Martian Manhunter, Gender & Sexuality

Because their bodies are multiple & ever-changing, shapeshifters inherently question gender & sexual binaries. Yet stories sometimes struggle to represent truly alien forms of difference. John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake’s “Martian Manhunter” pushes boundaries – within limits. 1/12

A central conceit of Ostrander & Mandrake’s series is that Martian Manhunter/J’onn J’onzz occupies multiple identities around the world, representing himself as men, women & children of multiple ethnicities, professions, social classes & ages. He’s also sometimes a cat. 2/12

J’onn embodies these identities to aid his superheroic mission of protecting people & combating injustice. Yet he also seems to enjoy experiencing different modes of existence. For instance, J’onn’s identity as star reporter Goldie Johnston is infused with a sense of play. 3/12

As Goldie (likely inspired by Brenda Starr), J’onn encounters gendered harassment. The comedic tone of this interlude can invite laughter at J’onn’s gender bending. Yet J’onn doesn’t seem to experience shame, flaunting his/her body while putting the harasser in his place. 4/12

The Martian conception of sex also bends and blends gender binaries. Martian sex is a fluid merging of the minds & bodies of the participants. Within this merging, all sexed & gendered physical features dissolve; each body penetrates & is penetrated, or perhaps simply flows. 5/12

Scholars Darieck Scott & Ramzi Fawaz argue comics are inherently queer in part because, “anything that can be drawn can be believed.” When fantastic images are accepted as credible, images of non-normative sexuality can be particularly powerful – and subversive. 6/12

Importantly, Martian sexuality is presented as emotionally & physically healing, as in MM #16, where J’onn merges with a white Martian to restore his mind’s connection to his body, saving his life. Here, connotatively queer, non-procreative sex is literally lifesaving. 7/12

However, some gender binaries remain evident. J’onn is a husband; his wife is a wife. And when sexual attraction is kindled, J’onn presents as masculine while his partners present as feminine (with usual feminine accoutrements like colored lips and jewelry). 8/12

Then again, according to feminist philosopher Judith Butler, gender is both socially constructed and deeply felt, both performative and “real.” It’s not easy to “transcend” gender, and many people don’t want to. Some people don’t identify with a single gender; others do. 9/12

Since sex (a biological category) is not the same as gender (a social category), J’onn J’onzz could be a many-bodied, physically fluid individual who nonetheless identifies as a man and/or masculine or even heterosexual. This is as credible as anything else. 10/12

Yet what’s missing from this version of Martian Manhunter’s world are other (queerer) possibilities for what being a shapeshifter might mean. Are some shapeshifters non-binary? Are some many-gendered? Does some sexual merging involve more than two bodies? We don’t know. 11/12

Ultimately, Ostrander & Mandrake’s “Martian Manhunter” is both a sophisticated, complex exploration of its title character’s unique existence and an example of how easy it can be to fall back on normative tropes within a culture & genre that remains beholden to binaries. 12/12