Martian Manhunter

Lore & Background

The story centers on John Jones, who begins seeing multi-colored smoke around people after a traumatic event. This phenomenon is the arrival of an "otherworldly consciousness" that John visualizes as a green Martian from Mars. This entity grants him "Martianvision," allowing him to see inside the thoughts and memories of those around him. The plot introduces three distinct cosmic forces: the Green Martian (an ally), the White Martian (a cosmic entity sowing anti-life and bigotry), and Despair-the-Zero, an embodiment of blue emotions like despair and nihilism. A critical revelation exposes that the Martian had influenced John's entire life, including his presence at the bombed coffee shop, while a separate entity controlled John’s son Tyler after the boy was killed by poisoned Chocos.

In Their Own Story

The narrative begins a year after FBI Agent John Jones moved to Middleton, where he survives a suicide bombing. While his wife Bridget urges him to stop working, John continues investigating, leading him to his mute son Tyler, who points at a clay figure of a green "martian." The situation escalates when a shooter named Trigger Taylor attacks civilians in Little Damascus; the Green Martian enters Taylor's mind and destroys a psychological anomaly fueled by bigotry before Taylor is killed by police. Later, during a city-wide blackout orchestrated by the White Martian to corrupt the population, John apologizes to Bridget for his neglect, enabling a consciousness "upgrade" that allows the Green Martian to temporarily defeat the White entity. However, the victory is fleeting; three months later, John lives alone in a motel after Bridget, believing him insane, kicks him out. The Agency captures the Green Martian at Nihilo Bay while Despair-the-Zero deteriorates John's mind. In a climactic confrontation, Despair reveals that Tyler has been dead for months and the White Martian controls his body. A "full consciousness upgrade" eliminates Despair, allowing John to reconcile with Bridget through shared psychic experiences of their family's struggles before defeating the White Martian and resigning from the FBI.

Reader's Guide

This series is strictly part of DC's Absolute Universe (AU) imprint and features a creative team that remained constant throughout its twelve-issue run, with no fill-ins. Originally planned as a six-issue miniseries, it was extended to twelve issues, concluding on February 20, 2026. The design for the Martian entity was unique, created by Rodríguez as a clay sculpture rather than traditional ink or digital art. The first issue sold over 120,000 pre-orders in March 2025, and the second arc released in December of that year. The series won the 2026 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series, with Rodríguez winning for Best Penciller/Inker and Best Cover Artist, while Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou took home Best Lettering.

Did You Know?

• The series was originally intended to be a six-issue miniseries but was extended to twelve issues with the same creative team and no fill-ins.
• Javier Rodríguez designed the Martian entity as a physical clay sculpture before illustrating it, rather than drawing it from scratch.
• Writer Deniz Camp cited Thomas Pynchon's works Inherent Vice and The Crying of Lot 49 as the primary influence for the book's "psychedelic noir" tone.
• The first issue sold over 120,000 pre-orders in March 2025, marking it as a significant commercial success upon release.
• In the story, John Jones' son Tyler was actually killed months prior by poisoned Chocos, with the White Martian controlling his body throughout the narrative.