Ma'alefa'ak
Ma'alefa'ak is an extraterrestrial character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Ma'alafa'ak was a male Green Martian who was born long ago on Mars where he was the son of Sha'sheen J'onzz and M'yrnn J'onzz with him having a twin brother named J'onn J'onnz. He was named by his mother Sha'sheen who was a mystic that served as a Manhunter whilst his father M'yrnn worked as a council man and scholar. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
By adulthood, he decided to follow the path of a theologian and a quantum physicist. However, in this time, he concluded that the Martian gods were asleep and that prayer was ineffectual. Thus, he believed that the only path forward was to find new gods to answer their prayers leading to him uncovering the existence of the New Gods. This led to him making contact with the forces of Apokolips where he forged a secret pact with them. By this point, Ma'alefa'ak had sequestered himself in his laboratory and rebuffed all telepathic contact leading to concern from the ruling council. They summoned him before them where he revealed his experiments and introduced the New Gods with Glorious Godfrey emerging from a Boom Tube to make contact with the Green Martian race. He was in service to Darkseid where he claimed that this was a glorious new age for Mars. However, this was ultimately a deception and during another contact the Apokoliptians attacked where they kidnapped the ruling council, Martian children and Ma'alefa'ak. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
H'ronmeer's Curse came to spread across Mars where it proceeded to kill off the entire Green Martian people. However, his brother J'onn managed to survive much to Ma'alefa'ak's surprise where the two fought one another but an explosion separated the siblings. It was then believed that Ma'alefa'ak was killed when the power cathedral collapsed and he was buried in the rubble thus leaving J'onn seemingly the last surviving Martian. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. It was believed that he had perished but rather he remained in hiding and was part of the Martian conspiracy to take control of Earth. He appeared before his White Martian kin in the psychic war room after J'onn J'onnz scattered his body around the world in order to prevent the activation of the weapon. To combat him, Ma'alefa'ak crafted his own in the Martian Man-Eater whereby he used Black Martian magic to twist a group of White Martians into a singular form. (Martian Manhunter v4 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
His name was given by his mother after she received a vision with the word translating to mean "Darkness in the Heart". (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
It was said that he was cursed before he drew his first breath. Whilst growing up, Ma'alefa'ak was said to had grown a reputation for being difficult where he shunned others with they in turn shunning him. In that time, he stated that everyone hated and feared him because of the name given to him by his parents. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
Whilst growing up, J'onn was said to had loved his brother despite his nature. He came to acknowledge that perhaps J'onn was the only person who loved him in the world and genuinely mean it. Despite that, he noted that he could not help resenting his brother. J'onn's own attempts to help his sibling came to cause him to instead bristle and become more hurt in the process with this developing into a rift between the pair. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33) Over time, Ma'alefa'ak had said that he wanted nothing less than the death of his sibling J'onn J'onnz. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0)
Among the Martian race, the presence of twins was said to be a rare occurrence in their society. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
Powers and abilities
Ma'alefa'ak was a Green Martian though one born without their telepathy. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0)
However, he retained his people's ability to change his shape and form. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0) In his youth, he was able to reshape his fingers into sharp pointed appendages that he could use to stab an object. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
He was the creator of H'ronmeer's Curse that was a telepathic plague cause Martian's to burst into flames due to their weakness to fire. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0)
On Mars, he used to serve in the role of a priest/scientist among the Green Martians. (Martian Manhunter v2 #0) His path to adulthood saw him becoming a theologian and a quantum physicist where he often barricaded himself in his laboratory. (Martian Manhunter v2 #33)
Notes
- Ma'aleka'ak was created by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake where he made his first appearance in Martian Manhunter v2 #0 (October, 1998).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Young Justice, Ma'ale'fa'ak appeared in the setting of the animated television series Outsiders season in the episode "Away Mission" where he was voiced by actor Ben Diskin. This version was a White Martian named M'comm M'orzz who was the younger brother of Miss Martian. He came to resent the Green Martians after being persecuted by them for most of his life leading to him taking the name Ma'ale'fa'ak that were deadly and vile predators that inhabited the planet Mars.
- In Supergirl, Ma'alefa'ak appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where he was voiced by actor Phil LaMarr whilst Marcello Guedes portrayed him as a boy whilst his teenager form was portrayed by Domonique Robinson.
Films
- In Justice League: Doom, Ma'alefa'ak made an appearance as an antagonist where he was voiced by actor Carl Lumbly. He was invited alongside numerous other super villains by Vandal Savage in order to be inducted in his Legion of Doom where they sought to destroy their sworn enemies in the Justice League. Savage had uncovered secret plans and strategies made by Batman against his own team mates in case they ever went rogue. With this information, Ma'alefa'ak was given the task of eliminating his foe namely the Martian Manhunter where he disguised himself as a woman where she slipped a substance in John Jones drink that caused him to constantly be caught on fire seemingly killing him. J'onn J'onnz was later saved by his Justice League team mates where they confronted the Legion of Doom at their base with the Manhunter fighting Ma'alefa'ak where the two used their shape shifting talents to fight one another. Ma'alefa'ak was seemingly killed when he was caught within the exhaust port of a rocket fired from the Legion of Doom's headquarters.
Appearances
- Martian Manhunter v2: (1998)
- Martian Manhunter v4:
External Links
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