10 Smartest Decisions In DC Superhero History
4. Martian Manhunter Finds The Goodness Inside Faraday - New Frontier
Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier is a celebration of the Golden and Silver Ages of DC Comics, but also a thoughtful examination of the Cold War milieu. What Cooke does so cleverly is that he captures the charm and optimism of the medium in that era, and then grounds it in the real historical context of the time.
Superman reckons with his role as an American symbol while the Cold War hots up, while Batman negotiates how his own image could scare those he wishes to protect, thus providing a narrative reason for his shift from the Golden Age badass of the 1940s, to the more kid-friendly and outward looking character seen in the fifties and sixties.
It is incredibly clever, but arguably the focal point of the book is Martian Manhunter. Cooke retells the character's origins in the New Frontier and lays its most decisive moment at their feet.
After deciding to the leave the Earth, having witnessed so much cruelty in the short time he's there, J'onn is captured by King Faraday, a government spook. Faraday is typical of the reactionary, Red Scare G-Man, but he comes to bond with Manhunter, who in turn looks into Faraday's mind, and sees that he believes in a world where his methods one day won't be necessary.
This provides the impetus for the pair to work together against The Centre, and to unite the world's heroes along the way.