His classic costume does look somewhat ridiculous, but… well, frankly, so do *most* superhero costumes, in isolation.

Yes. I didn't say "in isolation".

Looking stupid among stupid looking things is usually a sign that you look the stupidest.

On the character, I do think there's a "too much potential" problem, particularly because every new writer can and does focus on some different "central" aspect. And he's not necessarily *wrong* either, because it's all there, somewhere.

The Conehead and the Skrull chin. I also don’t like that they’re covering up the majority of his green skin– it’s there to make him look alien and stand out, so show more skin. (Yes, I’m apparently asking for Martian beefcake. This has not slipped past me.)

Heh, okay. Personally, I always thought he looked RIDICULOUS in his classic costume. Maybe it just comes from having no real attachment to the character, but the conehead doesn't bother me. The skrully chin doesn't even, really either. I think it does a good job of making him look alien and stand out, you know? And isn't that his natural form or something?

I still haven’t heard a solid explanation of what’s so bad about his new costume.

The Conehead and the Skrull chin. I also don't like that they're covering up the majority of his green skin-- it's there to make him look alien and stand out, so show more skin. (Yes, I'm apparently asking for Martian beefcake. This has not slipped past me.)

“Why Isn’t The Martian Manhunter Gay?"

I'd also ask-- why isn't his John Jones identity black?

What is the Martian Manhunter? What is Aquaman? What is Wonder Woman?

Aquaman is the King of the Sea. Wonder Woman is the Ambassador and the Warrior Princess. Martian Manhunter is the noble alien, and the philosopher.

Also, I've edited the original post with a creative team suggestion for a possible Martian Manhunter title.

I think it's great that he's got several different secret identities. So much to work with, right there! Yeah, all those powers he's got makes him tough to beat — I'm sure that's why Morrison re-introduced the fire weakness, otherwise there's no drama in his stories because he's never in danger.

Ostrander did some great stuff with J'onn but one boneheaded move he made was to introduce Malefic (am I spelling that right?) but then kill him off. I'm not opposed to the White Martians — they give J'onn a natural enemy — but Malefic was clearly designed as J'onn's nemesis, and you just don't kill off the main nemesis. Every hero needs his Luthor, his Joker, his Sinestro, his Green Goblin. (Of course, the other trick there is to not overuse them.) So J'onn could benefit from a rogues gallery, which Ostrander tried to provide. (Plus, there's Despero.)

I've got no problem with the new look — well, OK, Paul's right about the weird Skrull-like chin. But the head shape holds true to his "real" physiology. And isn't it about time he got out of his bathing trunks? I mean, damn, they let Robin have pants almost 20 years ago. Poor J'onn was running around all these decades in brightly colored fetish gear, a cross between a leatherman and a pirate. (But I guess I'm weird about costumes. The only characters I really like to see showing all that skin is the old '70s Legion. I think Wonder Woman should lose the star-spangled thong (that thing just keeps getting smaller and smaller!) and I don't even like Black Canary's fishnets.)

I'll reserve judgment about MM with the Outsiders. But with him and Metamorpho on the team, that's a lot of power. Could suddenly be a really interesting book! And mabye things'll turn around for our favorite martian — after all, there's a whole new generation that came to know him through the Justice League cartoons, which is the greatest exposure he's ever gotten.

What was J'Onn's role in the DCAU? He was the outsider right? I guess that wouldn't work in the comics now that he has been around so long.

Martian Manhunter was Hardy to the rest of the team of nincompoop Laurels...

During that fun run, Jonn was often the one to remind his team (he was pretty much the leader) that, beyond the riot, this was still the Justice League dammit!

I also liked a couple of Martian Manhunter solo stories that appeared in some ANNUALS during the same era (or just after that period) where the emphasis was much more about Jonn's detective skills than his super powers.

He makes J'onn into the soul of the entire DCU there.

Over years, DeMatteis got rid of the goofy fire weakness, his character got built up and expanded...then Morrison comes along, with his Big 7 stories, and J'Onn suddenly can be stopped by a guy with a zippo. In the Giffen era, Batman pushes J'Onn to be the leader...a job only he can do...in the Morrison..not so much.

Bill's pretty close to "nail on the head" as t'why. But I'd put it a different way: There are two types of Martian Manhunter stories. Those that would be better as Superman stories, and those that would be better as Batman stories.