Capes cross over · Cosmic
Martian Manhunter vs Escanor
The last son of Mars fears only one thing: fire. His opponent is the sun.
Tale of the tape
| DC | Universe | The Seven Deadly Sins |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmic | Tier | City to planet |
| Shapeshifting, intangibility, telepathy and Superman-level strength | Strength | Power that peaks with the noon sun |
| Fire, the ancient terror of his people | Weakness | Weak at night |
| 0–1 | Record on Versus | 1–2 |
The Arena
J’onn J’onzz followed a strange energy reading to a desert plateau in another world, where the air shimmered with heat. Standing on a flat rock in the middle of it, arms folded, was a giant of a man with a huge axe on his shoulder, who looked down at J’onn as if he were a beetle. “Who dares stand before me?”
J’onn read his mind and found it very simple and very loud. This was Escanor, the Lion’s Sin of Pride, and he truly believed himself to be the strongest being in existence, at least until sunset. J’onn checked the sky. It was eleven fifty-eight in the morning.
“I am J’onn J’onzz of Mars,” he said calmly. “And I do not wish to fight you.” Escanor laughed, a sound like thunder. “Who decided that?”
Round One
Escanor swung Rhitta, his enormous axe, and J’onn turned intangible. The blade passed through him without touching him. He became solid behind Escanor and struck with Superman-level strength, sending the giant crashing through the rock. Escanor got up, brushed off his shoulders and smiled. He had felt that.
They fought across the plateau, J’onn shifting shape, growing, phasing, appearing from beneath the ground. He was faster and far more versatile. He tried to enter Escanor’s mind to calm him, but found the man’s pride so absolute that it was like trying to argue with a mountain.
Every minute the sun climbed higher, and every minute Escanor grew stronger. J’onn felt the heat building around him like an oven, and an old, cold dread woke in his chest.
The Turn
The sun reached its peak, and Escanor became The One, the strongest being in his world for exactly one minute. His body blazed with heat. The sand around his feet turned to glass. He raised a single finger, and a miniature sun formed above it, burning so bright that J’onn had to look away.
Fire. The one thing J’onn’s entire race feared above everything else. His shapeshifting faltered. His body began to lose its form. Ancient terror, older than memory, flooded through him as the heat washed over the plateau.
He tried to phase away, to fly, to vanish into the ground. But fear makes even a Martian slow, and Escanor’s Cruel Sun was already falling.
The Finish
The Cruel Sun exploded across the plateau, and J’onn screamed as the flames engulfed him. He collapsed to his knees, his body barely holding its shape, his mind full of burning cities on a dead Mars that no longer existed.
Escanor stood over him, axe raised. Then, for a moment, he lowered it. Even at noon, Escanor was not cruel to the fallen. “You are strong, Martian,” he said. “But no one can stand before the sun.” He extinguished the flames around them with a wave of his hand.
J’onn lay in the cooling glass, breathing hard. “You are right,” he said quietly. “No one can.” By the time the sun began to set, Escanor had shrunk back into a thin, gentle innkeeper who was extremely apologetic and kept offering J’onn a drink, which J’onn found far stranger than the fight.
The verdict
Escanor wins
J’onn is faster, more versatile and powerful enough to hold his own early, but Escanor’s power peaks at noon in the form of a living sun, and fire is the Martian’s oldest weakness.
- FireEscanor’s sun-powered attacks hit J’onn’s greatest weakness.
- Noon peakAs The One, Escanor briefly overwhelms almost anyone.
- PrideEscanor’s absolute self-belief leaves no mental crack for J’onn to use.
How the rematch could go differently: At night, when Escanor is a frail innkeeper, J’onn would win without throwing a punch.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Martian Manhunter and Escanor?
Escanor wins. J’onn is faster, more versatile and powerful enough to hold his own early, but Escanor’s power peaks at noon in the form of a living sun, and fire is the Martian’s oldest weakness.