Martian Manhunter Makes TV Debut

Manhunter Debuts on Supergirl

After several weeks of teasing the true identity of David Harewood’s Hank Henshaw – better known in comic books as the Cyborg Superman – by showing his red, glowing eyes, CBS’s Supergirl has actually revealed that he is in fact JLA stalwart J’Onn J’Onzz, the Martian Manhunter.

J’Onzz assumed Henshaw’s identity after Henshaw and Kara’s adoptive father Jeremiah Danvers tracked him to an island, after which only J’Onzz – as Henshaw – returned.

“It’s the secret of Supergirl: within the body of the series of Supergirl, there is a Martian Manhunter series rolling throughout it,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg informed The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s the thing that makes us giggle the most.”

Actually, the idea of Martian Manhunter — and David Harewood playing him — originally began as a joke on-set of the pilot.

“[DC Comics CCO] Geoff Johns, [executive producer] Greg Berlanti and I were saying, ‘It’s so funny we cast David because he’s got those weird ears. Like alien ears,'” said Kreisberg “I don’t remember which one of us said it, but it was like, ‘If we were ever going to make a Martian Manhunter show, David would have been the perfect Martian Manhunter.’ And Geoff said, ‘Well, why can’t he be?’ We already had it set up that Hank was keeping this bad secret, and then we started thinking about well, what if it was a good secret? You think he’s bad but then he turns out to be not only good, but the most good person in the DC universe.”

Hollywood Reporter