Erdel who had invented a machine to contact Mars.
As established in that tale, Martian Manhunter is actually J'onn J'onzz, a Martian who was summoned to Earth by a scientist named Dr. In the pre-Crisis era, Martian Manhunter made his debut in a back-up story in 1955's Detective Comics #225, created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa.
