In "When We First Met", we spotlight the various characters, phrases, objects or events that eventually became notable parts of comic lore, like the first time someone said, "Avengers Assemble!" or the first appearance of Batman's giant penny or the first appearance of Alfred Pennyworth or the first time Spider-Man's face was shown half-Spidey/half-Peter. Stuff like that.

Today, based on a suggestion from reader Ray B., we take a look at the origin of Martian Manhunter's obsession with Oreos.

J'onn J'onnz has been so into Oreos for so many years that when he had his own ongoing series in the late 1990s, there was even an entire issue devoted to his love of the chocolate and cream cookie...

Since the cookies were going to be featured on the cover, DC likely figured that they should come up with a generic cookie substitute, so they called them "Chocos" from this point forward.

In the issue, a flashback to J'onn's time in the Justice League International, John Ostrander and Doug Mahnke show the Manhunter freaing out when Blue Beetle and Booster Gold buy all of the Chocos in the area...

Batman reveals that Chocos have a unique effect on Martians, which is why J'onn is obsessed with them...

In the end, though, his obsession becomes real and it is defeated. The whole thing, though, turns out to just be Martian Manhunter making up a story to Kyle Rayner to explain to him why he likes Chocos so much...

When Martian Manhunter was killed in Final Crisis, Batman leaves a Choco on J'onn's coffin...

So now we have been given a reason (albeit a fake one) for why Martian Manhunter is obsessed with Chocos/Oreos, but that doesn't explain, of course, when he first got into them.

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It all started with the newly re-formed Justice League after Legends. Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon put together the most powerful League that they could based on the restrictions that they were working with (no Superman, no Wonder Woman, no Flash, no Aquaman, no Hal Jordan, etc.) and so they had a lot of heavy hitters on the team, including brand-new Justice League members like Doctor Fate and Captain Marvel. With Captain Marvel, Giffen and DeMatteis played up his wide-eyed innocence and as part of that, when the League is having a meeting in Justice League #4, Captain Marvel is eating Oreos...

However, by the end of the first story arc on the League, with the team transitioning into an international peacekeeping force, Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate both quit the team, with Marvel finding the whole thing a bit too grim for him (he was possessed by a villain in the previous story and it unsettled him).

With the heavy hitters now mostly gone, Giffen and DeMatteis instead ratcheted up the humor that had already been a big part of the book to this point. Their most famous scene early on was when Guy Gardner challenged Batman to a fight and Batman knocked him out in one punch to the delight of his teammates (he then bangs his head and his brain damage makes him act super sweet to everyone).

So Giffen and DeMatteis began to make the book more of a sitcom than anything else and in Justice League International #8, with the League moving into their new embassies around the world, the issue was an all-out comedy (that issue introduced the "Bwah Ha Ha Ha" laugh that this era is best remembered for).

So when we see Martian Manhunter moving stuff into the New York embassy, we also learn that he has become obsessed with Oreos since being introduced to them by Captain Marvel...

At the end of the issue, everyone is sharing the Oreos...

So there ya go, Ray!

If anyone else has a suggestion, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!