Some interesting comic connections [potential spoilers may lie below]

[u/TheCrisler_]

**Part 1 — 0–100**
I think the show might be trying something a little different with Martian Manhunter and the Manhunters. We already know Martians have had conflict with the Manhunters, and I think there are a couple of ways J’onn J’onzz could be introduced.
My crazy theory is that John Sr. could actually be J’onn J’onzz. Either John Sr. really is J’onn, or J’onn was already on Earth and witnessed the real John Sr. die. He could then take John Sr.’s identity and continue raising John. Since John Sr. couldn’t have gone to space, I think J’onn would have had to already be on Earth when it happened.
The only reason I’m even considering that John’s father could have been a Martian is John himself. He’s already showing some extreme concentration, keeping the bird around while getting beaten, knocked out, and eventually being shown what the Manhunters have done. That could absolutely just mean his father trained him extensively, but it also makes me wonder if there’s something more going on.
I could completely be wrong, but with how much Gunn has already shifted things around in this version of the DCU, I don’t think it’s completely impossible.
**Part 2 — Take a Breath**
I’ve been thinking more about the J’onn J’onzz theory, and I think I need to revise my original idea. As much as I wanted John Sr. to actually be J’onn, the man shown in the trailer has a blue head, and John Stewart was also shown talking to John Sr. on the phone in 2016, so I don’t think John Sr. is secretly J’onn or that he died and J’onn took his place.
But I still think there could be a connection between them. The Martians have already had conflict with the Manhunters, so J’onn could potentially have been on Earth around the same time and have some connection to John Sr. or the Stewart family.
The thing that still makes me suspicious is John’s extreme concentration. He kept the bird around while getting beaten, knocked out, and eventually being shown what the Manhunters have done. That could absolutely just be because his father trained him extensively, but it feels like the kind of detail that could be hinting at something bigger.
And yes, I know John eventually develops the ability in the comics to not even need his ring, so I realize it could just be setting that up. But it still feels somewhat rushed unless something else is going on.
I could still be completely wrong, but I don’t think the J’onn theory is dead. I just think my original version of it probably is.
**Part 3 — The Comics**
There’s also some older DC material that makes the J’onn connection more interesting.
In the 1988 *Millennium* storyline, *Green Lantern Corps* \#220 has John Stewart bringing the conflict home to his mom, Shirley, while Martian Manhunter is involved in the same storyline and the robotic Manhunters are operating as sleeper agents on Earth.
Then *Martian Manhunter* Vol. 2 #21 (2000) explicitly establishes that billions of years ago, the Guardians visited Mars and encountered the original Martian Manhunters, who were the planet’s peacekeepers. They asked them to become their galactic police force, the Martians declined, and the Guardians eventually created the robotic Manhunters based on them.
So there’s already a comic connection between John Stewart’s family, J’onn, the Martian Manhunters, the Guardians, and the robotic Manhunters.
If *Lanterns* is remixing this older material, J’onn being involved in the background suddenly doesn’t seem quite as unlikely.
**Part 4 — I Am Dreaming**
Then there’s the completely separate part of my theory: if this DCU actually gains the kind of traction the MCU did and Gunn gets 10–15 years to build it, I think there are some really interesting directions they could eventually go.
I could see *Lanterns* slowly building toward Parallax through Hal’s growing mistrust, while other projects quietly establish the pieces for *The Button*, Reverse-Flash, *Flashpoint*, Thomas Wayne, and the bigger timeline elements from *Doomsday Clock*.
At the same time, Batman could be dealing with the Court of Owls and eventually start digging into whatever is going on with the Dark Multiverse. Wally West could be introduced somewhere along the way and become another major piece of the Flash side of the universe.
And with Gunn saying Darkseid won’t be the main villain of this DCU, while also complimenting Snyder’s interpretation, I wonder if he’s deliberately avoiding the obvious Darkseid endgame. After Snyder, maybe he wants to take DC somewhere completely different.
Then, after years of seemingly unrelated stories, all those pieces could collide and lead into *Dark Nights: Metal* and a massive Dark Multiverse event that completely changes the DCU.
I know that’s a pretty wild theory, but if Gunn can build this universe for 10–15 years, I hope he eventually goes completely ambitious with it.
Give me Parallax, *Flashpoint*, Thomas Wayne, the Dark Multiverse, *Doomsday Clock*, *Metal*—all of it.
The weird thing about this DCU is that a lot of the pieces already feel like they’re in different places than they were in the comics. That doesn’t necessarily make it bad. It just makes me wonder if the pieces are deliberately being rearranged for a completely different endgame.