WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Justice League: No Justice and Justice League #10-20, on sale now.
When we were first introduced to Jarro in Justice League #10, fans were wondering exactly who or what was Batman's new sidekick. It turns out that, following Starro's death at the hands of an Omega Titan in Justice League: No Justice, the Dark Knight found one of its spores and decided to let it grow in a jar, raising the offspring on pure, unadulterated justice.
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But as is the case with any child, it could always lean to the tendencies of its parent. There's a reason Starro's been known as "The Conqueror" in so many villainous battles against the Justice League, and it does leave us wondering if Jarro is indeed fated to follow its footsteps, or if the baby starfish truly is a hero in the making.
THE SCIENCE OF JARRO
Starro used its spores to latch onto victims before establishing a telepathic link to control them. That's how it was able to lead its species (it's asexual, of course) on several missions to try to take over the cosmos. Basically, Starro was extending and imposing its will via this mental link, which is something we see with starfish in the ocean in their very movement.
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Once one of a starfish's five arms is attracted to something, it overpowers the others thanks to its sensory and motor system. It may not have a brain per se, but this setup does act as a central nervous system, allowing the starfish to move towards whatever it likes. In Starro's case, that's ruling the galaxy. Because of its thin body wall, its mouth that loves opportunistic feeding like a vacuum cleaner and the photoreceptor cells on its body, basically it senses out opportunities to invade and conquer, and transfers its very essence to its victim -- consuming the mind of the intended target.
But if there's no target, what happens? In Jarro's case, because Starro was killed, when Bruce found the starfish, he inherited a blank slate to mold. Seeing as starfish use the aforementioned photoreceptor cells to figure out how to react to light, rather than a physical light source, Jarro's attracted to the emotional light of Bruce.
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THE EVIL CONQUEROR JR.
It does leave us wondering if that'll be enough to keep Jarro away from the dark side. Effectively, every spore is a Starro in the making, and we don't know if, even in its dying moments, Starro imparted some signature onto the seed. It could manipulating and using Jarro as a Trojan horse, which admittedly would be the smartest way to conquer the League, reiterating how powerful Starro really is to those who underestimate it.
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There's also a chance that if Starro's essence still lives on in the kid, it could be dormant for now. Once it's no longer latent, it could take over Jarro's mind and turn him into a full-fledged villain against Batman and company. Conquering is, after all, something Starro has spent its entire life doing (the No Justice alliance was simply to preserve the cosmos to ensure there'd be something to invade afterwards). Also, given the intricacy of how Starro's telepathy works, it's just too risky to assume Jarro's clear of any corruption.
It would be quite a shocking turn if Jarro turned out to be a sleeper agent, as it'd essentially kill off another of Batman's wards in what would undoubtedly be another very heartbreaking moment. Bruce allows it to call him "dad" and "pop," and even treats Jarro with affection like a son, so putting this dagger into the heart of the League could be Starro's ultimate victory. Seeing as how Jarro knows the Legion of Doom is trying to reshape the multiverse, we can't put it past Starro to simply be playing possum, waiting to pick up the scraps when the heroes prevail and some semblance of order is restored.
HERO FOR LIFE
That said, if Jarro is well and truly free of Starro's evil ways, he could potentially be the biggest ally the League could have. He'd fit into the Bat-family pretty well -- heck, he's already dreaming about being Robin, which shows he's sincere and a kind soul. Jarro protects the Dark Knight just as much as Bruce does him, and he's also teamed up with fellow telepath Martian Manhunter against Lex Luthor, so it's clear Starro Jr. can be a heavy hitter, too. It's worth noting that Starro was once a Yellow Lantern, so there's even a possibility Jarro can make amends for Starro's crimes as a Green Lantern.
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Ultimately, what's most intriguing is Jarro's psyche and how he's gravitated towards the Caped Crusader, wanting to be his son. We've already seen Bruce use him to probe Starman's mind, but we don't know what connection they had before. Given starfish suck up any food around, maybe Jarro latched onto Bruce's need for normalcy and a desire to have kids in a peaceful world, ergo why he's this playful, wisecracking ward. Jarro's personality could easily be the son Bruce wants but could never have.
Conversely, given that both of them had their parents murdered in cold blood, we also can't discount that Jarro may be an empath who picked up on the innocent kid that Bruce was before Crime Alley. It'd be quite a twist if this was actually young Bruce manifesting in Jarro, who established an emotional link in an unseen mind probe. But honestly, it's one that would make sense given how their minds have interlocked so far. Well, only time will tell, but for now, Jarro's aspirations are to save the world and be the best Robin ever, and that's more than adequate for us!