DC Drops Its Best Look Yet at Absolute Martian Manhunter Ahead of the Hero's Epic Reboot

Warning: contains potential spoilers for DC All-In #1 and recent issues of Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman!

DC just dropped its best look yet at Absolute Martian Manhunter, ahead of the hero’s epic, forthcoming reboot. DC’s new Absolute imprint, featuring a world where familiar icons such as Batman and Wonder Woman are without their usual advantages, has been a massive sales success for the publisher. A second wave of Absolute titles are on the way, including Absolute Martian Manhunter, debuting early next year.

The Martian Manhunter debuted in Detective Comics #225, first published in 1955.

While Absolute Martian Manhunter had been announced a while ago, Deniz Camp, the book’s writer, recently shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), artist Javier Rodriguez’s cover for the first issue. Camp praised Rodriguez, exclaiming how proud he was of everyone working on the book. Rodriguez’s cover justifies Camp’s praise. It shows a human, presumably the Martian Manhunter in disguise, while his actual form emerges from his head. The cover gives an overall creepy and otherworldly vibe–perfect for the Martian Manhunter. Rodriguez previously shared designs, made from Play-Doh, of J’Onn’s new design, but this is the best look yet.

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The last few months have been some of the most harrowing in the history of the DC Universe. After barely surviving the events of Absolute Power, the heroes then have to contend with Darkseid, who attacks the newly reformed Justice League aboard their new Watchtower. Darkseid “died” in the melee, and his energies created DC’s new “Absolute” Earth. The Absolute Earth is a darker version of the regular DC Universe: Batman does not have his enormous wealth, Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, and so forth.

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Anchored by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman, the line has been a smash hit, and arguably the crowning achievement of DC’s new All-In publishing initiative–and soon it will grow. DC has already announced Absolute Flash, by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles, as well as Absolute Green Lantern, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Jahnoy Lindsay. These new additions will give fans modern, cutting-edge takes on these beloved DC characters, bringing them in line with the Absolute Universe’s darker tones.

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Just how Absolute Martian Manhunter factors into the layout of the Absolute Universe remains to be seen, but it appears Camp and Rodriguez have kept certain notable aspects of the character intact, namely his shape-shifting and psychic abilities. The human on the cover flashes a police badge and carries a gun–callouts to the Martian Manhunter’s career in law enforcement on both Mars and Earth. If the Absolute version of Martian Manhunter can shape-shift, then fans are catching him mid-transformation on Javier Rodiguez’s epic cover. The cover pops out among other titles thanks to the cool, alien look.

For the first time in years, the Martian Manhunter looks like an extraterrestrial.

Camp and Rodriguez’s epic redesign of the Martian Manhunter succeeds because it leans heavily into the character’s science fiction origins. For the first time in years, the Martian Manhunter looks like an extraterrestrial. He only has one eye in the Absolute Universe, which breaks with the character’s tradition. Rodriguez also imparts a psychedelic vibe to the character, further distinguishing him from his Earth-0 counterpart. The Absolute titles feature heroes at a disadvantage, and while fans wait to see how this applies to the Martian Manhunter, his epic new redesign is still his best look in years.

Source: Deniz Camp

Absoulte Martian Manhunter #1 is on sale March 25 from DC Comics!