Zack writes...

Is the captain atom in young justice as powerful as yj superman? I ask because he is my favorite leaguer.

Finister2 writes...

1) As there were only 5 screens on Manta's sub, which members of the Light were absent from Black Manta's briefing at the end of "Downtime"?
2) Speaking of which, since its been answered that the Light uses multiple screens when communicating, do all members of the Light make an appearance when their operative's report on their missions?
3) If no, do they update each other or are a few of them just really doing "homework" between briefings?
4) If the Brain joined the Light before his and Humanite's 2008 operations, did he start his criminal career before becoming a disembodied brain in a mechanical dome?
5) If yes, did he still call himself "the Brain"?

Jurgan writes...

I have a bad habit of getting DVD's as presents or while they're on sale and not watching them for years. Case in point, I just finally watched my Young Justice episodes. I planned to write a review of season one, and I was a little disappointed at how anticlimactic the whole thing was. Then I realized I only had the first twelve episodes. Well, I've got a little time, so I'll write a season 1 part 1 review.

First, background: I was always more of a Marvel guy, and I know practically nothing about the DC universe. Well, I know a lot about Batman's corner thanks to various TV shows, movies, video games (Arkham City is one of the best games of all time), and a few graphic novels. Aside from that, I could tell you a handful of things about Superman and maybe the names of some other characters. So I'm mostly going in blind on this one. I've heard some descriptions of events from fans on S8, but I don't know who Vandal Savage is anyway (some sort of thousand year old caveman, I think?), so spoilers don't mean much. One funny thing, though, is that I usually watch DVD's with subtitles so I don't miss any dialogue, and in the scenes where the mysterious members of The Light talk, the subtitles gave their names. Like: "Vandal Savage: Blah blah blah. Brain: Blah blah blah." That's a pretty embarrassing slip-up.

It's hard to approach an ensemble show, because there are so many characters we have to get to know. Spectacular Spider-Man was about Peter Parker. Gargoyles was about the Manhattan Clan but almost always seen from Goliath's point of view. But there's not really one "main character" on Young Justice. As a result, the show seemed to focus on quirks as a shortcut to characterization. Things like Robin's playing with pronouns, Wally's souvenir collecting, and "Hello, Megan" are helpful to me, as I often have trouble keeping straight who's who in a large cast. On the other hand, it's not exactly depth of characterization. The only one I really connected with was Aqualad and his conflict over where he belonged and whether he should be leader. I kind of liked Superboy's trying to deal with his "father," as well, and the implied budding romance between Wally and Artemis was cute. Red Arrow/Speedy was a jerk, and Crispin Freeman did a good job making me dislike him. There's potential there, for sure, but I'm hoping we plunge a little deeper into the characters in the back half.

As for the story, it's very different depending on whose POV you have. If we only saw the heroes, it would be almost entirely episodic. Each conflict appears to be separate from the others. My favorite episode was probably whichever one where they all get amnesia. I also liked the prison riot and the bit in episode 12 where Robin and Artemis are the only ones not captured, and Artemis has to save the day. There's an old joke about why the Justice League (or the Avengers, for that matter) have "guy with arrows" in a team of the most powerful people on Earth. This episode has the character herself acknowledge that, and have to overcome the resulting feelings of insecurity. On the other hand, from the villains' perspective it's all connected. Most episodes ended with one of your patented "Xanatos Tags," where the villains muse about how they didn't get everything they wanted but still advanced their overall plan. The Light, whatever they are, are gradually taking over more and more, but they're doing it under the radar so as not to bring down the hammer on themselves. So I like the core concept that Young Justice is also a below the radar group to confront them. At this point, though, it's not really clear what they're after, and some of the tags strain plausibility. They staged a prison riot and mass escape attempt just to get Hugo Strange in charge? That seems like overkill. I guess they also wanted some of the prisoners to escape if possible, but only The Riddler did. I'm hoping he gets a moment of glory later in the show.

So far, I'd say this show is good, not great. I enjoyed it, and there was good action and humor, but the whole thing felt kind of inconsequential. I guess that's the problem with reviewing half a season- it's deliberately not a whole story, so there's no way to know what's important and what's not. Hopefully, it all builds to something bigger and more exciting by the end. I know season 2 involves a five year time skip and is called "Invasion," so that certainly has promise. I'll let you know when I've finished the first season, but for now I'd give it a B, or 3 out of 4 stars.

Kreack writes...

How deep is the connection between the League of Shadows and The Light? Is it like a partnership or is the League just another one of their puppets?

Anonymous writes...

How smart is Red Arrow? Did he go to college? Did he make his own equipment after going solo? How did he get his equipment after going solo?

JSA Fan writes...

In Independence Day, the Team's founders were told by their mentors that they couldn't accompany the League in the Wotan mission due to them not being trained to work alongside its members as a larger unit. Does this indicate that new members are trained by the League, in roles of tactical combat, or perhaps the maneuvers used by the Team later on?

Thanks for everything!

Ron writes...

Hey Greg! Before I ask my question, I simply want to give you and the whole YJ crew a bit of appreciation. The animators, writers, producers, voice actors, and anyone who worked on this show did an amazing job. I have never watched a series I have loved more than this. I thought Justice League/JLU would be my all-time favorite, but not anymore. I love the animation, the writing, the characters, the relations, and everything else. I love Wally and Artemis together, I love the idea of Blue and Impulse together (fans have convinced me haha), I love Superboy, and everything else on this show. Anyways, I have a couple questions.

1. What are your favorite episodes of Young Justice and why?
2. Some people say the time jump was a mistake. What do you think about that?

3. How excited are you to work on Young Justice again?

Best of love from me! Also, #WeLiveAgain for Gargoyles!

Anonymous writes...

Rocket tells Robin Wonder Woman couldn't escape her force bubble if she kept punching it. Does it mean she could escape if she did nothing? How does that work?

Anonymous writes...

Can you give us some details about the Amulet of Aten? Who created it? What for? What can it do?

Esra Karacay writes...

Hi, and thank you for taking time :) why didn't air YJ in Germany? Or would be there at lesst some german subtitles within a DVD release in Germany? Pls can you do Fans from Germany a favour: DON'T FORGET US over here and bring YJ to Germany, too, please! :)