Young Justice S02E20 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (story)

The Story: As if Earth’s atmosphere didn’t have enough problems already.

The Review: There’s a reason why sitcoms usually go for an hour when they do their series finale.  While half an hour may be enough to deliver a neatly wrapped story for that one episode, a finale has more than just one story to resolve.  Over the course of a show’s lifetime, you have a lot of individual plot threads that need revisiting, loose ends to tie up, and of course, plenty of goodbyes, not just among the characters themselves, but between you and the show, too.

Although I have no evidence of this, I imagine the producers of Young Justice probably fought for an hour finale only to be, as so many of us have been, cruelly disappointed by Cartoon Network.  As a result, they were forced to deliver an epic conclusion to their Invasion storyline and hit a ton of other beats besides, all within a twenty-one minute episode.  Unsurprisingly, the finale ends up speeding through nearly every scene, leaving you winded when it’s all over.

Young Justice S02E16 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (story)

The Story: Artemis is less than enthused when her family attempts to avenge her death.

The Review: The epic scale of last week’s episode in outer space could have easily made you forget that deep beneath the sea, there was another, no less important crisis at stake.  The YJ writers got a lot of glee out of maneuvering Artemis, Aqualad, and Miss Martian into such a precarious situation, without ever disturbing the tension already established by this deep-cover mission.  Getting our heroes out of that situation will take even greater care and cleverness.

While the trio found an effective way to stall for time, this couldn’t satisfy Black Manta for long and he springs a ticking time bomb—quite literally—on them here, spurring them to spring a half-baked plan into action.  Had they actually been able to see it through in its entirety, it’s doubtful they would’ve gotten away with it without some kind of compromise, but luckily, in delightful, superhero fashion, two wild cards enter the scene.

Young Justice S02E14 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (story)

The Story: Even they’re supposed to be DC’s runaways, where’s the mind-controlled dinosaur?

The Review: Before we get down to anything else, we really have to talk about this impending cancellation for Young Justice.  I’m really rather surprised DC hasn’t stuck a “WTF Certified” stamp all over that one.  After all, it was only last year that Cartoon Network started its DC Nation bloc, and the whole period has been riddled with erratic scheduling, only to climax in this utterly baffling sudden turnover.

Granted, I don’t really have the numbers for the show in front of me, and I’m not really sure I’d understand them even if I did, but how badly could the series have done to be get canned just midway through the second season?  And if it was doing that badly, then why?

Young Justice S02E07 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps & Paul Giacoppo (story)

The Story: And you thought your high school reunion was uncomfortable.  At least no one stabbed you.

The Review: Cold opens are interesting beasts in that they’re a narrative technique exclusive to television and however way they’re used, they serve the needs specific to a TV show.  Whether they introduce a particular episode’s premise or conflict, give you a fun throwaway gag (the broadcast equivalent of the first two panels of a Doonesbury Sunday strip), or offer a cliffhanger as a down payment for your attention, it all boils down to catching your interest from the start.

For Young Justice, they’ve always shown their ambitions by making their cold opens more and more intense, getting into the heat of the action early, practically flaunting what an awesome episode they have in store.  In a few instances, the opens are a little less useful than they appear (see the redundant “This is not how the mission was supposed to go” open in S02E02), but by and large, they’ve been some of the best bits in this latest generation of cartoons.

Young Justice Episode 22 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (writer)

The Story: Joining the League is not unlike joining the Plastics in Mean Girls.

The Review: To the show’s credit, the writers have done a careful job focusing on the young team itself, despite the constant temptation of the Justice League appearing tantalizingly on the fringes of stories.  Still, we’re constantly reminded the League is the real aspiration here.  Sure, the YJers have tackled every mission before them with as much energy and professionalism as you could hope, but their eyes especially light up at anything to do with the big boys and girls.

This may be the first episode where we get a real in-depth glimpse into the actual workings of the League, and the timing can’t be better since now is the time they’ve chosen to reconsider their roster.  Among the many illustrious candidates for membership are our very own YJ kids—exciting, no doubt, though a bit odd considering it wasn’t all that long ago (in the time frame of the show) that full indoctrination was a no-no for these eager, teenaged heroes.

But the episode also informs us that bigger stakes motivate this sudden recruitment process.  We’ve seen the villains have become more organized and collaborative, and so the League must be pitch-perfect to handle that.  Hopps thus does an excellent job spelling out the thought process of evaluating each potential Leaguer.

Some of these discussions are just there for humorous effect.  Flash’s suggestion of Guy Gardner as a useful powerhouse receives a resounding chorus from fellow Lanterns Hal and John: “No!”  “But we could really—”  “No!”  Other issues receive more serious treatment, especially when they concern shake-ups within the current roster.  Now that Zatara has taken on the mantle of Dr. Fate, no one how wise it is to retain such an unpredictable force on the team, even if only to keep “a close watch on us,” as Zatara/Nabu claims.  Then, too, there is the recent discovery of Captain Marvel’s true age; though he insists he never lied, Wonder Woman accurately points out his omission was still a deception, proving that despite having the wisdom of Solomon, there’s still a kid’s brain in that big, brawny hero.

Young Justice Episode 8 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (writer)

The Story: They say lost Atlantis holds many secrets.  No one says anything about Starros.

The Review: When the producers of Young Justice let on their show takes place on a parallel Earth, they opened up literally a whole new world of story possibilities.  They have the double-benefit of using DC canon for their source material, but molding it to their imagination.  It’s been fun exploring this universe little by little through the team’s missions, but the more you see, the more eager you get to really tramp about its locales to see what’s familiar and what’s all-new.

Aqualad’s sabbatical to Atlantis could not be a more ideal locale for seeing just how much creativity the writers will put into their world-building.  Hopps gives us everything you expect in Atlantis: the exotic, almost extraterrestrial marine life, the neo-classical architecture, the melding of ancient magic and advanced science, even its own Tolkienish language—the show’s brilliant animation brings it all to life, jumping an even higher bar of quality than it already has.

The reimagining of the Aqua-family is also stellar.  Some people wondered at the choice of Kaldur’ahm as Aqualad, but Hopps cleverly shows both Garth and Tula having chosen the Atlantean conservatory of magic as their vocations.  Guest stars include Aquaman’s wife Mera, half-brother Orm (kudos for making him actually look Inupiat), and royal science advisor Vulko.  Even Lagoon Boy and Letifos make cameos.  If you’re an Aqua-fan, this episode is practically catered to you.

Easter egg fun aside, Hopps writes an altogether sound episode, opening right in the middle of a mission gone awry, and Batman chalking it to Kaldur’s homesickness.  It’s not great we don’t see how Kaldur is supposedly responsible for the whole deal, but the scene itself works (note Bruce Greenwood’s excellent voice work as Batman) and the trade-off is we get to Atlantis that much sooner.  Kaldur’s interactions with his ocean friends and family give him some much needed personality, but I think we all just have to accept he’s the strong-and-silent type of the team.

Hopps also brings plenty of underwater action with Black Manta and his forces facing off against the Atlanteans and the Aqua-family (minus Arthur).  The melding of blaster guns, hydro-kinesis, and spell-slinging makes for visually and physically spectacular fight sequences.  It’s also good to see that writers are really embracing the tough broad Mera that’s popularized in Brightest Day. Manta comes off smart and formidable sparring versus both Aqualads, and his quest for Starro is marred only by the fact that we don’t get to see the alien starfish in action—not yet, anyway.