10 Best Comic Book Detectives (That Aren't Batman)
9. Martian Manhunter
J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter first premiered in Detective Comics #225 in 1955 and was created by Joseph Samachson and Joe Certa. J’onn was a dedicated Manhunter or police officer on his native Mars and had a wife and young daughter who he lost to a virus that was engineered by his brother Ma'alefa'ak. Scientist Dr. Saul Erdel accidentally aimed a device at Mars and transferred J’onn through time and space to Earth. Erdel died of shock when J’onn shape-shifted but their shared mental link healed the alien’s mind and informed him of his new home.
After learning that Mars was a dead world thanks to the plaque his brother started, J’onn took the identity of the Bronze Wraith and fought crime with the Justice Experience. He also established the human identity of police detective John Jones in the city of Middleton and established himself as someone who will not let a case go until justice is served.
His green-skinned form was eventually revealed and he began operating as the Martian Manhunter. He became a founding member of the Justice League of America and remained part of several reshufflings of the team, being the team’s leader on occasion. He let people believe that John Jones had been killed at one point. He has also maintained multiple identities in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere where he is more famous than Superman.