10 DC Superheroes With Tortured Pasts

10. Martian Manhunter

The Martian Manhunter has never had it easy. From his first appearance in Detective Comics #225, back in November 1955, all the way up to his current incarnation within the DC Universe, the alien who would become known as J'onn J'onzz always had a past that was as tortured as any other.

When he was first brought to Earth, it was against his will, thanks to Dr. Saul Erdel and his experimental transportation beam. Firing rays into space willy-nilly, he ended up pulling J'onn from his home planet and, when the shock of the encounter proved too much for him, caused him to drop dead. The Martian Manhunter now found himself stranded.

That alone would've been enough for him to find himself on this list, but what eventually followed was the icing on a tragic cake.

He would later discover that his twin brother, Ma'alefa'ak, had not only mind-raped his wife, M'yri'ah, but had been the person responsible for the ultimate destruction of Mars. He had created a trap, known as H’ronmeer’s Curse, that had meant that whenever they had used their telepathic abilities, they literally had burst into flames. Ouch.