Malefic was the brother and archnemesis of Martian Manhunter.
History
Ma'alefa'ak was the architect of an extinction-level event, which has since become known as H'ronmeer's Curse (or H'ronmeer's Plague). A plague of fire, this curse attacked Martians via their telepathic abilities. Whenever a Martian attempted to use their psionic gifts or commune with the Great Mind, they would fall victim to the Curse and ultimately burn to death. With the exception of Ma'alefa'ak's brother, J'onn and himself, nearly all Green Martians on the planet died as a result of Ma'alefa'ak's handiwork. For centuries, Ma'alefa'ak continued to live in the ruins of Mars, unaware that his brother had survived the plague, and had been transported through space and time to the planet Earth.
Several years ago, Ma'alefa'ak learned of J'onn's existence, and followed him to Earth in an effort to complete the genocide of the Martian race by destroying its last surviving son. The Martian Manhunter, however, foiled Ma'alefa'ak's efforts on several occasions.
During their earlier years, both Ma'Alefa'ak and J'onn underwent the ritual of G'amal'khul, in which each permanently exchanged a portion of their psyches with the other. Due to the ritual of G'amal'khul, the psychic remnant of Ma'alefa'ak living within J'onn J'onzz's mind managed to bury the similar remnants of his brother's wife and daughter. This fragment of Ma'alefa'ak then tormented his brother with twisted false memories of his life on Earth, his own persistent mental manifestation, and urges to drive the Martian Manhunter to suicide. The gambit briefly succeeded in sublimating J'onn's conscious self, allowing Ma'alefa'ak control of his physical body. But what this manifestation of Ma'alefa'ak did not count on was J'onn finally relocated his wife and daughter within himself, who assisted him in reasserting his psyche. This, combined with with the minds of the JLA, obliterated Ma'alefa'ak on the psychic plane.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Martian Physiology: Malefic possesses the same potential powers as an average Martian. These include:
- Shape-Shifting: Martians have psionic control of their physical for down to the molecular level. This allows them to a form of shape-shifting that allows them to mimic other forms, elongate aspects of their body, increase or decrease their physical size, and so on.
- Size Alteration: As an extension of their shape-shifting abilities, Martians can easily alter their size, shrinking or growing to gigantic size.[1]
- Invisibility: Martians can cause the biopolymers in their bodies to lose their ability to reflect light, making the Martians invisible to normal light and human sight.[2]
- Phasing: Martians can go through solid matter.
- Superhuman Strength:[2] Martians possess vast levels of superhuman strength and are among the few races that are able to match Kryptonians in terms of raw strength. Martians can easily shatter reinforced concrete and steel, lift and carry hundreds of tons with ease and deliver incredible damage with their blows.[3]
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Durability: Martians possess high levels of durability that make them nigh-invulnerable to all forms of damage. Martians can withstand high-caliber bullets, powerful energy blasts, and kinetic impacts without suffering damage.[4]
- Superhuman Speed: Martians can process thoughts, move, and react at incredible speed, being able to cover vast distances in little or no time, catch bullets in mid-flight, run on water and create afterimages as they run.[5]
- Regeneration: Martians have powerful regenerative powers that enable them to regenerate their entire body from a severed limb, they can further enhance their regenerative powers by drawing mass from nearby sources.[6]
- Flight[2]
- Extrasensory Input
- Longevity[6]
- Super Hearing[6]
- Heat Vision[7]
- Martian Vision: Martian visual acuity greatly exceed human norms and allows for a wider range of information to be observed. This includes the following:[2]
- Infrared Vision[citation needed]
- X-Ray Vision[8]
- Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision[citation needed]
- Telescopic Vision[9]
- Microscopic Vision[citation needed]
- Telepathy: Martians have the ability to read the minds of others and project their thoughts to varying degrees. They can also project their mental essences into a gestalt community known as the "Great Mind". Through this, the community can enhance the telepathic strength of other Martians. This power can also enable them to reverse the effects of amnesia or psychological brainwashing. [2]
- Illusions
- Possession
- Astral Projection
- Mind Control: As an extension of this, Martians can also use the ability to alter a psychological profile of a target, enabling them to manipulate, and in some cases, outright control that individual. This practice is greatly discouraged however, and only rarely used. [10]
- Telepathic Relay[10]
- Telepathic Assault
- Telekinesis:[11] Martians have mind-over-matter abilities and can lift and move objects with their minds. They can also employ their telekinesis in an offensive way by discharging telekinetic blasts capable of great concussive power.[12]
- Shape-Shifting: Martians have psionic control of their physical for down to the molecular level. This allows them to a form of shape-shifting that allows them to mimic other forms, elongate aspects of their body, increase or decrease their physical size, and so on.
Abilities
- Science
- Genius Level Intellect: Malefic was an extremely intelligent scientist, capable of engineering H'ronmeer's Curse.[14]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Malefic has routinely been shown to be a competent fighter, however one that relies on their immense power rather than skill and technique.
- Swordsmanship: Malefic tried to fight his brother with a sword.[15]
Weaknesses
- Power Limitation: Malefic has no telepathy unlike most other Martians, having had it stripped from him while on Mars. While also lacking the vulnerability against fire due to it.
Recommended Reading
- DCU Villains Secret Files and Origins #1
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #0
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #3
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #4
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #6
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #33-35
Related Articles
Related
- Appearances of Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz (New Earth)
- Images featuring Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz (New Earth)
- Quotations by or about Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz (New Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 4) #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Detective Comics #225
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 4) #2
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 3) #3
- ↑ JLA #3
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #8
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #3
- ↑ DC Comics Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- ↑ Who's Who: Update '88 #2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Martian Manhunter #4
- ↑ Detective Comics #226
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 3) #8
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #33
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #0
- ↑ Martian Manhunter (Volume 2) #35
  This character, team or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of Martian Manhunter. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Martian Manhunter Villains category." |