Warning: spoilers for Legends of the Dark Knight #10 and Infinite Frontier: Secret Files #4!
his death shattered the team - but recent developments in the DC Universe have shown that the Man of Steel has good reason to fear his ally. Two DC Digital First titles - Legends of the Dark Knight and Infinite Frontier: Secret Files - have showcased J'onn J'onzz's immense powers.
One of the first heroes of the Silver Age of Comics, the Martian Manhunter first appeared in 1955’s Detective Comics #225. A police officer on his native Mars, he was pulled to Earth after a teleportation experiment went awry. He first worked in the shadows but stepped out into the spotlight when other costumed heroes began appearing. The Martian Manhunter possesses a fantastic suite of powers, including enhanced strength, flight, telepathy, shape-shifting, heat vision, and invisibility. Given the versatility of his physical and mental powers, it has been speculated that he may have abilities that he has not disclosed, and recently he has shown new sides of himself.
In Legends of the Dark Knight #10, by Brandon Thomas, Giannis Milonogiannis, Jordie Bellaire and Deron Bennett, the Calendar Man, who has absorbed ancient mystical Martian magics, tells Batman that neither he or the rest of the Justice League knows what the Martian Manhunter is really capable of, and sure enough, J'onn telepathically blocks the Calendar Man from accessing his abilities. Of course, impressive powers aren't enough to justify Superman's worries, but in Infinite Frontier: Secret Files #4, by Brandon Thomas, Joshua Willamson, Inaki Miranda, Nick Filardi and Tom Napolitano, J'onn travels between realities with his new Totality team, trading intel on Superman's powers with an alternate version of himself.
This should scare Superman. The Martian Manhunter was able to block the Calendar Man from using his abilities, and if he was able to replicate this trick on Superman, he could easily disable his heat vision, or super breath, or maybe even flight, which would make Superman a much easier target. Similarly, it would be nothing for him to toy with Superman's mind, especially now he has interdimensional insight into Kal-El's weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Calendar Man hinted that the Martian Manhunter's abilities are even more extensive than J'onn has ever revealed, so what else is he hiding up his sleeve? What other abilities does he have that can beat Superman?
Fortunately, Superman and the Martian Manhunter are allies, but if it ever comes to blows, Superman has every right to be scared. J'onn is a hero in the truest sense of the world, but as the overseer of the Totality - a team which includes both heroes and villains - he now has far larger responsibilities than ever before, and his alternate self seemed to expect this to bring him into conflict with Superman. If that ever happens, Superman has every reason to be afraid of his Justice League ally, even before Martian Manhunter reveals the mysterious powers that Calendar Man asserted would make Batman, "terrified to even stand next to him."
