"You Were Superman Before Superman": DC Unpacks Lore By Naming Its First Actual Superhero

Warning! Contains Spoilers For Justice League Unlimited #2!

DC Comics fans know that Superman is often considered one of the most important heroes in the publisher's history. However, just because Superman is given more importance than other characters doesn't mean they don't predate him, at least in the lore. While Superman's character was obviously created first, Martian Manhunter is confirmed to be, essentially, a kind of proto-Superman.

Justice League Unlimited #2 – written by Mark Waid, with art by Dan Mora – continues the new title's premise of teaming up unexpected DC heroes, which leads to a moment where Doctor Occult comments that he sees Martian Manhunter as "Superman before Superman."

This is a pretty fun observation for a few reasons. While Superman definitely predates Martian Manhunter's creation in the real world, the idea that Martian Manhunter existed on Earth first is an exciting part of DC comics in-universe history, due to one simple difference between Superman and Martian Manhunter.

In The Timeine Of The DC Universe, Martian Manhunter Was A Hero Long Before Superman

Justice League Unlimited #2 – Written By Mark Waid; Art By Dan Mora; Color By Tamra Bonvillain; Lettering by Ariana Maher

After the events of Absolute Power, the Justice League has come back more powerful than ever before. While the Justice League is usually just a group of seven or eight, the team is now comprised of every hero on Earth. But not every hero is at their full power, as several heroes have had their powers moved around and swapped. During a conversation with Doctor Occult, Martian Manhunter reveals that his powers have been greatly diminished, which is where Doctor Occult offers his surprising observation.

Martian Manhunter deserves credit for his long history as a hero, which predates even Superman.

This is noteworthy, because Martian Manhunter's subtle parallels with Superman deserve more attention. Both are aliens, not of Earthly origin, and both are extremely powerful. There is, however, one major difference between them, which is their appearance. Superman looks human, which allowed him to immediately fit into Earth society in a way that Martian Manhunter – who had to adopt a human disguise, while also striving to keep his true appearance secret – never could. Still, Martian Manhunter deserves credit for his long history as a hero, which predates even Superman.

Martian Manhunter Had To Help Humanity From The Shadows, While Superman Gets To Shine In The Spotlight

Or Else Earth Might Have Rejected Him

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The fact that Superman looks like a human allows him to be Earth's primary champion. Martian Manhunter didn't have that luxury. In his base form, there's no denying the fact that Martian Manhunter is very clearly alien. He doesn't have human features, and he's entirely green. He could be quite scary to humanity. This resulted in Martian Manhunter shapeshifting into a more humanoid appearance, and in his secret identity he takes the form of a human. This perfectly explains how Martian Manhunter could have been one of DC's greatest heroes early on, but never one in the spotlight.

Related DC's GREEN MAN Redesigned a Justice League Powerhouse to Join the Bat-Family When one of the Justice League's most powerful members lost his powers, he was retrained as a member of the Bat-Family, using the name "Green Man."

Martian Manhunter is a hero, but it's unlikely most people would be able to see beyond his appearance. Instead of being out in the public eye, Martian Manhunter had to mostly solve problems from the shadows. After Superman showed up and made humanity more comfortable with the idea of aliens, that's when Martian Manhunter could start being seen in his humanoid form, with his true form still being kept out of the public eye. It's unfortunate, but it perfectly explains how Martian Manhunter was able to be Superman before Superman.

Justice League Unlimited #2 is available now from DC Comics!