Martian Manhunter Clarifies His Weakness Isn't as Goofy As Superman's
Warning: contains spoilers for "A Face in the Crowd, Part Two" in Action Comics #1038!
The Martian Manhunter has clarified how his weakness to fire works, making it less goofy than Superman’s notorious aversion to Kryptonite. In a backup story, “A Face in the Crowd, Part Two,” appearing in Action Comics #1038, the Martian Manhunter finds himself in combat with his long-time nemesis the Human Flame. The villain is fire-based, which should spell certain doom for the Martian Manhunter, but readers learn this may not necessarily be the case.
The Martian Manhunter is one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe, with Superman-levels of strength and endurance, along with a host of other fantastic powers, such as telepathy, shape-shifting, flight, and heat vision. Yet for all this great power, the Martian Manhunter has a weakness far more common than Superman’s Kryptonite: fire. This aversion to flames is rooted in Martian culture, with varying reasons as to why and how it came to be. The sight of fire can cause the Martian Manhunter to tense up, even causing him to freeze completely. A number of villains have learned to exploit this weakness over the years —the Human Flame primary among them— and in this latest story, he and Martian Manhunter find themselves face-to-face once again. While the Martian Manhunter had the perfect opportunity to take down his nemesis, the Human Flame’s powers would make it impossible—but the Human Flame and readers learn a fascinating aspect of the Martian Manhunter’s weakness. The story is written by Shawn Aldridge, with art by Adriana Melo, colors by Hi-Fi, and letters by Dave Sharpe.
The Human Flame has appeared at the Metropolis Museum, where the Martian Manhunter is investigating a mysterious artifact. After clearing the area of bystanders, the Manhunter charges the Human Flame. Using his telepathic powers, he senses this is a different Human Flame than he has fought before. The new Human Flame uses the original's suit, but it does not faze the Martian Manhunter. Shocked that his fire did not stop him, the Martian Manhunter informs the Human Flame that his reaction is relative to the flame—that a birthday cake will make him “tense” but not “make [him] wilt.” He then dispatches the Human Flame, leaving him for the authorities. The scene proves that, while even a small sliver of Kryptonite can harm Superman, it takes a lot of fire to bring the Martian Manhunter down.
Just as the Martian Manhunter’s powers can be nebulous, so can his weakness to fire. The various writers and artists who have left their stamp on the character have interpreted the Martian Manhunter’s aversion to fire in differing ways, but now it seems DC is attempting to clarify just exactly how it works. A small bit of fire will make him nervous, but it will not kill him. Meanwhile, even the smallest fragment of Green Kryptonite can kill Superman.
This puts both heroes’ weaknesses into perspective: fire is indeed far more common than Green Kryptonite, but it takes far more fire to kill the Martian Manhunter than Kryptonite to kill Superman. In many ways, it makes the Manhunter more powerful than the Man of Steel.
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