Search results
Aug 23, 2022 · The Zack Snyder’s Justice League ending has one more ace up his sleeve. After Bruce springs back to reality after his Knightmare vision, he awakens in a lakeside resort a few miles outside...
- Bradley Russell
Mar 18, 2021 · The Second Justice League Plot. The “key,” as Flash said to Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman, is Amy Adams’s Lois Lane. Or as the Joker puts it in a mocking sing-song in the #SnyderCut ...
- Overview
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League: who is Martian Manhunter?
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Martian Manhunter’s comic history explained
- Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
News
By Tom Power
published 19 March 2021
Get the lowdown on the Snyder Cut’s superhero cameo
(Image credit: HBO Max)
Spoilers follow for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Zack Snyder had teased that his movie would end with a massive cameo, but rather than hitting us with a big surprise, it turns out that this character had already been revealed by the director pre-release.
That may come as a disappointment to some fans, but for anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with Snyder’s various interviews, they might not see it coming. After Bruce Wayne wakes from his nightmare of a Darkseid-ravaged future, he heads outside to see what appears to be Superman floating down to meet him - only it isn’t the son of Krypton.
It’s Martian Manhunter, another superhero who has been hiding in plain sight throughout Snyder’s DCEU movies. He’s been masquerading as General Calvin Swanwick, played by Harry Lennix, who viewers will recognize from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
Martian Manhunter reveals his true identity to Bruce Wayne, who seems taken aback by his arrival. The alien superhero, who also goes by the name J’onn J’onzz, tells Bruce that the Justice League needs to find the Anti-Life Equation before Darkseid does, and that he’s prepared to help after hiding in the shadows for too long. He says he’ll be in touch with Bruce soon and flies into the distance as the screen turns black.
We’ll never know how prominent a role Martian Manhunter would have played in Snyder’s Justice League sequels, since there are no plans to make them. Given his reveal in this movie, however, we can predict that he would have played a much greater role down the line. What could've been, huh?
Today's best HBO Max deals
For those unfamiliar with the character, in the comics Martian Manhunter is a Mars law enforcement officer who ends up being marooned on Earth. He becomes a police detective and superhero when he realizes he can’t return home, and helps to found the Justice League in his new home.
Martian Manhunter made his comic debut in Detective Comics #225 in November 1955. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and illustrator Joe Certa, Martian Manhunter is a green-skinned humanoid alien who accidentally arrives on Earth when a scientific experiment goes wrong.
Pulled to our world by an experimental teleportation beam, J’onzz is permanently stuck on Earth when the project’s lead scientist dies of shock over the superhero’s arrival. Until a time when Martian technology can bring him home, Martian Manhunter adopts the human moniker John Jones, becomes a police detective, and uses his superpowers to aid humanity.
Speaking of abilities, Martian Manhunter has a few. They’re all pretty similar to Superman’s so, if you’re clued up on the Man of Steel’s powers, J’onn J’onzz superpowers won’t be unfamiliar. They include flight, superhuman strength, regeneration, durability, and heat vision. Unlike Superman, Martian Manhunter is able to turn invisible, and use telekinesis and telepathy, but he doesn’t possess superhuman breath like his alien counterpart.
Martian Manhunter is also able to shapeshift, which is an ability we glimpse in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. After visiting Lois Lane, Superman’s adopted mother Martha leaves the former’s apartment - only it isn’t the Martha we know from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
As Martha’s eyes begin to glow red, a cape drapes around her and her clothes change. It turns out that Martian Manhunter was masquerading as Clark Kent’s mom to persuade Lois to move on with her life after Superman’s death. J’onn J’onzz then shapeshifts into General Swanwick before leaving the building.
Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
Mar 18, 2021 · Through most of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Bruce Wayne ( Ben Affleck) has been making amends for “failing” Superman ( Henry Cavill ), while also assembling a team that can defend our...
Jul 19, 2022 · The mercenary has a grudge against Batman -- it seems the Bat was responsible for Deathstroke losing an eye -- and Lex reveals that the Caped Crusader's real name is Bruce Wayne so Deathstroke...
Mar 18, 2021 · Then Bruce Wayne wakes up from the nightmare and meets Martian Manhunter. That's a lot of unresolved stuff to tack on to the end of your movie, and it works pretty much only as a final...
- Emma Stefansky
Mar 18, 2021 · Zack Snyder’s Justice League ends in a similar fashion to the 2017 theatrical cut, with each hero getting their moment in the sun. Bruce Wayne buys the Kent farm back for Clark and his mother...
