Hank Henshaw's true identity revealed as Martian Manhunter in Supergirl TV Show

The cat is finally out of the bag. Hank Henshaw is none other than the great Martian Manhunter (MM) in disguise.

I had guessed Hank's true identity in my review of the second episode (“Stronger Together”), when his eyes went red for the first time. MM/J'onn J'onzz is one of my favorite superheroes in the DC Universe. He also happens to be one of the most criminally under-appreciated as well.

As a longtime fan of the DC Comics and MM in particular, I express my heartfelt thanks to the writers (Greg Berlanti, Allison Adler, Andrew Kreisberg) and David Harewood for bringing MM to life in such an amazing and truly epic style.

At a time, when Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder have no clue about what to do with such iconic superheroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe movies, the treatment MM has received on the CBS show comes as a breath of fresh air.

The recently released trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS:DoJ) proves my point. The cinematography, the coloring, the acting (for the most part), the background score just look/sound terrible. The worst aspect is the CGI. I had remarked in my review of Man of Steel, that the movie suffered from really bad special effects work.

Snyder and Warner Bros. do not seem to have learnt any lessons. The CGI still look as bad as it did in the prequel. Shame on the studio and the director for such a low quality product.

Compare the quality of work on that trailer with the work done for Martian Manhunter in Supergirl. On a much lesser budget, the special effects look more convincing. The acting, direction and music are all superior as well. 

Here is the godforsaken trailer for BvS:DoJ

The only time I was interested in the 3 minutes long trailer were the scenes featuring Jesse Eisenberg. He brings some much needed fun into this movie, that otherwise either features unnecessarily heavy music or deadpan /lifeless acting by the other actors or just plainly terrible CGI.

Coming back to the CBS show - I was sure right from the moment that Hank's eyes went red that he was J'onn J'onzz/MM in disguise. Even though Wikipedia claimed that he is Cyborg Superman, I was still betting my money on Hank being MM. The simple reason being that Hank deduced the presence of Alex nearby using his telepathic powers. J'onn J'onzz has these powers and Cyborg Superman does not.

There were other clues sprinked throughout the show that supported my theory. For one thing, there was David Harewood's serious and self-controlled acting style. That was classic MM. In addition, he remarked in Episode # 5 (“How Does She Do It?”) that if he was following Supergirl, she would not even be aware of that fact. That alone more than proved my theory, since MM has the ability to shape shift, become invisible/intangible. And there was the scene at the airport, where Hank defuses the bomb all by himself. That also proved that he was MM as he would have have simply turned intangible should the bomb had gone off.

Before he revealed his identity in the episode (“Human for a Day”) Hank all but confirmed his identity in an earlier scene. When Jemm threatens that he will come after Hank's loved ones, Hank comments that he has none left in the universe.

And then came the insanely awesome scene, when Hank becomes Martian Manhunter: “I am the sole survivor of my planet. The Last Son of Mars.... My name is J'onn J'onzz.”

That was pure magic. Once again, hats off to the writers and David Harewood.

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But MM is not the only one to get such superb treatment. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) herself got to shine in her fight scene with Red Tornado. This is the type of epic action that I expect from a Kyptonian superhero. Melissa's acting is greatly supported by the background score, direction and great special effects. Hats off to Melissa and the crew for delivering such a superb scene.

This is how you do justice to the DC Universe. Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder, please take note.

Now, if only that rumored adaptation of Blue Beetle would come true. In the proven hands of Greg Berlanti, I am sure that would be another winner.

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Image Sources: DC Comics, Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

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Supergirl Season 1 Episode 5 "How Does She Do It?" - Recap and Review

The fifth episode finds Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) struggling to maintain a healthy balance between her office work as Kara Danvers and the heroic responsibilities of being Supergirl.

Supergirl finds herself being followed by drones. After dismantling them, she initially suspects her DEO boss Hank Henshaw (David Harewood). Hank denies this and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) has a suspect on her mind: Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli). His company, Lord Technologies have been working on the materials that were used in making the drones.

These suspicions become stronger, when there is an explosion in yet another Lord Technologies' lab. Hank and Alex pose as FBI Agents to purportedly carry out their investigation to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Alex and Maxwell are attracted to each other. Despite this, Maxwell refuses to take her help.

Kara Danvers faces two issues: The first one is the return of Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan Tatum) to National City. Lucy wants to get back with her ex boyfriend James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks). Even though James believed that it was Lucy who had dumped him, Lucy informs Kara that James' obsession with Superman was the actual reason that caused the separation.

Kara faces another challenge when she offers to babysit Carter Grant (Levi Miller). Carter is the son of her boss, Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart). Cat's mother is busy with her career and her former babysitter is injured and unable to help out.

Kara's babysitting duties interfere with her superheroic ones. She takes the help of Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan) to take care of Carter while she flies around saving lives.

As was shown in the previous episodes, Maxwell's company has been working on a fast train. He ignores the recent attacks and decides to go ahead the grand unveiling of the product.

All these threads come together in the climax, when Carter runs away to meet Supergirl at Maxwell's function and the venue happens to be target of the next attack.

This was a good episode. The action sequences were the highlights of the episode. Supergirl's flying effects have been executed very well. They are far superior to what we see in the terrible Man of Steel.

Melissa Benoist is terrific as the Girl of Steel. She is the perfect counterpart to the late Christopher Reeve's Man of Steel. Right from the beginning, she has been great whenever she wears the cape.

Credit also to the producers and crew for making the flying and action sequences so much fun and enjoyable. This show is clearly being made by people who love DC Universe/Superman mythology very much and these scenes are ample proof of this.

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This episode is also significant for another reason: We get our first (and recurring) human villain/antagonist in the form of Maxwell Lord. The show sets up Maxwell as National City's equivalent of Metropolis' Lex Luthor.

If Lex hates the presence of a God-like alien in his city, Maxwell is intrigued by Supergirl's powers. He is the one who masterminded the attacks on his company and forced his employee, Ethan Knox (Scott Michael Campbell) to make himself a suicide bomber on-board the train. Maxwell intends to study Supergirl's powers and all of his actions have been carried out with this single purpose in mind.

This episode shares some common elements with “The Last Son of Krypton” - the first episode of the critically acclaimed Superman: The Animated Series. In that episode, Lex Luthor deliberately lets his company property get stolen in order to strike an illegal arms deal. Supes prevents this from happening and warns Lex that he will be keeping an eye on him.

Supergirl also issues a similar warning to Maxwell at the end of the episode.

Yet another of my favorite aspect of the show is the mystery surrounding the true identity of Hank Henshaw. As I have mentioned in my reviews of the previous episodes, I strongly believe that Hank is none other than the great Martian Manhunter (MM) himself in disguise.

More clues pop up in this episode. When Kara accuses him of following her, he retorts that if he had been following her, she would not even be aware of that fact. Martian Manhunter (MM) has shape shifting powers and the ability to become invisible as well as phase through objects. These would indeed make him a super spy and it would be nearly impossible to detect his presence. In a later scene, Hank's eyes glow red - another trademark physical characteristic of MM.

As good as the show is with regards to bringing the DC Universe to life, what makes the show so successful is the perfect casting choices. The actors/actresses are great in their parts and enjoy a genuine chemistry with each other.

As I mentioned earlier, Melissa makes a superb Supergirl. The scene abroad the train when she tries to convince Ethan Knox to change his plan shows the humanity and wisdom that is typical of a Girl/Man of Steel. Another great scene was her telephonic conversation with Cat as she flies to pick up Carter from his school.

Both Chyler Leigh and Peter Facinelli get adequate screen-time as their respective characters, Alex Danvers and Maxwell Lord get to know each other and develop a mutual attraction for each other. Maxwell reveals that his parents were killed due to negligence on the part of Government officials. This explains his lack of trust in authority figures. His line: “We are orphans. We do not get over things easily” reminded me of the Dark Knight himself.

But there are still a few chinks in the armor.  I am referring to Jenna Dewan Tatum as Lucy Lane and Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen. Though these two actors portray characters who are supposed to be past lovers, their lack of chemistry is quite palpable.

Nevertheless, this is a minor drawback that does not distract heavily from enjoying the show. Must watch for fans of Supergirl/Superman/DC Comics.

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Image Sources: Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

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