Martian Manhunter #6 Review

Writer: Steve Orlando / Artist: Riley Rossmo / DC Comics At the halfway point of the series, Martian Manhunter doubles down on J’onn’s past as we’re shown the brutal honesty of J’onn’s final day on Mars. And I promise you, just like gas station sushi, it doesn’t make you feel good.  We’ve been duped. Bamboozled. Led astray! Because a lot of this series takes place in the past, and it’s narrated by J’onn, the emotionally available green Martian, we’ve grown accustomed to his point of view. But what if I told you that was all wrong? Sometimes our narrators are unreliable. Even the ones that are our heroes. Well, we got it all this issue. For everything that J’onn omitted to the audience, and to his family, he let it all out this issue as a way to try and make amends with his past. And It was all framed around J’onn needing to regain the trust of his partner in order for them to move on and stop this new threat in their town. Let me tell you… this shit hurt, man. Orlando really takes advantage of the holes in J’onn’s history. So much so that this doesn’t feel like a modern retelling or a quick rehash of known events. He brings us to the trenches and gives us a raw view of absolutely everything. And the mind-blowing part is that you thought that’s what you’ve been getting this whole time. Nope. Think twice, homie. 

The last day on Mars is a lot like you would think it would be: painful deaths, existential crises, and a collective struggle to survive. The one constant that thes…