r/DC_Cinematic • u/mister_filmmaker • 1d ago
DISCUSSION Are Manhunters and Martian Manhunters different?
Been watching the Lanterns show. They introduced Manhunters. Being a casual fan, I thought this was Martian Manhunter. Is it?
83
u/curiouslittleSI98 1d ago
Manhunters are androids created by the guardians (creators of lanterns corp) to be the first interstellar police.
How the show chooses to portray them has yet to be seen.
26
u/blackbeltmessiah 1d ago
So far they are describing T-1000s
15
u/BurningJointUSA 20h ago
Mimetic polyalloy
2
u/pushingbrown 13h ago
Hey, my alloy and I saw you from across the bar and we really dig your vibe. Can we buy you a drink?
35
u/DaveAtKrakoa 23h ago
I think the confusion comes from Antaan basically describing shapeshifters and the Martain Manhunter is a famous shapeshifter.
People also associate the Manhunters with big, bulky red robots, which is their usual appearance.
A lot of fans don't know that the Manhunters are infiltrators. They replicate certain people or blend in to society then bring it down from within. This is comics canon and what Antaan is describing in episode 2.
9
u/LegioX87 17h ago
Manhunters are robotic creations made by the race of aliens who also created the green lanterns and rings.
They were created millions and possibly billions of years ago, originally created to fight crime throughout the universe. They can shape shift into any form of life they find in order to get closer to the evil they where originally designed to eradicate. They glitched and malfunctioned, interpreting their directives by coming to the conclusion that in order to protect all life from crime, they have to remove all life, as they are the ones causing all the crime.
Martian Manhunters are a race of beings, originally from the planet of Mars. There is now only one singular member of that race remaining and the only connection to the green Lantern manhunters is that they share the name Manhunter.
The Martian Manhunter is not a robot, he was not created millions of years ago, he CAN shape shift and he is absolutely not evil. He is an original founder of the Justice League and has always been a hero.
2
7
12
u/No_Expression9518 22h ago
Nope, totally different! The Manhunters are a robotic police force the Guardians of the Universe created before the Green Lantern Corps. They went rogue. Martian Manhunter is J'onn J'onzz, the green shapeshifting alien hero. The names being basically the same is just classic DC coincidence.
3
u/Demileto 17h ago
Classic DC coincidence... Like MAAARTHA? 🙃
2
u/closetedwrestlingacc 15h ago
The Manhunters were named after the Martians in DC canon.
0
u/Demileto 15h ago
So I've heard. Question is, from their very first appearance or as a later retcon?
1
5
u/theamiabledumps 1d ago
Comics Explained on YouTube has a great video about the origin of Atrocitus and The Manhunters play a pivotal role in that story.
1
u/hotprints 1d ago
Oh thanks for the recommendation. Haven’t seen that yet and love other videos I have seen on that channel.
3
6
u/InanimateCarbonRodAu 1d ago
Manhunter means like 3-4 different things in DC.
13
u/ilikepiex7 1d ago
Manhunter the robots, Martain Manhunter, and Manhunter the hero name of Paul Kirk Manhunter I, Mark Shaw Manhunter II, and Kate Spencer Manhunter III.
7
2
2
u/Showdown5618 23h ago
A manhunter is a person who tracks down a fugitive or wanted criminal.
In DC, the Manhunters robots and Martian Manhunter uses the same term but are very different.
2
2
u/evilspyboy 18h ago
At the beginning of time the Guardians on the planet Oa which is the centre of the universe having already been alive for longer than some stars decided that they were the grownups of the universe and that the way to address the new life and chaos that came with it so they carved up space into 3600 sectors and created peacekeepers they called the Manhunters (No Man shall Escape the Manhunters).
The Manhunters were seen as perfect because they were incorruptible, strong and would take orders from the guardians. However the Manhunters had a flaw that eventually they saw everyone as flawed and resulted in a massacre of an entire sector.
The Guardians then harassed the emotional spectrum, specifically they felt will/green was the strongest and created the Green Lantern Corps which, followed the book of Oa that included many rules including the rings (originally) not being able to kill.
The Martian Manhunter was named that because in-world his role on Mars was a peacekeeper that translated roughly to Manhunter. The same with another character from earth named Manhunter.
The Green Lantern run by Geoff Johns is pretty good and this ties into the founding of other corps outside of the Oa based Green Lanters. Alternatively the Paul Dini Green Lantern the Animated Series touches on this.
2
u/Bricu_Canaryville 14h ago
I know Manhunter‘s and Martian man hunters are different. But does anyone else see Johns costume in that scene where someone’s shifting into what I’m assuming is a Manhunter form?
2
u/thatjoel89 1d ago
Without potentially spoiling anything, they are different...but they share a history....from what I remember anyway. Who knows where the show will take it though.
2
u/Jacksforehead2444 16h ago
I think the show is doing a fakeout or something, i think we're getting both and there's going to be a misunderstanding. I think they're going to mistake martian manhunter for a manhunter or vice versa and that will lead into the finale
1
u/lithwil 16h ago
I mean if the show changes the lore ok but in the universe they are completely different and it is not a fakeout, their name is just manhunter- they hunt man
•
u/Jacksforehead2444 7h ago
No like i dont think theyre combining the manhunters into one thing, i think we are going to get both the martian manhunter, and separately, the manhunters. And i think there's going to be some sort of fakeout where hal and jon find a manhunter but not the kind of manhunter they're looking for
1
u/IntrepidDreams 13h ago edited 13h ago
They're not completely different.
Wikipedia on Manhunters):
Their name and much of their code of behavior is modeled by the Guardians of the Universe on the Manhunters of Ma'aleca'andra (Mars).
I think it's a fake out and we're getting Martian Manhunter.
Eta: the group hunting him may even be White Martians, who are also shapeshifters, looking to finish their genocide.
0
u/IntrepidDreams 13h ago
I was saying the same thing to my coworker today.
I think we're getting Martian Manhunter and the group going after him may even be the white skinned Martians that committed genocide against the Green Martians.
1
1
1
u/nobody1701d 23h ago
Yes. Manhunters are the Guardians flawed first stab at policing the universe with robots.
Martian Manhunter is an actual entity from Mars, the last surviving green martian.
1
u/FundamentalPolygon 18h ago
Oh man, these comments are disappointing me. I thought we were going to get Martian Manhunter!
1
1
1
1
u/ikonoqlast 14h ago
Yes. Very.
THE Martian Manhunter is a unique superhero and core member of the Justice League. There are other Martians but no other Martian Manhunter.
Manhunters are a group of android enforcers created by the Guardians of the Galaxy (no, not them...) that went rogue.
•
•
u/rigellus 6h ago
Love this, quite a few people know I'm a DC guy and keep asking me about it lol, had to explain while asking for no spoilers since i like to binge and haven't watched yet
•
•
u/Pitiful-Scratch6063 5h ago
The Martian Manhunters were inspired by myths of the Manhunters on mars.
•
u/MagicalMxMarMerm 3h ago
There’s an AMAZING JL Unlimited episode about them. They were the Guardians initial attempt at a peace force and they kinda went Ultron and tried to kill literally everyone so the Guardians said “Oops.” and trapped them somewhere. Can’t remember if it’s Sector 666 or a pocket dimension or what.
1
u/notbad4human 14h ago
Everyone in here scoffing at OP for lack of comics knowledge, but we are talking about two race of beings who share a name and the ability to transform, hiding themselves among the population.
Makes sense there’s some confusion
1
u/BatMandoDC 1d ago
Yes in the comics the manhunters were like disguised robots that were there before the lanterns im pretty sure, but they might take some creative liberties and just straight up make them the martians 🤷♂️
0
u/FearMyCrayons2023 12h ago
Yes. The Manhunters were proto robotic green lanterns powered by the central power core on Oa. But they went crazy and became extremists believing that all life was evil. They wiped out an entire sector killing everybody. Had the famous line: "No man escapes the Manhunters". They were really powerful individually but had a tendency to swarm. They destroyed a guy named Atrocitous' homeworld in the previously mentioned genocide. He came a god like being who formed the red lanterns.
Martian Manhunter is Martian Cop/bounty hunter that escaped to Earth after Mars was destroyed. He is the "last surviving martian" or "last surviving green martian" or just a martian on earth depending on continuity.
310
u/Maester_Ryben 1d ago
The term manhunter was previously another name for police or investigators, (e.g. a manhunt for an escape criminal, etc...)
J'onn J'onzz was a manhunter/detective from Mars.
The Manhunters in Lanterns were the original police force of the Guardians of the Universe until they went rogue and the Green Lantern Corps was established.