Okay, first of all, if you were wondering I do know that he has a name.

The Martian Man-hunter’s name is J’onn J’onz, or something like that I don’t recall hearing his last name pronounced, but the first is just like John is said in French. Why a man from mars would have a name with a pronunciation like French, I don’t know.

Last but not least, as they like to say.

J’onn actually is the least relatable out of the seven, simply because he’s the only one who’s most definitively not human. He doesn’t even look human, unlike Superman, and partially Hawk Girl. He also doesn’t act human most of the time.

You’ve seen the character before, straight faced most of the time, really deep voice, rarely shows emotion. Spock-like.

But  not at the core.

J’onn was given some decent character development in the first season, and then pretty much reduced to the tech guy and overseer in the second (he also had to play bad cop to some of the junior members,) a decision the writers themselves seemed to regret, as one whole episode is devoted to the problem that became for him.

J’onn fulfills the family role of wise uncle or grandfather. He always seems older than the other members, even Batman. He usually provides the most cool headed and unbiased perspective.

The best example of this is in “The ties that bind.” In that episode, Flash and J’onn are the main League members. Flash is worried about being perceived as immature. We all know that J’onn is the most mature of anyone. What happens is that Mr. Miracle himself and Barda show up at the base to ask for some help in retrieving their friend Oberon from the clutches of Granny Goodness, the person responsible for brainwashing both of them in the past. They have to go rescue this guy named Kilberon. (By the way, he’s a modern invention, not from the original comic.)

J’onn refuses because Apokalips is a threat to Earth no matter who’s in charge of it (out of the choices) and he has no wish to make enemies with either side. Barda thinks this is a load of crud, probably because she’s made enemies with all of Apokalips, and Scott accepts it none too happily, they begin to storm off, when Flash intercepts them and volunteers to go just as an individual. Now they had wanted Superman, and J’onn was very much against that (Superman tends to be a loose cannon where anything Apokalips-related is concerned,) so they turn him down–until he shows how fast he is. Then they let him come.

Long story short, Flash helps them, they succeed, everyone gets home safety…and then J’onn calls Flash in to say something. Flash immediately launches into a speech about how he went behind J’onn’s back, but it turned out all right, and you know what? He’d do it again. How did J’onn like that?

J’onn takes a moment to sigh quietly, then he says “I was just going to ask you if you wanted to play–‘ (I forget the name of the game.) Flash just blinks and says “Oh, sure.”

That’s J’onn, super serious, but deep down he has a big heart. He probably felt Flash did the right thing after all–and maybe, just maybe, he wished he was not so practical and had been willing to recklessly do the same.

One thing the JLU got right that I think Marvel gets wrong a lot (sorry) is that the brainy part of the team should be led by the heart part. Whenever push came to shove on the show, you knew the characters thinking with their hearts and not just their heads were going to win.

When Batman and Superman debated crossing one of their lines to beat the Justice Lords, Superman opts for trusting one of his sworn enemies instead of being willing to kill.

When The League votes on whether Shirara can stay or not, it’s the people who are willing to give her a second chance who get the majority.

When Wonder Woman teams up with Hawk and Dove to defeat a magical war machine (I kid you not) it is Dove’s Peace–oriented perspective that saves the day, and Diana has to yield to it.

This list could go on, but I think that’s enough examples to make my point.

And perhaps the heart over head principle is most apparent in J’onn because he is the most in his head of all of them, but he’s also really devoted to the League because he sees it as his new family.

He only falters one time, in the horrible episode “Secret Society.” The one I really have a problem with finding believable. But even assuming the League really would act that way (out of the clear blue since none of those problems were there before,) J’onn’s part was both annoying and sad. he didn’t like them all tearing each other down, he’s actually the first to leave because it bothers him so much. It’s kind of out of character I think, but also understandable. He does end of being the one to save the day however, so I guess he redeems himself.

J’onn does make some tough calls over the course of the show. He’s also really sad quite a bit of the time, and loenly. His whole planet of people has been destroyed, though Mars is still orbiting the sun. Unlike Superman, J’onn actually watched it happen and was snatched from it seemingly by random chance.

Sometimes the strain of being the only mind reader is too much for him, when he pushes himself too far. But sometimes he can see things the rest of the League can’t because of hi understanding of thought. Like when they are fighting this thing called the Android (not the phone), who can copy all of their powers but is working for Lex Luthor. Wonder Woman tells J’onn to stay out of it because otherwise they’ll never beat him. But J’onn either through reading Luthor’s mind, or assessing the situation, realizes that the Android needs to be able to know what they want. So he allows him to copy his powers, telling him they are not his enemies. The Android then realizes Lex lied to him, and proceeds to defeat him and then leave.

Like I said, J’onn sees things differently.

And that wraps up this series. I hope you enjoyed, until next time–Natasha.