The cosmic civil war that split a single species into two
In short: Long before Earth's history, a violent schism tore the Martian race apart. What began as a unified, fire-using species known as 'The Burning' was genetically manipulated and divided, leaving behind a legacy of interplanetary warfare, planetary exile, and a deep-seated psychological divide between peace and conquest.
The origins of the Martian conflict lie in a radical genetic intervention performed approximately 20,000 years ago. Originally, the Martians were a single, belligerent race called 'The Burning,' which utilized fire for asexual reproduction. Fearing their potential, the Guardians of the Universe intervened, splitting them into two distinct species: the peaceful Green Martians and the more violent White Martians. To ensure neither side could achieve dominance, the Guardians implanted an instinctive fear of fire and altered their powers to prevent either group from overcoming the other.
This biological manipulation set the stage for a devastating civil war. The conflict was fueled by deep social and ethical divides. White Martians had previously engaged in 'biological vandalism' on Earth, performing genetic experiments that altered the human metagene to limit evolutionary potential. Furthermore, the White Martian practice of cloning led to a stratified society; while Green Martians treated their clones as equals, White Martians treated their cloned underclass as slaves. This systemic enslavement served as a primary catalyst for the Martian civil war.
The war's conclusion saw the surviving White Martians exiled to the 'Still Zone,' a dimension separate from the Martian home world. However, the tension between the two races has resurfaced through various incursions, such as the Hyperclan's attempt to Earth-side takeover via masquerading as superheroes. While some iterations of the story suggest the White Martians were eventually wiped out or brainwashed into human identities, others depict them as a persistent, albeit fractured, force in the DC cosmic landscape.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: White Martian
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