‘Supergirl’: J’onn Gets Back to His Comic Roots in “Parasite Lost”

After leaving the DEO at the end of last season, J’onn J’onzz has been a little adrift when it comes to doing good in National City. Tonight, however, Martian Manhunter found a new sense of direction — one that’s a solid nod to the character’s DC Comics roots.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Supergirl, “Parasite Lost”, below.

With Fiona gone, J’onn (David Harewood) stepped up as a figure of support for National City’s alien community. However, when a well-regarded alien healer Amadei is robbed of a critical amulet, those around him are reluctant to get the police involved due to bad experience with them. This prompts J’onn and Kara (Melissa Benoist) to investigate. The amulet is ultimately recovered, and soon other aliens begin turning to him for assistance. The last we see of J’onn in “Parasite Lost”, he puts on a fedora and ponders his next case.

For DC Comics fans, this is an exciting turn for the character. In comics, J’onn initially takes on the identity of John Jones, a detective in the fictional Middletown, U.S.A. In this guise, “John Jones” secretly used his alien powers to solve cases and help people until an incident with the Idol Head of Diabolu made it appear that “John Jones” had died. From that point forward, he abandoned his double life and fully embraced his role as Martian Manhunter.

While it’s exciting to see Supergirl get J’onn back to his roots, J’onn helping the aliens of National City by solving crimes and other situations will certainly be helpful for Supergirl as well. As we’ve seen, anti-alien sentiment is ramping up and even James (Mehcad Brooks) is getting caught up as an unwitting poster boy for the cause. It’s something that Brooks describes as an “emotional” journey for the character.

“The writers and I had a conversation very early on, and we were on the same page about James using CatCo as a place where everyday heroics can come from,” Brooks said in an interview with Decider. “Shedding light on some of the darkness coming out of the White House. Shedding light on some of the darkness coming out of our society. I think we all know what shedding light can do, exposing the truth can do, at times like this. It can keep us sane. It can keep us balanced. It can help construct a road to the future where we’re all going. I think that this is a hell of an emotional journey for James, that he is a news man in this time. He’s also somebody who believes in fairness and equality in this time. And I think that those are the two most important things that he can do for the show right now.”

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.