Javi Martinez

## Javier Martinez

### Relatives

Unnamed MotherBill Martinez † (father)
Travis Martinez † (older brother)

## Appearances

### Debut

"Pilot"

> Are we all going to die out here?
>
> Javi asking a question at a séance

**Javier “Javi” Martinez** is a character on the Showtime original series *Yellowjackets*. He is portrayed by Luciano Leroux.

## Profile

Javi Martinez seems to be about 12 to 13 and is the son of Bill Martinez, the head coach of the WHS Yellowjackets, a team of talented female soccer players bound for the nationals. Though not a member of the team himself, he nevertheless joins his father and older brother, Travis, on the flight to the nationals. His life is turned upside-down when the plane crashes in the wilderness of Canada and his father is killed in the crash.

Javi is greatly shaken by the death of his father, Bill, who attempted to save some of the Yellowjackets while the plane was going down but ended up impaled upon a tree in the wilderness. Javi continues to chew on a piece of gum given to him by his father until his brother Travis forces him to spit it out, shouting that their father was to blame for their situation. While Bill doted on Javi, Travis never really felt his father cared for him, hence the antagonism. Despite this, Travis later returns to the crash site and, with the help of Natalie Scatorccio, digs up his father's body in order to obtain a family keepsake ring to give as a memento to Javi.

Javi is present when the girls decide to host a séance. As they ask questions and have a blindfolded Shauna "channel the spirits" to answer them using a pendulum, Javi asks if they are all going to die.

Shauna later catches Javi going through her bag. He claims that he just wants to use a knife to do artwork, but afterwards, she removes her diary from her bag and hides it in the rafters above.

Following the death of Laura Lee, the crash survivors decide to throw a "Doomcoming, a sort of final party before what they believe is their inevitable starvation. As the party opens, Javi rings the gong to begin the event. That evening, however, most of the crash survivors become high on shrooms that Misty Quigley had intended only to poison Coach Ben Scott. As several of them lead a lust-crazed party hunting his brother Travis, Shauna warns him to run. The next day, he is missing and Travis launches a desperate search for him.

Around two months later, Javi is still missing. Travis and Natalie continue to go out on daily searches for him, canvassing the wilderness in all directions and slowly building up a map of the area. After yet another failure, Natalie agrees to get up with Travis an hour before sunrise in order to expand the time that they have to search. Secretly, however, both she and Coach Ben Scott believe that Javi must almost certainly be dead, with the terrible cold and snow outside.

Travis comments to Natalie that he knows she believes Javi is dead. She states that it has been two months, at which point he starts hyperventilating, apparently having a panic attack. Lottie Matthews calms him down, helping him to breathe. As she does, she has a vision of a tree stump. She tells him that it's okay, that she knows his brother is still alive. Following this, Natalie takes her aside, telling her not to give Travis false hope. Natalie, however, tells her that there is no such thing as false hope, only hope.

Convinced that Javi is dead and they are wasting their time searching for him, Natalie orchestrates a ruse. She steals a piece of clothing from a suitcase with Javi's nametag on it. One day, when she and Travis are out searching, she acquiesces to his suggestion to split up and explore in one direction while she explores another. She then takes a knife and uses it to cut herself, then bloodies the piece of clothing. When Travis returns, she shows him the bloodied clothing, telling him that Javi is dead. He seems to finally accept this and they return to the cabin, but Lottie still insists that Javi is alive. Later, Travis has sex with Natalie, but keeps having strange visions of Lottie.

While sleepwalking, Taissa leads Van to various trees in the woods, each of them bearing a carving of the mysterious symbol. Van creates a map, and based on it, creates an online of the symbol formed by the trees themselves. Based on this outline, she determines that there should be one more tree which they have not yet found with a carving of the symbol. Although Taissa is at first reluctant to come, Van convinces her to join her on an expedition to find this tree.

The two search every tree within a mile radius and Van is about ready to give up, but Taissa is determined to search a bit longer. They then discover a strange area where the ice of the winter oddly seems to be melting and there is moss growing. To their shock, Javi then suddenly appears before them. He seems confused, as though he does not even recognize them, but they manage to calm him and bring him back to the cabin. Everyone is stunned, and Natalie moves to hide, knowing what Travis's reaction is likely to be towards her. Travis asks Javi how he could possibly be alive, but he seems mute, as if he might not even be able to respond. The others say that this means that Lottie was right.

Following this, Javi just sits around, continuing not to speak, and not answering the other's questions such as where he found shelter. Travis tells them that he'll talk when he's ready. Javi's appearance, predictably, forms a rift between Travis and Natalie, as Travis realizes that she faked Javi's death. Later, Javi privately tells Coach Scott that "she" told him not to come back. When Coach Scott asks him who this is, he replies "my friend," but does not elaborate when he asks him who this friend is.

Javi remains with the group, apparently not speaking to anyone else. He witnesses as Shauna Sadecki's baby is stillborn and, in her rage, Shauna savagely beats Lottie in the aftermath. Following this, the girls decide that with Lottie out of commission, they must give into the spirit of the wilderness and make a sacrifice. They have everyone draw cards, with Natalie drawing a Queen of Hearts with black-eyed eyes, indicating her as the sacrifice. Although she submits to it, Travis tells her to run and she breaks from the group and races outside. Javi flees as well and as the others chase after her, he finds her and tells her to stop, that he knows where they can go.

Javi tells her that he knows of a place that the others don't and that he can take her there. He tells her that she can trust him, and she agrees. They race for the place in question, not knowing that Coach Scott is already there, having deduced the location from Javi's drawings and the maps that Natalie and Travis have been making. They race across the frozen lake, but the ice breaks and Javi falls in, just as the girls are closing in. Natalie holds out her hand to save him, but Misty tackles her, telling her that if she saves him, the others will get her. As Javi thrashes and starts to drown, Akilah shouts that they can still get him out of there. Shauna shouts to wait. Javi thrashes, begging for help, then sinks. Taissa calls to grab him and they pull him out, but he has no pulse. Van declares that the wilderness chose.

The group returns to the cabin with Javi's body, carrying it on a stake. As Natalie arrives ahead of them, Travis is thrilled to see her alive, but horrified when he spots the others with Javi's body. Natalie tells him that all happened so fast, that the wilderness chose. He runs over to Javi's body, shouting "No, no, no!" and the others head inside, allowing him his moment. Later, however, they head back out. "No," he pleads, but then turns to Javi, telling him he's sorry, and heads inside. The others undress Javi, only Natalie thinking to provide a small cloth to preserve his modesty. They then leave Shauna to prepare the body, her eyes closed and completing the deed by touch. She later brings the meat back inside, providing Travis with Javi's heart. He bites into it before placing it on a cooking skillet and the others pile the remainder of the meat on there as well.

## Trivia

* Javi is one of only three male characters known to have survived the plane crash, along with his brother Travis and Coach Ben Scott.
* In an interview, Javi's actor Luciano Leroux stated that upon first signing on for *Yellowjackets*, he knew very little about his character, only that he had a brother and that there was a plane crash. Javi's character is the subject of a large number of theories within the *Yellowjackets* fan community, among these being that he is the younger version of of the character Adam Martin, whom Shauna has an affair with. This theory was ultimately debunked by the show's creators in June 2022, who stated that they had actually considered the idea, but dispensed with it early on because it did not feel organically right. In an interview with *Entertainment Weekly*, co-creator and showrunner Jonathan Lisco later stated that while it might have been a cute surprise in the moment, ultimately it would haunt the audience more if Shauna ended up killing someone who actually liked her and wanted to be with her out of post-traumatic stress. He also said that audiences would see why they made the decision as they saw the fabric and tapestry of Season 2.
* In the original script for the "Pilot" episode of *Yellowjackets*, this character was named Cody Martinez, but the role had not yet been cast with an actor.

## References

1. ↑ Luciano Leroux talks about playing Javi in Yellowjackets on Showtime and much more! (January 17, 2022). Retrieved on January 23, 2022.
2. ↑ Anderson, Jenna (June 22, 2022). Yellowjackets Creators Reveal Controversial Season 1 Fan Theory Almost Happened. Comicbook.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2022.
3. ↑ Highfill, Samantha (March 3, 2023). A major *Yellowjackets* fan theory almost became a reality. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on March 5, 2023.
4. ↑ It Starts on the Page - *Yellowjackets* Ep. 101 Script. Deadline (May 24, 2022). Retrieved on May 27, 2022.