Martian Manhunter is a very commonly seen character within the DC Universe and one of the most important members of the Justice League. Likewise, due to the character’s role in shows like Supergirl and Young Justice, his popularity has only grown in recent years.
Thanks to his Martian physiology, Martian Manhunter has an incredible number of unique abilities that some have argued make him even more powerful than Superman. While that may or may not be the case, Martian Manhunter certainly packs a lot of power in several different ways. To look at how Manhunter’s powers are different from others, unique, and useful, here is our list of all of his abilities, ranked.
10 Flight
Thanks to martian’s abilities to alter their own mass, they are able to effortlessly fly through the air, especially under Earth’s atmosphere. However, while a martian’s ability to fly is rather nice, it is not very unique in regards to a superpower. They are able to fly fast, but they are not near the fastest. Furthermore, all Martians are capable of learning this skill making it common not only on Earth, but literally everywhere on Mars. As a result, this superpower of Martian Manhunter’s is the most uninspiring of all others on this list.
9 Speed
Like Superman or Flash, Martian Manhunter has the ability to travel at incredible speeds, however, he is not nearly as fast as the other two. Thankfully, he has many other abilities to make up for his slightly slower nature, but he can’t help but fall behind others in terms of speed.
While he may not be the fastest man or martian alive, he still travels fast enough to get to a situation in a pinch, making the combination of his speed and flight a bit more useful when applied together.
8 Super Strength/Durability
Like many other superheroes, Martian Manhunter has super strength and durability. However, while both of these factors are still impressive, he is not quite as strong or as durable as others.
For example, Superman is easily far stronger than Martian Manhunter. Furthermore, Manhunter’s durability is different in that he himself is very malleable. So, while bullets may not simply bounce off of him, his abilities to phase and shape-shift also come into factor.
7 Regeneration
Martian Manhunter also has the ability to rapidly heal himself. While his main weakness is fire, other things have been shown to hurt him. However, even while recovering from fire damage, Martian Manhunter can recover at an incredible rate.
In some cases, it has only taken him moments to make a full recovery. With a weakness to a very common substance on planet Earth, this rapid healing factor has proved to be incredibly helpful, especially considering how often he gets injured.
6 Super Senses
Much like Superman, Martian Manhunter also has enhanced senses. Typically though, Manhunter sees advances to his sight more so than his other senses. Manhunter has heat vision, and microscopic vision like Superman, but also has the added bonus of being able to see different wavelengths.
Essentially, this means that he can see things that the naked human eye cannot even begin to process. Furthermore, his other senses are also very advanced, but not to the same degree as his sight. While it is also not the most unique ability, it is definitely a powerful one for Manhnuuter to possess.
5 Invisibility
Turning invisible is another fairly common superpower that all Martians can do. Thanks to their physiology, martians can turn their skin transparent and hence render themselves invisible to the naked eye.
This doesn’t mean that they are completely undetectable, as advanced technology can pick up on their presense, though it certainly helps in the case of an unsuspecting enemy. Martian Manhunter of course, typically only uses this ability for stealth purposes, but there’s no denying how useful it can be when the mission calls for it.
4 Matter Absorption
On several occasions, Martian Manhunter has been shown to absorb or divide matter into/from himself. For a brief period, he even divided himself into 3 separate personas, each with varying personalities and abilities. He can also increase his mass to incredible size,so long as he has something to absorb into himself.
This ability has certainly come in handy over the years and also made Martian Manhunter an incredibly intimidating individual. While also one of his more unique abilities, his shapeshifting is also unique in relation to how other heroes may do it.
3 Shape-Shifting
A martian’s ability to shapeshift is likely their most valuable and useful power. Not only can Martian Manhunter alter his appearance, but he can change the color of his skin, simulating a perfect human form and even clothing.
He can also use this ability to turn his arms into weapons by making them incredibly sharp or even anything he may need based on the situation. The ability to shape-shift, when combined with all of his other abilities, makes for an incredibly powerful character that is incredibly deadly and hard to detect.
2 Phasing
One of the more unique abilities that Martian Manhunter possesses is the ability to phase through just about any object. Manhunter has used this to get himself through some of the tightest security without leaving a trace. This also helps play into his durability factor, as many harmful objects simply pass right through him.
However, Martian Manhunter can also extend this power to others through contact, meaning that he can phase other people/objects through a solid surface so long as he is touching them.
1 Telepathy/Telekinesis
One thing that Martians are specifically known for is their ability to communicate telepathically and their telekinesis. Most Martians don’t even communicate verbally, meaning that telepathy is taught at an incredibly young age. It is also their most powerful ability.
Over the years, Martians have done excessive and dramatic psychological damage to opponents, even going so far as to leave them in vegetative states. While this skill can be incredibly deadly, it has also been used for communication purposes so that comm lines cannot be tapped or hacked into.