a state of paralysis and watched as Amazo's plea was ignored and it was snuffed out in an instant. Green Lantern managed to form a bubble construct and saved himself, J'onn J'onzz, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Batman from being wiped out. With her permission, J'onn probed Wonder Woman's mind. He realized the parallel version of Darkseid that Wonder Woman met bequeathed her with the Life Equation and she was the key to saving the Multiverse. She admitted she felt a momentary surge of power and indefinable presence but she was lost in grief when that Darkseid passed on and ignored it. J'onn engulfed her in a telepathic wave and rooted through her psyche in search of the equation.
However, Wonder Woman could not handle the celestial energies of the Life Equation and would have been torn apart if not for Batman's quick thinking and joining hands with her to share in it. J'onn was knocked unconscious. Batman and Wonder Woman called forth the Life Equation and unleashed it. The Anti-Life Equation was destroyed and the Multiverse was restored to normal. Superman suggested a small celebration at the Watchtower so they could decompress. Superman asked J'onn if he intended to return to New Delhi. J'onn confirmed it but stated his intention to stay with the League but in a new role as an ambassador to help seek peaceful solutions to problems before they erupted into cosmic brawls and he wanted to start with Apokolips. Superman was surprised and reckoned he was a better man that he was. J'onn doubted that and bid them farewell. He turned invisible and left the party.
50 years into the future, J'onn J'onzz is still an active member of the Justice League Unlimited.