Supergirl was all about Miss Martian in its latest episode, "Survivors," and the show started to explore the dynamic between M'gann M'orzz and J'onn J'onzz. But it also featured a cliffhanger ending that fans of the comics should have seen coming.
Spoilers for Supergirl continue below.
At the very end of the episode, M'gann revealed herself to not be a Green Martian like she was presenting herself, but rather a White Martian, sent down to Earth. This revelation puts her interactions with the Martin Manhunter into much better context, explaining why she wouldn't mind meld with him and why she ran away when they first met.
Sharon Leal as Miss Martian on Supergirl
It's a nice twist, and one that the Supergirl writers room was right not to let sit too long because... it's the exact same twist that happens in the comics. Miss Martian was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel and debuted in 2006's Teen Titans #37, and used the same bait-and-switch technique to become a member of the Teen Titans. She initially pretended to be a a Green Martian, like the Martian Manhunter, but later revealed herself to be a member of the rival race.
As a shapeshifter like J'onn, she could totally get away with masquerading as a Green Martian for as long as she so desired. But clearly her more ruthless instincts have trouble staying hidden, as evidenced by her need to participate in an alien fight club.
Like Kara and Mon-El, J'onn is filled with plenty of bias toward White Martians -- and rightfully so, since they were responsible for eradicating his race. The war between the White and Green Martians goes far past the prejudices between Daxamites and Kryptionians, but this storyline does all tie back to Season 2's theme of exploring prejudices and breaking down preconceived notions.
And that's clearly how Supergirl is going to move this storyline between M'gann and J'onn forward. She might be a White Martian, but she has lived on Earth for 300 years, and J'onn was quick to pick up on the fact that she was trying to find peace with her survivor's guilt by fighting in the fight club. It's more likely that her guilt isn't over surviving, but rather for being part of a race that caused a Green Martian holocaust; that seems to be why she left Mars in the first place. Being paired with the face of that guilt, J'onn, when she thought she was alone is going to force the feelings she's been trying to tamp down to come to the surface.
This Miss Martian twist might have been one comics readers should have seen coming, but that doesn't make it any less effective storytelling. This is the best direction to take the Martian Manhunter/Miss Martian storyline in, and adds better fodder for the prejudice theme we've seen the Kara/Mon-El story explore already. It also adds some needed weight to J'onn J'onzz's arc. All of the aliens living on Earth seem to be looking for something more to fill the void of living their home planet behind, and for him to find out he's not alone and then learn M'gann is one of his enemies will put him through some compelling development. All the more reason to be excited that Miss Martian has come to life on Supergirl.
What did you think about the reveal Miss Martian is actually a White Martian? Let us know in the comments below.
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.
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