Episode 45: Demeanour
Takes place 18-21 April 2011.
Short version
Paul, Kon, and M'gann visit Mars, where Paul informs the Martian government about the Burning Martian and the Guardians' intervention.
Longer version
Wallace visits KordTech in his civilian identity to market his healing potions. Ted Kord informs Paul that they have successfully integrated Truggs' invisibility system with Powered Armor, although Paul also has to catch the monkey who made off with a prototype.
He then accompanies Kon and M'gann on a visit to Mars, where he informs the planetary government about the Burning Martian and the Guardians' past interference; Prince J'emm is shocked, but plans a controlled release of the information.
M'gann also visits her uncle, whose home is a meeting place for individuals opposed to Mars' color-based racism. While there, they briefly encounter the more violent resistance arm, the Hyperclan, who attempt to turn M'gann's uncle into a violent sociopath through implanted memories, but he is captured and the memories isolated.
The Renegade timeline sees his girls — Lynne, Sunset, and Miss Amane — end a civil war in Darfur by executing the worst leaders and disarming the rest of the soldiers.
The origin of the title is unclear, but may refer to how Martians can affect whatever appearance they choose.
- Death of Personality: Miss Martian's uncle was sentenced to a personality rewrite after he murdered his sister-in-law. So naturally, a bunch of terrorists think it's a good idea to De Program him and turn a kindly conservationist back into The Sociopath.
- Disability Superpower: Paul can neither say nor think his own name, which he finds bizarre and annoying, but it can be useful, because the knockout effect extends to intrusive telepaths.
- The Extremist Was Right: Grayven thinks so, after his girls stop the civil war in Darfur with some carefully targeted theft, murder and permanent brain shutdowns. Lantern Gardner is less sanguine.
- Fantastic Racism: Paul visits a Martian prelate and informs him of the basis of Martian color differences. It's quite a shock.
Word of God is that the prelate started quietly but frantically improving racial equality, because Paul wasn't going to sit on the information forever. -
Hilarious in Hindsight: The shared thought that Paul and M'gann had in Bialya while they had Laser-Guided Amnesia is revisited and made more hilarious when it is discovered that it was basically the Martian equivalent of a one-night stand. - Sensory Overload: When Miss Martian visits home and tells her parents about her adventures on Earth, she opens up and uses telepathy properly. Paul and Superboy find it a bit overwhelming.
