Supergirl (TV Series)

Stranger Beside Me (2019)

David Harewood: J'onn J'onzz, Martian Manhunter

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Quotes 

• Alex Danvers : Well, this should help take away the pain temporarily.

  Kara Danvers : I don't understand. You think that whoever did this to you was also the person that released Midnight?

  J'onn J'onzz : Yes. He said he was my brother. At first, I didn't believe him, but now I know it must be true.

  James Olsen : How do you know?

  J'onn J'onzz : This is specifically a Martian form of agony. In the early days of Mars, there were two brothers, Phobos and Deimos. Their rivaly and bloodshed was the reason for the split of the Green and White Martians. To prevent this ever happening again, a curse was placed on the Green Martians. We call it Fa'ra'too'rik. It is the punishment for brother attacking brother.

  Kara Danvers : But you've never even mentioned having a brother.

  J'onn J'onzz : I never knew of one. Seems... unthinkable. But perhaps his existence was hidden from me by my parents.

  Alex Danvers : And hidden by the entire Martian community by their hive mind?

  Kara Danvers : Well, we're going to find him, but first we need to deal with your pain.

  J'onn J'onzz : There is no cure for this on this planet.

  Querl Dox : There is in the future. We treat afflicted Euphorians, an alien race with similar brain structure to Martians, with Q waves.

  [Kara shrugs her confusion] 

  Querl Dox : They're narrow waveforms that exist between X and gamma rays. You haven't heard of them because Q waves don't get discovered until sometime in the late dark ages.

  Alex Danvers : Actually, uh, Kelly's been using Q waves as part of her brain-computer interface at Obsidian.

• Kelly Olsen : Remember, this world is a construct. Nothing in here is by accident. The book that led you to the void, you said it was about the Martian civil war?

  J'onn J'onzz : It was the darkest moment in Martian history. In fact, it ended our history. The White Martians attacked us, sabotaging us on every front. Including our minds.

  Kelly Olsen : How did they sabotage you?

  J'onn J'onzz : I don't know.

  Kelly Olsen : Yes, you do.

  J'onn J'onzz : [in the void, he sees a Green Martian with a young White Martian]  That's him. My brother was a traitor. He poisoned us with H'ronmeer's curse.

• Kelly Olsen : Who would mind wipe you?

  J'onn J'onzz : Only another Martian would be strong enough. But wiping a Martian's mind is the greatest sin in Martian culture.

  Kelly Olsen : Well, we could rebuild your memory based on what you already know. Repairing the break could also help ease your pain.

  J'onn J'onzz : I'm not sure I can face what's inside that void.

  James Olsen : J'onn. I... I know that looking into your past can be terrifying. When I did it, I thought I might lose myself for good. But Kelly was right by my side, and I came back stronger.

  J'onn J'onzz : Give me those contacts.

• Kelly Olsen : There's something off on your scan. Okay, part of what this tech does is it maps and catalogs your memories. Okay, these rings represent every year of your life; think of them like tree rings. You see these? They're broken. Have you ever had illness or brain trauma before?

  J'onn J'onzz : I've had many battles.

  James Olsen : Didn't you also inherit M'rynn's memories? Maybe that's causing a rift in your own.

  Kelly Olsen : Okay, we should rule out everything. And if you want, we can further explore the breaks. It might help us figure out a better way to stop your pain.

  J'onn J'onzz : Whatever you think will help.

  Kelly Olsen : Okay. I'm gonna go in with him. Make sure nobody interrupts us.

  James Olsen : You got it.

• Kelly Olsen : First, we build. I find it's easiest for patients to create a method for organizing their memories. Imagine somewhere familiar.

  [entering his memories, they find themselves in J'onn's P.I. office] 

  Kelly Olsen : [looking at a bookshelf]  You see how some of these spines are blank? This must have been the breaks that I saw on the scan.

  J'onn J'onzz : [looking at the titles that bookend the blank ones]  Battle of L'Zoril M'ht. Battle of C'arel. These are battles of the Martian civil war. There's something about... this one.

  [as he reaches for a blank book in the middle, they hear a rumble; turning, they see an alien doorway nearby] 

  Kelly Olsen : I've never seen this before.

  J'onn J'onzz : It's Martian.

  Kelly Olsen : [opening the door, he sees nothing beyond]  What do you think that void means?

  J'onn J'onzz : Someone wiped my mind.

• Kelly Olsen : Why are Alex and Supergirl fighting?

  J'onn J'onzz : That's not Alex, that's my brother. Alex may still be inside.

  Kelly Olsen : I'm gonna go find her.

• Supergirl : Well, the building's all right. Everything's sound. But I can't speak for your reputation with your neighbors or Mr. Nelson's melted pint of Rocky Road.

  James Olsen : So, that was your brother, the traitor?

  J'onn J'onzz : Yes. I'm afraid this is far from over. When our minds were joined, Malefic said I was still in the dark. Perhaps if I could access more of my memories, I might be able to uncover what his next move will be. Kelly, do you think we could go deeper with Obsidian's tech? Perhaps turn the energy up to 80 biohertz?

  Kelly Olsen : That kind of power could reset your brain for good. We can't take that chance.

• Kara Danvers : I'm sorry about your brother. Here.

  J'onn J'onzz : [taking a coffee mug]  Thank you. Knowing now that I am tied to someone who betrayed my people so violently is, uh... unsettling. And it makes me worry. If this memory was taken from me, what else might I not know about myself, good or bad?

  Kara Danvers : Well, you have us, and we know you.

  J'onn J'onzz : Thank you. And I appreciate you letting me be here. But shouldn't you be working?

  Kara Danvers : Oh, please. You are a welcome distraction. Andrea is gunning for me, and that William guy... I mean, who does he think he is? I caught him following me.

  J'onn J'onzz : Following you? Did you confront him?

  Kara Danvers : No. I couldn't. I was Supergirl. But he is sneaky. And I think he's trying to sabotage me. He just rattles around the office with his smug British accent. And... you know who I feel bad for? His wife, 'cause she's stuck with him. J'onn, I don't know how much longer I can last at CatCo.

  J'onn J'onzz : The Kara Danvers I know is not a quitter. If someone's trying to sabotage you, you just ignore them. They're spending all their energy on you, you spend yours on being the best you.