Martian Manhunter, Detective

I'm particularly enjoying Martian Manhunter's story in Brightest Day. Part of that is the art; Patrick Gleason has done most of it I've seen and he's one of the more unique artists around these days.

But as with most comics it's the story that draws me to it. Martian Manhunter has never been able to hold a series for long, but he's a really intriguing character to look at as an individual. So I'm glad to see that they're taking advantage of a book like Brightest Day to give him some of the coverage he deserves.

I also like that Martian Manhunter is getting to flex his classic detective muscles. He's always been a fine detective (and until Bruce Wayne comes back he's probably the best detective currently active in the DCU) but too often it's his super-powers that get all the play. He does have a lot of them.

But Johns and Tomasi are using those powers in support of Martian Manhunter's detective abilities rather than in place of them. By doing this I think they're moving him to a unique place. It feels like they're moving him towards a character who works in the behind the scenes. As one of my one-shots put it -- paraphrasing here -- "Superman saves the world in the sun, Martian Manhunter saves it in the shadows." That's where J'onn J'onzz belongs.