In the latest Supergirl recap, J’onn J’onzz is interrogated by the government after his revelation as a Martian and he tells his entire story….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
The revelation that Hank Henshaw was actually J’onn J’onzz aka The Martian Manhunter was a pretty big moment during the first season of Supergirl.
If that wasn’t enough, last week J’onn finally had to reveal himself to the world in an effort to stop Supergirl following her infection with red kryptonite.
From the head of the DEO to being just another captured alien, J’onn ended up on trial — more or less — this week as the government sent in an interrogation unit to figure out where he came from, how he got there and what happened to the real Hank Henshaw.
The answers ended up enveloping Kara, Alex and everybody else but the biggest shock came during the final moments when J’onn revealed that Jeremiah Danvers was still alive.
Enough of a tease?
Let’s recap the latest episode of Supergirl titled ‘Manhunter’….
Who is J’onn J’onzz?
In the wake of her dosing with red kryptonite, Kara is exiled to her couch eating ice cream and calling off work while trying to deal with the citizens of National City being scared of her rather than treating her like a hero. In her absence, James and Winn are forced to play Cat Grant’s temporary assistants while she concocts a plan to resurrect Supergirl’s fractured image.
Meanwhile back at the DEO, a Marine named James Harper and Lucy Lane (now re-enlisted in the Army) have been dispatched to investigate the alien known as J’onn J’onzz to not only find out how long he’s been posing as Hank Henshaw but to discover what happened to the real Hank Henshaw.
James is particularly invested in this case because Hank was his best friend (makes sense considering they both seemed like giant a-holes).
J’onn reveals that a decade ago the real Hank Henshaw — who was as ruthless and unforgiving as the aliens he put in prison — discovered the Martian Manhunter was living in the jungles of South America and he was going to take a team there to capture or kill the alien. It seems Hank was aware that the Martian Manhunter was as powerful as Superman and Earth already had one alien they couldn’t control so there definitely wasn’t room for two.
Hank took Jeremiah Danvers along for the mission but once they landed, the team got separated in the jungle. Jeremiah ended up alone where he was nearly killed by a snake until J’onn intervened and saved his life.
The two of them spoke at length for hours while comparing stories about their own families — and of course the tragic end for J’onn’s back on Mars. Out of nowhere, Hank Henshaw attacked and nearly killed J’onn with bullets he made specifically to pierce and destroy Martian bodies as Jeremiah attempted to talk him down and convince the DEO boss that this alien was peaceful and certainly not a threat.
Finally, Jeremiah intervened but ultimately caught a knife in the belly before tossing the real Hank Henshaw over a cliff to his demise. Before dying, Jeremiah made J’onn promise that he would look after his daughters Alex and Kara and that’s how he ended up assuming Hank’s identity and job at the DEO.
To make matters worse, James and Lucy then interrogate Alex to find out if she knew that J’onn was masquerading as Hank this entire time.
Alex flashes back to three years earlier where she was a party girl living for Saturday night rather than holding down a steady job. After one particularly nasty night out drinking and nearly driving, Alex is arrested and tossed in a drunk tank.
J’onn paid her a visit (as Hank) and not only offered to give her a purpose in life, but also revealed that he knew all of the Danvers family secrets — including the adopted sister who shared a lot of traits with a certain Man of Steel living in Metropolis. Alex accepted the offer and days later she was enrolled as a new member of the DEO and the rest is history.
But despite her lie detector test coming back negative for any signs that she knew about J’onn’s true identity, Lucy saw right through it and places Alex under arrest.
Now J’onn and Alex are headed to a facility known as Project Cadmus where they will be held until further notice.
Epic Fail
The one side story that takes place away from J’onn J’onzz this week involves former assistant Siobhan trying to cheat her way back into Cat Grant’s good graces.
In order to get her job back, Siobhan breaks into Cat Co. late one night and fires off an incendiary email to Cat Grant from Kara’s email address.
When she’s called into Cat’s office the next day, Siobhan believes she’s getting her job back along with a thank you note for being awesome. Instead, Cat reveals that Winn discovered her deception and her only regret is that she can’t fire Siobhan a second time. But if Siobhan shows up here again, Cat will have her arrested and charged with fraud.
Siobhan slinks away before getting rather angry with Winn for betraying her. In a drunken stupor, Siobhan ends up falling off the roof but just before she goes splat on the ground, she lets out a ghastly wail that echoes off the floor and stops her from landing. Yes, Siobhan is really the Silver Banshee and we’ll meet her for the first time next week.
The Great Escape
Kara rushes back to Cat Co. where she informs James about Lucy’s involvement in convicting Alex and J’onn to a terrible sounding place called Project Cadmus. James lets her in on a secret — Project Cadmus is the testing facility where the government sends aliens for dissection while eventually adapting whatever they discover into newer and better weapons. It’s the reason why Superman refuses to actually join up with the government.
Now Kara is truly horrified because not only is J’onn going there but so is her sister.
So it’s time to let one more person in on her secret — Kara reveals that she’s Supergirl to Lucy Lane while also explaining the reason she’s been hiding in plain sight this entire time.
Kara remembers when she actually used her powers to save a woman and her child from a burning car when she was just a kid. Her father explained afterwards that the world wouldn’t understand what she was and it was better if she stayed hidden. In fact because the world already had a Superman, she could just grow up and be Kara Danvers.
Fast forward years later when Kara landed her job as Cat’s assistant and she stared on as a forest fire ripped through a wooded area, tearing down homes and killing people from neighboring areas. Kara looked disenchanted that she couldn’t do anything without risking her identity being exposed — a trait her adopted father taught her long ago — but she eventually figured out that it’s not much fun watching others suffer when you could be helping them.
So Lucy decides to team up with Kara as they break J’onn and Alex out of the caravan that’s transporting them to Project Cadmus. Inside the prison van, J’onn puts his powers to use, wiping out James Harper’s memories but with a much different effect than the last time he did this and literally hollowed out a person’s entire life from inside their brain. While digging into James’s mind, J’onn also makes a huge discovery — Jeremiah Danvers isn’t dead — he’s actually being held inside Project Cadmus!
J’onn and Alex escape, hope on a pair of motorcycles and speed away from the crash site as fugitives from justice who are determined to rescue Jeremiah Danvers from whatever prison he’s been held in for the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Kara head back to the DEO while playing dumb about the entire jailbreak that just happened. When they return, James Harper not only gave up his position inside the DEO (thanks to a little mind altering courtesy of J’onn Jonzz) but he actually appointed a new leader in his absence — Lucy Lane.
So she’s the new head of the DEO and with her trust in Supergirl restored, the two of them will now team up to stop whatever alien threat comes at them next.
Don’t miss the next episode of Supergirl on Monday night at 9pm as The Flash arrives in National City for a crossover special titled ‘World’s Finest’.
