Miss Martian and the Lingering Beast of Cultural Mores
I was threading with Julian, and some stuff came up that made me want to ESSAY. So here it is copy/pasted from an essay I emailed to Nat. Sooooooo many spoilers for Targets and episode 17 of Young Justice. And just spoilers for M'gann's character in general.
I've been playing M'gann as a white Martian! That's her main DCU backstory, and there were a couple hints in the show, but...
The thing about M'gann being a white Martian isn't exactly canon. Yet. Way back in Targets, they showed M'gann and Superboy going to high school for the very first time! After learning about the conflict between two fake countries that definitely aren't North and South Korea, M'gann tells Supey about how White Martians are persecuted on Mars just for their skin colour, and that they're basically considered a servant class. She then immediately says, "I'm a Green Martian, of course!" NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL.
Then, last week, we had this:
images from missmartianisbettterthanyou
Really subtle, show. This brings up a lot issues. Like, does J'onn know? Is he allowing her to fool her teammates like this? Is he actually encouraging the deception? J'onn has a slightly different backstory on YJ then he does in the main DCU. He has a large family, M'gann being his niece. The civilisation is well and thriving. There is none of that sole survivor angst. It's implied he just came to Earth to improve relations between the two planets. Or maybe he was curious, idk. THING IS, J'onn very obviously cares for M'gann. And she cares about him too! She looks to him for advice, hugs him when he comes to visit, and calls him Uncle J'onn. Add in their shared telepathy, it's hard to see her deceiving him, especially considering he's much more experienced with the use of his powers.
Still, when M'gann chose a form to present to her new team, she chose to be green. Even though rationally, these people wouldn't share any of the prejudices of her home planet. They likely don't even know there are different Martians. As Kaldur said in regards to M'gann in the latest episode, she is too eager to please. She wants everyone to be happy, and she wants to be liked. The feeling that being a white Martian somehow makes her inferior is so pervasive that she carries it with her to an entirely different planet! Even though everyone she's met has been shown to be kind and accepting, she still can't show her true form.
Superboy brought up that if M'gann's comic backstory is true, then she competed with other Martians to be J'onn's protege. Did she compete as a green Martian or a white Martian? Did she have to beg J'onn to even let her compete? She states that he was against her even trying in the first place, but says it was because he doubted her strength. We're not even sure if that's what actually happened! The story is set as M'gann telling the team what happened, and I suspect the images are what Wally/Robin are imagining. The sad truth of it is that M'gann could by lying about almost everything. The form she presents is false, designed to be familiar and encourage trust from her teammates. J'onn's is much more foreign, likely to frighten the Justice League's enemies and project some intimidation. The only thing we really know about M'gann is that she loves Superboy, she loves her team, and she wants to be a good person. She might be the most powerful telepath J'onn's ever encountered, but she is still extremely inexperienced.
SHE JUST NEEDS A LOT OF HUGS, GUYS
I've been playing M'gann as a white Martian! That's her main DCU backstory, and there were a couple hints in the show, but...
The thing about M'gann being a white Martian isn't exactly canon. Yet. Way back in Targets, they showed M'gann and Superboy going to high school for the very first time! After learning about the conflict between two fake countries that definitely aren't North and South Korea, M'gann tells Supey about how White Martians are persecuted on Mars just for their skin colour, and that they're basically considered a servant class. She then immediately says, "I'm a Green Martian, of course!" NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL.
Then, last week, we had this:
images from missmartianisbettterthanyou
Really subtle, show. This brings up a lot issues. Like, does J'onn know? Is he allowing her to fool her teammates like this? Is he actually encouraging the deception? J'onn has a slightly different backstory on YJ then he does in the main DCU. He has a large family, M'gann being his niece. The civilisation is well and thriving. There is none of that sole survivor angst. It's implied he just came to Earth to improve relations between the two planets. Or maybe he was curious, idk. THING IS, J'onn very obviously cares for M'gann. And she cares about him too! She looks to him for advice, hugs him when he comes to visit, and calls him Uncle J'onn. Add in their shared telepathy, it's hard to see her deceiving him, especially considering he's much more experienced with the use of his powers.
Still, when M'gann chose a form to present to her new team, she chose to be green. Even though rationally, these people wouldn't share any of the prejudices of her home planet. They likely don't even know there are different Martians. As Kaldur said in regards to M'gann in the latest episode, she is too eager to please. She wants everyone to be happy, and she wants to be liked. The feeling that being a white Martian somehow makes her inferior is so pervasive that she carries it with her to an entirely different planet! Even though everyone she's met has been shown to be kind and accepting, she still can't show her true form.
Superboy brought up that if M'gann's comic backstory is true, then she competed with other Martians to be J'onn's protege. Did she compete as a green Martian or a white Martian? Did she have to beg J'onn to even let her compete? She states that he was against her even trying in the first place, but says it was because he doubted her strength. We're not even sure if that's what actually happened! The story is set as M'gann telling the team what happened, and I suspect the images are what Wally/Robin are imagining. The sad truth of it is that M'gann could by lying about almost everything. The form she presents is false, designed to be familiar and encourage trust from her teammates. J'onn's is much more foreign, likely to frighten the Justice League's enemies and project some intimidation. The only thing we really know about M'gann is that she loves Superboy, she loves her team, and she wants to be a good person. She might be the most powerful telepath J'onn's ever encountered, but she is still extremely inexperienced.
SHE JUST NEEDS A LOT OF HUGS, GUYS