Martian Manhunter #4 (of 12): Lizard Brain

As the first act of Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, and Ivan Plascencia’s masterful re-imagining of the Martian Manhunter’s origin comes to a close, the plot thickens and all the players make fateful decisions that will determine their courses throughout the remainder of the series. All in all from a storytelling perspective, a fairly routine set-up.

Ah, but it’s the details that make this issue stand out. I’ve raved before about Orlando’s insanely detailed and well-thought out vision of Mars, its society, its customs, and its people, and this issue continues in that mesmerizing direction, delving into the politics behind the security council’s decision to cover up H’ronmeer’s Curse. The council privately states they won’t address the Curse until they have a cure but publicly deny its threat and/or downplay it completely. This sets M’yri’ah up to potentially act in defiance of the council in future installments and perhaps in doing so, hasten Mars’ own doom.

The psychic virus itself is another novel idea: it transmits via mental connection, infecting the host and eventually causing them to immolate. Historically, J’onn has always had a weakness to flame (although it has varied as to whether it was physical or psychosomatic in nature); H’ronmeer’s Curse gives an origin to that weakness in a way that is truly terrifying.

On Earth, Orlando also treats us to an expanded demonstration of J’onn’s psychic abilities. When he mind-links with the iguana, it’s not as though the two of them have a conversation. Instead, he must interpret the small creature’s memory through its own fight-or-flight-based perceptions, giving him a unique yet limited insight to the events of Ashley Addams’ kidnapping. To my knowledge, this has never been done before in a Martian Manhunter story.

These details would ultimately be hollow in their innovation, though, if it weren’t for the strong characterization of J’onn. At his core, he is a man alone on Earth, one who lost everything and is desperate to rekindle some semblance of relationship – even if it’s by imitating a dead man. We feel his shame after this ruse is revealed, and even though we know he was wrong, he remains a sympathetic figure nonetheless.

The same holds true for J’onn’s life on Mars. We know what his family’s – and indeed, his entire race’s – fate will ultimately be, which makes his scenes of domestic bliss all the more heartbreaking. Although just four issues in, Orlando conveys a real and honest sense of J’onn and M’ryi’ah’s relationship. When he recoils from sex with her for fear of possibly transmitting H’ronmeer’s Curse and leaving their daughter an orphan, she believes the true reason is that he’s hiding secrets from her. The heartbreaking realization that J’onn may never get the chance to set his marriage right before all is said and done is powerful, and makes his eventual loss even more potent.

Finally, the glue that holds this all together are the phenomenal art duo of Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia. Every page they draw is completely unique, vibrant and energetic. They bring a visual sensibility that is absent from any other comic out there!