The Martian Manhunter’s name has a shocking connection with Green Lantern lore. The Guardians of the Universe, a race of immortal aliens, oversee the cosmos-spanning Green Lantern Corps; however, before the Guardians created the Corps, they had another police force: the robotic Manhunters, who eventually rebelled against the Guardians. Down but not defeated, the Manhunters went underground to continue their mission to bring order to a chaotic universe–and it is here that J’onn J’onzz derives his name.
The cruel Manhunters are far from the first to bear the name; indeed, it stretches back to comics’ Golden Age, where there were not one, but two different characters called Manhunter, including a version created by the legendary team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Others have taken up the mantle of Manhunter, most notably Mark Shaw, who wore a red and blue outfit designed by Jack Kirby. In 1977’s Justice League of America #140, writer Steve Englehart and artist Dick Dillin introduced the Manhunters, predecessors to the Green Lantern Corps whose look bore a strong resemblance to Shaw’s red and blue getup. The issue established the Manhunter’s origins: they were built by the Guardians to police the universe, but turned against their masters. The Guardians believed, erroneously, that the Manhunters were destroyed and while many of them were indeed gone, a handful survived, and dispersed throughout the universe to continue their mission.
Despite rebelling against their masters, the Manhunters continued to pursue the idea of bringing order to a chaotic universe. To this end, they seeded themselves on a multitude of worlds, creating organizations and societies devoted to the ideas of justice–including ancient Mars. There, they created a Manhunter cult, referred to as the “Martian Manhunters.” In time this organization, which counted J’onn J’onzz among their members, became Mars’ premiere law enforcement agency. When Doctor Erdel’s teleportation experiment yanked J’onn J’onzz across space and time to contemporary Earth, it effectively made him the last of the Martian Manhunters–a name he would utilize when he began operating in the open. On Earth, the Manhunters started a similar cult, which included Mark Shaw as well as others who called themselves “Manhunters.”
As stated earlier, the name “Manhunter” has a long history at DC Comics, and this little detail incorporates the Martian Manhunter into that lineage in a dark fashion. The cold and calculating Manhunters slaughtered countless numbers in their pursuit of “justice,” and when the Guardians dispatched them, they simply went underground, creating cults to continue the mission. While the origins of the cults became obscure over the years, so much so that many adherents (including J’onn J’onzz) remained ignorant of their organizations' true beginnings. These Manhunters went about their business as agents of law and order, never knowing their dark and twisted origins. The various cults the Manhunters established throughout the universe have been responsible for much death and destruction; Mark Shaw, a member of Earth’s cult, would eventually become a megalomaniacal warlord and DC created an entire crossover event, 1987’s Millenium, about the Manhunters and their attempts to infiltrate the universe.
The Martian Manhunter is regarded as the heart and soul of the Justice League, and commands the respect of his peers; it can be argued that through his heroism, he has redeemed the Manhunter name. Yet the origins of the name have deep ties to some truly horrific Green Lantern villains.